15/10/2012 BBC News at One

The battle lines are drawn for a vote on Scottish independence. A

agreement's about to be signed on a referendum deal to ask Scots voters

whether they want to leave the UK. We'll be live in Edinburgh on an

historic day for the future of the Four children and a woman are

killed in a house fire in Harlow. Police are treating the blaze as

suspicious. They did everything they possibly

could to try to revive those children. Our Our thoughts and

prayers go out to the family. The Pakistani girl shot by the

Taliban for campaigning to improve girls' education is flown to the UK

for treatment. More confusion over the running of

the West Coast Main Line. Virgin Trains is to be asked to keep

running services for at least another nine months.

The man who fell to earth. We have the skydiver's view of what it felt

like to plummet from 24 miles high. And, the remarkable story of the

18-year-old whose parachute and reserve didn't open properly, but

A Metropolitan Police officer goes on trial accused of racially

abusing a suspect and further delays to the decision on the

future of the Olympic Stadium. Could the solution lie away from

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

A deal is going to be signed later today, that'll set the terms for a

vote on Scottish independence. David Cameron and the First

Minister, Alex Salmond, will agree to a single Yes//No question -

which will be put to voters, including 16 and 17-year-olds, in

2014. Our political correspondent Norman Smith is in Edinburgh.

Today is a momentous, political occasion, beyond the normal cut and

thrust of daily politics, a process that will start a two-year campaign,

at the end of which Scots will decide whether they want to

continue with or end the 300-year union between England and Scotland.

For the political leaders involved, a momentous moment, too. For David

Cameron, he absolutely does not want to be the Prime Minister who

presides over the breakup of the union. For Alex Salmond this is

what the SNP have lived and breathed for since they were

created. For him, too, a moment of truth as my colleague James Cook

reports. For centuries, Britain's

constitution seems settled, unwritten but unchanging. Now, 300

years after the union of the Scottish and English parliaments,

comes a rare chance for radical change.

The man trying to stop that change change spent the morning inspecting

the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier. It's been assembled in

Fife from parts built in shipyards around Britain. Nothing subtle

about this symbol of the power and press prestige of the United

Kingdom. I think this is a success story that the whole of the United

Kingdom can take great pride in. Just as with the Olympics we showed

what we can do when we come together, you are showing it right

here with this incredible feat of engineering.

Scotland's First Minister and his deputy had a rather different

morning. They went to see an NHS project which supports struggling

young families. Nothing subtle about this message, either. These

children would be better off in an independent Scotland. I am

confident that when we lay out the arguments over the next couple of

years and people see is no vote is a vote for no change, then the yes

vote will prevail and Scotland will become an independent country but

with an extremely good close and constructive relationship with the

other parts of the United Kingdom. How will Scotland's future be

decided? The referendum will be held in

autumn 2014. It will be a straight yes/no question to independence and

16 and 17-year-old will be allowed to vote.

If the poll were held today, these pupils at this high school could

take part. By the time people are 16, their views are not probably

going to change when they get older. They're intelligent. They know

what's going on. They can watch the news and they have a right, it's

going to affect them later. Talking for myself as a 17-year-old I don't

know enough. I don't know what are we going to lose and gain from

going independent and right now I feel uncomfortable if the vote was

- if I got to vote now. There is now much to debate and discuss over

the next couple of years, but one thing has changed today - the

future of the United Kingdom is now out of the hands of politicians and

in the hands of the people of Scotland.

In the past few minutes, the Prime Minister arrived here at the

Scottish Government's headquarters to seal the deal. All smiles now,

but these men know they're staking their careers on the outcome of a

referendum which could change this country forever.

Well, David Cameron and the First Minister are inside Scottish

Government headquarters here at St Andrews House, we know the broad

outlines of the package. One yes/no question. What more do we know

about the package? I am joined by BBC Scotland's political editor.

