:00:24. > :00:29.Good afternoon. Britain has been stripped of its
:00:29. > :00:31.AAA credit rating for the first time in 35 years. The international
:00:31. > :00:35.ratings agency, Moody's downgraded the status because it expects
:00:35. > :00:39.growth to remain sluggish for the next few years. Labour have called
:00:39. > :00:44.it a humiliating blow but the Chancellor, George Osborne, says it
:00:44. > :00:50.has strengthened his resolve to deal with Britain's debt.
:00:50. > :00:58.Are Britain's days as one of the most credit-worthy countries in the
:00:58. > :01:01.world numbered? One rating's agency took await AAamount status which
:01:01. > :01:05.George Osborne had promised to defend before and after the general
:01:05. > :01:08.election. One of the things I'm very keen on doing, putting it
:01:08. > :01:11.mildly, is to preserve Britain's international credit rating. We
:01:11. > :01:16.have a deficit reduction plan which has brought us record low interest
:01:16. > :01:21.rates and earned us the AAA credit rating. But today the Chancellor
:01:21. > :01:25.said the change in Britain's AAA status wouldn't lead him to change
:01:25. > :01:29.his economic policy. I'm absolutely determined to make sure we deal
:01:29. > :01:34.with our problems. To make sure that Britain stays the course. That
:01:34. > :01:40.it doesn't take from this credit rating the wrong message, which is
:01:40. > :01:45.that we should borrow a lot more. Moody's credit rating agency is
:01:45. > :01:50.gloomly predicting that the economy will remain sluggish for much of
:01:50. > :01:55.the rest of the decade while debt levels will stay high but praises
:01:55. > :01:57.Britain's competitiveness and some other major economies such as
:01:57. > :02:01.America and France suffering similar downgrades the Government
:02:01. > :02:04.thinks the UK won't be at too much of an advantage. Because the credit
:02:04. > :02:08.rating has come down a notch doesn't mean the Chancellor is
:02:08. > :02:11.presiding over a Greek-style economic tragedy. For him the
:02:11. > :02:16.damage is far more likely to be political, than economic. His
:02:16. > :02:21.opponents will say he is failing in his own terms and he now has to
:02:21. > :02:27.change direction. He said it would be humiliating to lose AAA. He said
:02:27. > :02:32.fed bigger tax rise and spending cuts he would keep his AAA rating.
:02:32. > :02:36.He and his policy have failed. say the Chancellor has to act
:02:36. > :02:41.faster to get debts down. If you haven't got growth or the tax
:02:41. > :02:45.revenues, you have to look at spending and be a lot, love tougher
:02:45. > :02:49.than they have been to date. credit downgrade isn't an economic
:02:49. > :02:55.disaster but George Osborne's opponents will be hoping it dents
:02:55. > :03:01.his political credibility. A British teenager, who died on a
:03:01. > :03:07.skiing trip in the Italian Alps has been described by her headteacher
:03:07. > :03:11.as "an absolutely lovely student." Poonam Bhattal, 13, was a student
:03:11. > :03:16.at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy. Police in Italy say she fell from a chair
:03:16. > :03:19.lift and they are investigating how it happened. The father of Reeva
:03:19. > :03:24.Steenkamp, has worned Oscar Pistorius that he will have to live
:03:24. > :03:27.with his conscience if he is lying about how he killed her. But, Barry
:03:27. > :03:32.Steenkamp told a South African newspaper that he might be able to
:03:32. > :03:36.forgive the Paralympian in time, if he is telling the truth. The
:03:36. > :03:41.athlete is staying at his unk eel's house since being granted bail
:03:41. > :03:46.yesterday much -- uncle's house. Out on bail, Oscar Pistorius is
:03:46. > :03:49.staying at his unk ales house in Pretoria.
:03:49. > :03:57.Bail officials arriving. His release from custody has divided
:03:57. > :04:03.non-South Africa. This is saying to us to say people can just shoot and
:04:03. > :04:09.be given bail. We hope that the law can have its way later. That's all
:04:09. > :04:19.that has been decided. I don't think he is a risk. After a week of
:04:19. > :04:23.
:04:23. > :04:27.drama in court, Pistorius's family But the gulf between the two
:04:27. > :04:31.families was underlined again today when Reeva's family had this to say
:04:31. > :04:36.about Pistorius. "He will have to live with his conscience, but if he
:04:36. > :04:39.speaks the truth I can perhaps some day forgive him." Oscar Pistorius