:00:00. > :00:00.George Osborne tells the BBC there may be further reductions
:00:00. > :00:12.to public spending in next month's Budget.
:00:13. > :00:14.but says "storm clouds" over the global economy could lead
:00:15. > :00:22.We're going to look at whether we need to go further
:00:23. > :00:25.I'm absolutely clear, we've got to balance the books.
:00:26. > :00:28.We'll be asking why the Chancellor - who slowed the pace of cuts last
:00:29. > :00:32.Also tonight: The gang responsible for sexually abusing girls
:00:33. > :00:38.in Rotherham is jailed for a total of 102 years.
:00:39. > :00:44.Tonight, a partial ceasefire has just come into force.
:00:45. > :00:50.Swiss lawyer Gianni Infantino takes over from Sepp Blatter as the head
:00:51. > :01:03.I'm live in Hollywood, where for the second year in a row, only white
:01:04. > :01:08.actors and actresses have been nominated for the Oscars, provoking
:01:09. > :01:10.aged row which is threatening to overshadow Sunday's ceremony.
:01:11. > :01:12.And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News:
:01:13. > :01:14.The Six Nations is back after a week's break,
:01:15. > :01:16.and which of Wales or France lost their undefeated
:01:17. > :01:39.The Chancellor has warned that he may have to make further
:01:40. > :01:42.cuts to public spending in the Budget in a few weeks' time.
:01:43. > :01:44.Speaking exclusively to the BBC during a visit to China,
:01:45. > :01:47.George Osborne said that "storm clouds" gathering in the world
:01:48. > :01:51.economy and the smaller than expected size of the British
:01:52. > :01:54.economy meant that more reductions might be necessary.
:01:55. > :01:57.Labour have tonight accused Mr Osborne of "floundering".
:01:58. > :02:03.From Shanghai, here's our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.
:02:04. > :02:07.Paying our way just got a little bit harder.
:02:08. > :02:09.The steam's running out of this super economy
:02:10. > :02:23.More than 5000 miles away at home, our economy might wobble too.
:02:24. > :02:26.On another visit to China, the man whose reputation is built
:02:27. > :02:32.on squeezing spending told me he might have to cut even more.
:02:33. > :02:35.The economy is smaller than we thought in Britain,
:02:36. > :02:39.and we also know that global risks are growing and Britain is not
:02:40. > :02:44.Now, Britain is still doing better than most countries,
:02:45. > :02:48.but that's because we've got an economic plan that says we spend
:02:49. > :02:52.what we can afford as a nation, and so we are going to have to look
:02:53. > :02:57.So you're going to have to make bigger cuts than those
:02:58. > :03:01.Well, we're going to look at whether we need to go further
:03:02. > :03:04.I'm absolutely clear we've got to balance the books,
:03:05. > :03:10.we've got to make sure we run a budget surplus as a country
:03:11. > :03:13.In November there were already warnings about the global economy
:03:14. > :03:17.and you decided to slow down the pace of cuts.
:03:18. > :03:20.Actually, you've been caught out now, haven't you,
:03:21. > :03:22.if you are going to have to cut even harder?
:03:23. > :03:26.Well, the spending plans we set out in the autumn were designed
:03:27. > :03:30.to deliver a budget surplus, the amount to the most sustained
:03:31. > :03:34.reduction in government spending Britain has seen for 100 years.
:03:35. > :03:37.But you found ?27 billion it seems from thin air and slowed down
:03:38. > :03:44.We've taken judgments to get that budget surplus, and now, of course,
:03:45. > :03:48.as the global economy gets more difficult and I think everyone
:03:49. > :03:51.accepts that things have got particularly difficult
:03:52. > :03:54.since the start of the year, as more information comes in,
:03:55. > :03:58.we make sure that the essentials of our plan, which are Britain
:03:59. > :04:01.lives within its means, Britain can only spend what it can
:04:02. > :04:05.afford, those things are applied to our public expenditure.
:04:06. > :04:12.He believes UK business abroad, a British coffee shop
:04:13. > :04:24.A choice the government wants you to take.
:04:25. > :04:27.This would be the very worst time for Britain to take the enormous
:04:28. > :04:32.economic gamble of leaving the European Union.
