03/01/2014 BBC News at One

Flooding hits many parts of the UK as officials warn of some of the

worst weather for years. The South West bears the brunt as strong winds

combine with high tides to send massive waves crashing into the

coastline. There are severe flood warnings are in place for coastal

communities. Roads have collapsed and some towns are under water. The

levels here do rise remarkably quickly. Talking to the locals, they

haven't seen anything like this since 1999. This is the scene live

over Gloucestershire where earlier the river rose to a dangerously high

level. Also this lunchtime. A British man's been killed in Libya.

It's reported he was shot along with a woman from New Zealand. One in

three people around the world are overweight with obesity rising

fastest in developing countries. And more misery for England down under,

as they throw away another good start in the final Ashes Test.

The latest figures showed the rate of cycling deaths on the roads

continues to get worse. And people in parts of Surrey and Berks warned

of possible further flooding. Hello. Good afternoon and welcome to

the BBC News At One. The Environment Agency has warned that weather

conditions in some parts of Britain could be the worst for five to ten

years. The South West saw the worst of this morning's storm with the Met

Office warning of strong winds and rain in Scotland and Northern

Ireland this afternoon. The Environment Agency has issued eight

severe flood warnings which indicate a risk to life across England and

Wales, with heavy rain and gusts of 60mph. And there are now 136 flood

warnings in place, a lower category, which still requires people to take

action. In Scotland, a tidal surge is expected shortly around the Firth

of Clyde, Solway Firth and Ayrshire. The government's emergency committee

is due to meet around now to discuss the situation. In a moment we will

be assessing the weather conditions across the UK with our

correspondents Hywel Griffith in Newport in South Wales, James Cook

in Ardrossan in North Ayrshire and Andy Martin in Belfast. But first to

Jon Kay who's on the beach at Perranporth in Cornwall. Kate, it

enormous waves against here this lunchtime but at least for now, they

are way outside the beach itself. A very different story along the coast

first thing this morning, though. The sea came all the way in here,

going over the top of the wall, flooding properties up the road

which haven't been flooded for decades. The one advantage, though,

living near a beach, there's a ready supply of sand, so people are

sandbagging this lunchtime, preparing for more storms yet to

come. Cornel's early morning wake-up call. This was nucleotide tide. As

the latest storm thundered in. -- Cornwall. Crowds gathered well

before dawn, warned by the authorities to keep a safe distance.

Look at that. Spectacular, isn't it? Fantastic. Have you ever seen at

this high before? No, I've never seen it like this before. It's an

absolutely awesome sight. Frightening power. You wouldn't want

to be in the sea or too close to it. It really is frightening. In this

fishing port, 20 properties were flooded as the already high tide was

whipped up further by howling winds. In the seaside town of

Perranporth, similar story, just three days ago, they were

celebrating New Year's Eve in this pub and now they start the year

badly. This was the kitchen with six inches of water. Janine only took

over this cafe three months ago but last night, the sea came in. Now she

and her team are preparing for the next surge. She feels the council

should be compelled by law to provide sandbags for vulnerable

properties. The moment, that's not the case. There's no point in them

whilst we are flooding. We need them before that to prevent it. If you

had had moored sandbags in time last night, do you think your cafe could

have been saved? I don't think it would've been as bad as it was. This

afternoon, she has taken matters into her own hands, filling bags

with sand from the beach the next surge tonight. Another low pressure

system coming through this weekend and may move on into the weeks as

well to come. With the ground saturated, even moderate rain could

cause more flooding. The coast of west Wales have been battered by the

Irish Sea. This coastal road in Pembrokeshire ripped apart by the

waves. And the Victorian prom at Aberystwyth has also been left in

tatters. Along the notorious River Severn in Gloucestershire, there's

been some flooding but it's not been as bad as feared. The wind is not

quite as high as it has been, so far. At least. Well, we saw the

sandbags being filled up on the beach and this is where they end up

at these properties on the street. There are high tide the street.

There are high tides denied with waves expected to be ten metres

high, so you can understand why people are taking precautions. The

parish council in Perranporth has asked people to come down to the

beach later on and try to fill as many bags as they can to try to

protect as many oddities. It's strange, because the wind is

dropped, the rain is falling, but it's not that dramatic but, at the

same time, there's more to come. The police say it's an ongoing major

incident and it's set to last into the weekend. OK, thank you for that

update. As we heard in that report, there's also been flooding in West

Wales. About 30 properties have been affected in Cardigan where a

pregnant woman has been rescued and some people are trapped in their

homes. Hywell Griffith is in Newport for us with more. Give us the latest

update. Yes, high wind still whipping around the Welsh coastline.

