:00:21. > :00:24.The former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, has strongly
:00:25. > :00:27.defended David Cameron's approach to renegotiating Britain's
:00:28. > :00:30.relationship with the European Union.
:00:31. > :00:33.Sir John said it was a "fantasy" that the UK could somehow be better
:00:34. > :00:38.It comes as the former Conservative Defence Secretary,
:00:39. > :00:41.Liam Fox, urged Mr Cameron to allow Cabinet members to campaign for
:00:42. > :00:50.Here's our political correspondent, Tom Barton.
:00:51. > :00:57.It's 43 years since Ted Heath signed us up to the EU and in the next two
:00:58. > :01:00.years we'll be asked whether we want to stay. From one forger Prime
:01:01. > :01:05.Minister the answer today was an emphatic yes. If we vote to stay
:01:06. > :01:10.out, then we are out and we'll have to get on with it and face the
:01:11. > :01:18.consequences. Would we be as safe? No, would we be as well off? No.
:01:19. > :01:24.Would we be as influential? No. David Cameron laid out his hopes for
:01:25. > :01:30.reform to other European leaders in Brussels. Euro-sceptics says what he
:01:31. > :01:35.is asking for is trivial and he is unlikely to get that. They will be
:01:36. > :01:41.immensely diminished and they know that. Everybody is setting out
:01:42. > :01:46.positions. It is a classic European situation, on both sides they are
:01:47. > :01:49.setting out positions. They will meet and the compromise will meet
:01:50. > :01:55.and it won't deal with trivial issues. Some of David Cameron's most
:01:56. > :01:57.senior Ministers, including the Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan
:01:58. > :02:02.Smith, are well known Euro-sceptics. Today there was a call from one of
:02:03. > :02:09.his former colleagues for Euro-sceptic Ministers to be allowed
:02:10. > :02:13.to campaign to leave. We'll work together to govern the country up to
:02:14. > :02:16.2020. That's best done by having freedom for individuals to express
:02:17. > :02:19.what is effectively a matter of conscience for them. I think the
:02:20. > :02:22.more that we are able to give freedom to our colleagues and the
:02:23. > :02:26.more we treat one another's views with respect and tolerance the
:02:27. > :02:32.easier I think it will be for us to come together after that referendum.
:02:33. > :02:35.At the last EU referendum, in 1975, Labour Cabinet Ministers were
:02:36. > :02:40.allowed to campaign on both sides of the debate. David Cameron though has
:02:41. > :02:45.so far avoided saying whether he'll allow that precedent to be repeated.
:02:46. > :02:48.An Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris has been forced to make
:02:49. > :02:51.an emergency landing in the Kenyan city of Mombasa after a suspect
:02:52. > :02:54.It's being examined by bomb disposal experts.
:02:55. > :03:07.It was found a few hours into the flight. Some reports say it looked
:03:08. > :03:12.like a watch on top of a box. Inside one of the plane's toilets. The
:03:13. > :03:18.pilots diverted to Mombasa, the passengers are all safe. The plane
:03:19. > :03:23.just went down slowly, slowly, slowly, so we realised probably
:03:24. > :03:27.something was wrong, but the personnel of Air France was great,
:03:28. > :03:32.wonderful, they kept everybody calm and real quiet. We didn't know what
:03:33. > :03:38.was happening actually. Now they say they found a bomb, so very tired,
:03:39. > :03:41.very difficult. Kenyan officials are still analysing the package. All
:03:42. > :03:45.that the awares authority has said is that it was a suspicious parcel,
:03:46. > :03:49.but several passengers are at this moment being questioned by the
:03:50. > :03:57.authorities. The investigation is still continuing. A few passengers
:03:58. > :04:02.of concern are being interrogated to find out exactly what has caused
:04:03. > :04:07.this. Whatever the answer, it's been an anxious time for the passengers
:04:08. > :04:12.and crew. They've all been taken to hotels in Mombasa. Matthew is with
:04:13. > :04:17.me now. Are we any clearer to what happened? Not really. The airports
:04:18. > :04:20.authority initially said it was a bomb and then changed their
:04:21. > :04:24.statement to saying it was a suspicious package. It's the context
:04:25. > :04:28.that's making people nervous. We know after that Russian airliner
:04:29. > :04:32.came down over Sinai this year it is possible at least in one of the
:04:33. > :04:36.world's airports to get a bomb on board a plane, and we know that the
:04:37. > :04:41.French and French nationals are targets after the attacks in Paris,
:04:42. > :04:45.and because of the French action in Syria against Islamic State. We hope
:04:46. > :04:45.to get more answers from the Kenyan authorities some time this
:04:46. > :04:48.afternoon. Thank you. The BBC understands that
:04:49. > :04:51.David Cameron has ordered a review into the use of guns by police
:04:52. > :04:53.in England and Wales It will look at whether the law
:04:54. > :04:57.gives enough support to officers having to make a split-second
:04:58. > :05:09.decision to shoot. Fewer than one in 20 police officers
:05:10. > :05:13.in England and Wales are trained to carry guns. The Government have said
:05:14. > :05:16.it wants to increase that number significantly, because of the
:05:17. > :05:21.heightened terrorist threat brought home by the Paris attacks. 130
:05:22. > :05:26.people were killed in November when gunmen and suicide bombers targeted
:05:27. > :05:29.numerous sites in the city. Politicians and the politician seen
:05:30. > :05:37.here undertaking train having been forced to focus on how we would cope
:05:38. > :05:39.in the same thing happened here. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir
:05:40. > :05:43.Bernard Hogan-Howe is said to have raised concerns with the Prime
:05:44. > :05:49.Minister about the legal position of armed officers. David Cameron wants
:05:50. > :05:53.an internal review to check if the law goes far enough in allowing
:05:54. > :05:57.officers to use reasonable force and whether it sufficiently recognises
:05:58. > :06:00.the against that an officer had an honest and instinctive belief that
:06:01. > :06:04.opening fire was appropriate. It is important to get the balance right.