:04:33. > :04:35.You've seen the value of the pound fall, and it reminds us
:04:36. > :04:37.all that this is not some political parlour game.
:04:38. > :04:42.Leaving the EU would represent a profound economic shock.
:04:43. > :04:45.If you believe the risk is really so great, isn't it then the height
:04:46. > :04:49.of irresponsibility to put this option on the table?
:04:50. > :04:52.I don't think it's ever the wrong thing to do to confront the big
:04:53. > :04:54.issues facing your country, whether it's in the economy
:04:55. > :04:57.or indeed our relationship with the European Union.
:04:58. > :05:01.This has been overhanging Britain for many, many years.
:05:02. > :05:03.It's been overhanging the Conservative Party
:05:04. > :05:07.You're saying if we left the EU there would be
:05:08. > :05:11.But it was your party who put this choice on the table.
:05:12. > :05:15.Now, if it would be such a calamity, why are so many senior Conservatives
:05:16. > :05:21.I think we're mature enough to handle that disagreement
:05:22. > :05:23.and above all, as Conservatives and it's something I will be
:05:24. > :05:26.particularly focused on, we need to come together after this
:05:27. > :05:30.period of four months, and work together to do
:05:31. > :05:38.There's a long way to go before this Chancellor can leave behind
:05:39. > :05:44.But certainly the world feels a pretty jittery place.
:05:45. > :05:47.George Osborne doesn't betray many of those jitters
:05:48. > :05:52.or many anxieties, despite what might be ahead.
:05:53. > :05:55.Shanghai's glittering skyscrapers flash warning lights.
:05:56. > :05:59.The uncertainty from Europe burns bright too.
:06:00. > :06:04.For our economy and our government, risks lie all around.
:06:05. > :06:08.Political and personal fortunes can be broken,
:06:09. > :06:13.Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Shanghai.
:06:14. > :06:20.Our economics editor, Kamal Ahmed, joins me now.
:06:21. > :06:25.There are potential further spending cuts on the horizon. George Osborne
:06:26. > :06:30.blames the global economy, but Labour says he's floundering. Who is
:06:31. > :06:34.right? It's always fascinating, watching the waxing and waning of
:06:35. > :06:38.George Osborne's economic fortunes. If we go back to the Autumn
:06:39. > :06:41.Statement of 2015, you can see why the critics of the Chancellor will
:06:42. > :06:46.say he has been flip-flopping. Labour tonight called this interview
:06:47. > :06:50.with Laura Kuenssberg humiliating for the Chancellor. Because in 2015,
:06:51. > :06:53.the news was better. There were better tax receipts for the
:06:54. > :06:56.government, because the British economy was growing pretty strongly.
:06:57. > :07:00.Our debt repayments were quite low, because of the low interest rates.
:07:01. > :07:07.And as Laura said in her piece, George Osborne banked the results of
:07:08. > :07:11.that, which is this ?27 billion extra in the public finances, now a
:07:12. > :07:16.lot of economists said he should have actually saved some of that for
:07:17. > :07:20.a rainy day, and boy, from 2016 we have had plenty of rainy days. Yes,
:07:21. > :07:24.some of those are global, China slowing down. Some of them are out
:07:25. > :07:27.of the control of the Chancellor directly, whether we leave or stay
:07:28. > :07:30.in the European Union. But some of them are home-grown. Real wages
:07:31. > :07:36.aren't growing as fast as thought. That means tax receipts are lower
:07:37. > :07:39.than was thought. And also, the Bank of England has said the UK economy
:07:40. > :07:43.is growing less quickly. That means the government's income is lower.
