:00:15. > :00:19.14 new flood warnings. The army pitches in on the Thames - as the
:00:20. > :00:26.Government apologises for failing to heed warnings about dredging the
:00:27. > :00:29.Somerset Levels. I am really sorry we took the advice we did, we
:00:30. > :00:35.thought we were dealing with experts. Aid workers manage to free
:00:36. > :00:42.hundreds from the city of Homs, despite coming under attack as the
:00:43. > :00:45.fighting in Syria continues. People off work for more than four weeks
:00:46. > :00:50.facing medical assessment under new government plans. And historic
:00:51. > :00:51.success on the snow - the first medal for Great Britain at the
:00:52. > :01:13.Winter Olympics. Good evening. Flood waters are
:01:14. > :01:18.rising again - with a new threat to communities along the River Thames.
:01:19. > :01:20.And rail services to the West Country remain severely disrupted
:01:21. > :01:25.due to flooding in the Somerset Levels. The Government has
:01:26. > :01:30.apologised for rejecting advice last year to dredge the rivers there. The
:01:31. > :01:32.Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, blamed the Environment Agency,
:01:33. > :01:39.saying ministers were let down by expert advice. This evening, there
:01:40. > :01:41.are 14 new severe flood warnings in South-East England. Chris Buckler
:01:42. > :01:56.has the latest. This has become a battle to defend
:01:57. > :02:00.property. The army have been sent to towns along the River Thames to do
:02:01. > :02:06.what they can to try to hold back the water. There are now more than a
:02:07. > :02:08.dozen severe flood warnings in Berkshire and Surrey, which means
:02:09. > :02:14.there is a danger to life. And it is not just here. In the south-west of
:02:15. > :02:19.England, communities are feeling cut off, with railway lines closed by
:02:20. > :02:23.flooding and damaged by the weather. While trains on some services are
:02:24. > :02:28.running again, there are many, many passengers who are facing
:02:29. > :02:35.potentially gay is of disruption. It has affected my journey quite badly.
:02:36. > :02:39.-- days of disruption. I was supposed to leave at five past nine,
:02:40. > :02:48.but we did not leave until 25 to ten. Then I had to move on to a
:02:49. > :02:51.different bus. Memory many families who call the Somerset Levels their
:02:52. > :02:55.homes still cannot reach their houses. This land has flooded
:02:56. > :02:58.before, and the Government was warned six months ago by farmers
:02:59. > :03:02.about the dangers posed by heavy rain and overflowing rivers. They
:03:03. > :03:06.have been facing serious questions about why they failed to take
:03:07. > :03:10.action. We made a mistake, there is no doubt about it. We perhaps relied
:03:11. > :03:15.too much on the advice of the Environment Agency. I think we now
:03:16. > :03:24.recognise that we should have dredged. Amid a very political storm
:03:25. > :03:28.over who is to blame, the Environment Agency says it is
:03:29. > :03:34.putting all of its energy into preparing for what is still to come.
:03:35. > :03:40.On the Dorset coast, beaches have been transformed into building
:03:41. > :03:43.zones. You can see the long lines of boulders and rocks which are being
:03:44. > :03:49.put in place to try to hold back the high tide. All of this is needed to
:03:50. > :03:58.prevent flooding. And no one here needs reminding that the storms are
:03:59. > :04:01.forecast to return. Along these sandbagged streets in Portland,
:04:02. > :04:07.families have spent the last week fighting to keep their homes drive.
:04:08. > :04:11.Karen Anderson's restaurant sits just on the other side of the sea
:04:12. > :04:17.wall. We have had sea defences built for 15 years now, metal, encasing
:04:18. > :04:22.the stones, to stop the sea coming in. But those are wrecked, bent and
:04:23. > :04:29.twisted, so it is just amazing, the force of the waves. You cannot keep
:04:30. > :04:32.that at bay. It might not feel like it to some people, but today was a
:04:33. > :04:36.respite from the worst of the weather. But with rivers again
:04:37. > :04:40.topping over, and the threat of more storms, this has become a fight
:04:41. > :04:42.against the extremes of the elements.
