03/06/2014 BBC News at One


03/06/2014

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 03/06/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

House prices show their highest annual increase for seven years.

:00:00.:00:08.

But Brussels says the UK should take steps to moderate the housing market

:00:09.:00:11.

We'll be getting reaction to the latest edict from Brussels.

:00:12.:00:20.

Police and sniffer dogs search scrubland in the Algarve close

:00:21.:00:24.

to where Madeleine McCann went missing seven years ago.

:00:25.:00:28.

Syrians go to the polls in a presidential election

:00:29.:00:30.

which has been denounced by the opposition and the West.

:00:31.:00:33.

Universities face record numbers of complaints from thousands

:00:34.:00:37.

A new treatment for advanced skin cancer is hailed

:00:38.:00:43.

Later on BBC London, new clues in the search for the Hackney

:00:44.:00:56.

backpacker missing in Malaysia. And the innate -- the police criticised

:00:57.:01:01.

for the way it treats mentally ill suspect. -- suspects.

:01:02.:01:15.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

:01:16.:01:18.

The annual rise in house prices has increased by its fastest rate

:01:19.:01:22.

for seven years according to figures from the Nationwide.

:01:23.:01:25.

However there are signs from the monthly figures that

:01:26.:01:28.

It comes as the European Commission offers advice to the UK government

:01:29.:01:33.

on how to adjust the housing market to sustain growth.

:01:34.:01:37.

Our Economics Correspondent Simon Gompertz reports.

:01:38.:01:46.

They are still rising, now 11% higher than a year ago, putting the

:01:47.:01:54.

average home at over ?186,000, and putting pressure on potential

:01:55.:01:58.

buyers, like these near Manchester. Me and my partner have been trying

:01:59.:02:01.

to get onto the property ladder to the last two years and it's a real

:02:02.:02:05.

struggle. It seems ridiculous that house prices can increase that much

:02:06.:02:09.

when salaries are not going up in comparison. We will never be able to

:02:10.:02:13.

buy. Even a council house that we rent. But the highest prices are in

:02:14.:02:19.

London and the rate of increase could be moderating. There are

:02:20.:02:24.

tentative signs that activity might be starting to slow down a little.

:02:25.:02:28.

We are looking at the number of mortgage approvals in April, and

:02:29.:02:32.

they were down around 17% from the levels in January. Things may be

:02:33.:02:38.

starting to cool down. There is wide agreement that we need more homes,

:02:39.:02:43.

and today the European commission intervened, saying more building was

:02:44.:02:49.

required, that the government's Help-To-Buy mortgage guarantee

:02:50.:02:51.

scheme might need to be scaled back, and council tax should be

:02:52.:02:55.

reformed so owners of higher value homes pay more. Ideas which gained

:02:56.:03:00.

the sympathy of the former chief financial regulator of the UK. After

:03:01.:03:08.

the crisis of 2009/10 across the whole political spectrum, amongst

:03:09.:03:11.

all commentators it was said we needed a balanced economy that was

:03:12.:03:15.

not dependent on a credit fuelled property boom. It's clear we are

:03:16.:03:18.

getting back to growth, but at the core is a credit fuelled property

:03:19.:03:24.

boom. The question is, will the big house price increases slow down or

:03:25.:03:27.

will they rise into the stratosphere? If they carry on going

:03:28.:03:31.

up at the current pace, the pressure will build on the government and the

:03:32.:03:34.

Bank of England to do something about it. Ministers say they have

:03:35.:03:39.

given the bank the power to intervene, and there is speculation

:03:40.:03:43.

that bank officials could come up with measure -- measures to cool the

:03:44.:03:47.

housing markets as early as this month.

:03:48.:03:50.

Let's speak to our chief political correspondent

:03:51.:03:51.

Advice from the European commission on cooling the housing market.

:03:52.:04:02.

