17/09/2016 BBC Weekend News

Motorists caught using hand held mobiles are to face much tougher

The Government says the penalties will include six points and fines

of ?200 - double the current punishments.

It has been banned for 13 years but seeing drivers with a phone pressed

to their ears or tapping away at the light is common. Even hard-hitting

TV campaigns have failed to prevent motorists from constantly checking

their phones. Darryl Martin's brother was killed by a driver who

had been caught eight times previously for texting at the wheel.

I don't want someone to be in the same position as me and my family

and I don't want to be -- want someone to be in the position of

killing someone. You have to live with that, and all over a text

message. So now the Government is beefing up the punishment. From

early next year the number of points you will get if court will rise from

3 to six, and the fine will rise to at least ?200. That means you will

lose your licence if court twice in the three-year period. Younger

drivers who just passed their test will lose their licence immediately

and have to resit the exam. Alongside doubling the points you

will get on your licence now, the Government also wants to change the

cultural attitude to texting and tweeting at the wheel, to make it as

socially unacceptable as drink-driving. Of course the real

issue is enforcement. Drug driving, speeding, using your mobile phone,

they all fit into the same thing. We are distracted when we do that, we

have got to make it anti-social. If you are sitting next to someone

using their phone, tell them not to because you don't want to be injured

because of their destruction. Technology may also have a role to

play. Mobiles already have a flight safe mode, safety groups say that a

car safe mode is also required. It's emerged a senior

military commander warned the Defence Secretary in April that

cuts had left Britain's Armed Forces ill-prepared for any

serious attack on the UK. The comments are made

by General Sir Richard Barrons in a memo seen by the Financial

Times. The Government, in response,

says Sir Richard - who retired as head of the Joint Forces Command

- had backed its defence review. Here's our Defence

Correspondent Jonathan Beale. This isn't the first time a senior

military commander has warned about the impact of recent defence

cuts in Britain's ability to defend After Iraq and Afghanistan,

Britain's Armed Forces have once again been training in Eastern

Europe with Nato allies amid concerns about a more aggressive

Russia. General Sir Richard Barrons, until recently one of the Army 's

most senior commanders, details the gaps in the nation's defences. He

says, without adequate defence systems, neither the UK homeland

Nora deployed force could be protected from a concerted Russian

air effort. And with limited money often spent on big-ticket items like

new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, he says, we operate platforms

we cannot afford to use fully, damage or looms. He concludes there

is no proper military planned to defend the UK against a conventional

threat. There is a critical maths of not being able to fight a high-level

fight against countries like the Soviet Union, Russia or China. We

have some very capable equipment but we don't have much of it, and we

have gaps, and Richard is highlighting some of those gaps. The

MOD has insisted there is a plan, backed by a rising defence budget

and crucially backed by all of the service chiefs, including Sir

Richard himself before he left his post. Some will inevitably question

the motives behind the leaking of this memo. General Sir Richard

Barrons was a candidate to become the head of the Armed Forces but was

overlooked for the top job. The Army has congratulated

a transgender soldier for becoming the first female to serve

with a front-line combat unit, Chloe Allen, who joined

the Scots Guards four years ago as a man, says she hopes to inspire

others to be themselves. The 24-year-old told The Sun she had

been prepared to transfer out of the unit until a ban on women

in combat roles was lifted in July. It feels amazing, but at the same

time nothing's changed. I've just started hormones

in the last month. I've had my deed poll done,

I'm now Chloe. Everything that has been done, all

the paperwork and that within the army and the battalion

have all been changed. The father and first husband of a

woman from Bradford have appeared in court in Pakistan again, accused of

murdering her. Both deny killing Samia Shahid, who

police say was strangled in July. She'd travelled to Pakistan

after being told her father was ill. The BBC's seen an email

which suggests she may not have legally divorced her first

husband before remarrying. The leader of the Liberal Democrats,

Tim Farron, says he's confident his party can offer strong

opposition to the Government. Speaking before his party's

conference in Brighton, he said it was the Lib Dems

who could appeal to people of all political persuasions

and provide a strong challenge I enjoyed the referendum campaign,

because it meant I was talking to people who don't normally share my

politics, but who do share my outlook on a range of other issues.

What we have now is an opportunity to work with those people, and that

means reaching out to people of all current political persuasions, and a

new movement that could take on Theresa May and challenge her and

replace her will be liberal movement.

Day ten of the Paralympics and more hopes of gold for Great Britain

with Dame Sarah Storey, competing in the road race.

Paralympics GB has already passed the haul for London 2012

The latest successes included another gold for athlete

Hannah Cockcroft, as Adam Wild reports.

Here, Hannah Cockroft once again blowing away the opposition.

In the 800m, her third gold of these Games.

Now she's getting used to beating just about everyone.

Behind her was 15-year-old Kare Adenegan.

A bronze medal and a future full of promise.

That took Britain past the medal total set for years ago.

In the pool, gold for the women's relay quartet, and in

In fact, the success of this Paralympic squad meant

at times they were left just competing against each other.

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid had already won men's

tennis doubles silver, now the team-mates were rivals

and it was Reid who came out on top, and on top of the podium.

And that is a place the dressage team has made their own.

Lee Pearson carried the flag in the opening ceremony.

Here, once again, he was raising the standard.

The 11th gold of his incredible career, followed by Sophie

Christiansen and Natasha Baker, creating their Rio hat-trick.

With medal targets met, others were now in their sight.

He only took it up as a hobby after watching in 2012.

So, too, does David Smith in boccia, a sport specifically designed

Such was his dominance, it might as well have been

And after bronze and silver in London, Paul Blake,

who has cerebral palsy, finally takes home

His mum, well she returns with a little souvenir of her own.

Still, few celebrate quite like they do in table tennis.

Team bronze, another medal for Britain's extraordinary tally

on another extraordinary night in Rio.

Let's go live now to Rio and our correspondent there, Kate Grey.

Kate, more hopes for gold today as well then.

Yes, you can expect another busy day here in Rio as Sarah Storey hopes to

finish these games the way she started, going for her third gold

medal in the road race. The men's wheelchair basketball team take on

Turkey, and Paul Blake goes his second gold, hoping to better the

bronze he won in London 2012. So much still to come on the

penultimate day of these Games. You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One

is at a quarter past five.