:00:10. > :00:15.Good evening. This is BBC Channel Islands. Our top stories: fighting
:00:15. > :00:21.for our jobs and services, it will a legal challenge to the VAT
:00:21. > :00:25.changes work? Also, does charity begin at home?
:00:25. > :00:32.Donations for this overseas project have fallen.
:00:32. > :00:36.A thousands of Channel Islands -- to an alliance travelled long
:00:36. > :00:43.distances... Searching for familiar faces, we will see where comforted
:00:43. > :00:51.of thousands of Channel Island Refugees. -- we will see rare film
:00:51. > :00:57.footage. It is official, one of the Channel
:00:57. > :01:01.island's biggest industries will change forever. The price advantage
:01:01. > :01:05.our online shopping businesses have in the UK market will go as tax
:01:05. > :01:09.relief on small items they send a there is a to be scrapped. The
:01:09. > :01:14.Chancellor confirmed his plan in the pre-Budget speech today. It
:01:14. > :01:20.means thousands of jobs here are at risk as well as the future of our
:01:20. > :01:28.postal services. A legal challenge is being mounted. First, they
:01:28. > :01:34.report on the downfall on the -- of the Fulfillment agency.
:01:34. > :01:38.The Channel Islands online business has come under attack. In March,
:01:38. > :01:42.George Osborne announced a clampdown on tax avoidance in his
:01:42. > :01:47.Budget. We are going to tackle the exploitation of low-value
:01:47. > :01:50.consignment relief that has left our high-street music stores
:01:51. > :01:55.fighting a losing battle with warehouses in the Channel Islands.
:01:55. > :02:00.Tough words and tougher measures. At the beginning of this month, the
:02:00. > :02:05.UK government reduced the value of items from �18 up to �15 that can
:02:05. > :02:08.be sold VAT-free from the Channel Islands. Days later came the
:02:08. > :02:15.announcement that the loophole would be closed altogether in April.
:02:15. > :02:20.Today, a confirmation in it George Osborne's pre-Budget speech.
:02:20. > :02:23.will end low-budget -- low-value consignment relief in the Channel
:02:23. > :02:28.Islands which has been used to undercut shops on our high street.
:02:28. > :02:34.The decision means almost one as a 700 jobs in the Channel Islands and
:02:34. > :02:37.hang in the balance. Already, postal regulators have granted
:02:37. > :02:41.permission for price increases at a Jersey and Guernsey Post in case of
:02:41. > :02:45.a loss of business. A legal challenge is being mounted. While
:02:46. > :02:52.many will be hoping for the best, others are preparing themselves for
:02:52. > :02:57.the worst. Just how likely is a legal
:02:57. > :03:02.challenge to succeed? Garry Bell, a tax director from the accountancy
:03:02. > :03:07.firm PWC, joined the earlier to explain. I think it will depend on
:03:07. > :03:15.how well the rules are written. We have not seen details as yet. We
:03:15. > :03:20.are expecting to see those next week. Do you think there will be
:03:20. > :03:24.appetite amongst UK it MPs to repeal the closure of the loophole?
:03:24. > :03:30.I would be very surprised on the UK parliament as to whether they would
:03:30. > :03:35.want to support a move to appeal. Put bluntly, there is nothing in it
:03:35. > :03:40.for them. It is not a vote-winner for them. Their own constituents
:03:40. > :03:44.will see a bit as shipping cash out of the country. There was some good
:03:44. > :03:47.news for the financial service industry today. Tell us about that.
:03:47. > :03:52.This excess of the financial services industry in the Highlands
:03:52. > :03:57.is very much linked to the success of the City. One thing that has
:03:57. > :04:01.been mooted well-tried is the introduction of a financial
:04:01. > :04:07.transaction tax. The Chancellor said today that the UK would not
:04:07. > :04:17.introduce such a tax. He said that they are not going to introduce
:04:17. > :04:23.this so that is great news for the City. Any other good news? There
:04:23. > :04:27.was nothing announced on the non- dom consultation. We will probably
:04:28. > :04:31.see some more commentary on that next week. No news is probably good
:04:31. > :04:35.news. We will await the next week. Thank you.
:04:35. > :04:39.Moving on, airlines that fly to Gatwick from the Channel Islands
:04:39. > :04:43.say they will run a normal schedule tomorrow despite public sector
:04:43. > :04:46.strikes in the UK. Immigration officers are expected to walk out
:04:46. > :04:50.and airport officials have warned that passengers could face delays
:04:50. > :04:54.of up to 12 hours. Travel agents say the biggest impact will be on
:04:54. > :04:58.those islanders flying into or out of the pair on international
:04:58. > :05:02.flights. The area most affected are international travellers coming
:05:02. > :05:09.back into either airport where they have to go through passport control
:05:09. > :05:13.on arrival. Babel possibly experience some disruption -- they
:05:13. > :05:18.will possibly experience. Pedestrian as in Guernsey had a
:05:18. > :05:22.lucky escape today following a car crash. The vehicle collided with a
:05:22. > :05:26.shop in St Peter Port this afternoon. Police say that the
:05:26. > :05:33.elderly driver was able to walk away from the wreckage and went to
:05:33. > :05:38.hospital with minor injuries. Tansy -- Jersey's Nathan Hannay has
:05:38. > :05:46.been suspended for two weeks by the Rugby Football Union. He was sent
:05:46. > :05:50.off for a head-butt at Cambridge. Club officials reduced that the ban
:05:50. > :05:53.after looking affected. Now the RFU has handed out a fortnight
:05:53. > :05:56.suspension which has been reduced to one week because of the
:05:56. > :06:01.punishment already given out by Jersey.