Interesting timing, that. Very interesting, and it's not just the

:04:03.:04:06.

criticism of the government housing policy and the Help To Buy scheme,

:04:07.:04:11.

this is the European Commission getting out the old Brussels

:04:12.:04:15.

blunderbuss and blasting George Osborne's economic strategy saying

:04:16.:04:18.

not enough is being done to tackle the deficit and he should not rely

:04:19.:04:22.

on cutting so much. They should be tax rises and more money on capital

:04:23.:04:26.

project and more done on tackling youth unemployment, on affordable

:04:27.:04:33.

childcare. On and on and on. In the Treasury, when they received the

:04:34.:04:37.

report, they were incredulous. One source said they wondered whether

:04:38.:04:40.

the report was meant to be ironic given that the UK economy is growing

:04:41.:04:46.

faster than any other economy in the EU and any other developed economy.

:04:47.:04:49.

The real significance of the report is not the content, it is the

:04:50.:04:53.

timing, because it comes as David Cameron is engaged in a fraught

:04:54.:04:57.

struggle with Europe about who will be the president of the European

:04:58.:05:01.

Commission, with many Tory MPs saying if he can't win that

:05:02.:05:04.

struggle, what chance does he have of winning back power from Brussels?

:05:05.:05:10.

The fear is that the report will fuel the view amongst camera's

:05:11.:05:14.

critics and backbenchers that Europe and London are increasingly on

:05:15.:05:17.

different wavelength -- Cameron's critics.

:05:18.:05:24.

It would appear to be an election in name only, after more than three

:05:25.:05:27.

years of civil war, the Syrian government is seeking to

:05:28.:05:30.

bolster its standing at home and abroad by staging what it says

:05:31.:05:33.

Bashar Al-Assad, who's looking to secure a third seven-year term,

:05:34.:05:36.

appears certain to top the vote which has been denounced

:05:37.:05:39.

His two challengers have been approved by the government,

:05:40.:05:45.

and voting is taking place only in areas controlled by the regime.

:05:46.:05:48.

Our world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan reports.

:05:49.:05:55.

The report contains flash photography. There are three

:05:56.:06:00.

approved candidates, the first time that Syrians have had a choice for

:06:01.:06:04.

President since the 1950s. But there is no doubt who will win. President

:06:05.:06:11.

Assad is more confident than ever, even as his critics say the election

:06:12.:06:16.

is a sham. I think it's sending a strong message in the way he is

:06:17.:06:20.

rubbing it in, telling the West that three years ago you said I was

:06:21.:06:24.

gone, but I am still here and I'm here to stay, and there's nothing

:06:25.:06:28.

you can do about it. While he is saying that, and while he is being

:06:29.:06:33.

re-elected, he is still bombing his people and nobody is doing anything

:06:34.:06:38.

about it. There is no sign of voting in the shattered rebel held areas

:06:39.:06:43.

bombarded by the government. This war widow said the election is a

:06:44.:06:47.

mockery. My husband and his three brothers did not martyr themselves

:06:48.:06:50.

for people to go out and vote for Bashar Al-Assad. This man was

:06:51.:06:56.

contemptuous. What elections? The elections of a butcher? They mean

:06:57.:07:00.

nothing to us. Assad would win even if nobody voted for him. While most

:07:01.:07:07.

of the 2.5 million Syrian refugees are either excluded or boycotting

:07:08.:07:12.

the poll, some are going back to vote for President Assad. Many here

:07:13.:07:15.

fear that the government will find out who has not voted and punish

:07:16.:07:23.

them after the election. Inside Syria's rebel held areas, elections

:07:24.:07:29.

have not stopped the Army's bombs. Nor the rebels bullets. This is

:07:30.:07:35.

Aleppo, and 50 people died here over the weekend. It is likely President

:07:36.:07:40.

Assad's victory will only tighten his grip on power and strength in

:07:41.:07:44.

his desire to crush the insurgency. -- strengthen his desire.

:07:45.:07:47.

Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen has been to one polling station

:07:48.:07:50.

in central Damascus and has just sent this report.

:07:51.:07:56.