:07:44. > :07:48.Now, the Chancellor has to make a big choice. Is he going to try and
:07:49. > :07:53.hit that target of creating a surplus by 2020? Or, is he going to
:07:54. > :07:58.ease austerity? He has decided he wants to hit the target. Why? In
:07:59. > :08:02.2020, who might be the Prime Minister? Who might be leading the
:08:03. > :08:05.Conservative Party to the next election? George Osborne thinks it
:08:06. > :08:08.might be him and he thinks the big-ticket item that the public will
:08:09. > :08:12.worry about is the economy performing well. Have the
:08:13. > :08:16.Conservatives fixed the economy? He thinks having a surplus shows they
:08:17. > :08:19.have fixed the economy. That is his absolute target and if he has to do
:08:20. > :08:23.cuts to get there, he will do cuts. The ringleader of a gang
:08:24. > :08:25.who groomed, raped and abused teenage girls in Rotherham has been
:08:26. > :08:28.jailed for 35 years for causing what the judge called "harm
:08:29. > :08:30.of unimaginable proportions". Arshid Hussain was sentenced along
:08:31. > :08:33.with his brothers Basharat and Banaras, who received jail terms
:08:34. > :08:39.of 25 and 19 years respectively. Many of the gang's victims
:08:40. > :08:42.were in court to witness them being jailed, as our correspondent
:08:43. > :08:47.Dan Johnson reports. Arshid Hussain, Mad Ash,
:08:48. > :08:50.told today he'll serve 35 years The judge said she was
:08:51. > :08:55.going beyond the normal sentencing guidelines to reflect
:08:56. > :08:59.the seriousness of the offending. There were times when
:09:00. > :09:01.I thought, oh God, It's taken 15 years
:09:02. > :09:04.for this victim to He's took my life away
:09:05. > :09:09.so now I feel I've took He's never going to be back out
:09:10. > :09:14.on these streets for 35 years. That's what I came for,
:09:15. > :09:18.for the justice, and I've been Basharat, a 25 year sentence,
:09:19. > :09:26.and Bannaras, who Probably the most intense
:09:27. > :09:32.and emotional day I've had in Crown Court and will
:09:33. > :09:35.for a long time, if not ever. How far do you think
:09:36. > :09:37.this result today goes towards rebuilding
:09:38. > :09:39.the reputation of your force? I'm not seeking to defend anything
:09:40. > :09:42.that has happened in the past. As police officers you wake up every
:09:43. > :09:45.single day wanting to put vile criminals, organised criminals
:09:46. > :09:48.and paedophiles in prison. In one incident
:09:49. > :09:52.police officers found Bannaras Hussain
:09:53. > :09:59.in a car with a girl. He told them she was performing
:10:00. > :10:02.a sex act but they just drove away. The judge today recognised
:10:03. > :10:06.the courage of the victims forced She also emphasised the lasting
:10:07. > :10:09.impact on their lives, a sense of shame, the panic attacks,
:10:10. > :10:12.the eating disorders Nobody, she said, would forget
:10:13. > :10:17.the victim she told the court she been left hating her own body
:10:18. > :10:20.because of what she'd been Also jailed, Karen MacGregor,
:10:21. > :10:28.who offered vulnerable young women a home but made
:10:29. > :10:30.them act as prostitutes. Shelley Davies lived
:10:31. > :10:32.with her and was given The Hussains' uncle, Qurban Ali,
:10:33. > :10:36.will serve ten years for conspiring This is him leaving
:10:37. > :10:43.an earlier hearing. His son who wasn't involved in this
:10:44. > :10:45.trial later pleaded guilty These brothers had
:10:46. > :10:54.believed they were both Today, at last, they heard cheers
:10:55. > :10:59.in court from the women whose But across Rotherham
:11:00. > :11:01.there are many more victims still to tell their story
:11:02. > :11:04.and see their abusers face justice. Dan Johnson, BBC News,
:11:05. > :11:08.Sheffield Crown Court. After five years of war in Syria -
:11:09. > :11:13.and 250,000 deaths - a partial ceasefire is supposed
:11:14. > :11:15.to have come into effect It's being seen as the most
:11:16. > :11:21.determined attempt yet to bring a pause to the bitter civil war -
:11:22. > :11:24.and nearly 100 groups opposed President Obama said "the world
:11:25. > :11:30.will be watching" to see It doesn't include
:11:31. > :11:33.so-called Islamic State. Here's our diplomatic
:11:34. > :11:39.correspondent, James Robbins. Darayya, apparently today,