:04:43. > :04:46.A delegation of experts from the Netherlands is in London to advise
:04:47. > :04:49.our government on long-term measures to prevent flooding. The Dutch have
:04:50. > :04:52.long experience of dealing with the threat of rising water levels - and
:04:53. > :04:57.their annual budget for what they call water management is five times
:04:58. > :05:07.that of the UK. Jeremy Cooke reports.
:05:08. > :05:16.How do you protect a storm battered coastline? One option is to do this.
:05:17. > :05:20.While Britain's coasts are pounded into submission, in Holland, they
:05:21. > :05:26.are moving mountain to stay safe. They have shifted the entire beach
:05:27. > :05:31.100 metres out to sea, creating this massive new leather egg, and they
:05:32. > :05:37.will cover the whole thing with 2.5 million cubic metres of sand. It is
:05:38. > :05:41.all designed to withstand a storm surge which may come just once in
:05:42. > :05:53.every 10,000 years. It is a serious business. 1953's massive North Sea
:05:54. > :06:00.tidal surge inundated the country. 1800 lives were lost, and they vowed
:06:01. > :06:04.that it would never happen again. The challenge is huge. Here, entire
:06:05. > :06:12.communities are lying beneath the surrounding rivers and canals. This
:06:13. > :06:20.man saw our pictures of the Somerset Levels. When you look around in this
:06:21. > :06:25.area, everywhere, the dikes are made stronger, to hold the water. Maybe
:06:26. > :06:35.there is a lesson for Somerset? Yes, I cannot believe people can let the
:06:36. > :06:42.situation go for so long, so bad. The Dutch are fixing flooding with
:06:43. > :06:46.technology and hard graft. Here, they are re-establishing meanders in
:06:47. > :06:52.the river, we cutting the course as it was decades ago, to help slow the
:06:53. > :06:56.flow. First of all, my sympathy is with the people that are facing
:06:57. > :06:59.these troubles now and again and again. But yes indeed, I do feel a
:07:00. > :07:08.sense of pride that in the Netherlands, since 1953, we have not
:07:09. > :07:12.had a major disaster catastrophe, neither from the scene or from the
:07:13. > :07:16.rivers. Dutch experience shows the UK that much can be done to
:07:17. > :07:20.effectively control flood risk. The question for Britain is whether the
:07:21. > :07:25.undoubted benefits would justify the huge costs.
:07:26. > :07:29.Let's speak to our political correspondent Vicki Young, who is in
:07:30. > :07:35.Westminster, where the Government's COBRA emergency committee are
:07:36. > :07:38.currently meeting. This issue really is becoming increasingly political,
:07:39. > :07:44.isn't it? What is under special and there tonight? The Prime Minister
:07:45. > :07:47.yet again chairing another emergency meeting on the floods. I think
:07:48. > :07:51.they're in immediate concern tonight will be what is happening along the
:07:52. > :07:55.River Thames, and of course, action is being taken, with more bad
:07:56. > :08:00.weather on the way. I think what we can say is that the blame game is
:08:01. > :08:04.firmly under way, with that intervention from Eric Pickles,
:08:05. > :08:07.apologising for not dredging in Somerset, but putting the blame
:08:08. > :08:10.firmly at the door of the Environment Agency, effectively
:08:11. > :08:13.questioning their expertise on all of this. This is an organisation
:08:14. > :08:16.which has been working flat out for the last couple of months, with
:08:17. > :08:20.unprecedented weather conditions. They would point out that their
:08:21. > :08:24.budget has been cut, and that in the end, it is always about priorities.
:08:25. > :08:28.I think there is a broader question for governments of all colours about
:08:29. > :08:32.just how much we want to spend on flood defences in this country, with
:08:33. > :08:36.the situation apparently getting worse. Ministers have to make those
:08:37. > :08:44.decisions regarding priorities every day.