What more details do we have? documents are order, legislation at

Westminster, giving Holyrood the power to conduct this referendum,

provided it is, as you say a single question, independence only and

provided it's held by the end of 2014. Also a 6-page agreement

signed by the leaders between the governments and I believe the final

paragraph of that agreement will say that the two governments are

committed to work in the interests of the people of Scotland, whatever

the outcome of that referendum. Nationalists are saying that means

that the UK Government is committed to going with independence and not

obstructing independence, should that be the outcome. Of course, the

unionists are pointing out that the counterpoint of that is it commits

Alex Salmond to work within the framework of the union, should the

Scots reject independence. In other words, it is down to the people of

Scotland. A phrase, a a paragraph that means this agreement today is

politically binding, if not entirely legally legally binding.

The Scottish party have overcome hurdles in the past, give us a

sense of the scale of the mountain they have to climb if they are to

succeed in making Scotland independent? There have been some

polls suggesting a lead for independence, but right now if the

Scots were asked right now they would probably stay with the union

but the referendum isn't held right now. Notice two years. This isn't a

moment to be suggesting a change of this magnitude. Alex Salmond knows

that, he is concerned about the state of the economy, we all are.

He is hoping he can convince the Scots that the present set-up

within devolution is working, reasonably well. He is First

Minister is extracting the maximum from that but it's only from that.

He is hoping to argue he can go much further and do more in the

interests of the economy and Scotland's place in the world with

the powers of independence. David Cameron and his colleagues

supporting the union are hoping to argue argue Scotland can have the

best of both worlds. We will have a few more details to sort out over

the next few weeks and months in terms of the exact question, in

terms of the date. One senses almost relief on all sides now that

we are moving beyond process into the big substancive arguments of

whether Scotland should remain within the United Kingdom. Thank

you. For all the latest news and

background on the referendum itself, the campaigns, a timeline on the

legal and political decisions and many of your questions answered,

too, go to the BBC News website. A huge blaze at a house in Harlow

has killed four children and a woman - believed to be their mother.

The family were upstairs when the fire broke out in the early hours

of this morning. A fifth child was taken to hospital in a critical

condition. Police are treating the incident as suspicious. Our

correspondent Ben Geoghegan is in Harlow.

You can probably see one of the charred windows in the top floor of

the house behind me and the emergency crews say when they

arrived here in the early hours of this morning the fire was 100% well

alight and spreading rapidly and this morning we have been hearing

of the desperate and frantic attempts by rescuers to try and

save the lives of those inside. It's the intensity of the blaze

that's led police to conclude this morning that they think there is a

real chance this was started deliberately.

Blackened windows and walls on both sides of this house are the visible

signs of a ferocious fire. When the emergency services arrived at

around 2.00am, there were flames coming out of the front and back

doors. Neighbours were woken by the shouts from inside. Absolutely

pouring out the back of the house, the flames. Couldn't believe what

was happening. It was terrible. Devastated. Me and my daughter were

in tears. Fire officers wearing breathing equipment were able to

get into the building and managed to bring five people outside. A

doctor and paramedics were on hand to give medical help. Let's not be

under any illusions, there was an incredibly intense fire, flames

coming out of the front and rear of the property am people trapped and

our crews did a fantastic job. Everything they could humanly do

possible to get those children out which they did and they did

everything they possibly could to try to revive those children. The

house really is gutted. There is nothing left. Totally destroyed.

It's going to take sometime to establish how the fire started.

The four people who died at the scene were two boys, aged six and

13, and and an 11-year-old girl. A woman, thought to be their mother,

was also killed. Two other children, a nine-year-old boy and three-year-

old girl, were taken to hospital suffering serious burns. One of

them died this morning. Investigators arrived to begin

collecting evidence which should in time tell them how this fire was

started. The police say they are treating it as suspicious and want

anyone with information to contact them.

One bit of evidence that the police and the fire service have been

focusing on closely this morning is a silver Ford Focus car, which

they're actually in the process of putting on to a loader behind me

and will be bringing it out for further investigations and tests

later today. But that car was found in flames parked a little way from

the house in the early hours of this morning. The car has got no

connection to the family who lived at the address and so police want

to find out who it belonged to and they're treating the fire in that

car as arson. They say that is suspicion and I think that's one of

the reasons why they are treating this whole incident as a suspicious

incident. The Pakistani schoolgirl who was

shot in the head by the Taliban for suggesting that girls should be

educated is being flown to the UK for specialist medical treatment.