:11:40. > :11:42.and the Syrian government keeps up its bombing just hours before
:11:43. > :11:50.all this is supposed to stop. After almost five years of mounting
:11:51. > :11:53.horror, could the agreement by the US and Russia to scale
:11:54. > :11:55.down the killing really Mutual distrust is so great,
:11:56. > :12:01.President Obama is hardly radiating If implemented, and that's
:12:02. > :12:08.a significant if, the cessation could reduce the violence and get
:12:09. > :12:12.more food and aid to Syrians who are suffering and
:12:13. > :12:15.desperately need it. A look at a map of Syria shows
:12:16. > :12:22.the gulf between the American and Russian views of where
:12:23. > :12:24.the ceasefire applies. These areas, shown in black,
:12:25. > :12:27.are broadly where the US-led coalition says extremist
:12:28. > :12:31.jihadists are in control, That should leave most of Syria
:12:32. > :12:36.protected by the ceasefire, at least according to the Western
:12:37. > :12:39.and Arab coalition. But look at Russia's definition
:12:40. > :12:44.of the ceasefire area. These tiny zones, shown
:12:45. > :12:48.in orange on the map. When I spoke to Western diplomats
:12:49. > :12:51.today, they hoped that in practice the Russians would show far greater
:12:52. > :12:54.restraint than that, TRANSLATION: We very well understand
:12:55. > :13:04.the ceasefire will be a difficult, possibly even controversial process,
:13:05. > :13:06.but there's no way other So where does that leave
:13:07. > :13:14.a rebel-held city like Aleppo? Home to Western-backed rebels
:13:15. > :13:20.like these, enduring sustained Russian and Syrian
:13:21. > :13:21.government attack. And the Americans do concede Aleppo
:13:22. > :13:27.contains designated terrorists One hope from any reduction
:13:28. > :13:33.in violence is that more aid convoys will get through,
:13:34. > :13:36.like today's to Homs from the International Committee
:13:37. > :13:40.of the Red Cross. But its leader, travelling with
:13:41. > :13:45.them, talks of sleepless nights. We see needs growing and growing,
:13:46. > :13:49.and the gap between the needs and what we are able to do
:13:50. > :14:00.is increasing by the day. where these families
:14:01. > :14:02.were on the move again today, the need for a ceasefire
:14:03. > :14:05.could hardly be more acute. The new man at the top of Fifa has
:14:06. > :14:11.vowed to restore the image of world Swiss lawyer Gianni Infantino
:14:12. > :14:16.was elected as successor to the former President Sepp Blatter,
:14:17. > :14:18.who was forced from office Fifa today announced a number
:14:19. > :14:23.of reforms aimed at making it more Our sports editor Dan Roan
:14:24. > :14:31.was at its meeting in Zurich. Thank heavens, a sigh of relief
:14:32. > :14:34.tonight from Fifa's new President Gianni Infantino, the man
:14:35. > :14:37.the world governing body has chosen to repair its
:14:38. > :14:41.battered reputation. The surprise winner of today's
:14:42. > :14:44.election fighting back the tears before delivering his first address
:14:45. > :14:47.as the game's new leader. We will restore
:14:48. > :14:49.the image of Fifa and the respect of Fifa and everyone
:14:50. > :14:52.in the world will applaud us and applaud all of
:14:53. > :14:54.you for what we will We have to be proud of Fifa
:14:55. > :15:03.and everyone has to be proud of Fifa and we have to be proud
:15:04. > :15:09.of what we will do together. The football administrator only
:15:10. > :15:12.entered the race when his old boss, Michel Platini, the former President
:15:13. > :15:17.of European football's governing body, Uefa, withdrew
:15:18. > :15:18.after he was suspended Endorsed by some of the great
:15:19. > :15:24.and good of the game the multilingual
:15:25. > :15:29.Swiss-Italian lawyer targeted votes in
:15:30. > :15:31.typical Fifa fashion. The doubling of development grants
:15:32. > :15:45.for national associations an expanded World Cup and even
:15:46. > :15:49.the creation of a Fifa Legends team And those who backed
:15:50. > :15:51.the Uefa general secretary hailed him
:15:52. > :15:53.a worthy winner. He will run it well,
:15:54. > :15:56.he will be a good President and we have got a reform
:15:57. > :16:00.programme which at long last means Fifa will not be run
:16:01. > :16:02.as a sort of private fiefdom. The arrests of senior
