:00:13. > :00:23.Secretary pledges troops will check all flood defences for damage. I
:00:24. > :00:28.think that is the important thing for people to remember. This series
:00:29. > :00:32.of weather events over the last two months has caused some quite serious
:00:33. > :00:35.damage to our infrastructure. The SNP dismisses claims it might be
:00:36. > :00:40.impossible for an independent Scotland to join the European Union.
:00:41. > :00:42.And hopes are riding high on British talent to triumph in tonight's
:00:43. > :01:04.BAFTAs. Good afternoon. The Defence
:01:05. > :01:07.Secretary Philip Hammond says the Army will carry out a rapid
:01:08. > :01:10.inspection of the nation's flood defences to assess the damage left
:01:11. > :01:15.by the recent flooding. He also defended the Government's handling
:01:16. > :01:19.of the crisis. It comes as much of England and Wales is in danger of
:01:20. > :01:22.further flooding, despite a break in the long spell of rain and stormy
:01:23. > :01:36.weather. Our correspondent Jon Brain is in Chertsey.
:01:37. > :01:39.Some rare good news from here, it is dry, sunny, and most important the
:01:40. > :01:45.floodwaters are beginning to recede, flowing out of people 's
:01:46. > :01:50.homes across that flooded field and back into the River Thames, but of
:01:51. > :01:53.course despite that, big problems remain here and across much of the
:01:54. > :02:00.country. A sunny suburban Sunday, but life in
:02:01. > :02:05.Chertsey is still a long way from normality. The continuing presence
:02:06. > :02:09.of the military and the emergency services, an indication that this
:02:10. > :02:16.town is still in the grip of a crisis. For nine days now, Simon
:02:17. > :02:21.Smith has been pumping out his waterlogged homes. Here's hoping
:02:22. > :02:25.lessons will have been learned. This flooding has affected so many parts
:02:26. > :02:32.of the country and become such a big story that I think maybe there will
:02:33. > :02:42.be some contingency planning in the future. The Government appears to be
:02:43. > :02:47.listening. This morning the defence secretary announced immediate action
:02:48. > :02:53.on flood defences. We will use Royal Engineers to do a rapid inspection
:02:54. > :02:57.of the nation's flood defences. We will do in five weeks what would be
:02:58. > :03:04.a two-year inspect and to assess the level of damage. This series of
:03:05. > :03:09.weather events over the last two months has caused some quite serious
:03:10. > :03:14.damage to our infrastructure. But it is too late for these residents at
:03:15. > :03:21.Bridgwater in Somerset. Flooded out of their homes and now finding
:03:22. > :03:31.refuge. Devastated, just devastated. I never thought it would
:03:32. > :03:35.happen to us. Stress is an understatement but you have to get
:03:36. > :03:39.things into perspective, make sure you and your wife ROK and move on,
:03:40. > :03:47.but without this service here we couldn't have done it. Meanwhile the
:03:48. > :03:50.big flare-up is continuing. This was Hursley in Hampshire this morning,
:03:51. > :03:58.similar operations are under way across much southern England.
:03:59. > :04:03.That flood defence inspection Philip Hammond talked about will begin on
:04:04. > :04:08.the 24th of February, involving 200 soldiers, and it is expected to be
:04:09. > :04:13.completed in just five weeks when normally it would take two years.
:04:14. > :04:17.Philip Hammond has been defending the Government's record during this
:04:18. > :04:22.crisis, he said that soldiers could have been used much earlier. He says
:04:23. > :04:26.now they have been aggressively pushing them towards the local
:04:27. > :04:31.councils and we have certainly seen evidence of that here in Chertsey.
