:00:08. > :00:12.The Government says claims that it plans to privatise policing are
:00:13. > :00:17."mischievous" and misguided". It comes as two of Britain's forces
:00:17. > :00:20.invite private firms to provide a wide range of police services.
:00:20. > :00:25.Russians vote to decide whether Vladimir Putin should be President
:00:25. > :00:28.again. BP may have to pay out even more
:00:28. > :00:32.after settling Gulf of Mexico disaster claims of almost �5
:00:32. > :00:42.billion. And friends, family and the people
:00:42. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:54.of Belfast say farewell to Frank Good evening.
:00:54. > :00:58.Private companies could be given a much bigger role in policing under
:00:58. > :01:01.plans drawn up by two of Britain's forces. West Midlands and Surrey
:01:01. > :01:03.Police have invited bids from security companies to act as
:01:03. > :01:09.partners providing a wide range of services including help
:01:09. > :01:13.investigating crime. Labour said the proposals would undermine trust
:01:13. > :01:15.in public service policing. However, the Government welcomed the "huge
:01:15. > :01:21.opportunities to save money" and dismissed suggestions that it
:01:21. > :01:30.wanted to privatise policing as "mischievous and misguided". Daniel
:01:30. > :01:34.Police forces in England and Wales are having to make budget cuts of
:01:34. > :01:38.20% over four years at the same time they are under pressure to
:01:38. > :01:42.protect front-line services to save costs, some are already using the
:01:42. > :01:47.private sector for tasks including managing custody suites, what is
:01:47. > :01:50.proposed could be on a larger scale. West Midlands and Surrey Police are
:01:50. > :01:54.asking private security firms to bid for contracts that could be
:01:54. > :01:58.worth �1.5 billion. The forces say they are exploring what the private
:01:58. > :02:01.sector could do more more efficiently or more cheaply.
:02:01. > :02:04.You have to make decisions acknowledging the financial climate
:02:04. > :02:08.is changing and that may require us to do things differently, but it
:02:08. > :02:12.will not impact on front-line services. Police officers will be
:02:12. > :02:15.policing the streets of Surrey. The proposals involve two police
:02:15. > :02:20.forces, but the way the process is being handled means that others
:02:20. > :02:24.could follow suit in few tump. The police -- future. The police insist
:02:24. > :02:28.this is not about using private security staff to respond to
:02:28. > :02:32.emergencies or carry out arrests. They could be involved in some
:02:32. > :02:35.elements of investigations like recovering and logging CCTV footage,
:02:35. > :02:39.or guarding crime scenes. The Police Federation describes it
:02:39. > :02:44.as a dangerous road to take. Labour says the proposals could put at
:02:44. > :02:48.risk core public policing. I think we need safeguards from the
:02:48. > :02:52.Home Secretary and reassurances thatted scale of -- that the scale
:02:52. > :02:57.of police cuts is not pushing police forces into decisions that
:02:57. > :03:00.go against the interests of good, effective British policing. Last
:03:00. > :03:03.month Lincolnshire Police signed a deal with a private company to
:03:03. > :03:06.build and run a police station as well as provide services like human
:03:06. > :03:11.resources and IT, the Government says that contract shows what can
:03:11. > :03:15.be done and says suggestions that this is privatising policing are
:03:15. > :03:21.misguided. This is about supporting the front-
:03:21. > :03:26.line by making sure that the back room jobs that do that can be done
:03:26. > :03:29.more efficiently. There are huge opportunities to save money here.
:03:29. > :03:33.Chief Constables want to see trained officers on the beat rather
:03:33. > :03:37.than carrying out duties that others could do and they are under
:03:37. > :03:40.financial pressure. But The response to the proposals, even in
:03:40. > :03:48.their early stages, shows how sensitive a greater move towards
:03:48. > :03:51.private sector involvement in The first polls have opened in
:03:51. > :03:53.Russia's presidential election in which Vladimir Putin, who is Prime
:03:53. > :03:57.Minister, is hoping to be elected President once again. Voting began
:03:57. > :04:01.just over two hours ago in Russia's far east. It will end tomorrow
:04:01. > :04:08.evening with the result expected shortly after that. We're joined
:04:08. > :04:12.from Moscow by our correspondent Daniel Sandford. Daniel, there are
:04:12. > :04:17.suggestion that is Vladimir Putin will win. Is that the feeling?