The buses have been coming and going all morning to this polling station.

:07:57.:08:04.

The vote that has been got out of this particular place is the

:08:05.:08:08.

national water company. These men all say that they work in the water

:08:09.:08:12.

company and there have been some women as well, who get ushered

:08:13.:08:16.

straight in to vote. Everybody that I have spoken to has said that he or

:08:17.:08:22.

she will vote for President Bashar Al-Assad. This election has been

:08:23.:08:25.

savagely criticised both by Syrians who have taken up arms against the

:08:26.:08:30.

president, and also by the Syrian politicians who are in ex-oil. And

:08:31.:08:34.

it's also been criticised by Western leaders -- ex-oil. William Hague has

:08:35.:08:42.

called it a parody of democracy. The people I have spoken to in and

:08:43.:08:47.

around the regime, they said it was democracy, look at this, people are

:08:48.:08:51.

voting, in secret, and here is a ballot paper with two candidates as

:08:52.:09:01.

well as President Assad. And that this is all the promise of a better

:09:02.:09:05.

life. President Assad does have genuine support. He would not have

:09:06.:09:08.

weathered everything he has gone through since the war started

:09:09.:09:13.

without that support, and they do by those arguments. As far as the

:09:14.:09:15.

president is concerned, this is good politics. -- they do accept those

:09:16.:09:18.

arguments. In Portugal, British police sniffer

:09:19.:09:24.

dogs have been brought in to search scrubland near Praia de

:09:25.:09:26.

Luz, where Madeleine McCann went A large team of officers

:09:27.:09:29.

from the Metropolitan Police has joined Portuguese officers

:09:30.:09:33.

in the search which is a five-minute walk from the holiday apartment

:09:34.:09:35.

where Madeleine disappeared. This does seem a very specific area.

:09:36.:09:48.

Yes, 15 acres to look at, but they seem to be targeting precise points

:09:49.:09:52.

in the scrubland. This area where we are at the moment seems to be the

:09:53.:09:55.

main focus. You can see there is a plot which is about ten metres by

:09:56.:10:00.

six metres with a police officer kneeling down in the middle. That

:10:01.:10:03.

was cordoned off this morning, and they seem to be taking samples,

:10:04.:10:09.

pegging it. It looks like they are preparing to be more substantial

:10:10.:10:12.

work. The noise you can hear in the background are streamers -- mowers

:10:13.:10:19.

being used by workmen clearing the underground around the site. This is

:10:20.:10:24.

the first area that the police dogs were brought to this morning. They

:10:25.:10:29.

had been brought over from South Wales police to Portugal to assist

:10:30.:10:35.

with the search. We are told that the spaniels were used in the hunt

:10:36.:10:41.

for April Jones in Wales in 2012 and have been brought here with that

:10:42.:10:46.

specific experience in mind. The British are here, working alongside

:10:47.:10:53.

the Portuguese police. The British request the work and the Portuguese

:10:54.:10:56.

are facilitating. We understand from Portuguese police sources this

:10:57.:10:59.

lunchtime that another couple of sites, also around the resort, are

:11:00.:11:06.

set to be searched in the day ahead. We knew the British wanted to look

:11:07.:11:10.

further, and we did not know when, but it will happen sooner rather

:11:11.:11:11.

than later. A 12-year-old boy and a bus driver,

:11:12.:11:18.

who's 54, have suffered serious injuries after a crash between two

:11:19.:11:21.

school buses in County Durham. More than 20 other children aged

:11:22.:11:23.

between 11 and 18 were hurt in the accident which took place in

:11:24.:11:26.

