22/12/2013 BBC Weekend News

David Cameron calls the death of the British doctor who died in a Syrian

jail a sickening tragedy. As Abbas Khan's body is flown back

to the UK, the Prime Minister tells his family the regime should be held

to account. With ten days to go until employment

restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians are lifted, the Business

Secretary says the Conservatives are panicking on immigration because of

UKIP. How extreme weather could hit the

Christmas getaway - gales and high winds are forecast for many areas

tomorrow. And England are caught in a spin as

bowler Graham Swann announces he's retiring.

Good evening. The Prime Minister has called for

the Syrian regime to be answerable for the death of a British surgeon

in Damascus last week. In a letter to the mother of Abbas Khan that's

just been made public, David Cameron said the doctor was despicably

treated by the Syrian authorities and that his death after over a year

in custody was a sickening tragedy. Today the body was flown back to the

UK, where a postmortem will be carried out. Jonathan Blake reports.

Abbas Khan, a father of two children and a surgeon who died in a Syrian

prison just days before he was due to be released. In a personal letter

written two days ago now released by his family, the Prime Minister

extended his sympathy and said he knows from his own experience of

losing a child but words are of little comfort. David Cameron goes

on to describe the death as a sickening and appalling tragedy

which the Syrian regime should answer for. Soon after Abbas Khan's

body arrived back in the UK this morning, through his mother's greet

was a clear determination to find out how he died. -- grief. I don't

know why on his release day they killed my son. I want answers.

Fatima Khan spent five months in Syria working to free her son. She

filmed this footage on her mobile phone, and while in the country

appeal to several foreign embassies for help. India didn't want to

help. They said, no, you are British, we don't want to help. The

Russian Embassy said you are British, we are not going to help

you. The Foreign Office have said Abbas Khan was in effect murdered by

the Syrian authorities, but the surgeon's family are frustrated with

what they see as a lack of help from the British government. We have

received letters from the Prime Minister who has said he is going to

help us get answers but nothing has been said as to how they are going

to do this and when. Abbas Khan's body has been taken to a coroner's

of this and a postmortem will be carried out tomorrow. After that,

family segment their priority is lay his body to rest. -- after that, the

family say, their priority is to lay his body to rest. Lyse Doucet met

the family in Lebanon. What do you make of the way the government are

dealing with this? Judging from the family has said, they felt

completely abandoned. They felt forsaken. The mother, Fatima, said

she knocked on every door she could in Damascus, and in Damascus, Syria

and officials said the only person who did something for him was her

mother. The letter from David Cameron says that behind-the-scenes

they were doing more than the family suggested. The family says they did

nothing. David Cameron says the Syrian Embassy refused to engage. Is

he now telling us they did more than the family knew, or is this an

attempt to varnish the situation so Britain is not accused of washing

their hands of the case? Divisions within the government over

EU immigration are becoming more entrenched, with the Business

Secretary Vince Cable accusing the Conservatives of being in a panic on

the issue because of UKIP. His comments come ten days before

restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians working in the UK are

lifted. Today the Bulgarian President warned that tougher

immigration rules risked isolating Britain. This report from our

political correspondent, Chris Mason.

Ten days and counting until we all need a new talent -- Callander on

until the lifting of restrictions. From January the 1st, people here in

Bulgaria and Romania can impact airbags, moved to the UK and look

for work. The government has changed the rules to prevent migrants from

claiming out of work benefits for their first three months here, but

this change, and some of the language used in discussing

immigration, has irritated the president of Bulgaria. In an

interview with the Observer, he says there is a danger of isolating

Britain and damaging Britain's reputation. Immigration, he claims,

is good for the UK. You guys are making a profit out of this. Keep it

like that. Enter the Lib Dem Cabinet minister, Vince cable, who is not

afraid of sounding off about the Conservatives. We sometimes get

these panics in the UK. I remember going back to Enoch Powell and

rivers of blood. They were panics of the Jewish immigrants from Eastern

Europe. The responsibility of politicians in this situation is to

reassure people and to give them facts. No word from the Prime

Minister today but he was in Brussels on Friday and said no --

further changes will be needed if other countries joined the EU in

future. As we contemplate countries like Serbia or Albania one-day

joining the EU, we must find a way to slow down access to each other's

Labour market until we are sure this will not cause vast migrations. Did

big picture here is the rise of the UKIP and the jostling the head of

the European elections. -- the big picture.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil tycoon released by President

Putin after ten years in jail, has said he will do all he can to help

secure freedom for political prisoners. But, speaking in Germany,

Mr Khodorkovsky said he would not return to Moscow unless he received

guarantees he could leave. From Berlin, Daniel Sandford sent this

report, which contains some flash photography.

Stepping back into the limelight today, the Russian oligarch who

became the country's most famous political prisoner. In his first

public appearance since his surprise release, he described the moment

when he heard he would be freed. TRANSLATION: It was 2am when the

head of the prison woke me up and told me I was going home. Then, only

during the journey, was I told I was going to Berlin. He had spent ten

years in prison, ostensibly for fraud and money-laundering. But many

believe he was there because President Putin ordered it. Do you

intend to return to Russia or US actively in textile? Are you

encouraging people to go to the Saatchi Winter Olympics? The

President's spokesman says nobody is stopping me returning to Russia.