:04:17. > :04:20.Russian politics haven't been so unpredictable for a long time. The
:04:20. > :04:24.one thing you can be sure of is Vladimir Putin will win. What is
:04:24. > :04:29.less clear, is what is going to happen after that because of course,
:04:29. > :04:31.we have got the protest movement and that's not going to go away and
:04:31. > :04:35.that could cause some severe political difficulties further down
:04:35. > :04:40.the line and also what we have seen over the last few weeks is that the
:04:40. > :04:43.support of Vladimir Putin, it is softer than it used to be. People
:04:43. > :04:45.are saying they are going to vote for him because there is no one
:04:46. > :04:52.else and that's because he managed to crush the opposition over the
:04:52. > :04:59.last 12 years and that's maybe - that system is starting to founder
:04:59. > :05:03.and that means he is not in an uncomfortable position.
:05:03. > :05:07.A lot is at stake? We need to see how he deals with the protest
:05:07. > :05:11.movements. He has had no option, but to allow it to continue because
:05:11. > :05:14.he con be seen to be clamping down on it ahead of the election. What
:05:14. > :05:18.happens next is really quite important. How he deals with that,
:05:19. > :05:23.but also how the protesters deal with it because if they feel they
:05:23. > :05:27.are not getting their demands, if they feel they are protesting into
:05:27. > :05:32.a black hole and nobody is responding, that could be dangerous
:05:32. > :05:35.for Russia. Also dangerous would be the continuation of the corrupt
:05:35. > :05:42.regime that has grown up around Vladimir Putin which would be very,
:05:42. > :05:46.Syrian forces are reported to have renewed their bombardment of the
:05:46. > :05:48.city of Homs according to anti- government activists. A Red Cross
:05:48. > :05:53.convoy has been prevented for the second day running from entering
:05:53. > :05:56.the Baba Amr area of the city to deliver humanitarian assistance.
:05:56. > :06:04.Meanwhile, the bodies of two foreign journalists killed in Homs
:06:04. > :06:06.nine days ago have been handed to embassy officials in Damascus. The
:06:06. > :06:09.veteran Sunday Times correspondent, Marie Colvin, and the French
:06:09. > :06:11.photographer Remi Ochlik were killed during the attacks on the
:06:11. > :06:14.city. BP has agreed to pay around �5
:06:14. > :06:17.billion in compensation to more than 100,000 people and businesses
:06:17. > :06:21.affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, in one of the biggest
:06:21. > :06:24.settlements of its kind. But it won't bring an end to the costs for
:06:24. > :06:34.BP which is still fighting claims from the US authorities that it was
:06:34. > :06:36.
:06:36. > :06:40.guilty of gross negligence. Robert April 2010, the world's worst off
:06:40. > :06:44.shore oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon explosion which killed
:06:44. > :06:49.eleven people and saw four million barrels of oil leak into the Gulf
:06:49. > :06:54.of Mexico. Almost two years on andle bill for BP just keeps rising.
:06:54. > :06:59.Today, BP announced an out of court settlement with lawyers
:06:59. > :07:03.representing 110,000 businesses and individuals at a cost of �4.9
:07:03. > :07:09.billion, very much at the top end of what BP hoped to pay. That
:07:09. > :07:13.brings to almost �9 billion the sum BP agreed to pay in compensation to
:07:13. > :07:17.people and whose firms whose livelihoods and health have been
:07:17. > :07:24.damaged. It cost BP a similar amount, around �9 billion to cap
:07:24. > :07:26.the leaking well and clean up the mess. It is not the end of the
:07:26. > :07:31.story for Gulf Coast tourism or fishing.