Stanley, near to Chester-le-Street. We heard a loud noise, crash, bang,

:11:27.:11:37.

looking behind me there were two buses behind me. People were

:11:38.:11:41.

screaming. The bus driver was trapped. So I ran down, checked the

:11:42.:11:46.

driver after the impact, and there were kids all over the bus. Blood

:11:47.:11:51.

all over. Just a mess, kids screaming. I helped about five or

:11:52.:11:53.

six kids onto the grass. Figures obtained by the BBC show

:11:54.:11:56.

that complaints and appeals made against universities in the UK

:11:57.:11:59.

have risen by 10% since 2012. More than 20,000 were

:12:00.:12:01.

made last year alone. Grievances included changes to

:12:02.:12:03.

courses, students unhappy with their grades and fees being increased once

:12:04.:12:06.

a course had started. Our education correspondent

:12:07.:12:09.

Gillian Hargreaves has the details. Louise and Rachel are not happy

:12:10.:12:23.

customers. Both paid a deposit for a one-year legal practice course at

:12:24.:12:28.

Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, but now the course is

:12:29.:12:33.

only available online with tutorials at its other campus 45 miles away in

:12:34.:12:38.

Cambridge. It feels like we are getting less for our money without

:12:39.:12:42.

the live lectures, so we're not happy how they have treated us as

:12:43.:12:45.

customers. They have not consulted us, and I feel they should have done

:12:46.:12:50.

that. The girls are not the only ones feeling dissatisfied. In a

:12:51.:12:54.

Freedom of information request submitted by the BBC to 149

:12:55.:12:59.

institutions across the UK, Anglia Ruskin have the highest number of

:13:00.:13:07.

student complaints, 992. Others included were Staffordshire

:13:08.:13:09.

University, the London Met, and the University of West England.

:13:10.:13:13.

Universities provide marketing and glossy brochures but they don't

:13:14.:13:16.

provide the information of what is expected of students to be able to

:13:17.:13:20.

succeed, and also the support that the institution will give you to be

:13:21.:13:24.

able to be successful in studying. If students cannot resolve their

:13:25.:13:27.

grievance with the university they can complain to an independent

:13:28.:13:32.

adjudicator. If a university has made a promise to a student in the

:13:33.:13:35.

prospectus, or in its marketing, which it then fails to deliver, then

:13:36.:13:43.

the student can come to us and, looking at the facts, we will find

:13:44.:13:48.

for the student. Anglia Ruskin told the BBC has a high number of

:13:49.:13:52.

grievances because it has a lot of students and an effective complaints

:13:53.:13:56.

procedure. Universities are big business. In this bit of central

:13:57.:14:01.

London there are six separate institutions. But students are

:14:02.:14:04.

getting more self confident and assertive about what they want.

:14:05.:14:09.

Since 2010,, ?1 million has been paid out in compensation. The

:14:10.:14:14.

government says it is good that students are willing to challenge

:14:15.:14:15.

universities when they are unhappy. And you can get more

:14:16.:14:21.

on that story on File on Four on A British mining company has become

:14:22.:14:24.

the first foreign company known to have evacuated some staff

:14:25.:14:30.

from Sierra Leone because There are around 50 cases of the

:14:31.:14:32.

incurable disease in the country. Five people are known to have died

:14:33.:14:37.

and more than 100 have died in neighbouring Guinea,

:14:38.:14:40.

where the latest outbreak started. Our world affairs correspondent

:14:41.:14:42.

Mark Doyle reports. Highly infectious, Ebola is deadly

:14:43.:14:57.

serious whenever it occurs. But this outbreak is causing special concern

:14:58.:15:01.

because it is so widespread. It started earlier this year in

:15:02.:15:05.

Guinea. More than 100 people have died there. Then the virus moved

:15:06.:15:09.

across the border to Liberia, and now Sierra Leone. The company,

:15:10.:15:19.

