:00:08. > :00:09.A significant change of direction for the NHS in England.
:00:10. > :00:12.Its new boss talks of an end to mass centralisation
:00:13. > :00:20.We'll assess what the changes mean for the Health Service.
:00:21. > :00:25.A sharp rise in the numbers of illegal migrants reaching
:00:26. > :00:32.Two teenage girls are gang raped and hanged from a tree
:00:33. > :00:38.More pressure on Nick Clegg after a Lib Deb peer apologises to women who
:00:39. > :00:45.And pressing delete - Google start allowing people to remove personal
:00:46. > :00:55.A retired Metropolitan police officer appears in court accused
:00:56. > :01:00.of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy in police custody.
:01:01. > :01:02.And HMS Bulwark berths in Greenwich on its way to Normandy to
:01:03. > :01:23.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.
:01:24. > :01:27.The new Chief Executive of NHS England has signalled a shift
:01:28. > :01:29.in policy by saying that smaller community hospitals should play an
:01:30. > :01:36.In an interview, Simon Stevens said the NHS must end
:01:37. > :01:40.mass centralisation, and said too many patients are being
:01:41. > :01:43.robbed of dignity and compassion because of a lack of local care.
:01:44. > :01:50.Here's our health correspondent Dominic Hughes.
:01:51. > :01:56.In recent years, the health service in England has emphasised the
:01:57. > :01:59.benefits of its centralised services, so those suffering from a
:02:00. > :02:05.stroke or heart attack might be taken to a specialist centre rather
:02:06. > :02:08.than the local hospital. With only limited resources, the future of
:02:09. > :02:12.smaller district general and community hospitals has been less
:02:13. > :02:18.clear. Now the new chief executive of the NHS in England said they
:02:19. > :02:28.should pay a and important part of providing care. He says they should
:02:29. > :02:35.provide care for older patient who could be treated closer to home.
:02:36. > :02:38.Simon Stevens says that we should learn from other countries were
:02:39. > :02:57.smaller community care hospitals take care of local care.
:02:58. > :03:04.For the body that represents community hospitals, the change in
:03:05. > :03:09.emphasis is good news. I am delighted there has been refocusing
:03:10. > :03:13.about the role of community, because they are so much an important part
:03:14. > :03:18.of the community, both the patients who feel more at home, and relatives
:03:19. > :03:21.who can get in more easily. But experts warn that smaller, local
:03:22. > :03:27.hospitals still face some tough challenges. These hospitals will
:03:28. > :03:30.have to look very hard at where they get their money from, and the income
:03:31. > :03:33.they receive for treating particularly older patients will
:03:34. > :03:38.have to increase to make them financially viable, because they are
:03:39. > :03:43.very dependent on providing services rather than teaching and research,
:03:44. > :03:48.on which big hospitals rely. And NHS England source said Mr Stevens was
:03:49. > :03:50.not suggesting a return to cottage hospitals, nor was he saying there
:03:51. > :03:55.will be no closures of local hospitals in the years to come.
:03:56. > :03:56.Instead, smaller hospitals have a part to play in shifting services
:03:57. > :04:10.into the community. Just how significant is this? I
:04:11. > :04:14.think this is a significant shift. Simon Stevens clearly believes that
:04:15. > :04:18.for too long, the NHS in England has concentrated on putting services
:04:19. > :04:23.into these because bubbles, and now he is calling for a refocusing of
:04:24. > :04:26.the debate on the role of the smaller community hospitals like the
:04:27. > :04:30.one I am at here in Withington. Certainly it is good news for many
:04:31. > :04:35.hospitals who feared that the axe might be hanging over them. Many
:04:36. > :04:40.small community hospitals have closed across England over recent
:04:41. > :04:45.years. If they are going to have a sustainable, viable long-term
:04:46. > :04:48.future, he is mapping out a way for them to do that by being more
:04:49. > :04:52.involved in bringing these services into the community.
:04:53. > :04:57.And he is new into the job. What else is in his intro?
:04:58. > :05:01.The biggest question he has to answer is how he will fund, meet
:05:02. > :05:06.what many believe to be a ?30 billion funding gap that is opening
:05:07. > :05:10.up over the coming years in the funding of the NHS in England, and
:05:11. > :05:14.that is a very big problem that he will have to grapple with over the
:05:15. > :05:19.coming years. He will outline his vision for the NHS in the autumn, a
:05:20. > :05:24.five-year plan, and we will get more details then. Certainly the funding
:05:25. > :05:28.gap is what he has to tackle first. Dominic, thank you very much.
:05:29. > :05:31.The BBC has learned that there's been a significant increase
:05:32. > :05:33.in the number of migrants reaching Europe in recent months.
:05:34. > :05:36.Figures from the EU's border agency show the numbers attempting
:05:37. > :05:38.to cross from North Africa have risen particularly sharply.
:05:39. > :05:40.Our world affairs correspondent, Paul Adams, reports.
:05:41. > :05:42.Dramatic pictures from across the EU this week.
:05:43. > :05:44.In one of Spain's North African enclaves,
:05:45. > :05:50.migrants celebrated after scaling the border fence in their hundreds.
:05:51. > :05:54.In the French port of Calais, scenes of anger as the authorities moved
:05:55. > :06:01.And all year, tales of terror and death as migrants try to reach
:06:02. > :06:08.It is all part of a new surge of illegal migration into Europe.
:06:09. > :06:11.Along the main route from Libya into Italy, more than 25,000
:06:12. > :06:16.migrants arrived in the first four months of this year.
:06:17. > :06:20.The Italian government says that number has now surged almost 40,000.
:06:21. > :06:22.There are several other routes with smaller numbers, but the total
:06:23. > :06:27.for this year is probably now in the region of 60,000.
:06:28. > :06:29.At this rate, the numbers could rival 2011,
:06:30. > :06:34.when tens of thousands of Tunisians and sub-Saharan Africans fled north
:06:35. > :06:39.According to the EU's Borders Agency,
:06:40. > :06:42.if the current trends continue, and with the summer months approaching,
:06:43. > :06:46.there is a strong likelihood that the numbers will increase further.
:06:47. > :06:49.So where are the migrants coming from?
:06:50. > :06:53.A glance at the faces we saw this week gives you some idea.
:06:54. > :06:58.From West Africa to South Asia, they come from far and wide.
:06:59. > :07:00.The largest groups all from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan.
:07:01. > :07:04.Experts say we shouldn't be surprised or alarmed.
:07:05. > :07:11.As long as we have these major conflicts in Syria, now Ukraine,
:07:12. > :07:16.Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Nigeria, now Egypt, you name it.
:07:17. > :07:21.As long as these numbers won't go away, a very small number,
:07:22. > :07:31.surprisingly small number of people will need to seek shelter.
:07:32. > :07:37.Small numbers in relative terms, but it seems too much for Europe to cope
:07:38. > :07:41.with. Bitterly complained it is spending almost ?250,000 a day
:07:42. > :07:49.patrolling its patch of the Mediterranean. -- Italy complained.
:07:50. > :07:55.And in this Spanish enclave, the authorities are putting up new tents
:07:56. > :08:00.in an already overcrowded immigration centre. The police keep
:08:01. > :08:02.a night on new hopefuls. Some of Europe's most economically
:08:03. > :08:12.challenged countries are bearing the brunt of this new wave of migration.
:08:13. > :08:15.And it is at a time when election results suggest that Europe is less
:08:16. > :08:19.tolerant of migration. The family of two teenaged girls who
:08:20. > :08:22.were gang raped and hanged from a tree in northern India have
:08:23. > :08:24.accused police of ignoring They say it took officers 12 hours
:08:25. > :08:29.to respond when they reported Police have now arrested three men,
:08:30. > :08:32.including a policeman accused Our correspondent Divya
:08:33. > :08:38.Arya sent this report. It was a heart-wrenching scene. One
:08:39. > :08:41.that the village did not expect to wake up to. Two teenage cousins who
:08:42. > :08:47.had gone missing the night before were found dead. Their bodies were
:08:48. > :08:51.hanging from a mango tree. The girls were aged just 14 and 15. Offices in
:08:52. > :09:01.the north Indian state of utter predation so the girls were attacked
:09:02. > :09:07.by three men -- Attar Pradesh. The father of one of the victims spoke
:09:08. > :09:11.to the media at the village. He said, we were ready to go to the
:09:12. > :09:16.police station, the police officer came to me and said that the girls
:09:17. > :09:19.are hanging from a tree. The policeman at the local outpost
:09:20. > :09:22.shooed him away when he asked for help in locating the missing girls.
:09:23. > :09:30.His complaint has now landed one policeman in jail, and the search is
:09:31. > :09:36.on for the other. TRANSLATION: Whatever happened, it was very
:09:37. > :09:44.wrong. We are fully prepared and we are with Victors' family. We will
:09:45. > :09:47.take action against the culprit. Insensitivity of the police towards
:09:48. > :09:57.victims of rape remains a huge problem in India. Political parties
:09:58. > :09:59.even came together to bring stricter anti-rape laws after the brutal
:10:00. > :10:06.murder of a Delhi student two years ago, but the issue has fallen off
:10:07. > :10:11.their agenda since. Since the attack, the number of reported cases
:10:12. > :10:13.of rape and sexual assault in Delhi has gone up sharply. The latest
:10:14. > :10:22.figures from the National crime records bureau show that the roots
:10:23. > :10:26.of almost doubled, from 706 to 1330 cases, and reported cases of sexual
:10:27. > :10:36.assault have almost quadrupled, from 700 to seven to 2844 in the years
:10:37. > :10:41.since the brutal attack. The official figures say that a rapist
:10:42. > :10:44.reported every 22 minutes, but that is likely to be the tip of the
:10:45. > :10:53.iceberg, because there is such huge stigma and fear for women attached
:10:54. > :10:59.to reporting rate in that country. The focus of the media is firmly on
:11:00. > :11:04.this case. News trucks have descended on the village, and the
:11:05. > :11:06.people hope that this will help them to inch forward on the long road to
:11:07. > :11:12.justice. There's further pressure
:11:13. > :11:13.on the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, to decide whether or not
:11:14. > :11:16.to readmit Lord Rennard following his apology to four women who
:11:17. > :11:19.accused him of sexual harassment. Lord Steel, a former Lib Dem leader,
:11:20. > :11:22.has entered the row, saying Lord Rennard's suspension
:11:23. > :11:24.should now be lifted. Let's speak to our political
:11:25. > :11:36.correspondent Carole Walker. A terrible week for Nick Clegg, and
:11:37. > :11:40.now more pressure on him? Yes, this makes it even harder for him to end
:11:41. > :11:46.the turmoil in his party. What has happened is that Lord Rennard has at
:11:47. > :11:50.last said that he would like to make a sincere apology to four women who
:11:51. > :11:53.complained of sexual harassment. He said he may well have encroached on
:11:54. > :11:58.their personal space, although that would have been inadvertent. As he
:11:59. > :12:09.said, supporters like Lord steel, and former Liberal leader, said that
:12:10. > :12:13.he should be back into the party. But the women are not happy with the
:12:14. > :12:16.tone of his apology and say that he should be thrown out. So you have to
:12:17. > :12:22.directly conflicting views within the party, and a row that will
:12:23. > :12:27.rumble on. And when should we expect of this vision on this? Part of the
:12:28. > :12:31.problem for Nick Clegg is that this is really out of his hands. I am
:12:32. > :12:37.assured that this is all down to one of the Lib Dems' disciplinary panel
:12:38. > :12:41.to decide what will happen to Lord Rennard, and the leadership has no
:12:42. > :12:45.say in it. There is no indication so far of how long this is game to
:12:46. > :12:51.take, and while that does continue to be unresolved, it just makes it
:12:52. > :12:56.even harder for Nick Clegg, who is already coping with the aftermath of
:12:57. > :13:04.diet election results, the attempt to an seating, the attempted coup,
:13:05. > :13:07.that by Lord Oakeshott, and it makes it harder for him to be build the
:13:08. > :13:12.shattered morale and reputation of his party. Thank you very much.
:13:13. > :13:15.Part of a hotel in Londonderry has been badly
:13:16. > :13:18.damaged by a fire bomb which went off while an army bomb disposal team
:13:19. > :13:22.The device was thrown into the reception area of the
:13:23. > :13:26.Police say quick thinking by hotel staff helped prevented a tragedy.
:13:27. > :13:30.Guests have been taken to other hotels in the city.
:13:31. > :13:33.The children's charity the NSPCC says there's been a 50% increase
:13:34. > :13:36.in the number of emotional abuse cases that it's referring to police
:13:37. > :13:39.It says more than 8,000 people contacted its anonymous helpline
:13:40. > :13:42.about emotional neglect and abuse over the past year.
:13:43. > :13:51.Our correspondent Ben Geoghegan reports.
:13:52. > :13:57.When a child is screened out for spilling a drink, or is the victim
:13:58. > :14:02.of years of verbal attacks from a cruel parent, it is emotional rather
:14:03. > :14:07.than physical abuse. The NSPCC says its helpline has seen a big increase
:14:08. > :14:11.in calls from adults who have witnessed such behaviour. What the
:14:12. > :14:13.in calls from adults who have parents are saying is they are using
:14:14. > :14:19.foul language, language I parents are saying is they are using
:14:20. > :14:23.at a football match even, parents are saying is they are using
:14:24. > :14:29.strong language. It is the tone of the voice, and that is the severity
:14:30. > :14:36.of the shouting, and it is the shouting at them and in their faces.
:14:37. > :14:39.It really is a verbal battering. The charity's anonymous helpline
:14:40. > :14:40.offering advice to adults worrying about a child has this year helped
:14:41. > :14:42.more offering advice to adults worrying
:14:43. > :14:48.about a child than 8000 people who suspected child might be suffering
:14:49. > :14:53.from emotional neglect and abuse. Almost 5500 of those reports were
:14:54. > :14:56.judged so serious, they were referred to local authorities.
:14:57. > :15:04.That's an increase of almost 50% compared with 3600 cases the year
:15:05. > :15:07.before. I think it is difficult to say that there is more emotional
:15:08. > :15:11.abuse about now than there was five or ten years ago. I think that the
:15:12. > :15:17.awareness and understanding of the mental health and well-being and its
:15:18. > :15:22.importance is rising, and we are talking about it more. The NSPCC
:15:23. > :15:26.says the outrage but abuse of children like four-year-old Daniel
:15:27. > :15:30.Pelka, starved and beaten by his mother and her boyfriend for months
:15:31. > :15:35.before he died, may have raised awareness and triggered the big
:15:36. > :15:38.increase in calls. The Government is considering a change to the law so
:15:39. > :15:48.that the mistreatment. Child protection
:15:49. > :15:52.experts say the changes necessary in order to deal with parents who
:15:53. > :15:58.consistently deny their children love and affection.
:15:59. > :16:01.Our top story this lunchtime: a significant "change of direction"
:16:02. > :16:04.for the NHS in England - the new boss talks of an end to "mass
:16:05. > :16:09.centralisation" and an expansion of local services. And still to come:
:16:10. > :16:12.for the love of the game - after four years away from cricket,
:16:13. > :16:18.Freddie Flintoff is back playing for Lancashire. Later on BBC London:
:16:19. > :16:21.former England captain Steve Borthwick plays his last game of
:16:22. > :16:29.rugby, but could Saracens see silverware after disappointment in
:16:30. > :16:38.about his many years in the business.
:16:39. > :16:41.The formal campaign period for Scotland's independence referendum
:16:42. > :16:46.has begun. Four million voters will decide on 18th September if they are
:16:47. > :16:50.to remain part of the United Kingdom. From today, spending limits
:16:51. > :16:53.will be imposed on both sides, and broadcasters will have to observe
:16:54. > :16:56.strict impartiality. Our Scotland correspondent, Lorna Gordon, is in
:16:57. > :17:14.Yes, these final 16 weeks of campaigning in Scotland will be
:17:15. > :17:19.tightly regulated. The limits on campaign spending are
:17:20. > :17:23.extremely strict. It has already been quite a free bra atmosphere
:17:24. > :17:28.here from both sides in this debate, those who believe in the union -- it
:17:29. > :17:34.has been a feed bra atmosphere. And the argument is likely to be more
:17:35. > :17:38.heated. In areas like Fife, every single vote will be hotly contested.
:17:39. > :17:41.There has never been anything quite like this before, a referendum
:17:42. > :17:45.on whether Scotland stays in the UK or becomes independent.
:17:46. > :17:52.Campaigning on both sides is already up and running.
:17:53. > :17:56.The arguments have occasionally been heated and often high profile.
:17:57. > :17:58.There have been ads in national newspapers
:17:59. > :18:04.Up till now, there has been no limit on the amount being spent,
:18:05. > :18:09.but today the formal rules kick in and campaign finance limits apply.
:18:10. > :18:15.We want to make sure the process is well run, the debate is good
:18:16. > :18:18.and people keep within the rules, and therefore the voter can vote
:18:19. > :18:21.on 18th September with confidence that it has been a fair process.
:18:22. > :18:26.People living in Scotland are eligible, as are Scots
:18:27. > :18:30.in the armed forces overseas, but who are registered to vote at home.
:18:31. > :18:33.Scots living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not
:18:34. > :18:38.For the first time in any UK poll, Scots aged 16
:18:39. > :18:46.The question being asked is, should Scotland be an independent country?
:18:47. > :18:50.The voting options are straightforward, yes or no.
:18:51. > :18:52.More than a dozen organisations have already
:18:53. > :18:55.registered with the electoral commission, the lead campaign groups
:18:56. > :18:59.as well as political parties and activists from both sides.
:19:00. > :19:03.They will now be bound by their rules, required to show
:19:04. > :19:07.the source of their campaign money and account for how it is spent.
:19:08. > :19:16.This is now the final 16 weeks of the referendum campaign.
:19:17. > :19:25.Well, if the count goes smoothly, 16 weeks today, we will find out which
:19:26. > :19:29.direction Scotland will take, whether the electorate has decided
:19:30. > :19:32.Scotland should become independent or whether the electorate has
:19:33. > :19:37.decided that Scotland should remain as part of the union. Today, the
:19:38. > :19:43.Scottish parliament's presiding officer, a neutral figure, said
:19:44. > :19:47.Scotland is proving an inspiration to other countries in the way this
:19:48. > :19:49.debate is being handled. She also said the country will come together
:19:50. > :19:53.after the referendum regardless of the result.
:19:54. > :19:57.Google has set up a service which allows people living in Europe to
:19:58. > :19:59.ask for online links relating to their personal life to be removed
:20:00. > :20:02.from search results. The European Court of Justice ruled earlier this
:20:03. > :20:05.month that links to outdated or irrelevant data should be erased on
:20:06. > :20:09.request. Google has said it will comply with the decision, but has
:20:10. > :20:12.warned that it could damage innovation. Well, with me is our
:20:13. > :20:19.technology correspondent, Rory Cellan Jones.
:20:20. > :20:26.Just explain how this will work? This form is already online. You
:20:27. > :20:31.have to say who you are and prove your identity with a passport
:20:32. > :20:35.picture or something. Give details of the links you want removed, and
:20:36. > :20:39.why. Google has made it clear that there will be severe limits on what
:20:40. > :20:43.can be removed. If you have been involved in a fraud, it will not
:20:44. > :20:48.look kindly on that. I have spoken to somebody who is already filling
:20:49. > :20:52.in the form. He says he lost his job when his employer googled and found
:20:53. > :20:56.a previous drink-driving conviction. He wants that erased,
:20:57. > :21:00.although he accepted that it was unlikely to happen. But he says this
:21:01. > :21:06.gives people like him a second chance. Potentially, it is an
:21:07. > :21:09.enormous task, isn't it? Absolutely enormous. Google already had
:21:10. > :21:13.thousands of requests for this form went up, and I am sure there will be
:21:14. > :21:18.many more. A huge bureaucratic problem. How do they decide, and if
:21:19. > :21:23.a decision goes against the person asking, they can then take it to
:21:24. > :21:26.their local data protection person, in our case the information
:21:27. > :21:30.Commissioner, who may then issue for rulings. So it is a great big
:21:31. > :21:32.bureaucratic process which some say will not deliver for much for people
:21:33. > :21:36.in the long run. There's been a big increase in the
:21:37. > :21:39.number of households in England and Wales falling into debt because
:21:40. > :21:41.they're paying back tax credits given to them by mistake. Citizens
:21:42. > :21:44.Advice says overpayment problems have affected nearly 30,000
:21:45. > :21:47.households, a rise of 14%. But HM Revenue and Customs says many errors
:21:48. > :21:50.are because people haven't told them about a change in their
:21:51. > :21:52.circumstances. Our Local Government Correspondent, Mike Sergeant
:21:53. > :21:59.reports. Maureen Grosvenor's husband
:22:00. > :22:01.walked out two years ago. The tax credits were always paid
:22:02. > :22:03.into his account, but the authorities weren't told
:22:04. > :22:06.about the change in family circumstances, and last year she
:22:07. > :22:10.received a shock bill for over Revenue and Customs accepted
:22:11. > :22:15.a mistake had been made, and cancelled most of the debt,
:22:16. > :22:19.but only after months of worry. I was depressed and everything,
:22:20. > :22:26.I didn't know which way to turn. I was going out
:22:27. > :22:29.of my mind with worry about it. I just couldn't afford
:22:30. > :22:31.to pay them back. I thought, they'll have
:22:32. > :22:36.to send me to prison. Working Tax Credits are designed to
:22:37. > :22:39.boost the earnings of those on lower incomes who clock up
:22:40. > :22:42.a certain number of hours. Depending on their circumstances,
:22:43. > :22:46.those with dependent children may Citizens Advice says it has seen
:22:47. > :22:50.a sharp increase in the number who were paid too much
:22:51. > :22:54.and then find themselves with Tax credits are intended to help
:22:55. > :22:58.people with a bit of financial support, but we are
:22:59. > :23:02.finding it working the other way, tax credits being overpaid to
:23:03. > :23:04.families and then they get But the Government say that many
:23:05. > :23:12.debts happen because people fail to tell the authorities of changes
:23:13. > :23:14.in circumstances. Revenue and Customs says it offers
:23:15. > :23:19.support online and on the phone for extra support making a claim. Mike
:23:20. > :23:25.Sergeant, BBC News. New guidance is to be given to
:23:26. > :23:28.teachers in England and Wales on how to tackle homophobic bullying in
:23:29. > :23:30.schools. The Crown Prosecution Service is providing an educational
:23:31. > :23:35.pack which will teach students about the impact bullying has on people.
:23:36. > :23:39.The move comes after a survey showed that more than half of lesbian and
:23:40. > :23:46.gay pupils experience bullying. The coffin of Stephen Sutton, the
:23:47. > :23:49.teenager who raised millions of pounds for the Teenage Cancer Trust,
:23:50. > :23:52.will be removed from Lichfield Cathedral today for a private burial
:23:53. > :23:57.service. Last night, thousands of people gathered to celebrate the
:23:58. > :24:01.life of the 19-year-old fundraiser. Our correspondent Jenny Hill
:24:02. > :24:22.reports. It has become a mark of respect, and
:24:23. > :24:27.a symbol of hope. The thumbs up gesture, used so often by Stephen
:24:28. > :24:34.Sutton, the teenager who set out to raise ?10,000 for charity and made 4
:24:35. > :24:40.million. Perhaps this public gesture comes as no surprise. In the words
:24:41. > :24:44.of one tribute, Stephen's attitude to cancer and indeed to life
:24:45. > :24:50.inspired and motivated more people than we can count. But they have
:24:51. > :24:56.come in their thousands to say goodbye, queueing last night for the
:24:57. > :24:59.chance to reflect and remember a young man who it was said chose to
:25:00. > :25:07.light a candle, not curse the darkness. One young friend told us,
:25:08. > :25:10.Stephen was always ready to listen. It was about two months after we
:25:11. > :25:14.found out his cancer was terminal, and about a week after I lost my
:25:15. > :25:21.father. He spent the day with me and did not mention his cancer once. He
:25:22. > :25:26.was just so supportive and lovely. I can imagine him smiling at all the
:25:27. > :25:27.fuss being made. Yeah, I don't think he wanted all the fuss, he just
:25:28. > :25:29.wanted to he wanted all the fuss, he just
:25:30. > :25:35.tough times. I am working to he wanted all the fuss, he just
:25:36. > :25:39.nurse, so I work with a lot of patients that are dealing with
:25:40. > :25:44.cancer everyday. It is nice to pass on his story to them, help them get
:25:45. > :25:48.through it. For now, the vigil continues. Stephen's funeral will be
:25:49. > :25:53.held in private this afternoon. Jenny Hill, BBC News, Lichfield.
:25:54. > :25:56.The former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff is returning to the
:25:57. > :25:59.game after a five-year absence. Lancashire say the 36-year-old will
:26:00. > :26:01.play in this season's T20 tournament, and could make an
:26:02. > :26:04.appearance in next Friday's match against Yorkshire. Our sports
:26:05. > :26:15.This report contains flash photography.
:26:16. > :26:20.It was one of the defining images of England's glorious ashes of 2005,
:26:21. > :26:24.Freddie Flintoff leading the celebrations after helping end his
:26:25. > :26:29.country's 19 year wait to lift the urn. He was the heartbeat of the
:26:30. > :26:33.side. His wickets and runs turned England around. They lost the Ashes
:26:34. > :26:38.under his captaincy, but he defied the medics to win them back in 2009,
:26:39. > :26:46.before surgery to his knee finally forced him to retire, or so he
:26:47. > :26:52.thought. I am 36. People say it is a brave call, it is not. I am playing
:26:53. > :26:59.cricket, I am not in Afghanistan with the troops. I am not battling
:27:00. > :27:00.illness. That is brave. TV game shows and celebrity lifestyle have
:27:01. > :27:04.consumed Flintoff for the past shows and celebrity lifestyle have
:27:05. > :27:08.years. He has tried to satisfy his competitive drive away from
:27:09. > :27:13.cricket. He fought as a heavyweight only 18 months ago, winning on his
:27:14. > :27:13.professional boxing debut, but that was a
:27:14. > :27:16.professional boxing debut, but that dwindled as his love of the game. It
:27:17. > :27:22.has been five years and is Flintoff dwindled as his love of the game. It
:27:23. > :27:25.lasts one a bat or bowl. He says he cannot be sure how he will perform,
:27:26. > :27:30.but he can be sure that when he steps out here with his Lancashire
:27:31. > :27:34.team-mates next week, there will be plenty of fans here who want to know
:27:35. > :27:41.if he has got it. So is this just a marketing ploy to help sell tickets?
:27:42. > :27:46.We wanted to see that the cricketing quality would be there before we
:27:47. > :27:48.embark on this. If it brings a few more people into the game and adds
:27:49. > :27:54.more interest, that is great, more people into the game and adds
:27:55. > :27:58.is cricket that is at the top of the list. Lankan shirt -- Lancashire
:27:59. > :28:03.says Dent and list. Lankan shirt -- Lancashire
:28:04. > :28:04.in selection is Flintoff looks to reconsider -- recapture the old
:28:05. > :28:07.magic. A wildlife park
:28:08. > :28:10.in China has been showing off three It is thought there are
:28:11. > :28:21.less than 100 worldwide. They have made a close friend
:28:22. > :28:24.already at the park in Hangzhou, a Manchurian tiger cub who was born
:28:25. > :28:41.just a day after the lions. Time for a look at the weather. As
:28:42. > :28:44.it turned? Well, this morning in northern Scotland, we saw clear
:28:45. > :28:49.skies. It was really quite cold in Balmoral. But clear skies overnight
:28:50. > :28:55.mean lots of sunshine through the day. There is confirmation of the
:28:56. > :29:01.Sunni story in the north of Scotland. But as you can see,
:29:02. > :29:06.inland, there is a lot of cloud. Essentially a dry story for many. It
:29:07. > :29:12.should brighten up along the eastern coast of England. It is a dry day,
:29:13. > :29:20.with light winds. In the north of Scotland, we keep a good deal of
:29:21. > :29:24.sunshine. Along the eastern coast, just that it fresher. Northern
:29:25. > :29:29.Ireland is doing well for the afternoon. More cloud across
:29:30. > :29:34.northern England and generally across England and Wales, but some
:29:35. > :29:38.spells of sunshine down the eastern coast. Even if you are quite cloudy,
:29:39. > :29:44.you might get the odd spot of drizzle, but that is the exception
:29:45. > :29:50.rather than the rule. There are some showers moving through, but not the
:29:51. > :29:55.thundery ones we saw yesterday. In the evening, most places will be
:29:56. > :29:59.fine and dry. Some eastern parts of England have holes in the cloud, so
:30:00. > :30:08.temperatures will dip into single figures. But most of us have double
:30:09. > :30:12.figures and stay dry. And it is looking quite for the weekend. High
:30:13. > :30:16.pressure is the dominant feature, so we are dry for the most part. The
:30:17. > :30:23.best of the sunny spells will be across northern Scotland. There will
:30:24. > :30:29.be a breeze coming in from the water, so a bit cooler around the
:30:30. > :30:34.immediate coast. But for most of us, despite the cloud cover, it will be
:30:35. > :30:38.warmer than today. The second part of the weekend is also looking good
:30:39. > :30:43.for most of us. There was a slight complication in the north-west with
:30:44. > :30:48.this weather front moving through. But the bulk of the UK should have a
:30:49. > :30:51.decent day. You might catch a shower across eastern parts of England
:30:52. > :30:56.through Sunday afternoon, but many places are looking at a couple of
:30:57. > :31:02.decent days through the weekend. Some spells of sunshine, but also a
:31:03. > :31:05.bit of rain. The rain on Sunday will be confined to the far north and
:31:06. > :31:13.west. Most of us will get a couple of days over the weekend.
:31:14. > :31:16.A reminder of our top story: A significant change in direction for
:31:17. > :31:19.the NHS in England. The new boss talks of an end to mass
:31:20. > :31:23.centralisation and of an expansion of local services.
:31:24. > :31:24.That is it from all of