:07:31. > :07:37.Business is off. The people aren't coming in the numbers that they
:07:37. > :07:40.normally do. Of course, it could be the economy. It could be the per
:07:40. > :07:43.perception that this pace is tainted. It is hard to say. But
:07:43. > :07:49.numbers are down, definitely. The fishing is good, but the people
:07:49. > :07:53.just aren't here. Some claim the oil has not all gone
:07:53. > :07:59.yet. Back out over there, you would walk
:07:59. > :08:02.through the marshes and you would pull your boot up and you would see
:08:02. > :08:07.it running off. It is there. It is not the end of litigation
:08:07. > :08:11.against BP which is being sued in New Orleans by the States affected
:08:11. > :08:14.by the environmental disaster and by the US Federal Department of
:08:14. > :08:20.Justice. BP, hotly denies that as a company,
:08:20. > :08:26.it acted criminally or was guilty of gross negligence. If the court
:08:26. > :08:36.takes a different view, the �24 billion that BP set aside to cover
:08:36. > :08:38.the cost of the disaster could turn The Prime Minister has described
:08:38. > :08:42.National Health Service reform as "unavoidable and urgent", saying he
:08:42. > :08:46.doesn't care if the Government, in his words, "takes a hit" over the
:08:46. > :08:49.issue. Speaking at the Conservatives spring forum, David
:08:49. > :08:54.Cameron said there would be no going back on the reforms. What I
:08:54. > :08:59.care about is that what we're doing works to avert that crisis to make
:08:59. > :09:05.the NHS strong enough for the future and that is why we're making
:09:05. > :09:08.what are simple changes. Handing power and choice to patients.
:09:08. > :09:12.Cutting bureaucracy, putting doctors and nurses, not bureaucrats
:09:12. > :09:15.in charge. A Conservative member of the
:09:15. > :09:17.European Parliament has defected to the UK Independence Party. Roger
:09:17. > :09:20.Helmer, who represents the East Midlands, made the announcement
:09:20. > :09:24.ahead of the UKIP spring conference in Lincolnshire where the party
:09:24. > :09:29.Leader, Nigel Farage, attacked the Conservatives position on Europe.
:09:29. > :09:33.The Labour Party frrks Labour Party, from the Lib Dems we hear almost
:09:33. > :09:38.nothing, the most enthusiastic cheerleaders in the European Union,
:09:38. > :09:41.the guys urging the abolition of democracy, the guys urging that
:09:41. > :09:46.anything and everything must be done to preserve a failing euro
:09:46. > :09:48.have, of course, been David Cameron and George Osborne.
:09:48. > :09:51.Emergency workers in eight US States have spent the day searching
:09:51. > :09:57.for survivors after a wave of tornados left at least 35 people
:09:57. > :10:03.dead, and hundreds injured. The storms swept through a wide belt of
:10:03. > :10:05.central and southern states. Kentucky and Indiana were hit
:10:05. > :10:14.hardest with some communities completely flattened. Philippa
:10:14. > :10:18.One of the most powerful tornadoes swept over Indiana.
:10:19. > :10:28.And this is what it left behind. A school bus torn across the road,
:10:29. > :10:29.
:10:29. > :10:32.shunted into a house. Devastating. Devastating. I'm sad
:10:33. > :10:38.to hear. I hope there was no babies on the school bus m.
:10:38. > :10:45.. It seems there wherein. A school was ripped apart by the tornadoes,
:10:45. > :10:52.but the pupils were inharmed. This is the nearby town of Mayor
:10:52. > :10:59.yesesville. It had 1900 residents. This individual co shows another --
:10:59. > :11:02.video. This shows another tornado in the distance. You can hear the
:11:02. > :11:07.sound of the hailstones, some said to be the size of golf balls. The
:11:07. > :11:12.clear-up is underway in Ohio where another wave of tornadoes hit this
:11:12. > :11:21.week and it is not just the weather that is a danger.
:11:21. > :11:31.Our Our cellphones are picking up. Further south, residents were well
:11:31. > :11:35.
:11:35. > :11:41.prepared to ride out the storm. Well, that used to be a mobile home.
:11:41. > :11:51.Last year was one of the deadliest seasons on record.
:11:51. > :11:53.
:11:53. > :11:56.This year, the storms have come Now with the football results and
:11:57. > :11:59.the rest of the sport, here's Amanda Davies It has been a big day
:11:59. > :12:05.in the battle for fourth spot, and Champions League qualification, in
:12:05. > :12:10.the English Premier League. Match of the Day follows the news
:12:10. > :12:12.here on BBC 1, so now's the time to step out of the room if you want to
:12:12. > :12:16.avoid the results. Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas admitted his
:12:16. > :12:25.future is out of his hands after his side were beaten 1-0 by West
:12:25. > :12:28.Brom. It leaves the Blues three points adrift of that all-important
:12:28. > :12:30.European place having won just three of their last 12 Premier
:12:30. > :12:33.League games. It's Arsenal above them after Robin
:12:33. > :12:39.van Persie scored both goals for Arsene Wenger's side to beat
:12:39. > :12:48.Liverpool 2-1. Manchester City opened up a five point gap at the
:12:48. > :12:55.top of the table with a 2-0 win over strugglers Bolton.