Malala Yousafzai, was attacked last week. A military spokesman said she

would require prolonged care to fully recover. Aleem Maqbool sent

this report from Islamabad. Malala Yousafzai began her journey in the

early hours, doctors here say they've done everything they can.

They're now relying on the UK to help her.

The teenager had been well known for writing a diary describing life

under the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat Valley. And for defying the

militants by campaigning for girls' education.

But last week as she travelled home from school, in a minibus packed

with her classmates, a gunman shot her in the head. She's been in a

serious condition ever since. We are told she will now need long-

term specialist care of the kind that can't be offered here but the

Pakistani Government will foot the bill. They're talking of skull

reconstruction and neuro rehabilitation. Doctors in the UK

will have to go about the business of ensuring she will survive. Many

countries had offered help, having been shocked by the attack. There

has been a wave of public revulsion in Pakistan and around the world

for this attempt to objects obstruct the education of the young

generation of that region. The United Kingdom stands shoulder to

shoulder with the people of Pakistan, in fighting terrorism, in

trying to ensure that young people have a proper education and in

supporting Malala. She may have left, but Pakistanis will continue

to pray for the 14-year-old girl who has come to be a symbol of this

country's fight for its future. It's understood Malala will be

treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Our

correspondent Ben Ando is there. Why there, Ben? Well, the Queen

Elizabeth Hospital is the UK's designated receiving hospital for

military casualties and here they have specialists in things like

ballistics injuries, neurology injuries, in burns injuries, all

the sorts of things that could be relevant in this case. We

understand is that Malala Yousafzai will arrive sometime later this

afternoon and two stages, first she will be assessed and will be

stablised. Then the various experts will look at her, examine her

condition and decide on a course of treatment to help her immediately

on the road to recovery. But her injuries may be very challenging.

She may have brain injuries caused by the bullet that had to be

removed from her skull in Pakistan. That may lead to the requirement

for long-term or longer neurological rehabilitation, even

if she survives from these awful The UK may opt out of 130 EU

measures on law and order, including the European Arrest

Warrant. The home secretary, Theresa May, is expected to say

that control will return to Britain in two years under an opt-out

agreed by the last government. Many Conservative MPs see this as a

first step in the repatriation of powers from Brussels, but the Lib

Dems are unhappy with the plan. Our political correspondent, Ross

Hawkins, reports. It is a debate about power and

justice. Britain is bound by over 100 EU measures on crime and

policing and now ministers are minded to abandon them and

campaigners are happy. We have an option to block out 130 measures.

Then we got to look on a practical basis, which areas do we want to

co-operate on an opt back in. It is a pragmatic course to take. Britain

can opt out of all of the most recently agreed policing measures

in 2014, but it cannot pick and choose each ones. The plan would be

to opt back in on the measures it likes, possibly trying to talk

about changes on the weight. The European arrest warrant. Hussain

Osman was one of four men who plotted to bomb London in 2005. He

fled to Italy and Britain use the warrant to get him back. But

Westminster says it makes it too easy for foreign police forces to

summon people from Great Britain on trivial grounds. Those critics

include many Conservatives. This is about coalition politics. Lib Dems

are lukewarm about these announcements and they talk about

Euro-sceptic thug, being at work. They insist no one has taken a

final decision. This could be the sign of a long coalition debate

about Europe and justice. The Tories and Lib Dems are talking

about what should be kept. There is going to be a considerable amount

of chaos and confusion, it seems to us. There are no transitional

issues published. It is most unclear if we can opt out and back

in simultaneously, so there will be a period we are in limbo. David

Cameron will have to answer those concerns when he meets European

leaders later this week. Many Conservatives will be a more than

happy to cheer him on. Our top story this lunchtime: The

battle lines are drawn for a vote on Scottish Independence - an

agreement's about to be signed on a referendum deal.

Coming Up: Earlier a woman rang the BBC and said she heard a hurricane

was on the wake. If you are watching, don't worry, there isn't.

25 years after this - how much has the reliability of weather

forecasting changed? Later on BBC London: The mother of

a computer hacker from North London tells us she fears her son won't

survive if he's extradited to America.