:16:03. > :16:04.officials here last year The corruption scandal seeing former
:16:05. > :16:07.President Sepp Blatter being banned from the sport he had
:16:08. > :16:10.ruled for so long. Today Fifa finally approved
:16:11. > :16:12.a package of reforms seen as crucial to its survival and the pressure
:16:13. > :16:15.will now be on Infantino The speech indicated
:16:16. > :16:18.that he is an endorser of reform but he was certainly not as clear
:16:19. > :16:21.on reform as some of the minority Immediately what we'd like to see
:16:22. > :16:25.is an endorsement of some of the recommendations from those
:16:26. > :16:27.minority candidates tomorrow. The favourite Bahraini royal
:16:28. > :16:32.Sheikh Salman had to deny links to a crackdown on pro-democracy
:16:33. > :16:37.protesters in 2011. Ultimately even Fifa
:16:38. > :16:39.saw Infantino as a more acceptable front man
:16:40. > :16:42.but the new President still has a long way to go before convincing
:16:43. > :16:44.everyone else he really has the appetite to clean up such
:16:45. > :16:57.a tainted organisation. That's the great challenge, for just
:16:58. > :17:01.the third Fifa President in the last 40 years. Infantino is still seen
:17:02. > :17:05.very much as part of football's Establishment. The critics point to
:17:06. > :17:09.his loyalty, to the disgraced Michel Platini and remarkably he even hails
:17:10. > :17:13.from the same Swiss Valley as the man he replaces, Sepp Blatter. With
:17:14. > :17:17.those criminal investigation is still ongoing in the US and here in
:17:18. > :17:20.Switzerland, do not think that today represents the end of this great
:17:21. > :17:23.scandal. Dan Rowe and, thank you.
:17:24. > :17:25.The deaths of three Britons at a waterfalls in South Vietnam
:17:26. > :17:31.One of the victims has been named as Christian Sloan, from Kent,
:17:32. > :17:33.who died along with two women, aged 19 and 25.
:17:34. > :17:36.They'd been visiting the Datanla waterfalls - a popular attraction
:17:37. > :17:41.Our South Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
:17:42. > :17:45.No one is yet sure how the three British tourists died.
:17:46. > :17:48.Officials say their bodies were discovered a little way
:17:49. > :17:51.downstream from a popular waterfall in Vietnam's central highlands.
:17:52. > :17:54.They may have been climbing around it.
:17:55. > :17:58.They were later carried out by rescue workers.
:17:59. > :18:03.This evening one of the victims has been named as 24-year-old
:18:04. > :18:05.Christian Sloan, who had been travelling in Southeast Asia
:18:06. > :18:09.His family has issued a statement, saying, Christian's death is a very
:18:10. > :18:19.A local man who is believed to have been acting as an unofficial guide
:18:20. > :18:22.for the three tourists has now been questioned by the police.
:18:23. > :18:24.The Foreign Office says it is providing consular assistance
:18:25. > :18:29.There's an implicit danger in the waterfalls that surround
:18:30. > :18:36.You have very mossy rock, a lot of dampness, and to be
:18:37. > :18:38.truthful, Vietnam doesn't have a fantastic reputation
:18:39. > :18:45.The tourist industry in Vietnam has been growing rapidly recently
:18:46. > :18:47.as the government has opened up the economy
:18:48. > :18:55.In the past, the long years of the Vietnam War
:18:56. > :18:58.followed by inward-looking communist rule meant that many of its natural
:18:59. > :19:00.attractions were little-known outside the country.
:19:01. > :19:06.After decades of isolation, it's no surprise that Vietnam
:19:07. > :19:09.is racing to cash in on the tourist boom that's brought so much wealth
:19:10. > :19:10.to neighbouring countries like Thailand.
:19:11. > :19:13.But there is a dark side to this boom.
:19:14. > :19:16.Every year, Britons die here from largely preventable accidents.
:19:17. > :19:19.It is a sad truth that across much of this region law enforcement
:19:20. > :19:22.is lax and a culture of safety almost nonexistent.
:19:23. > :19:33.With just two days to go until the Oscars, the race row over
:19:34. > :19:35.this year's ceremony shows no signs of going away.
:19:36. > :19:38.For the second year running, all the actors nominated are white,
:19:39. > :19:40.prompting difficult questions for the Academy.
:19:41. > :19:51.Let's join Lizo Mzimba, who's in Hollywood tonight.
