09/02/2014 BBC Weekend News

14 new flood warnings. The army pitches in on the Thames - as the

Government apologises for failing to heed warnings about dredging the

Somerset Levels. I am really sorry we took the advice we did, we

thought we were dealing with experts. Aid workers manage to free

hundreds from the city of Homs, despite coming under attack as the

fighting in Syria continues. People off work for more than four weeks

facing medical assessment under new government plans. And historic

success on the snow - the first medal for Great Britain at the

Winter Olympics. Good evening. Flood waters are

rising again - with a new threat to communities along the River Thames.

And rail services to the West Country remain severely disrupted

due to flooding in the Somerset Levels. The Government has

apologised for rejecting advice last year to dredge the rivers there. The

Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, blamed the Environment Agency,

saying ministers were let down by expert advice. This evening, there

are 14 new severe flood warnings in South-East England. Chris Buckler

has the latest. This has become a battle to defend

property. The army have been sent to towns along the River Thames to do

what they can to try to hold back the water. There are now more than a

dozen severe flood warnings in Berkshire and Surrey, which means

there is a danger to life. And it is not just here. In the south-west of

England, communities are feeling cut off, with railway lines closed by

flooding and damaged by the weather. While trains on some services are

running again, there are many, many passengers who are facing

potentially gay is of disruption. It has affected my journey quite badly.

-- days of disruption. I was supposed to leave at five past nine,

but we did not leave until 25 to ten. Then I had to move on to a

different bus. Memory many families who call the Somerset Levels their

homes still cannot reach their houses. This land has flooded

before, and the Government was warned six months ago by farmers

about the dangers posed by heavy rain and overflowing rivers. They

have been facing serious questions about why they failed to take

action. We made a mistake, there is no doubt about it. We perhaps relied

too much on the advice of the Environment Agency. I think we now

recognise that we should have dredged. Amid a very political storm

over who is to blame, the Environment Agency says it is

putting all of its energy into preparing for what is still to come.

On the Dorset coast, beaches have been transformed into building

zones. You can see the long lines of boulders and rocks which are being

put in place to try to hold back the high tide. All of this is needed to

prevent flooding. And no one here needs reminding that the storms are

forecast to return. Along these sandbagged streets in Portland,

families have spent the last week fighting to keep their homes drive.

Karen Anderson's restaurant sits just on the other side of the sea

wall. We have had sea defences built for 15 years now, metal, encasing

the stones, to stop the sea coming in. But those are wrecked, bent and

twisted, so it is just amazing, the force of the waves. You cannot keep

that at bay. It might not feel like it to some people, but today was a

respite from the worst of the weather. But with rivers again

topping over, and the threat of more storms, this has become a fight

against the extremes of the elements.

A delegation of experts from the Netherlands is in London to advise

our government on long-term measures to prevent flooding. The Dutch have

long experience of dealing with the threat of rising water levels - and

their annual budget for what they call water management is five times

that of the UK. Jeremy Cooke reports.

How do you protect a storm battered coastline? One option is to do this.

While Britain's coasts are pounded into submission, in Holland, they

are moving mountain to stay safe. They have shifted the entire beach

100 metres out to sea, creating this massive new leather egg, and they

will cover the whole thing with 2.5 million cubic metres of sand. It is

all designed to withstand a storm surge which may come just once in

every 10,000 years. It is a serious business. 1953's massive North Sea

tidal surge inundated the country. 1800 lives were lost, and they vowed

that it would never happen again. The challenge is huge. Here, entire

communities are lying beneath the surrounding rivers and canals. This

man saw our pictures of the Somerset Levels. When you look around in this

area, everywhere, the dikes are made stronger, to hold the water. Maybe

there is a lesson for Somerset? Yes, I cannot believe people can let the

situation go for so long, so bad. The Dutch are fixing flooding with

technology and hard graft. Here, they are re-establishing meanders in

the river, we cutting the course as it was decades ago, to help slow the

flow. First of all, my sympathy is with the people that are facing

these troubles now and again and again. But yes indeed, I do feel a

sense of pride that in the Netherlands, since 1953, we have not

had a major disaster catastrophe, neither from the scene or from the

rivers. Dutch experience shows the UK that much can be done to

effectively control flood risk. The question for Britain is whether the

undoubted benefits would justify the huge costs.

Let's speak to our political correspondent Vicki Young, who is in

Westminster, where the Government's COBRA emergency committee are

currently meeting. This issue really is becoming increasingly political,

isn't it? What is under special and there tonight? The Prime Minister

yet again chairing another emergency meeting on the floods. I think

they're in immediate concern tonight will be what is happening along the

River Thames, and of course, action is being taken, with more bad

weather on the way. I think what we can say is that the blame game is

firmly under way, with that intervention from Eric Pickles,

apologising for not dredging in Somerset, but putting the blame

firmly at the door of the Environment Agency, effectively

questioning their expertise on all of this. This is an organisation

which has been working flat out for the last couple of months, with

unprecedented weather conditions. They would point out that their

budget has been cut, and that in the end, it is always about priorities.

I think there is a broader question for governments of all colours about

just how much we want to spend on flood defences in this country, with

the situation apparently getting worse. Ministers have to make those

decisions regarding priorities every day.