And charging your car - so we could start having electric vehicles

Smoking cannabis is no worse than eating junk food or gambling

according to a report from the UK Drug Policy Commission. It wants

the government to relax the UK's drug laws so that possession of

small amounts would no longer be a criminal offence. Our home affairs

correspondent, Danny Shaw, reports. Police raids in Manchester, the

traditional way of tackling -- tackling the lucrative drugs market.

1000 officers were involved. But the UK drug policy Commission

questions whether policies like this have any impact. And it says

long prison sentence don't deter dealers or reduce supply. As for

those with small quantities of drugs for their own use, like

cannabis, the Commission says it is disproportionate for them to be

cautioned or prosecuted. We need to focus a lot of effort on serious

criminal networks were people are possessing small amounts of drugs

the courts currently recognised, whether it is a few ecstasy tablets,

or a very small amount of cannabis. We shouldn't be putting people

through the criminal process for that. The report was written by

experts in science, health and policing and took six years to

complete. It says much of the �3 billion spent on tackling drug

misuse every year is wasted, and claims drugs education programmes

have little effect and may even increased reduced. One of the

Commission's most controversial ideas is people rowing a small

number of cannabis plants should be treated leniently. But there are

concerns about the effect of relaxing the laws on children.

work with teenagers and I hear from them daily, the reality of what

skunk cannabis can do to brains. In terms of motivation, anxiety and in

terms of paranoia. Symptoms which keep young people out of school and

make them not performed. The Home Office has made it clear it won't

alter the its approach and says drugs used in the UK is falling.

But the growth in so-called legal highs, it is clear in the future of

the Government may need to adopt a more radical approach.

Virgin Trains is being asked to continue to run services on the

West Coast Main Line for the next nine to 13 months. The decision to

give FirstGroup the franchise for the route was overturned after

problems with the bidding process. Our transport correspondent,

Richard Westcott, is at Euston now. Richard, why is the Government

taking this decision now? It got itself into MS and will take about

three years he will be sorting out who will be running these trains in

the long term. It could not ask Virgin to do it for the whole

period, because there are EU procurement laws. They have had to

come up with this compromise the were Virgin do it for a bit and

then we get short-term competition before we find out who will be

running the strains in the long term. What does it mean when the

bidding process starts again? interesting, because we don't know

what franchises in the future will look like. And there is a review

going on and report back around Christmas. It may recommend changes

to the way things are done. The Government is sitting tight and

waiting to see how it will get itself out of this mess.

remarkable stories of men who fell to earth. The Austrian, Felix

Baumgartner has become the first man to go beyond the speed of sound

after jumping from a balloon 24 miles off. A closer to the ground,

another story. A British teenager who jumped more than 3,000 ft from

an aeroplane, spiralled to earth after both his main parachute and

reserve got tangled. Luckily there is a happy ending, as Fiona Trott

reports. Not exactly a soft landing, but

this street could have saved his life. Look at what Liam Byrne mist,

a spiked metal fence just metres below. It took 30 minutes to cut

him free. And now, just a bond days later he is back at university to

tell the tale. Unfortunately, which does not happen to anyone, my main

parachute got wrapped around the top of my reserved when it deployed,

because of how I was falling. I lost control, tried to steer it,

but it was not working. It is lucky I did not try any harder because I

would have fallen to the ground. Show us your injuries. That on my

hands from the tree. And just a bruise. It is unbelievable, I have

such little injuries. His that it? I have a little scrape on my knee.

An experience like this might put some people off, but he is already

planning his next jump. He has also promised to pay his club's for six,

15 beers for all the other members. Luckily for Felix Baumgartner,

there were no problems with his parachute. He was jumping from a

balloon 24 miles above the earth to become the first skydiver to reach

supersonic speed. But there were a few unscripted moments.

Felix Baumgartner, looks down at the Earth, 24 miles below him. Then

there are those of Joe Kittinger, the man whose record he's trying to

break. -- the voice. The guardian angel will take care of you. Felix

says, he is going home now. I am going home. And then this... His

epic journey began to 0.5 hours earlier. A giant balloon that took

him there is higher than a 50 storey building. Felix entered his

pressurised capsule. And when the winds dropped, a way Felix went.