They arrived shortly after high tide this morning. That may just have

been enough to avert major flooding on the coastline for the Wii a share

in Newport on the edge of a static caravan park which had to be

evacuated -- we are here. Police said there was a red alert and they

should leave now. They came back this morning to find, thankfully,

the water had not overturned these flood defences however, this

afternoon, they have been warned the high tide tonight expected that

8:45pm, may add further risk so they will be evacuated again this

evening. 870 miles of coastline in Wales flood alert all the way, so

places in Cardigan, further north already affected and concern this

lunchtime about North Wales. Its also had an impact on traffic and

travel. Roads are closed and a lot of the rail network is underwater.

The line between here and Newport and Cardiff is underwater, and

Swansea and West Wales also affected, are people trying to make

their way around the country having their journeys disrupted. And

concern about what the weekend may bring. Indeed, thank you very much.

Scotland now then. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has

currently issued 38 flood warnings, but at present none of them are

severe. Let's get an update. James Cook is in Ardrossan in North

Aryshire. What's the situation there, James? Yes, quite serious,

really, in terms of the storm surge which is now just coming ashore. You

can see it is picking any moment now. You can see the force of that

water as it's coming over the shore front share in Ardrossan, breaking

against the shore front, and that's causing flooding to the roads. You

can see the roads here has been shut, and this is a similar picture

on the coastal road up and down the West coast of Scotland. At the

moment, we are being told that there are problems with flooding here in

Ayreshire and also in Dumfries and it and there have been problems

further north as well. More reports of damage flooding to property, no

reports, but it's only due to peak around now. High tide due at 1:20pm,

and this surge of water expected to reach its peak for the dubbing is

not gusting at their strongest levels but it's not been the kind of

storm which has caused the problem. It has been the coastal water which

is, sure, but winds gusting at more than 60 mph in parts of Scotland.

Nearly 40 flood warnings in place. The advice really is for people to

keep away from the coastline and to keep off roads which are shut.

Indeed. James, thank you bring much for that update for Scotland. The

predictions with regard to the level of flooding have been downgraded

slightly in Northern Ireland. Andy Martin is in East Belfast for us

now. Is that expected to change or has Northern Ireland seen the worst

of it? I think Northern Ireland, the worst of it is past. There were huge

concern is just under an hour ago that the high tide might cause

difficulties in this part of Belfast. You can see the railway

bridge behind me, normally there are metres of free air here but you can

see with a high tide is reached, and the difficulty, of course, is

that... It's very windy, but to the left of your screen is an intensely

built-up area of Belfast and there are thousands of homes here. There

have been thousands and thousands of sandbags put here in case the river

spilled over. That hasn't happened since 1974. The tactical support

group, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, are more used to

getting involved in riot situations. They are on stand-by to pull anybody

from their houses should they get into any difficulties and the Coast

Guard has been here at the high tide passed about 50 minutes ago and

there was no flooding. So Northern Ireland, for the most part, has

avoided the difficulties. We are getting an indication some parts of

the coast around County Antrim are experiencing difficulties at the

moment but for the most part, Northern Ireland has got away

further -- fairly easily so far. Andy, thank you for your update.

John Hammond is with me now. So John what's driving all this wet weather.

Where's it coming from? The atmosphere is fluid around the world

and it's something unusual is happening in one part of WorldCom is

more than likely because something unusual is happening in another part

of the world. In North America, it's pretty unusual in as much as we have

a very, very tight temper the contrast with intensely cold air

coming down from the Arctic. A lot of snow across North America and it

is this tight temperature contrast which drives the jet stream,

conductor Rod of the weather, and the stronger the Jetstream, the more

intense hour storm systems are. There it goes, whizzing up in the

atmosphere across the Atlantic, and it whips up the weather at the

surface, and the stronger the Jetstream, the stronger the weather.

That's what we have hard weeks and weeks and weeks of it. On the

satellite picture comes you can see what's happening right now with yet

another series of storms heading our way and that's what's responsible

for the strong wind at the moment. If we look ahead through this week,

we can see more wind and more rain. Incidentally, for a time on

Saturday, we could season snow across northern areas. More ice to

the West. The next explosion of storms underneath that Jetstream

which means more wind and rain for all of us through Sunday. We are

keeping a close eye on it but no sign of the weather settling down.