London Mining, said that as well as pulling some nonessential staff out

:15:20.:15:21.

of Sierra Leone, it was checking all its employees. It is looking for

:15:22.:15:27.

signs of fever like conducting body temperature screening at the mining

:15:28.:15:32.

site. The company also said it had imposed travel restrictions on its

:15:33.:15:36.

employees inside Sierra Leone and was promoting awareness of the

:15:37.:15:41.

disease. The company says it has had no cases at its mine but is taking

:15:42.:15:47.

all the necessary precautions. Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses on

:15:48.:15:52.

the planet. Around 90% of people who contracted, die. It's incredibly

:15:53.:15:56.

infectious. You cannot catch Ebola by simply touching someone. The

:15:57.:16:03.

symptoms start with fever, but then comes heavy bleeding, including

:16:04.:16:07.

internal bleeding, and eventually organ failure. David Heymann has

:16:08.:16:10.

been at the forefront of research into Ebola for many years. It is

:16:11.:16:15.

transmitted from person to person by close contact, either with body

:16:16.:16:19.

secretions, a cough, or some other mechanisms. If they pay -- patient

:16:20.:16:23.

travels on an aeroplane and his sick there is a chance that a few people

:16:24.:16:27.

sitting around them would become sick. International medical teams

:16:28.:16:32.

are working now in three West African countries trying to bring

:16:33.:16:33.

the outbreak under control. Now a reminder of our top story this

:16:34.:16:38.

lunchtime. House prices show their highest

:16:39.:16:40.

annual increase for seven years. Brussels says the UK should take

:16:41.:16:43.

steps to slow the housing market. Coming up, one of the most crucial

:16:44.:16:56.

decisions taken in the campaign against Hitler, and it was not taken

:16:57.:17:02.

by a military leader. Imagine 70 years ago, when the decisions of

:17:03.:17:07.

weather forecasters were preparing aircraft like this to head into

:17:08.:17:10.

D-day and could decide the outcome of the Second World War.

:17:11.:17:15.

Later on BBC London, Frank Lampard says farewell to Chelsea after 13

:17:16.:17:20.

years at Stamford Bridge. He will leave this summer.

:17:21.:17:24.

And they were famous in the 1920s. How art by the East London group is

:17:25.:17:26.

about to be revived. It's the latest in a number of

:17:27.:17:30.

breakthroughs in the battle against cancer, and specialists describe the

:17:31.:17:34.

results of two international trials of drugs to tackle advanced skin

:17:35.:17:37.

cancer as "hugely promising". Both treatments are designed to enable

:17:38.:17:41.

the immune system to recognise and target tumours. The findings were

:17:42.:17:44.

released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in

:17:45.:17:48.

Chicago. Every year in the UK, around 2,000 people are killed by

:17:49.:17:52.

skin cancer. Our medical correspondent, Fergus Walsh, has

:17:53.:17:56.

more details. A few months ago,

:17:57.:18:00.

this man could barely walk. Advanced melanoma had spread to

:18:01.:18:03.

his lungs. Now,

:18:04.:18:11.

a new treatment has helped him. Now I have a life.

:18:12.:18:14.

Before, all I had to look forward to was weeks,

:18:15.:18:21.

maybe months, of chemotherapy. This drug is a lifeline.

:18:22.:18:26.

This scan shows a large area of cancer growing in his lung.

:18:27.:18:30.

But after just three drug infusions, it has completely cleared.

:18:31.:18:35.

The experimental drug blocks a biological pathway

:18:36.:18:42.

which cancers use to camouflage themselves from the immune system.

:18:43.:18:48.

In a trial, 69% of patients survived at least a year.

:18:49.:18:52.

Average survival used to be around six months.

:18:53.:19:00.

In a trial of another drug and existing immunotherapy,

:19:01.:19:00.

survival was even better. 85% after one year and 79%

:19:01.:19:07.

after two years. It is truly astonishing that such

:19:08.:19:08.

a new drug at a very early stage of development is really showing us

:19:09.:19:19.

very tangible benefits at such an early stage.

:19:20.:19:21.

These are still experimental treatments

:19:22.:19:29.

And some of them involve immunotherapy, harnessing the

:19:30.:19:34.

body's natural defences to fight tumours. Melanoma trials are leading

:19:35.:19:39.

the way, but lung cancer is another area showing particular promise.

:19:40.:19:42.

Fergus Walsh, BBC News. The Worldwide Palliative Care

:19:43.:19:45.