Aid workers have managed to rescue hundreds of civilians from the

besieged city of Homs in Syria. The United Nations is using armoured

vehicles to get people out, after a convoy yesterday came under mortar

fire. Aid workers have also been taking in food and medical supplies.

Paul Wood reports. Terrified civilians make their way out of the

besieged city of Homs. They have been trapped there for almost two

years. They can get out now because there is a cease-fire brokered by

the UN. Mortar bombs start to fall. People scatter, running to hide in

the shattered buildings close to the front line. Some had to abandon

their few possessions in the streets. This is a rebel held area.

People here say the firing can only be coming from the regime side,

though the Syrian government denies it. One theory is that

pro-government delicious, rather than the Syrian army, are to blame.

-- delicious. The UN brokered a cease-fire so that it could get in,

as well as get people out. Yesterday, mortars fell close to a

Red Crescent convoy. Some trucks had to turn back. Only two vehicles made

it in. They had just 250 food parcels for as many as 2000 people.

Aid workers found themselves trapped alongside the people they had come

to help. They took shelter for several hours, as the barrage

continued. One senior UN official called it a day in hell. It was just

a glimpse of what the civilians of Homs have two enjoyed every day. --

have to go through every day. This is a version of events from the

pro-government television station. The father says rebel fighters have

been seizing any humanitarian aid for themselves. The Syrian

government and opposition are gathering in Geneva to resume their

peace talks. The cease-fire in Homs was supposed to have been a

confidence building measure as part of that process. But as so often in

Syria, a cease-fire is something which exists in name only.

Workers who are ill for more than four weeks will be referred for a

health assessment, under a new government scheme. Department for

Work and Pensions believes the plan, which covers England, Scotland and

Wales, will save employers and ?70 million a year. Unions say it could

put people under pressure to return to work too early. Joe Lynam

reports. More than 30 million people are working in Britain today. The

Government says that as many as 1 million of them might be off work

with long-term sickness, and it wants to nudge some of them back

into the workplace. When you are poorly, we know that if you are off

for more than four weeks, it is highly likely to be long-term

sickness, and you might lose your job. So, it is bringing the health

experts together so that we can look at why you have been off sick. The

Government is setting up a new, privately run body this year, which

will be staffed by DRS and specialists in workplace health.

Sick workers could be referred to the agency by their employers, but

it would not be compulsory. Despite that, some are worried that

employers could put undue pressure on poorly staffed to return

prematurely to the workplace. We support anything which might help

people get back to work when they are ill. But the focus on this

service should really about getting people better, as opposed to simply

getting them back to work. Those two things are not necessarily the same.

Some long-term illnesses are less obvious to spot and cure. Almost

half of all long-term sick people are suffering from mental health

issues, such as depression, still a taboo subject for many in the

workplace. It is critically important that people who are

suffering from mental health issues are prepared to admit it, because

they are not going to change the culture of the organisation and

change the stigma, unless they do so. We are getting senior bankers,

chief executives of companies, going off because of stress and

depression. It is important that that happens, that they make it

public and do not try to hide it. Unemployment is coming down, as are

the Britain has one of the lowest sickness rates in Europe. Getting

the long-term sick act into the workforce is a win-win situation for

the economy. But the challenge is to do it in a synthetic and

unpressurised way, which benefits both employers and staff. Barclays

Bank says it is investigating claims that the personal details of

thousands of customers have been stolen and sold. The bank says it is

contacting the customers affected. It came to light after a

whistle-blower gave a Sunday newspaper a memory stick containing

personal details. An attempt to save a young, healthy,

giraffe from destruction at Copenhagen Zoo has failed.

Two-year-old Marius was put down earlier today despite an online

campaign to save him and offers from other zoos to take him. Managers at

the zoo said they had to kill him because of rules to avoid

in-breeding. His carcass was then fed to lions as visitors watched.

A 33-year old snowboarder made history for Great Britain today.

Jenny Jones, from Bristol, won bronze in the dramatic slopestyle

competition, giving the British team not only its first medal of the

Sochi Olympics, but its first ever medal on snow. Our sports

correspondent Andy Swiss reports from Sochi.

She is the new Snow Queen of British sport, Jenny Jones, the woman who

ended a 19 year wait in a flash of breathtaking brilliance. The former

chalet maid from Bristol has long been a trailblazing snowboarder, but

this is the first time her event has been included in the Games, and she

gave the performance of her life. What a run from Jenny Jones. She has

waited her whole career for this. The question now is, will that be

good enough? After a nerve shredding wait for her and her watching

parents, this was the answer. Yes! She was in gold medal position, but

could she hang on? She slipped down to third, but when the last rider

tumbled, a medal was hers, Britain's first on snow in Olympic history. I

just cannot believe it, I was just waiting, I knew I was going to drop

down, I just did not know how far. Oh, I God, I am just so happy right

now. And then, the sweetest of Family Reunion 's. For mum and dad,

as for her, it was something which almost defies belief. We have got

loads of mountains round Bristol! From the dry ski slopes at

Gloucester, to this. You would not believe it. Unbelievable, isn't it

in no so, a first medal for Britain, Jenny Jones, a happy and history

making staff. That's all for now. I will be back

with