:00:00. > :00:13.the many they're meeting. That's it.
:00:14. > :00:17.Welcome to BBC London News. The mayor of one of five London
:00:18. > :00:20.boroughs, criticised by the government for spending hundreds of
:00:21. > :00:23.thousands of pounds on free newspapers, has said he has no
:00:24. > :00:26.intention of getting rid of the paper in his area. Sir Robin Wales,
:00:27. > :00:31.the Mayor of Newham, argues it's good value for money and popular
:00:32. > :00:33.with residents. The Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, has
:00:34. > :00:37.threatened to shut the council publications, accusing them of
:00:38. > :00:42.peddling propaganda. Richard Slee reports.
:00:43. > :00:46.The Newham Mag is published every two weeks and is delivered free of
:00:47. > :00:49.charge to 100,000 residents in east London. It's also one of thd
:00:50. > :00:51.magazines produced by Labour`controlled councils targeted
:00:52. > :00:59.by Eric Pickles as propaganda on the rates, because of the frequdncy of
:01:00. > :01:02.their publication. In a statement, Eric Pickles said, "Localisl needs
:01:03. > :01:04.robust and independent scrutiny by the press and public, and mtnicipal
:01:05. > :01:11.state`produced newspapers stppress that. Town hall Pravdas not only
:01:12. > :01:18.waste taxpayers' money, thex undermine free speech".
:01:19. > :01:24.But the mayor of Newham says his magazine is a vital local sdrvice
:01:25. > :01:28.and he won't scrap it. If wd did away with this we would havd to do
:01:29. > :01:31.hundreds of different leafldts, and people would not necessarilx read
:01:32. > :01:34.them. 75% of people tell us they get a lot of information from it, and
:01:35. > :01:38.since we have produced it wd have gone from 41% saying they are well
:01:39. > :01:43.informed, to 75%. People ard telling us, thank you, we want to know what
:01:44. > :01:45.is going on in our communitx. He also rejects criticism that free
:01:46. > :01:52.council papers are driving local papers out of business. But the shop
:01:53. > :01:56.owner here says that these days he doesn't sell many local papdrs, and
:01:57. > :01:58.most of the publishers say that the free magazines and papers lhke this
:01:59. > :02:05.do take away their advertishng revenue. Most of the Newham
:02:06. > :02:09.residents we spoke to said they do read the free magazine and they
:02:10. > :02:14.would miss it. What do you think of it? It's not too bad. It's good
:02:15. > :02:18.information. A lot of peopld put it in the bin but I have a read. It is
:02:19. > :02:20.interesting to see what is going on. The five councils, Newham,
:02:21. > :02:23.Greenwich, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets, have two weeks to
:02:24. > :02:34.justify their publications `nd explain why legal proceedings should
:02:35. > :02:36.not be taken against them. Concerns have been raised over the
:02:37. > :02:40.Environment Agency's decision to grant a new licence to a wood
:02:41. > :02:46.recycling company at a wastd site in Hertfordshire where a large fire
:02:47. > :02:50.broke out in 2012. Protestors claim the new company has links to the
:02:51. > :02:54.former operators who were fhned for breaching safety rules. The
:02:55. > :02:57.Environment Agency insists there are "no operational links" betwden the
:02:58. > :03:06.two companies, and the site will be strictly monitored.
:03:07. > :03:09.For the fifth year in a row, Trafalgar Square has been
:03:10. > :03:13.transformed into the Jerusalem of 2000 years ago for a perforlance of
:03:14. > :03:16.the Passion of Christ. The Wintershall Players' show fhrst
:03:17. > :03:25.started as a play in a barn in Surrey but now attracts thotsands.
:03:26. > :03:28.Tarah Welsh reports. It might be one of the oldest
:03:29. > :03:34.stories, but thousands came along to see it brought to life. It's rare to
:03:35. > :03:38.see a crowd of this size sitting quietly in the centre of London but
:03:39. > :03:44.for 90 minutes young and old seemed focused on the action. Which, quite
:03:45. > :03:51.graphically, tells the Bibld's story. He is killed, murderdd,
:03:52. > :03:54.crucified. I think one has to show that, as unpleasant and terrible as
:03:55. > :04:00.it was, otherwise you could argue it is almost blasphemy to pull the
:04:01. > :04:04.punches. It started as a nativity play in a barn 23 years ago but now
:04:05. > :04:12.the Wintershall Players perform all over the world. It's wonderful. I'm
:04:13. > :04:16.beginning to see familiar f`ces We've been here four years `nd we
:04:17. > :04:20.are seeing some old friends, but a lot of new people. We are gdtting
:04:21. > :04:23.more people from abroad comhng to celebrate here in Trafalgar Square.
:04:24. > :04:26.James is a professional actor but the rest are volunteers. Evdryone
:04:27. > :04:33.may know how it ends but it seems this is one story that conthnues to
:04:34. > :04:38.move people. And a quick look at the weather It
:04:39. > :04:41.will stay dry and mostly cldar through the evening and tomorrow
:04:42. > :04:44.will be another fine day for the most part with sunny spells,
:04:45. > :04:52.although patchy cloud will hncrease, perhaps with some showers for a time
:04:53. > :04:55.in the afternoon. That's it for tonight. We'rd back
:04:56. > :05:10.tomorrow evening at around 6.50pm. For now, have a very good nhght
:05:11. > :05:16.Hello. We are still expecting the weather to change for many of us on
:05:17. > :05:19.Sunday. Before then clear skies light winds, it's another cold
:05:20. > :05:23.night. These are the numbers in towns and cities. In rural areas
:05:24. > :05:28.it's going to be widely close to or below freezing. The north-west of
:05:29. > :05:32.Scotland not as cold. It's cloudy and wet here. We have more cloud
:05:33. > :05:36.across some eastern parts of England. The breeze will move that
:05:37. > :05:40.cloud further towards the west through the day. Clouds will be
:05:41. > :05:43.well-broken and most places will be dry with sunny spells. The odd
:05:44. > :05:46.shower can't be ruled out in the south-east but the sunshine will
:05:47. > :05:50.hang on in Scotland and Northern Ireland and western areas.
:05:51. > :05:55.Temperatures sclar to today. -- sclar to today. It's -- similar to
:05:56. > :05:57.today. This weather front comings in, it's around an area of low
:05:58. > :05:58.pressure