Alliance has told the BBC that the lack of access to pain relief for

:19:46.:19:48.

dying patients around the world is a public health emergency. It says

:19:49.:19:51.

almost 20 million people across the world died in unnecessary pain in

:19:52.:19:54.

2012, partly because they were denied access to powerful

:19:55.:19:57.

painkillers because of exaggerated fears about addiction. Our

:19:58.:19:59.

correspondent Tulip Mazumdar Betty was diagnosed with breast

:20:00.:20:15.

cancer two years ago. She could not afford treatment, and the tumour

:20:16.:20:19.

grew to the size of a football. She was in agony for a year, until she

:20:20.:20:24.

was found by a volunteer from Hospice Africa Uganda. TRANSLATION:

:20:25.:20:33.

The pain was too much before. I was not getting any medicine. It was

:20:34.:20:38.

excruciating. I had given up on life. I wished I was dead. The

:20:39.:20:45.

charity arranged free chemotherapy and access to the powerful

:20:46.:20:49.

painkiller morphine. Eddie says her suffering is now manageable --

:20:50.:20:56.

Betty. That morphine is home-made by the Hospice here in Kampala, using

:20:57.:21:00.

cheap kitchen utensils and a simple mix of morphine powder and water.

:21:01.:21:08.

Almost 1500 bottles of morphine are currently being packed up and put

:21:09.:21:12.

into the Ministry of health van that is waiting outside and take in the

:21:13.:21:16.

community health centres and hospitals around the country.

:21:17.:21:21.

Morphine is cheap. It is a controlled drug which is also used

:21:22.:21:24.

to make heroin, but doctors say exaggerated fears over addiction in

:21:25.:21:29.

patients means governments are wrongly restricting medical access

:21:30.:21:36.

to them. We need bounds on access to these treatments, because we don't

:21:37.:21:38.

want them is used. The government should provide these medicines and

:21:39.:21:42.

if they don't, it amounts to torture. 4000 miles away from

:21:43.:21:48.

Kampala, Sara is dying from a rare form of lung cancer. I have talked

:21:49.:21:54.

over the end-stage with my beautiful doctor at the Hospice, who is a

:21:55.:22:02.

source of great comfort. He described what was the usual way for

:22:03.:22:07.

people with my condition to go, which is to get sleepier and

:22:08.:22:11.

sleepier, and in one of the sleepy times, I will fall into

:22:12.:22:16.

unconsciousness. The UK has one of the world's best palliative care

:22:17.:22:20.

systems. Sara deals with her pain like Betty using morphine, and also

:22:21.:22:25.

like Betty, she says she wants to spend her final days with her

:22:26.:22:30.

family. Sara and Betty both passed away within a few weeks of our

:22:31.:22:34.

interviews. They were given medical and psychological support at the end

:22:35.:22:39.

of their lives, something they said everyone in their situation

:22:40.:22:46.

deserves. And you can see more on this story

:22:47.:22:50.

on the health section of the BBC news website.

:22:51.:22:54.

News website. President Obama has announced that

:22:55.:22:56.

the United States is to strengthen its military forces in eastern

:22:57.:22:58.

Europe in response to the crisis in Ukraine. Speaking in Poland at the

:22:59.:23:02.

start of a European tour, he said more equipment and personnel would

:23:03.:23:05.

be based in the region and military exercises would be expanded. He

:23:06.:23:08.

warned Russia against "further provocation". Mr Obama also defended

:23:09.:23:10.

his decision to release five Afghan prisoners in exchange for freeing an

:23:11.:23:13.

Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may

:23:14.:23:29.

turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back who was held

:23:30.:23:34.

in captivity, period. We don't condition that.

:23:35.:23:38.

The Spanish government is drawing up plans to change the country's

:23:39.:23:41.

constitution in order to allow King Juan Carlos to abdicate after nearly

:23:42.:23:44.

40 years on the throne. The monarch, who's 76, announced yesterday that

:23:45.:23:47.

he would step down in favour of his 46-year-old son, Crown Prince

:23:48.:23:50.