:08:45. > :08:48.Aid workers have managed to rescue hundreds of civilians from the
:08:49. > :08:51.besieged city of Homs in Syria. The United Nations is using armoured
:08:52. > :08:54.vehicles to get people out, after a convoy yesterday came under mortar
:08:55. > :09:01.fire. Aid workers have also been taking in food and medical supplies.
:09:02. > :09:05.Paul Wood reports. Terrified civilians make their way out of the
:09:06. > :09:09.besieged city of Homs. They have been trapped there for almost two
:09:10. > :09:16.years. They can get out now because there is a cease-fire brokered by
:09:17. > :09:21.the UN. Mortar bombs start to fall. People scatter, running to hide in
:09:22. > :09:27.the shattered buildings close to the front line. Some had to abandon
:09:28. > :09:31.their few possessions in the streets. This is a rebel held area.
:09:32. > :09:35.People here say the firing can only be coming from the regime side,
:09:36. > :09:38.though the Syrian government denies it. One theory is that
:09:39. > :09:44.pro-government delicious, rather than the Syrian army, are to blame.
:09:45. > :09:49.-- delicious. The UN brokered a cease-fire so that it could get in,
:09:50. > :09:53.as well as get people out. Yesterday, mortars fell close to a
:09:54. > :10:00.Red Crescent convoy. Some trucks had to turn back. Only two vehicles made
:10:01. > :10:08.it in. They had just 250 food parcels for as many as 2000 people.
:10:09. > :10:11.Aid workers found themselves trapped alongside the people they had come
:10:12. > :10:16.to help. They took shelter for several hours, as the barrage
:10:17. > :10:22.continued. One senior UN official called it a day in hell. It was just
:10:23. > :10:29.a glimpse of what the civilians of Homs have two enjoyed every day. --
:10:30. > :10:33.have to go through every day. This is a version of events from the
:10:34. > :10:39.pro-government television station. The father says rebel fighters have
:10:40. > :10:42.been seizing any humanitarian aid for themselves. The Syrian
:10:43. > :10:48.government and opposition are gathering in Geneva to resume their
:10:49. > :10:52.peace talks. The cease-fire in Homs was supposed to have been a
:10:53. > :10:55.confidence building measure as part of that process. But as so often in
:10:56. > :11:02.Syria, a cease-fire is something which exists in name only.
:11:03. > :11:07.Workers who are ill for more than four weeks will be referred for a
:11:08. > :11:11.health assessment, under a new government scheme. Department for
:11:12. > :11:16.Work and Pensions believes the plan, which covers England, Scotland and
:11:17. > :11:19.Wales, will save employers and ?70 million a year. Unions say it could
:11:20. > :11:26.put people under pressure to return to work too early. Joe Lynam
:11:27. > :11:29.reports. More than 30 million people are working in Britain today. The
:11:30. > :11:32.Government says that as many as 1 million of them might be off work
:11:33. > :11:37.with long-term sickness, and it wants to nudge some of them back
:11:38. > :11:41.into the workplace. When you are poorly, we know that if you are off
:11:42. > :11:44.for more than four weeks, it is highly likely to be long-term
:11:45. > :11:50.sickness, and you might lose your job. So, it is bringing the health
:11:51. > :11:53.experts together so that we can look at why you have been off sick. The
:11:54. > :11:58.Government is setting up a new, privately run body this year, which
:11:59. > :12:02.will be staffed by DRS and specialists in workplace health.
:12:03. > :12:08.Sick workers could be referred to the agency by their employers, but
:12:09. > :12:12.it would not be compulsory. Despite that, some are worried that
:12:13. > :12:15.employers could put undue pressure on poorly staffed to return
:12:16. > :12:18.prematurely to the workplace. We support anything which might help
:12:19. > :12:22.people get back to work when they are ill. But the focus on this
:12:23. > :12:26.service should really about getting people better, as opposed to simply
:12:27. > :12:30.getting them back to work. Those two things are not necessarily the same.