:06:01. > :06:11.A local charity says there has been a drop in 10% in donations of shoe
:06:11. > :06:12.
:06:12. > :06:16.boxes and it is blazing -- blaming the recession. Mustard Seed Jersey
:06:16. > :06:21.sense she boxes of gifts to Romania. Packed up and ready to hit the road,
:06:21. > :06:29.this is the last trailer heading to Romania from the Mustard Seed
:06:29. > :06:33.Jersey. There are wheelchairs, parcels of different kinds of
:06:34. > :06:37.household goods... If it is a truckload of biddies donated by you
:06:37. > :06:44.to those who need them most. This year it has received 10% fewer
:06:44. > :06:48.donations. It is possibly the economic climate. In my personal
:06:48. > :06:52.opinion, I think people are looking at their own homes and their own
:06:52. > :06:57.situation. Essential items such as blankets, clothing and toiletries
:06:57. > :07:01.will make Christmas a lot more comfortable for the recipients. It
:07:01. > :07:05.will also make it a lot more rewarding for the givers. To see
:07:05. > :07:11.the joy in the faces of the young people and the elderly and people
:07:11. > :07:17.of all ages, they just need some body to look at them and say, we
:07:17. > :07:22.love you. This 40 ft trailer will soon be driven by a volunteer all
:07:22. > :07:28.the way to Romania, something that this man did just last month.
:07:28. > :07:32.a round trip of about 2000 miles. When you compare what we do in
:07:32. > :07:36.Jersey to what is only available in a limited way in the Romania, there
:07:36. > :07:39.is no comparison. The presence will be distributed next month and
:07:39. > :07:45.because the charity has received far fewer boxes for pensioners,
:07:45. > :07:51.husbands and wives will have to share. Any presents are appreciated,
:07:51. > :07:57.but with fewer to go around, perhaps the islanders are finding
:07:57. > :08:03.the luxury of overseas aid, a luxury they can no longer afford.
:08:03. > :08:10.Later in Spotlight, meet the new mum would have four babies bouncing
:08:10. > :08:14.rings around her despite being just a few days old.
:08:14. > :08:20.Can you recognise anyone in this picture? It is from some rare film
:08:20. > :08:25.footage of thousands of talon island evacuees attic rally in
:08:25. > :08:29.Manchester in 1943 -- thousands of Channel Island evacuees. The Pathe
:08:29. > :08:32.newsreel was first shown to just after it was filmed but it has
:08:32. > :08:38.never been seen on the islands until now.
:08:38. > :08:42.Despite being in unfamiliar surroundings, the evacuated Channel
:08:42. > :08:47.Islanders still made an effort to meet up whenever they could.
:08:47. > :08:53.Thousands of Channel Islanders travelled long distances to have
:08:53. > :08:57.attend a rally... This footage shows 6000 Channel Islanders
:08:57. > :09:03.attending a rally at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester. This man
:09:03. > :09:07.from Guernsey helped organise his event and his son says that he
:09:07. > :09:11.remembers it fondly. I was only a young boy at the time but I
:09:11. > :09:16.remember everyone being very excited and hugging each other. It
:09:16. > :09:19.really was a very exciting and valuable time for people because it
:09:19. > :09:27.builds up morale and they were able to go back to different parts of
:09:27. > :09:30.Great Britain and say, we met someone so! The event programme
:09:30. > :09:36.shows that Sarnia Cherie and Beautiful Jersey were sunk after
:09:36. > :09:39.dignitaries addressed the crowd. It was an important part of
:09:39. > :09:46.maintaining their identity and to make plans for their return.
:09:46. > :09:52.think if you have been separated from your home town, and a lot of
:09:52. > :09:55.people still had relatives there, I think it was essential for their
:09:55. > :10:00.morale to bring be able to gather to discuss when they would be
:10:00. > :10:06.likely to go up. At the outset of war, we did not think it would be
:10:06. > :10:16.five years. But we knew at some stage that we would be going back.
:10:16. > :10:21.It is quieter overnight tonight. Most of the rain will move away and
:10:21. > :10:25.we will be left with a few showers coming from the English Channel.
:10:25. > :10:34.For the rest of the night, mainly dry and a turning colder. Tomorrow,
:10:34. > :10:37.some showers will develop. Thursday looks like it could be another wet
:10:37. > :10:43.and windy start with a slow improvement in the afternoons.
:10:43. > :10:51.Unsettled for the next few days. Some dry and clear skies overnight.
:10:51. > :10:57.Temperatures into single figures. Brisk south-westerly winds which
:10:57. > :11:02.will continue proud tomorrow. Apart from a few showers coming into
:11:02. > :11:11.Alderney, most of the day will be dry. Some more persistent rain will
:11:11. > :11:21.arrive in the evening. Top temperatures of 13 degrees. Close
:11:21. > :11:45.
:11:45. > :11:49.The forecast for Thursday is quite wet. Outbreaks of rain in the
:11:49. > :11:55.morning which will be very slow to clear in the afternoon. A brisk
:11:55. > :11:59.westerly breeze. The best day of the week, Friday, at dry and bright
:11:59. > :12:08.with a gentle northerly wind. That will back westerly into the evening.
:12:08. > :12:12.More wet weather at the start of the weekend. Now the summary.
:12:12. > :12:16.What a difference a year makes. This was the wider scene at last
:12:16. > :12:20.November as a blanket of white smoke covered Guernsey, closing