The Jetstream remains very strong indeed. OK, a full update later on

in the programme. Thank you very much. And for the latest on the

situation you can tune in to your local BBC Radio station on FM,

digital radio, and online. Now, in other news. The Foreign

Office has confirmed that a British man has been killed in Western

Libya. His body, and that of a New Zealand woman, were found next to

their untouched luggage near a gas and oil complex. It's thought they'd

been shot. Our Correspondent, Nick Beake, is at the Foreign Office.

What more are you able to tell us? The Foreign Office has now confirmed

they know the identity of this British man who has been killed in

Libya. His next of kin have been informed. They happened, though,

released his name. That hasn't been put into the public domain. In terms

of official information, there is little to go on. We are reliant on

reports and sources within Libya if we had time to build a picture of

what's happened here in the past 24 hours. For example, Libyan security

sources say that they think this man and woman he was with, who was from

New Zealand, were shot dead four that they were apparently found

surrounded by their luggage, which was untouched and, in terms of a

motive, that's very much unclear. Their bodies were found outside this

island gas complex which is about 60 miles to the west of the capital,

Tripoli. Initial reports suggested they may have been teachers. We are

told that is not the case. There are reports they may have been teachers.

We are told that is not the case. There are reportedly worth workers

within that oil complex, which is owned by an Italian company. This

comes one month after an attack in the eastern city of Benghazi. An

American teacher was killed. He was out running when he was targeted and

shot dead. In the wake of that, the Foreign Office he said Westerners

should be aware of further attacks against them, in particular

spontaneous attacks. Now, we are waiting for more information from

the Foreign Office in terms of what has happened here in the past 24

hours but it could be that we get that in the coming hours. OK, thank

you. There are fresh calls for governments around the world to tax

unhealthy foods to deal with rising global obesity. The Overseas

Development Institute says the number of overweight and obese

adults in developing countries has quadrupled since 1980, contributing

to huge increases in health problems like diabetes and stroke. Tulip

Mazumdar has the details. Far too many sausages! Many of us no

doubt overdid it over Christmas, but there are fresh concerns about our

globally expanding waistlines. Researchers say it is particularly

alarming in the developing world, where people are choosing to spend

the increasing disposable income on unhealthy fast food. The future

diets report analysed existing data on global obesity rates. It found

that in 1980 one in five people worldwide were overweight or obese.

By 2008, it had risen to one in three. The report also found that in

the developed world, countries like the UK and the US, rates went from

320 million up to 571 million. But in developing countries like Egypt

and Mexico, numbers almost quadrupled from 250 million up to

904 million. It is these sorts of greasy fattening, sugary processed

foods that are causing the problem. This class of drink has more than

the daily recommended amount of sugar in it, around 13 teaspoons.

Get through enough of this often enough, and you risk getting serious

illnesses. The report says Western governments which have been dealing

with the obesity problem for longer have so far failed. It suggests

taxing unhealthy food. Things that change is the prices of food, I

think, would be particularly effective in changing consumption

patterns, and we know from the experience of the USA, where certain

states have introduced taxes on sweets, for example, that it does

affect the amount that is consumed. You cannot say to a slim person, you

have to pay extra for this because other people are abusing it. It is a

blunt tool, taxing, forcing people through their pockets. Much of the

industry is not keen, Eva and argued the only thing that will get lighter

is people's wallets. -- keen either. Our main story this lunchtime:

Flooding hits many parts of the UK as officials warn of some of the

worst weather for years. Still to come, the British film tipped to win

at this month's Golden Globes, based on a true life story of slavery in

the American South, we will hear from one of its stars.

Later on BBC London, we meet the marathon man, David Bedford, the

former athlete and race director has been awarded an OBE. And remember in

Peter the wild boy, brought to London by George I and still

honoured today. Documents from 30 years ago released

this morning revealed that Margaret Thatcher secretly considered calling

up troops at the height of the miners' strike. Plans were drawn up

for thousands of members of the armed forces to drive lorries to

move coal to power stations. The Cabinet papers also reveal that

Libyan officials twice want the Foreign Office of potential violence

hours before policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was murdered outside the

Libyan Embassy in London. News correspondent Ben Ando has more.