:19:52. > :19:59.The stars are being cheered here but not far away there will be a
:20:00. > :20:03.different kind of demonstration. The Reverend Al Sharpton, civil rights
:20:04. > :20:06.activist, will protest at only white actors and actresses being nominated
:20:07. > :20:10.for the second year in a row. It has led to a rope that is threatening to
:20:11. > :20:14.overshadow Sunday's ceremony. -- led to a row.
:20:15. > :20:16.So many things define the Oscars - the glamorous red carpet,
:20:17. > :20:19.and this year the all-white list of acting nominees.
:20:20. > :20:22.More than that, there's a perceived overall lack of diversity.
:20:23. > :20:26.Y'all just got a snapshot of how Americans really feel.
:20:27. > :20:29.One film many believe was overlooked, the story
:20:30. > :20:32.of the birth of rap group NWA, Straight Outta Compton.
:20:33. > :20:34.# Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr Dre is at the door... #
:20:35. > :20:37.One of the musicians featured in the film
:20:38. > :20:39.says the make-up of Academy Awards voters is the problem.
:20:40. > :20:41.I feel like the Oscars wasn't made for us.
:20:42. > :20:44.It's just those old generation, first-generation people
:20:45. > :20:47.in there that really don't get it, they don't understand the dynamics
:20:48. > :20:50.of the world that they're living in, but the people from,
:20:51. > :20:53.you know, I say, 50 years old on down, they get it,
:20:54. > :20:56.where it's diverse and everybody is about everybody.
:20:57. > :20:59.The Academy knows it's crucial to the awards' credibility
:21:00. > :21:01.that they're seen as being relevant to modern audiences.
:21:02. > :21:04.That's been seriously threatened by the reaction
:21:05. > :21:08.The Academy has planned to counter that
:21:09. > :21:10.by replacing significant numbers of older members
:21:11. > :21:14.who haven't been active in the industry in recent years.
:21:15. > :21:23.He is angered by the the way they want to increase diversity
:21:24. > :21:24.at the expense of long-standing voters.
:21:25. > :21:27.I wouldn't want to be put into a category
:21:28. > :21:34.To nurture the talent, I'm all for it.
:21:35. > :21:37.But to bring them in because of their race is wrong,
:21:38. > :21:39.or their sex, or their beliefs, that's wrong.
:21:40. > :21:48.Now, who chooses the talent is not the Academy, as I said before,
:21:49. > :21:55.The studios often cast black actors
:21:56. > :21:57.in somewhat cliched roles like drug dealers or warlords.
:21:58. > :22:00.Perhaps the industry can follow the lead of Star Wars.
:22:01. > :22:03.They chose the relatively unknown black actor John Boyega
:22:04. > :22:05.in a role that could have been played by any ethnicity.
:22:06. > :22:08.How important is it that the studios should follow suit
:22:09. > :22:13.I think it's inevitable, and I think it is critical,
:22:14. > :22:17.and I feel like it was just important to me,
:22:18. > :22:21.to all of us working on the movie, that the movie be inclusive.
:22:22. > :22:25.Whatever the eventual outcome, the Academy, the film industry
:22:26. > :22:29.and the public are united on one thing - they want the discussion
:22:30. > :22:32.around next year's Oscars and beyond to not be about who the voters are,
:22:33. > :22:34.but to be purely about the films themselves.
:22:35. > :22:44.A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.
:22:45. > :22:47.candidate has received a significant boost this evening after his former
:22:48. > :22:48.rival, Chris Christie, formally endorsed him
:22:49. > :22:56.Mr Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, is one of the first
:22:57. > :22:58.major Republican figures to back the billionaire.
:22:59. > :23:03.The private security firm G4S is to sell its children's services
:23:04. > :23:05.business in the UK, including 13 children's homes and two
:23:06. > :23:12.It comes weeks after a BBC Panorama investigation which broadcast secret
:23:13. > :23:14.filming appearing to show staff abusing inmates.
:23:15. > :23:28.G4S says the sell-off is part of its long-term strategy.