Right now I have no guarantee I would be able to leave again if I

needed to. Speaking about the Olympics, it is a festival of

sport, a celebration for millions. Let's not spoil it. On the other

hand, it shouldn't be a party for one man, President Putin. For a man

who has been in jail for ten years, he was calm, moderate and without

anger. His main concern was the other political prisoners who have

been left behind. Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once Russia's

richest man. He made his money in oil and banking in the unscrupulous

1990s. He had the ear of President Yeltsin. But when President Putin

came to power, he became a fierce critic of the corruption surrounding

the Kremlin. The two men fell out, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky ended up in

prison. Today, he said he would not be returning to Russian politics,

and symbolically drove through the famous checkpoint Charlie, once a

key crossing in the Berlin Wall. There are warnings that the

transport network could be badly hit in the run up to Christmas with

severe gales and heavy rain forecast for tomorrow. Drivers heading to

parts of Scotland, Wales and England are being told they could face

difficult conditions and train operators have urging customers to

travel earlier if they can. Ben Ando is at Euston rail station.

It is becoming something of a not very festive tradition. This year,

the threat is a storm heading this way from the Atlantic Ocean. Eight

weeks ago, parts of Britain were brought to a standstill by the storm

St Jude. Network Rail cancelled trains and there were problems for

air and road travellers. Nobody is suggesting to my's weather will be

as bad. But there are warnings about this option. -- tomorrow's weather.

For many people, the railways are the best option. Operators say

tickets dated for travel tomorrow will be accepted today. Tomorrow we

plan to travel at 4.30. Apparently that will be the worst time. The

problem is a huge depression heading to the south coast of England from

the Atlantic. It is expected to cause high winds of up to 70 mph in

southern England and southern Wales. The Environment Agency has issued

six flood warnings. On the roads, the risk to cars and lorries is also

considerable. The Highways Agency says its website has invented for

driving safely in deteriorating conditions. The AA says people

should plan their journeys. And for those jetting off for the Christmas

break, air travel is not immune. So far, no flights have been cancelled

due to the weather, but Heathrow is urging passengers flying tomorrow to

check airline websites before setting out. Tomorrow could be

something of a double whammy. Many people are working normally, so they

will be regular commuters alongside Christmas travellers. That is why

companies are lifting restrictions to allow people to tell this evening

or tomorrow evening if they can. -- to travel.

The Metropolitan Police says it's reviewing Nigella Lawson's admission

that she took cocaine. The TV chef told the fraud trial of two former

personal assistants that she had taken the drug, but was not a

habitual user. Scotland Yard had said it wouldn't take any action,

but now officers said a specialist team would examine all the evidence

emerging. Northern Ireland's main political

parties have been given revised proposals on how to deal with

parades, flags and the past. They were drawn up by the former US

diplomat Richard Haass, who is chairing talks on how to resolve the

contentious issues. Chris Page is in Belfast. What is the suggestion as

to how the issue should be beguiled with? These are the issues left over

from the other negotiations over the years in Northern Ireland. The

American diplomat has been meeting the political parties for the next

few months. Now we are on to endgame. He said his latest

proposals to the party this afternoon. They have not been made

public. But it is thought he had come up with a new idea on the main

issue which is flagged. It is an issue that still has the potential

to cause street violence in Northern Ireland. The year ago, there were

loyalist protests after councillors voted to restrict the flying of the

Union flag at Belfast City Hall. There has been more potential for

agreement on parading and the issue of Northern Ireland's past. Flags

have been that the problem. Sources have said that the diplomat has

suggested there should be a new process to look specifically at the

issue of flags. The parties will negotiate around the table tomorrow

morning, not for the first time looking like it will go up to the

deadline. There are fears that South Sudan is

heading towards civil war, with the UN Secretary General, Ban-ki-Moon,

calling for both sides to find a political way out of the crisis. The

country has been in turmoil since President Salva Kiir accused his

former vice-president of attempting a coup last week. At least 500

people have been killed since the fighting began, with the government

struggling to keep control of the capital, Juba.

With all the sport, here's Olly Foster at the BBC Sports Centre.

Good evening. There were two matches in the Premier League. Everton are

up to fourth after beating Swansea 2-1 with two brilliant goals. It was

ever-0 at half-time. It was Everton's first. Swansea pulled one

back until this late free kick. They are now just two points behind

Liverpool. The other match was at St Mary's, where Tottenham beat

Southampton 3-2. Tim Sherwood will have talks about his future

tomorrow. Cardiff City Stadium manager, Malky Mackay, will stay in

charge for the foreseeable future. The owner gave him an ultimatum

earlier in the week to resign or get sacked. He was in charge for their

defeat yesterday, but a club statement today said the crisis for

the time being is over. Graeme Swann says he can't justify his place in

the England team and has retired from all cricket. There are still

two tests to play in Australia with the Ashes loss. But he says the time

is right to stand down. Dan Roan is in Melbourne.

You may have thought England's Ashes campaign couldn't get any worse, but

today, Graeme Swann made a shock announcement. The tourists would

have to rebuild without him. I was hoping to win the Ashes out here

again. With the Ashes gone, personally I think to stay on and

selfishly played just to experience another Boxing Day Sydney test match

would be wrong. Graeme Swann was integral to England. He was six in

his country's all-time list for wickets. A natural on and off the

pitch, he was as popular as he was prolific. But this series had not

been as much fun, and, having struggled with injury and form, he

decided he had had enough. The iconic Boxing Day test match here at

the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground was meant to be a pivotal

fixture in this Ashes series. Instead it has become crucial for

England for very different reasons. They are trying to recover from what

has become a very ill-fated tour. The wheels are off from the England

perspective. Looking at the series, they are 3-0 down. You have now got

one of the top three England spinners of all-time retiring. Monty

Panesar must now step at -- up as England step into a period of

transition. Gloucester wanted a's match in rugby

you's premiership. At the start was delayed after the pre-match

entertainment involving two giant inflatable balls saw one of the

crossbars become dislodged. Ground staff took half an hour to fix it

before play could finally get under way. That is all the sport.

There's more throughout the evening on the BBC