It was one of the most violent and bitter industrial disputes in

British history. The year-long miners' strike from 1984 to 1985 saw

hundreds injured on both sides in brutal clashes on picket lines

between striking miners and the police. You are blocking the

footpath... Miners leader Arthur Scargill was himself arrested during

the Battle of Orgreave, and he claimed that the administration had

a secret it lists of pits earmarked for closure. We do not want to see

that closures and a rundown on manpower levels, bearing in mind

they have a hit list of 70 pits and a reduction of about 70,000 in

manpower. But Mrs Thatcher said the Government wanted to close just 20,

and in the end the strike bailed. The miners were defeated, and the

power of the trade unions was broken. Now records from the

national archives released under the 30 year rule show that Arthur

Scargill was right, there was a secret hit list of 75 pits that had

been identified for closure over the next three years. The document was

marked that it was not to be copied or circulated outside the private

office. Mrs Thatcher's then an adviser says the need for secrecy

was clear. When you are in a negotiation of this kind, you want

to show as little of your hand as you can to those with whom you are

negotiating, particularly if the purposes of those people are

clearly, as they were in this case, malign. To learn after 30 years that

the leader had been right is now a bitter pill for those who fought and

lost. Not wrong in everything, he said that it was to butcher the

industry, nobody ever disputed that from this side. He has been proved

right, there was an ulterior motive in what they were doing. One month

after the start of the strike in April 1980, Mrs Thatcher's

government was faced with a new crisis, the murdered in a London

street of a policewoman by a gunman hidden in the Libyan Embassy. That

the murder. Armed police surrounded the

embassy. WPC Yvonne Fletcher had been killed and 11 people who had

been demonstrating had been injured, but new documents show that

the British ambassador in Libya, Oliver Miles, had been warned by the

authorities in Tripoli of possible trouble. I took it seriously, which

is why I reported it to the Foreign Office, but I did not believe it,

no. After an 11 day stand-off, those under siege were allowed to leave.

The documents reveal Mrs Thatcher saw this as a pragmatic decision to

protect Britons in Tripoli, even if it meant the suspected killer of

Yvonne Fletcher went free. Benefit fraud costs the country more

than ?1 billion per year, and that figure has not fallen in the past

five years. The Government is trying to find the best way to bring it

down and is trialling six project around the UK, each with a different

way of tackling the problem. Local government correspondent Mike

Sergeant explains. Some cases have hit the headlines.

Like the drag queen who fraudulently claimed tens of thousands of

pounds, the superfit boxing instructor who receives disability

benefits, or the livestock trader who said he could barely walk but

was filmed working vigorously. The Government want anyone suspected of

benefit cheats or concerned about their own situation to get in touch.

People tend to see benefit fraud as something that is not against

anybody in particular, because it is against the Government, but it is

very serious, a criminal offence, and it is an offence against the

likes of us, the taxpayer. Benefits cheats often begin the deception

slowly, almost casually, maybe they take on a couple of extra hours'

work per week or moving with partner without telling the authorities, but

in time the fraud can bring a significant cost to the taxpayers

who do play the rules. Benefit investigators, like these in

Cardiff, are beginning pilots in six areas of the UK, a mixture of

internet ads, newspaper campaigns and letters. The idea is to compare

different methods of alerting the public to find out what works best.

Fraud accounts for a small fraction of the welfare bill but still costs

the taxpayer ?1 billion per year. Overpayments because of error cost

even more, 1.6 billion. Those who failed to disclose information they

say ?2000 fine or a possible prison sentence for serious offences. --

faced eight ?2000 fine. You may have made a mistake, but let us know nice

and early so we do not go down the route of conviction. Critics say

previous attempts to raise awareness have not had much effect on the

level of fraud detected, that ministers say the message needs to

go out that cheats should be stopped.

Fans of the Formula One champion Michael Schumacher have gathered

outside the French hospital where he remains in a critical condition

after suffering head injuries while skiing at the weekend. They marked

his 45th birthday by joining a silent vigil. His family has

remained at his bedside. 12 Years A Slave is an unflinching

portrayal of slavery in the American South from British director Steve

McQueen. So far it is jointly leading the nominations for the

Golden Globe awards alongside American Hustle. Based on the true

story of a freeman sold into slavery, it stars Chiwetel Ejiofor,

and Will Gompertz has been to meet him.

Solomon Northup is an expert player of the violin. I was born a freeman,

lived with my family in New York until the day I was deceived,

kidnapped and sold into slavery. True story, did you know it

beforehand to me I had never heard of him. I had never heard of Solomon

Northup or the kidnappings in the North that happened.

I am a freeman. You have no right whatsoever to detain me. You are

nothing but a Georgia away. When you went out to Louisiana, when you went

out in New Orleans and talk to people about what you were doing,

was the story still in the soil? Do people still connect with it, or was

it fresh to them as well? There are places which have a rich investment

still to what happened in there, whereas there are places that are

tending to museums, for example, you can talk to people who are the

descendants of the plantation owners, in the times of slavery. And

then there are other places in Louisiana which seem very removed

from all of that, almost as if it never happened, you know. And so

there is that kind of psychology as well, but on the plantations you

feel that there is a real sense of dancing with ghosts, that everything

is still, you know, very much alive and present, in the soil.

SINGING It is highly likely you will be short listed for an Oscar

nomination for the performance. Similarly, your mate Idris Elba, who

played Mandela, another staggering performance, he could get short

listed. How does that feel? I spoke to Idris the other day, and it is

amazing, it is really great, and I am really excited about the prospect

of that. Who is going to get the schedule me who knows? It has been

such an incredible journey that whatever happens now, regardless of

that, it has been an extraordinary time with films that I am deeply

proud of. Thank you very much indeed.

Now cricket, and it has been a familiar tale for England after the

opening day of the final Ashes Test in Sydney. The tourists made a great

start before the Australians once again took control and rally from

97-5 to finish 326 all out. In reply, England are 8-1. Dan Roan has

been watching the action. There are few better places to make

a fresh start, and in a city synonymous with New Year, English

cricket had made a resolution to turn the tide. The tourists had seen

another, a trio of players and debuts. Having wielded the axe,

England won the toss for the first time the series, and the decision to

bowl on a grassy pitch was clearly vindicated. Australia were reduced

to 97-5 shortly after lunch, the tourists finally getting it off

their chests. But as sure as night follows day is, Brad Haddin will

come to the rescue, and sure enough he was full of his usual swash and

buckle as the hosts recovered. These were not the debuts that the English

players had hoped for, Boyd Rankin was hamstrung, Scott Borthwick

simply hammered, as Brad Haddin took the game away from them. The

wicketkeeper was eventually out for 75, but his accomplice Steve Smith

continued in the same vein, bringing up a sparkling century in grand

style. But just as a weary England sank to new levels of despondency

came some late solace, Ben Stokes was the one ray of light on an

otherwise gloomy tour, wrapping up the tail with three victims in an

over. His six wicket haul gave the team something to celebrate,

Australia all out for 326. But by then the damage was done, and under

a ferocious evening assault from Mitchell Johnson, Michael Carberry

was out for a duck, England limping off on 8-1. You have to wonder once

again what might have been. We started really well, we had the 95,

and then Brad Haddin and Smith counter-attacked the start that we

got. We gave them too many. So a new year and some new faces, but the

same old story for England, failing to capitalise after a good start.

They now face a huge batting day, but in truth the prospect of a 5-0

series whitewash remains all too real.

OK, time for a full look at the weather with John Hammond.

It is quieter down under, it is wild back home, as you are well aware.

This is the flood line number, more stormy weather in prospect. This is

today's beast, it is the winds of most concern, battering the western

and southern coasts. We have some footage from Ayrshire of flooding

taking place, very strong gusts indeed. Our attention turns to areas

further south later this afternoon and into the evening, with another

high spring tide expected, and in the last hour or so we have actually

seen gusts of over 90 mph along some exposed clifftops along the southern

coast of England. Inland, some really squally showers, a land

thunder mixed in, nasty driving conditions. -- hail and thunder

mixed in. Technically mild in the south, but it does not feel pleasant

with the wind and rain. Looking ahead towards this evening, very

windy with an ongoing risk of flooding in the south for a time,

the winds dying down, blustery showers rattling in, cold across the

North for some slippery surfaces later towards dawn. By that time,

more trouble brewing across southern counties of England, yet another

area of rain. A lot of uncertainty about the detail tomorrow, but the

prospect is there for a few hours of wet weather across southeastern

areas, just where we do not need it, and this area of rain looks like it

is moving across the country, engaging colder in northern

England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland, bringing a real

risk of snow even at low levels. We could see some significant snow, we

will keep an eye on that one for sure. This is the picture for the

afternoon, brightening up, technically mild in the south but

cold with a risk of snow further south. That is Saturday. You have

probably heard all about Sunday, the next explosive deepening area of low

pressure, that means more wet and windy weather sweeping in from the

south-west. The winds and not of so much concern, it is the rain, with

another 20 millimetres in some places double that. Some areas

starting bright and cold in the East, but more trouble looming. To

sum up the weekend, if you really want to know, it is going to be

pretty rough, rain on Saturday, a risk of snow on Sunday, then wet and

windy weather spreading into more areas.

Thank you so much! That is our main story at 1:30, flooding heats many

parts of the UK as officials warn of the worst weather for years. That is

it from the News At One