His mother was in tears. At nearly 62,000 feet, he enters the death

zone. A lead in a pressurised capsule and his blood would begin

to boil. Finally, Felix passes 127,000 ft and opens the door.

I was standing on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not

think about breaking records any more. He do not think about gaining

certificates. You just want to come back alive, because you do not want

to die in front of your parents, your girlfriend and all these

people watching this. But then, something goes wrong. Felix is

spinning. Unless he can stop, blood will rush to his head and he will

become unconscious. He can stop it by pressing a button, which will

release a small Parachute which would slow him down and he wouldn't

break the sound barrier. Felix has to make the biggest decision of his

life. Sometimes you make the call, do I pushed the button and stay

alive? Do I fight on and wait, break the speed of sound? After a

couple of minutes I got it under control. And I did. But then, there

is another problem. Felix cannot see his instruments. My visor has

frosted up. He does not know how high he is. This time it is safety-

first, he pulls his parachute early. Mission Control is jubilant. His

mother is relieved, and proud. Felix comes home and celebrates

after the jump of his life. It has been 25 years since the

great storm in Great Britain. It was the storm weather presenter,

Michael Fish, said wouldn't happen. Could it be missed Again Or has

advantage in forecasting ruled that out?

The presenters are different, the technology and graphics are more

sophisticated, but the aim of a weather forecast is the same as it

was in 1987 - accuracy. Get it right and no one notices. Get it

wrong and no one forgets. He would think I would be starring in the

Olympic opening ceremony. A woman rang the BBC and said she

had heard a hurricane was on the wake. Michael Fish insists he was

talking about a hurricane heading for Florida. But that might the UK

experience one of the worse storms on record. 18 people died, 15

million trees were uprooted. weather will be very windy but most

of the strong winds will be over Spain... The true power of the

storm was not realised until it was too late. You cannot blame anybody.

The computer did the forecast, but you cannot blame that either. It

was unfortunate the computer lacked a huge amount of data from the area

where the storm was developing. There is no problem with computer

data now. Here at Met Office headquarters in Exeter, millions

have been spent on these computers, all with the one aim, getting the

forecast spot on. So these are some of the charts in 1987. Back then,

became in every three hours. Now we can get them every 15 minutes. They

are instant on your computer. They four-day forecast today is as

accurate as a one-day forecast in 1987. It is an incredible

improvement. With the investments in whether technology, it seems

unthinkable in storm of this magnitude could be missed again.

But as every forecast can tell you, never say never.

Ensure that is what Louise would say, but a lot has changed since

It has, but look at this picture. You can see the lack of detail.

These pictures only came out every three hours. Compare it to what we

have today. You can see the white cloud across the country. This

cloud here is another front will system moving through overnight.

The satellite pictures get updated every few minutes. It has been a

case of sunny spells and scattered showers. That is the story but the

rest of the afternoon. Some of the showers in the south-west will he's

awake. It is appointing feel, nine to 14 degrees. Low-pressure arrives

in the night. It rattles through at quite a pace. Wet and windy weather

to come overnight. It stops over Northern Ireland, northern England

and Scotland. There will be a little bit of wet hills known to

come as well. It is a grey and dismal start to Tuesday. Not

particularly nice. Better through the Midlands and into the South

Eastern corner. Not as cold, more sunshine but breezy. Not too bad

for tomorrow morning. This similar story south and west. Temperatures

perhaps into double figures at 8 am into Plymouth and much of Wales.

For North Wales we can see cloud, maybe outbreaks of rain close to

Anglesey and for the Isle of Man. In Northern Ireland it is cold,

grey. It will be a miserable start to Tuesday. But things will improve

as the date continues. There is the rain across the Scottish borders. A

touch of frost in the glens, but some sunshine. The weather fronts

drips East and moves into the North Sea by the middle of the afternoon.

Either side we have sunny spells. In terms of the feel of things,

temperatures around nine, 14 degrees. Not a bad end, better than

we begin. But it won't be long before the next area of low

pressure moves in from the south- west. More wet and windy weather.

It may be the anniversary of the great storm, but it is business as