:06:05. > :06:07.It's got to be democratically decided. We can't have shoot to kill
:06:08. > :06:13.without any kind of democratic involvement. The internal review
:06:14. > :06:17.must examine if existing legislation provides sufficient safeguards for
:06:18. > :06:20.armed police tasked with making split-second decisions, while
:06:21. > :06:23.balancing that against any potential risk to the public.
:06:24. > :06:25.Motorists who use a mobile phone while driving could face tougher
:06:26. > :06:29.penalties if Government plans are approved.
:06:30. > :06:34.There are plans to increase fixed penalty fines as well as the number
:06:35. > :06:38.Clare Fallon reports from Manchester.
:06:39. > :06:45.It's been illegal for 12 years but some still do it. So now a warning
:06:46. > :06:49.of tougher consequences to try and stock top people using their phones
:06:50. > :06:52.while driving. Simply it is a question of concentration. If you
:06:53. > :06:56.have your hands on your phone, they are not on the wheel. If you have
:06:57. > :06:59.your mind on the message, it is not on the road. So we know it matters.
:07:00. > :07:04.Drivers are aware it matters. This is about giving the police more
:07:05. > :07:09.powers to enforce. The Government says the use of mobile phones was a
:07:10. > :07:14.contributing factor in 21 fatal accidents in 2014 and 4 serious
:07:15. > :07:20.accidents. So under the new plans fixed penalty fines would go up from
:07:21. > :07:26.?100 to ?150. And penalty points would increase from three to four.
:07:27. > :07:30.For HGV drivers a bigger increase, from 3 points to 6 With more points
:07:31. > :07:35.and bigger fines Transport Ministers say they want to send a message to
:07:36. > :07:42.those who are still flouting the law. They hope in time driving while
:07:43. > :07:46.using a hand-held mobile will become a social taboo like drink-driving.
:07:47. > :07:50.In Manchester today most people welcomed the plans. Too many people
:07:51. > :07:54.use them while driving and if your attention is on your phone it is not
:07:55. > :07:57.on the road. We saw people on the motorway this morning doing exactly
:07:58. > :08:02.the same thing, driving along, I think it is very dangerous. I use my
:08:03. > :08:07.mobile phone in the car on a regular basis but purely through hands-free.
:08:08. > :08:09.Some though point out that penalties have been previously increased, and
:08:10. > :08:14.yet many still phone while driving. Finally, it's the Sports Personality
:08:15. > :08:16.of the Year 2015 tonight and the awards ceremony
:08:17. > :08:19.is being held in Belfast. Let's go straight to our sports
:08:20. > :08:21.correspondent there, Andy, when can we expect
:08:22. > :08:35.to see the stars arrive? They should start arriving here
:08:36. > :08:39.round about 5 o'clock. This is always one of the most glittering
:08:40. > :08:43.occasions in the sporting calendar and tonight should be no exception.
:08:44. > :08:48.There's a short-list of 12 to choose from from the main award. They are
:08:49. > :08:53.Lizzie Armitstead, Lucy Bronze, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah, Chris
:08:54. > :08:56.Froome, Tyson Fury, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray, Adam Peaty, Greg
:08:57. > :09:04.Rutherford, Kevin Sinfield and Max Whitlock. The winner will be decided
:09:05. > :09:08.by a public vote. You can vote by telephone or by registering online.