:23:29. > :23:35.Two brothers who mocked a judge on Facebook after they were given
:23:36. > :23:36.sentences for drug dealing have been jailed. They boasted about avoiding
:23:37. > :23:38.prison. The leader of the Green Party
:23:39. > :23:41.in England and Wales has told her party's spring conference
:23:42. > :23:44.that she would be running a strong, bold campaign calling for Britain
:23:45. > :23:46.to remain in the EU. Natalie Bennett said the UK should
:23:47. > :23:49.remain part of a "fairer, He's been a target for the police
:23:50. > :23:57.on both sides of the Irish border for decades - suspected of being one
:23:58. > :24:00.of the most powerful figures But Thomas 'Slab' Murphy always
:24:01. > :24:05.claimed he was a simple farmer. Today, he was sentenced in Dublin
:24:06. > :24:08.to 18 months in jail - Our Ireland correspondent
:24:09. > :24:15.Chris Buckler has more. Thomas 'Slab' Murphy has always
:24:16. > :24:18.tried to hide in the shadows. Mr Murphy, how do
:24:19. > :24:23.you feel about today? But the man alleged to be the IRA's
:24:24. > :24:28.former chief of staff found himself in the full glare of the spotlight
:24:29. > :24:31.thanks to this case not about terror There have been many claims
:24:32. > :24:37.that his farm which straddles the Irish border was at the centre
:24:38. > :24:40.of a multi-million pound smuggling In a raid officers found hidden
:24:41. > :24:51.in hay bales bags of money. Cash, cheques, business records,
:24:52. > :24:53.computers, and various other items Murphy, who was found
:24:54. > :24:59.guilty of tax evasion, has always called
:25:00. > :25:01.himself a simple farmer. And denied claims that he was at one
:25:02. > :25:10.time the leader of the IRA's Terrorism was about him
:25:11. > :25:14.being able to operate this criminal empire
:25:15. > :25:17.along the border. And to be able to do that he had
:25:18. > :25:20.to create an amount of fear The court case has made headlines
:25:21. > :25:24.today, as the Irish public The Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has
:25:25. > :25:28.in the past defended Slab Murphy as a good Republican and he has been
:25:29. > :25:31.asked many questions about his friend during the last
:25:32. > :25:33.days of campaigning. First of all, what happens
:25:34. > :25:36.in the courts is a matter One of Sinn Fein's election pledges
:25:37. > :25:44.was to get rid of the special It is where Slab Murphy
:25:45. > :25:52.was convicted. Some have compared this case
:25:53. > :25:55.to the prosecution of the American gangster Al Capone, who was famously
:25:56. > :25:58.found guilty of tax evasion when the authorities couldn't find
:25:59. > :26:14.any other case to bring against him. In Cardiff the home crowd has had
:26:15. > :26:17.plenty to cheer about into night's rugby Six Nations clash at Wales and
:26:18. > :26:18.France. Let's join Andy Swiss
:26:19. > :26:28.at the Principality Stadium. This was always going to be a tense
:26:29. > :26:34.occasion. Wales and France knew whoever won this match would go top
:26:35. > :26:37.of the Six Nations table. It wasn't exactly a classic, but with a 19-10
:26:38. > :26:47.win it was Wales's night. Welcome to rugby's fielded Friday.
:26:48. > :26:54.Cardiff are awash with colour and confidence. -- feel-good Friday. As
:26:55. > :27:01.Wales and France hoped for fireworks it was a night to be ruthless and
:27:02. > :27:04.ruthless. The retractable roof open because of technical issues but at
:27:05. > :27:09.first the rugby failed to live up to the occasion. Dan Biggar booted
:27:10. > :27:14.Wales into an early lead thanks to want particular fan's approval and
:27:15. > :27:17.what flair there was came from the hosts mainly. Williams agonisingly
:27:18. > :27:24.close to the opening try as Wales led 6-3 at the break. After it,
:27:25. > :27:27.though, a scruffy game sprang slightly scruffily to life. George
:27:28. > :27:32.North chasing initially fluffing, before gratefully grabbing his
:27:33. > :27:38.chance. It wasn't a thing of beauty but the home fans didn't mind. At
:27:39. > :27:43.last things opened up, France also showing invention, but whatever they
:27:44. > :27:48.threw at Wales the hosts held firm. In the dying seconds the French
:27:49. > :27:50.captain Guilhem Guirado bundled over but it was of no more than
:27:51. > :27:55.consolation value. England could leapfrog them tomorrow but tonight
:27:56. > :27:57.at least Wales are the team to chase. Andy Swiss, BBC News,
:27:58. > :27:59.Cardiff.