:12:31. > :12:35.Some long-term illnesses are less obvious to spot and cure. Almost
:12:36. > :12:39.half of all long-term sick people are suffering from mental health
:12:40. > :12:43.issues, such as depression, still a taboo subject for many in the
:12:44. > :12:47.workplace. It is critically important that people who are
:12:48. > :12:50.suffering from mental health issues are prepared to admit it, because
:12:51. > :12:53.they are not going to change the culture of the organisation and
:12:54. > :12:59.change the stigma, unless they do so. We are getting senior bankers,
:13:00. > :13:02.chief executives of companies, going off because of stress and
:13:03. > :13:07.depression. It is important that that happens, that they make it
:13:08. > :13:12.public and do not try to hide it. Unemployment is coming down, as are
:13:13. > :13:16.the Britain has one of the lowest sickness rates in Europe. Getting
:13:17. > :13:19.the long-term sick act into the workforce is a win-win situation for
:13:20. > :13:23.the economy. But the challenge is to do it in a synthetic and
:13:24. > :13:32.unpressurised way, which benefits both employers and staff. Barclays
:13:33. > :13:36.Bank says it is investigating claims that the personal details of
:13:37. > :13:39.thousands of customers have been stolen and sold. The bank says it is
:13:40. > :13:43.contacting the customers affected. It came to light after a
:13:44. > :13:44.whistle-blower gave a Sunday newspaper a memory stick containing
:13:45. > :13:49.personal details. An attempt to save a young, healthy,
:13:50. > :13:51.giraffe from destruction at Copenhagen Zoo has failed.
:13:52. > :13:54.Two-year-old Marius was put down earlier today despite an online
:13:55. > :13:58.campaign to save him and offers from other zoos to take him. Managers at
:13:59. > :14:02.the zoo said they had to kill him because of rules to avoid
:14:03. > :14:12.in-breeding. His carcass was then fed to lions as visitors watched.
:14:13. > :14:16.A 33-year old snowboarder made history for Great Britain today.
:14:17. > :14:18.Jenny Jones, from Bristol, won bronze in the dramatic slopestyle
:14:19. > :14:22.competition, giving the British team not only its first medal of the
:14:23. > :14:24.Sochi Olympics, but its first ever medal on snow. Our sports
:14:25. > :14:37.correspondent Andy Swiss reports from Sochi.
:14:38. > :14:46.She is the new Snow Queen of British sport, Jenny Jones, the woman who
:14:47. > :14:50.ended a 19 year wait in a flash of breathtaking brilliance. The former
:14:51. > :14:53.chalet maid from Bristol has long been a trailblazing snowboarder, but
:14:54. > :15:03.this is the first time her event has been included in the Games, and she
:15:04. > :15:07.gave the performance of her life. What a run from Jenny Jones. She has
:15:08. > :15:12.waited her whole career for this. The question now is, will that be
:15:13. > :15:21.good enough? After a nerve shredding wait for her and her watching
:15:22. > :15:26.parents, this was the answer. Yes! She was in gold medal position, but
:15:27. > :15:31.could she hang on? She slipped down to third, but when the last rider
:15:32. > :15:36.tumbled, a medal was hers, Britain's first on snow in Olympic history. I
:15:37. > :15:41.just cannot believe it, I was just waiting, I knew I was going to drop
:15:42. > :15:48.down, I just did not know how far. Oh, I God, I am just so happy right
:15:49. > :15:54.now. And then, the sweetest of Family Reunion 's. For mum and dad,
:15:55. > :16:03.as for her, it was something which almost defies belief. We have got
:16:04. > :16:06.loads of mountains round Bristol! From the dry ski slopes at
:16:07. > :16:12.Gloucester, to this. You would not believe it. Unbelievable, isn't it
:16:13. > :16:14.in no so, a first medal for Britain, Jenny Jones, a happy and history
:16:15. > :16:22.making staff. That's all for now. I will be back
:16:23. > :16:23.with