:04:32. > :04:36.Across the bridge dozens of military personnel have joined the emergency
:04:37. > :04:39.services in an attempt to resolve the situation here. Residents are
:04:40. > :04:43.concerned about what happens when this story goes out of the
:04:44. > :04:48.headlines, they are hoping they will not be left to cope with the
:04:49. > :04:53.problems on their own. So what could be causing the recent
:04:54. > :04:56.spell of stormy weather in Britain? Well, new research suggests that the
:04:57. > :04:59.behaviour of fast air currents, known as the jet stream, have become
:05:00. > :05:03.less predictable in recent years. A study shows that it has slowed down
:05:04. > :05:05.and is taking a longer, more meandering path, resulting in
:05:06. > :05:07.weather remaining the same for longer periods. Our science
:05:08. > :05:17.correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports from Chicago. The storms in Britain
:05:18. > :05:22.never seem to end, while America has experienced bitterly cold
:05:23. > :05:25.conditions. Chicago is used to freezing winters, but data taken
:05:26. > :05:30.from this weather station shows it has been one of the coldest on
:05:31. > :05:34.record and the same is true across many other parts of the United
:05:35. > :05:39.States. The big question is whether this can be explained by natural
:05:40. > :05:43.variability or whether something has gone wrong with our weather. Some
:05:44. > :05:49.scientists are worried that the recent warming in the Arctic has
:05:50. > :05:53.shifted the main system that drives weather patterns in northern Europe
:05:54. > :05:59.and North America, a current of fast flowing air in red and green called
:06:00. > :06:04.the jet stream. This year it has dipped down lower than usual which
:06:05. > :06:10.has meant the weather has stayed the same for weeks on end, keeping the
:06:11. > :06:21.cold weather in America and the storms in Britain. At a science
:06:22. > :06:24.meeting in Chicago, Jennifer has presented new evidence. I think we
:06:25. > :06:33.can expect more of the same and I think we should expect it to occur
:06:34. > :06:37.more frequently, these very wavy patterns in the jet stream causing
:06:38. > :06:44.weather to be more persistent in one place. I do think that will happen
:06:45. > :06:48.more often in the future. It is too soon to tell whether this shift in
:06:49. > :06:52.the jet stream is permanent or if it is a direct result of man-made
:06:53. > :06:57.climate change, but the new result suggests you may have to get used to
:06:58. > :07:06.winters where spells of whether go on for weeks or even months. --
:07:07. > :07:08.spells of weather. The president of the European
:07:09. > :07:11.Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has said it would be difficult if not
:07:12. > :07:15.impossible for an independent Scotland to join the European Union.
:07:16. > :07:18.In a BBC interview Mr Barroso said that an independent Scotland would
:07:19. > :07:23.have to apply for EU membership and get the approval of all the member
:07:24. > :07:28.states. It is a new country and so I believe it is going to be extremely
:07:29. > :07:33.difficult if not impossible, a new member state coming out of one of
:07:34. > :07:38.our country is getting the agreement of the others. Having said that, it
:07:39. > :07:41.is now for the British people and the Scottish people of course in
:07:42. > :07:47.their referendum to decide about their future. That was Jose Manuel
:07:48. > :07:49.Barroso. Our correspondent Laura Bicker is outside the Scottish
:07:50. > :07:54.Parliament - what's the response been this morning? The Scottish
:07:55. > :07:59.government this morning has described his comments as utterly
:08:00. > :08:04.preposterous. They say Scotland has been within the EU for the last 40
:08:05. > :08:09.years and crucially they point out that no member state has come
:08:10. > :08:15.forward to say it would veto Scotland's membership and that
:08:16. > :08:19.includes Spain. Spain is facing the constitutional debate of its own
:08:20. > :08:22.where Catalan separatists are calling for independence, and in
:08:23. > :08:29.Spain it is causing problems for Kosovo which is trying to obtain EU
:08:30. > :08:33.membership. Meanwhile in a separate development, the First Minister Alex
:08:34. > :08:37.Salmond has written to the Prime Minister accusing his ministers of
:08:38. > :08:43.bullying tactics. He said that behaviour should cease and has urged
:08:44. > :08:53.David Cameron to distance himself from these kind of constitutional
:08:54. > :08:57.remarks as this debate ramps up. It's the biggest night in the
:08:58. > :09:00.British film calendar - with the BAFTA awards ceremony in London. The
:09:01. > :09:03.film 12 Years A Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, is the favourite to
:09:04. > :09:06.win Best Film. The actress Helen Mirren will also be honoured at
:09:07. > :09:10.tonight's ceremony. Lizo Mzimba has the details.
:09:11. > :09:15.It has been a huge hit with audiences, critics and awards
:09:16. > :09:20.voters. It has not only earned the most nominations at the crofters, it
:09:21. > :09:26.is also jointly leading the way at the Oscars. Gravity's producer said
:09:27. > :09:34.they are honoured by people 's reaction. It is really exciting
:09:35. > :09:38.right now, it is a really strong year and Gravity being one of the
:09:39. > :09:43.films is a privilege and very exciting. It might be just behind
:09:44. > :09:52.Gravity with ten nominations but harrowing drama 12 Years A Slave is
:09:53. > :09:57.the favourite to win Best Film. I am proud that people are talking about
:09:58. > :10:02.the film in such a light. All of the hard work done on the film, the fact
:10:03. > :10:10.we are being talked about as contenders is great, it is an
:10:11. > :10:16.honour. Its lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor, is also favourite to take home the
:10:17. > :10:28.Best actor award. In the best actress category, Blue Jasmine's
:10:29. > :10:33.Cate Blanchett is expected to win. And the Queen 's grandson, the Duke
:10:34. > :10:34.of Cambridge, will present Dame Helen Mirren with the BAFTA
:10:35. > :10:40.of Cambridge, will present Dame Fellowship.
:10:41. > :10:45.You can see more on all of those stories on the BBC News Channel. The
:10:46. > :10:51.next news on BBC One is at five past six. Goodbye.