:12:55. > :12:58.In Scotland, things don't get any better for Rangers. They were
:12:58. > :13:01.beaten 2-1 by Hearts in what's likely to be their last game as a
:13:01. > :13:04.full squad. Up to 12 players are expected to have their contracts
:13:04. > :13:07.ended on Monday by the administrators. At this moment in
:13:07. > :13:11.time, we're wounded. There is no doubt about it. There is probably
:13:11. > :13:17.one or two people out there enjoying it. Maybe one or two
:13:17. > :13:24.people having a wee fly kick, you know, and I would suggest to them,
:13:24. > :13:28.you can have a right good kick now because we will not be where we are
:13:28. > :13:30.for a long time. Rangers are now 21 points behind
:13:30. > :13:34.SPL leaders Celtic although the Hoops could only draw their match
:13:34. > :13:37.against Aberdeen. Anthony Stokes gave Celtic the lead on 28 minutes,
:13:37. > :13:42.but Aberdeen snatched a draw when Andre Blackman turned the ball into
:13:42. > :13:49.his own net on his debut. It brings Celtic's 17 game winning run in the
:13:49. > :13:55.league to an end. Problems continue for Dunfermline. They were beaten
:13:55. > :13:59.by Motherwell. Andy Murray is looking for his
:13:59. > :14:04.first tournament victory of the year after defeat in the final of
:14:04. > :14:07.the Dubai tennis championship. He admitted he deserved to lose to
:14:07. > :14:17.Roger Federer. Expectations are high for Andy
:14:17. > :14:18.
:14:18. > :14:21.Murray. Usually he is a summer bloomer, but having beaten Novak
:14:21. > :14:27.Djokovic. Roger Federer has been there, seen it and continues to do
:14:27. > :14:31.it. First set to the Swiss. This was turning into an anticlimax from
:14:31. > :14:34.Murray as Federer extended his dominance. He knew Murray doesn't
:14:34. > :14:39.fade away, throwing Federer's procession off course with a break
:14:39. > :14:43.of his own. It was a diversion, not a road
:14:43. > :14:47.block. Federer never seem worried and he wasn't working up too much
:14:47. > :14:51.of a sweat here. He claimed another break and the
:14:51. > :14:57.championship was not far behind. Federer finished in the manner in
:14:57. > :15:03.which he approached the contest. Serving a reminder of Murray of
:15:03. > :15:13.another of the obparticular scales -- obstacles that bar his way to a
:15:13. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:21.Grand Slam. Hahhah scoop Mily secured a spot in
:15:21. > :15:27.the swimming. Friends and family of Frank Carson
:15:27. > :15:30.came together for his funeral in Belfast. The entertainer died last
:15:30. > :15:34.week, aged 85, at his home in Blackpool.
:15:35. > :15:39.For 60 years Frank Carson made people laugh. Today he made them
:15:39. > :15:43.cry. His family and friends gathered in Belfast to say goodbye
:15:43. > :15:47.to the Irish comic described at his funeral as the Prime Minister of
:15:47. > :15:52.Fun. Politicians, broadcasters, sports
:15:52. > :15:55.stars and fellow comedians, came together to remember the king of
:15:55. > :15:59.Belfast's comedy. I had been with him when he told
:15:59. > :16:02.the same joke to different people all day long and nobody laughed
:16:03. > :16:08.louder than me. A great, great ambassador for
:16:08. > :16:14.Northern Ireland. He certainly was. Belfast was infamous for machine
:16:14. > :16:18.gunfire through the years, but with Frank Carson it took on a different
:16:18. > :16:21.meaning. Ratta-tat-tat jokes one after the other.
:16:21. > :16:25.What's the difference between my wife and a terrorist? You can
:16:25. > :16:30.negotiate with a terrorist. What way do you want your money,
:16:30. > :16:38.heads or tails? That's a cracker that one. It's the way I tell them.
:16:38. > :16:43.And that was a cracker too. It was made of flowers inside the the
:16:43. > :16:47.hearse. A final joke on his final journey.
:16:47. > :16:51.The 85-year-old entertainer died last week after a long battle with
:16:51. > :16:55.stomach cancer. After the Catholic funeral service, there was a