Felipe. Tom Burridge is at the Escorial Palace near Madrid, and

:23:51.:23:52.

Tom, the king and his heir have been out in public today?

:23:53.:24:02.

That is right. Lengthy of symbolism this morning. This is a palace

:24:03.:24:10.

monastery to the north of the Spanish capital, where Spain's kings

:24:11.:24:12.

and queens throughout the ages have been buried. In the last couple of

:24:13.:24:16.

hours, we have seen a military parade and the image of the day,

:24:17.:24:20.

father and son, Prince and King side aside for the first time since King

:24:21.:24:24.

Juan Carlos announced his application yesterday. That process

:24:25.:24:30.

of abdication will last three to six weeks, and on a carefully

:24:31.:24:34.

choreographed day not far from here, there has been a special

:24:35.:24:38.

cabinet meeting. The Spanish government have approved a law which

:24:39.:24:40.

will make the abdication of King Juan Carlos possible. So Felipe, his

:24:41.:24:46.

son, can become King Felipe the sixth of Spain. Then I think there

:24:47.:24:52.

is a key question. Can King Felipe turn things around for the monarchy

:24:53.:24:56.

in Spain? According to the polls, in recent months and years, the

:24:57.:24:59.

popularity of the monarchy in Spain and in particular of the King has

:25:00.:25:03.

been on the decline. King Felipe is much younger when he is king. He is

:25:04.:25:10.

a former salesman in the Olympics. He is married to a former television

:25:11.:25:14.

presenter. Is he the man to make the monarchy in Spain more popular

:25:15.:25:18.

again? Tom Burridge, thank you very much.

:25:19.:25:21.

Now, it was one of the most crucial decisions of the Second World War -

:25:22.:25:25.

the tming of the D-Day landings. And it wasn't down, in the end, to

:25:26.:25:28.

senior allied soldiers, but to the weather forecasters. This week 70

:25:29.:25:31.

years ago, one planned date came and went as storms battered the Normandy

:25:32.:25:34.

Beaches. Then suddenly, the weather turned - mainly sunny, with 15 mile

:25:35.:25:37.

per hour winds, small amounts of cloud and good visibility - just

:25:38.:25:40.

acceptable for landing in Northern France. The BBC's own weather

:25:41.:25:44.

forecaster, Peter Gibbs, has the story.

:25:45.:25:52.

In early June 1944, thousands of men and tonnes

:25:53.:25:55.

of equipment were amassing on the shores of southern England, ready to

:25:56.:25:59.

launch the D-day offensive. But one thing was crucial to

:26:00.:26:06.

the success and timing of that operation - the weather.

:26:07.:26:15.

Poor conditions would jeopardise the whole operation, preventing aircraft

:26:16.:26:21.

from flying and chips from landing troops on the Normandy beaches.

:26:22.:26:29.

There was enormous pressure on weather forecasts, being passed by

:26:30.:26:32.

Eisenhower to predict up to five days ahead at a time when even a

:26:33.:26:35.

forecast for 24 hours was a challenge. The man at the sharp end

:26:36.:26:39.

of the whole forecast operation was group Captain Stanning.

:26:40.:26:43.

The tactical use of weather, just to be able to pick out some

:26:44.:26:44.

interlude unknown to enemy forces which would allow us to make use

:26:45.:26:49.

of it and catch the people on the other side unaware.

:26:50.:26:55.

Meteorologists than corn-fed explained the huge difficulties that

:26:56.:27:01.

he had to overcome. It was his judgement that was roared to bear

:27:02.:27:06.

amongst forecasts which were often very different, because the subject

:27:07.:27:10.

was not anything like as advanced as it now is. There was a war on, so

:27:11.:27:15.

you did not get as much information. It was just his strength of

:27:16.:27:20.

character and perception that got us through.

:27:21.:27:22.

