03/03/2012 BBC Weekend News

Plans to give private companies are a far bigger role in policing are

being criticised by Labour and the unions. West Midlands and Surrey

police insist that frontline operations will not be handed to

the private sector. BP agrees to pay almost �5 billion

in compensation for the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Dozens of people are killed as a wave of tornadoes batter the

And Arsenal consolidate their winning streak with victory against

Good evening. Private companies could be given a much bigger role

in policing, under plans being drawn up by two of Britain's forces.

West Midlands and Surrey police have invited bids from security

companies to act as partners, providing a wide range of services

including help with patrolling and investigating crime. Labour and the

main police union have said the plans could undermine trust in

public service policing. Police forces in England and Wales

are having to make budget cuts of 20% over four years. At the same

time, they are under pressure to protect frontline services, to try

to save costs, some are already using the private sector for back

off his duties light training, IT and finance. Others to manage

custody suites -- back office duties. West Midlands and Surrey

police asking private security firms to bid for contracts that

could be worth �1.5 billion. It could include work like guarding

crime scenes, freeing up uniform officers, or logging CCTV footage.

Officers say they are exploring what the private sector could do.

You have to make decisions, acknowledging the private sector is

changing. That make require us to do things to fully but it will not

impact on frontline services. Police officers will still police

the streets of Surrey. These proposals involve just two police

forces but it means that others could follow suit in future. Police

insist this is not about using private security staff to replace

neighbourhood patrols, respond to emergencies or carry out arrests.

While they say the public will not see a difference in visible

policing, the plans could mean private firms being involved in

some elements of investigations. The Police Federation called the

proposals extremely worrying. Labour says they could cross the

line, moving the private sector into core policing duties. We need

safeguards from the Home Secretary, and reassurances that the scale of

police cuts is not pushing police forces into decisions that really

go against the interest of good, effective British policing.

government says it supports the police in looking at what private

sector partnerships can achieve. This is all about supporting the

front line by making sure that the backroom jobs that do that can be

done more efficiently. There are huge opportunities to save money

here. The tendering process is still in its early stages, so it is

not yet clear exactly which areas the private sector will become

involved. BP has taken a major step towards

finalising the bill it will face for the 2010 sauce bill in the Gulf

of Mexico. The company has agreed to pay for �0.9 billion to settle

claims for 100,000 people and April 2010, the world's worst

offshore oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11

people and saw 4 million barrels of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico.

Almost two years on and beat bill -- and the bill for BP keeps rising.

It is at the top end of what BP hope to pay. It brings to almost �9

billion, the sum that BP has agreed to pay in compensation to people

and firms whose livelihood and health has been damaged by the

spill. It has cost BP a similar amount, around �9 billion, to clean

up the mess. It is not the end of the story for Gulf Coast tourism or

fishing. Business is off, people are not coming in the numbers that

they normally do. Of course, it could be the economy, it could be

the perception that this place is tainted. It is hard to say. But

numbers are down, definitely. Fishing is good but the people are

not here. And some claim the oil hasn't all gone yet. Over there,

you would walk into marshes, pull your boot up, see it running off.

It is definitely still there. not the end of litigation against

BP. It is also being sued in New Orleans by the Gulf Coast states

affected by the disaster, and also by the US Federal Department of

Justice. BP hotly denies that as a company, it acted criminally, or

was guilty of gross negligence. If, however, the court takes a

different view, the �24 billion that BP has set aside to cover all

the costs of the disaster could More than 30 people have been

killed by a series of tornadoes which struck central and southern

parts of the United States. Kentucky and Indiana were hardest

hit by the storms, with some One of the most powerful tornadoes

swept over Henryville, Indiana. And this is what it left behind. A

school bus, torn across the road, shuntered into a house. Devastating.

I am sad. Got hopes there wasn't a baby on the school bus. It seems

there weren't. A school was ripped apart by the tornado but all the

peoples inside were unharmed. This is the nearby town of Marysville,

said by the sheriff's department to have gone completely. It had 1900

residents. And this amateur video shows another tornado in the

distance. You can also hear the sound of the hailstones, some said

to be the size of golf balls. The clear up is under way in Harrisburg,

Ohio, where another wave of deadly tornadoes hit earlier this week. It

is not just the weather that is a danger. Our cell phones are not

picking up. We are listening to the radios in our vehicles. Further

south in Alabama, residents were well prepared to ride out the storm.

That used to be 52 mobile homes. -- that used to be a mobile home.

Last year was one of the deadliest seasons on record. This year, the

The Prime Minister has described national health service reform as

unavoidable and urgent, saying he doesn't care if the government, in

his words, takes a hit over the issue. Speaking at the

Conservatives' spring forum, David Cameron said there would be no

going back on the reforms. What I care about is that what we are

doing works to avert that crisis, to make the NHS strong enough for

the future. That is why we are making what at heart are some

pretty simple changes. Handing power and choice do patients,

cutting bureaucracy, putting doctors and nurses, not bureaucrats,

in charge. The Red Cross has been prevented,

for the second day running, for -- from entering the Baba Amr district

of Homs, by the Syrian authorities to say the area is still too

dangerous. The bodies of two foreign journalists killed have

been handed to embassy officials in Damascus. Marie Colvin and Remi

Ochlik died during the bombardment of the city.

The latest word on that age,, stuck outside Homs? -- the aid convoy.

second day of disappointment for them. They took that convoy up to

Homs, having been told they had the green light to go into Baba Amr,

this shattered district why the -- where the humanitarian need is dire.

It has been under bombardment for nearly a month, only to find they

were prevented by the Syrian authorities from doing so. All day

today they have been tried to get another green light, and failed.

After nightfall, they called their efforts of ant said they will start

again in the morning. They have been told there maybe minds and

booby traps and it may be dangerous. Syrian television has been filming

scenes of but the devastation and authorities say they want to cover

up the crimes -- scenes of utter devastation. Marie Colvin's remains

and those of Remi Ochlik have been added to embassy officials in

Damascus. They were recovered from Homs on Thursday. My understanding

is they will be flown on the same plane to Paris tonight, and Marie

Colvin will be flown into the Robin van Persie scored a late

winner at Anfield as Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 in the lunchtime

Premier League match. Injured Steven Gerrard took the

Carling Cup to the Cobb. That was so last week. Here, Liverpool

somehow lost a game they should have won from the moment Suarez

tumbled. His pain seemed out of context with the contact. But it

was a penalty and Dirk Kuyt had the chance to score, twice. Heroics

from Szczesny. It is tough, being from Szczesny. It is tough, being

an Arsenal goalkeeper. You have to worry about your own players as

well. Koscielny arrived just in time to ruin the mood. Indefinable

defending. Arsenal's this -- response was credible. Van Persie's

header, he carries an invincible air. Henderson collided with Arteta,

the Arsenal player headed to hospital with concussion. The

knock-on effect was lengthy injury time. This Paul looked hopeful

until van Persie appeared Paul easy to draw over his finish,

van Persie focused on the class of Families and friends were joint --

For 60 years, Frank Carson made people laugh. Today, he made them

cry. His family and friends gathered in Belfast to say goodbye

to the Irish comic described at his funeral as the prime minister of

fun. Politicians, broadcasters, sports stars and fellow comedians

came together to celebrate the king A great ambassador. Belfast was

infamous for machine gun fire but Frank Carson's jokes were rat-a-tat

pad, one after the other. What is the difference between a terrorist

and my wife? You can negotiate with a terrorist. And that was a cracker,

too, made of flowers, inside the hearse. A final joke on his final

journey. The 85-year-old entertainer it died last week after

a long battle with stomach cancer. After the Catholic Penal service,

there was a prostitute blessing -- the Catholic funeral service. In