:09:09. > :09:13.Full details will be given out during the programme. There'll be a
:09:14. > :09:17.lot of attention in particular on Tyson Fury after his recent
:09:18. > :09:21.controversial comment about women and homosexuality. It will be
:09:22. > :09:26.interesting to see what reaction he gets here this evening. The show
:09:27. > :09:29.gets under way at 10 to 7 and you can catch it live on BBC One. Andy,
:09:30. > :09:31.thank you. You can see more on all of today's
:09:32. > :09:34.stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC
:09:35. > :09:53.One is at 5.25pm. Good afternoon. We've seen some
:09:54. > :09:56.exception little mild ly weather around this weekend. Yesterday we
:09:57. > :10:02.had 17 degrees Celsius in Gravesend in Kent. There's a downward trend in
:10:03. > :10:07.temperatures in the week ahead bar a blip in the weather on Tuesday when
:10:08. > :10:13.warmer air will briefly make an incursion into eastern counties of
:10:14. > :10:18.England. Today, plenty of showers merging to give lengthier spells of
:10:19. > :10:23.rain in Scotland. More sunshine in between showers than in recent days
:10:24. > :10:26.in England and Wales. Temperature-wise, it feels fresher
:10:27. > :10:30.compared with yesterday, with highs ranging between 8 and 13 degrees.
:10:31. > :10:34.Overnight tonight those brisk winds will continue to feed in a number of
:10:35. > :10:38.showers. Particularly across north-western parts of the country.
:10:39. > :10:42.You could get a shower anywhere through the night. Temperatures
:10:43. > :10:45.dipping away. It will be cooler compared with recent nights. But
:10:46. > :10:49.these temperatures are a long way from where they should be for
:10:50. > :10:55.night-time at this time of year. In the week ahead, although we start on
:10:56. > :10:59.a mild note we are looking at spells of wet and windy weather. It will
:11:00. > :11:03.turn cooler just in time for the big day. Ill turn cooler just in time
:11:04. > :11:06.for the big day. Monday - an area of low pressure bringing a band of rain
:11:07. > :11:08.across Northern Ireland. That the rain will spread into Scotland
:11:09. > :11:11.through the morning. After a bright start across England and Wales we'll
:11:12. > :11:15.see wet weather being driven in by strong winds. Around the Irish Sea
:11:16. > :11:18.coasts we could be looking at gales or severe gales. That said there'll
:11:19. > :11:20.be a modest improvement in the weather through the afternoon.
:11:21. > :11:25.Sunshine for Northern Ireland and Scotland. A mixture of showers here.
:11:26. > :11:31.But in the sunnier skies that's where the coldest air is. 7-9
:11:32. > :11:34.degrees in northern areas. Re the coldest air is. 7-9 degrees in
:11:35. > :11:37.northern areas. Tuesday - a weather front will be particularly slow
:11:38. > :11:40.moving as it moves south and eastwards across England and Wales,
:11:41. > :11:44.bringing very wet weather to north-west England and Wales. Behind
:11:45. > :11:49.the front, brighter skies. Ahead of the front with southwesterly winds
:11:50. > :11:53.flowing, we'll be dredging up an incursion of warm air. We so see 15
:11:54. > :11:57.degrees or so in London. Fresher for Scotland and Northern Ireland, with
:11:58. > :12:01.a mix of bright spells and scattered showers. The rain is likely to cause
:12:02. > :12:07.a few concerns across Wales and north-west England. We could see as
:12:08. > :12:10.much as 80 m, many of rain. That could lead to localised surface
:12:11. > :12:13.flooding water issues. It will clear. Ised surface flooding water
:12:14. > :12:18.issues. It will clear. Wednesday - a calmer day. Bright and breezy.
:12:19. > :12:22.There'll be showers across north-western areas, with Brit and
:12:23. > :12:25.sunny spells. A fresh feel. Temperatures close to normal in
:12:26. > :12:29.northern parts of the UK. That leads to Christmas Eve. A deep area of low
:12:30. > :12:33.pressure moving just to the north-west of the British Isles.
:12:34. > :12:38.That will bring strong winds to northern areas of Scotland, with
:12:39. > :12:44.gales, severe gales. Through the morning time. A band of rain swings
:12:45. > :12:47.eastwards across the country. Behind it, the skies brighten up. The
:12:48. > :12:50.coldest weather of this week will be behind that weather front. Although
:12:51. > :12:54.it is technically mild in eastern areas of England, that colder air
:12:55. > :12:58.will be arriving just in time for Christmas Day. What can we expect on
:12:59. > :13:03.Christmas Day? A few showers in northern areas. Cold enough to see a
:13:04. > :13:12.bit of snow over the high ground of Scotland. A a chilli day for y With
:13:13. > :13:13.this