Weather forecasting is pressured enough these days,

:27:23.:27:23.

but imagine 70 years ago, when the decisions of forecasters preparing

:27:24.:27:24.

this one could actually decide the outcome of the Second World War.

:27:25.:27:31.

Even now, we are still finding new information.

:27:32.:27:34.

These recently discovered weather charts show

:27:35.:27:38.

the Germans had much better knowledge of the weather over the

:27:39.:27:42.

Atlantic than previously thought. The Allied Commander made the right

:27:43.:27:48.

decision from the wrong information, whereas the Hitler team made

:27:49.:27:51.

the wrong decision from the right information.

:27:52.:27:55.

So the Germans may have won the battle of the forecasts, but if the

:27:56.:28:02.

invasion had been delayed two weeks later, gales would have destroyed

:28:03.:28:04.

any chance of a landing and history would have been very different.

:28:05.:28:19.

There is still pressure to get it right, 70 years on. It has improved

:28:20.:28:25.

a lot since then, but the weather can still give us some headaches.

:28:26.:28:29.

Even this week, there is a bit of uncertainty from time to time. This

:28:30.:28:34.

week looks like being a mixture of sunshine and showers. Some of those

:28:35.:28:38.

showers will be heavy and the area across northern and eastern parts of

:28:39.:28:43.

the UK. Blankets of cloud are continuing to push eastwards, with

:28:44.:28:47.

sunshine now pushing into many western and southern areas. For the

:28:48.:28:52.

rest of the afternoon, you can see holes in the cloud, allowing for

:28:53.:28:54.

pleasant sunshine, but also a scattering of showers. For the

:28:55.:28:59.

Northern Isles, it is staying murky, misty and wet. The main part of is

:29:00.:29:05.

Gotland could catch the thunderstorm in the afternoon -- Scotland. For

:29:06.:29:09.

the east of the Pennines, the showers could he have the, but away

:29:10.:29:13.

from here, the showers will not be quite as heavy. There should be some

:29:14.:29:20.

good spells of sunshine. Not quite as warm as yesterday. This evening,

:29:21.:29:25.

the showers rumble on for a while across northern and eastern areas.

:29:26.:29:29.

Then it is all eyes to the south, that weather system pushing up and

:29:30.:29:34.

bringing rain which will be heavy at times across central and southern

:29:35.:29:37.

areas. A mild night for much of the country, but a few chilly spots

:29:38.:29:42.

under clear skies in Scotland. The culprit bringing in that wet weather

:29:43.:29:45.

for Wednesday is this area of low pressure, which will continue to

:29:46.:29:49.

move northwards as the day progresses. It is uncertain how far

:29:50.:29:54.

West it will bring that rain, but it looks like bringing much of England

:29:55.:29:58.

a wet start tomorrow, and atrocious commute into work. The rain will

:29:59.:30:02.

spread towards eastern Scotland as well. The best of any brighter

:30:03.:30:07.

weather will be across the far west and south-west, but even here there

:30:08.:30:12.

will be a few showers. Temperatures are feeling cooler everywhere. The

:30:13.:30:16.

Thursday, a vast improvement for England and Wales. The rain will

:30:17.:30:21.

become confined to central and northern parts of Scotland. Some

:30:22.:30:25.

lengthy spells of sunshine will make it feel warmer. Later in the day, an

:30:26.:30:30.

area of rain pushes up from the south-west. For Friday, Northern

:30:31.:30:34.

Ireland and Wales may see some of the rain the south-west. Northern

:30:35.:30:38.

areas are largely dry and warm. And look at the temperatures, very

:30:39.:30:44.

warm. That is a sign of things to come as we head towards the weekend.

:30:45.:30:47.

We start to import warm and humid air from the near continent. But it

:30:48.:30:53.

could eat thundery. We have to watch out for heavy showers and

:30:54.:30:54.

thunderstorms. Now a reminder of our top story this

:30:55.:30:55.

lunchtime. House prices show their highest

:30:56.:30:58.

annual increase for seven years.

:30:59.:31:02.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS