:00:07. > :00:09.Labour win the first by-election of this parliament in Oldham West
:00:10. > :00:18.and Royton, increasing their share of the vote.
:00:19. > :00:20.Labour's leader said the victory showed the party's anti-austerity
:00:21. > :00:24.This campaign shows just how strong our party is, not just here in
:00:25. > :00:34.We'll be live with our correspondent in the constituency.
:00:35. > :00:38.The leader of a Maoist cult is found guilty of child cruelty
:00:39. > :00:47.David Cameron is in Bulgaria for talks over the migrant crisis and a
:00:48. > :00:53.The German parliament votes to send military support to Syria,
:00:54. > :00:56.amid fears the country is now a potential Islamic State target.
:00:57. > :01:00.The Forth bridge is to be closed until the New Year after faults
:01:01. > :01:15.And in sport, Britain's two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome
:01:16. > :01:18.has released his performance data in an attempt to prove to doubters that
:01:19. > :01:34.he is a clean rider. Good afternoon and welcome
:01:35. > :01:37.to the BBC News at One. Labour has comfortably won the
:01:38. > :01:40.Oldham West and Royton by-election. The party was expected to retain the
:01:41. > :01:43.safe seat and, although its majority fell from almost 15,000 to just
:01:44. > :01:47.under 11,000, a lower turnout meant Labour won with just
:01:48. > :01:53.over 17,000 votes. UKIP were second
:01:54. > :01:56.with nearly 6,500, and Jeremy Corbyn called it a
:01:57. > :02:02."vote of confidence" in his party. Our Political Correspondent
:02:03. > :02:16.Iain Watson reports now from Oldham. I do hereby declare that Jim McMahon
:02:17. > :02:23.is hereby elected as a member of Parliament...
:02:24. > :02:28.His supporters chanted Jim. Oldham's young council leader, Jim
:02:29. > :02:31.McMahon, fought relentlessly local campaign, and the increased Labour's
:02:32. > :02:35.share of since the last general election. Now, the morning after the
:02:36. > :02:39.night before, Jim McMahon was joined by the man he didn't mention in his
:02:40. > :02:42.leaflets and who had only visited the constituency once during the
:02:43. > :02:48.by-election campaign. This is a truly overwhelming thing
:02:49. > :02:51.for a local lad, to represent the town he loves in Westminster is a
:02:52. > :02:57.big issue. But his party leader Jeremy Corbyn
:02:58. > :02:59.was here to hail the result as a vote of confidence.
:03:00. > :03:05.This campaign shows just how strong our party is, not just here in
:03:06. > :03:09.Oldham, but all over the country. It shows the way we have driven the
:03:10. > :03:16.Tories back on tax credits, and police cuts, on their whole
:03:17. > :03:21.austerity agenda and narrative. It shows just how strong, how deep
:03:22. > :03:24.rooted, and how broad our party, the Labour Party, is, for the whole of
:03:25. > :03:28.Britain. Thank you very much, everybody.
:03:29. > :03:33.Some Labour MPs were hoping for a worse result here. They think Jeremy
:03:34. > :03:40.Corbyn, flanked by the new MP Jim McMahon, is an electoral liability,
:03:41. > :03:43.and Ukip are crying foul. Ukip's leader is alleging that
:03:44. > :03:45.postal votes were manipulated to bolster the size of Labour's
:03:46. > :03:52.majority. We have had Tower Hamlets. We have
:03:53. > :03:56.had burning. We have robbed had repeated evidence of fraud within
:03:57. > :03:59.the postal voting system. I am raising that. I think British
:04:00. > :04:03.democracy should be clean, and I think with this system, it is not.
:04:04. > :04:06.The Electoral Commission have said that Oldham is one of 16 areas where
:04:07. > :04:10.postal voting fraud is a risk. Labour sake Ukip's allegations are
:04:11. > :04:14.sour grapes. Jim was a very strong local
:04:15. > :04:17.candidate, but our campaign was on tax credits and supporting local
:04:18. > :04:21.working people, and that is down to the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, and
:04:22. > :04:25.actually, our opponents exquisitely said that this would be a referendum
:04:26. > :04:29.on Jeremy Corbyn, and I think he has passed that referendum.
:04:30. > :04:33.But Labour's Troubles are not over yet. The leader and his deputy have
:04:34. > :04:36.had to write to activists, telling them that abusive behaviour will not
:04:37. > :04:39.be tolerated, and after weeks of stories about divisions of splits,
:04:40. > :04:43.party leadership finally has something to smile about.
:04:44. > :04:44.Our Political Correspondent Vicki Young is in Oldham.
:04:45. > :04:56.After a bruising week for Labour, there must be relief?
:04:57. > :05:04.Yes, it certainly is. I mean, this is an incredibly safe Labour seat,
:05:05. > :05:08.and has been so for more than 50 years, and if they had lost it, it
:05:09. > :05:12.would have been a massive upset. But there is no doubt that some MPs were
:05:13. > :05:15.concerned that recent divisions and arguing between senior Labour
:05:16. > :05:20.figures at Westminster would have a negative impact here. It seems not
:05:21. > :05:24.to have happened. With by-elections, there are so many factors in play.
:05:25. > :05:27.Talking to people here, there is no question that the candidate was an
:05:28. > :05:32.incredibly strong candidate with local appeal, and that seems to have
:05:33. > :05:35.won him through, but as we have heard, Jeremy Corbyn was quick to
:05:36. > :05:38.come up here, because he knows if he had lost, there would have been
:05:39. > :05:42.people queueing up to put the blame at his door. So people will say he
:05:43. > :05:45.is well within his rights to come here and claim this is a
:05:46. > :05:46.reimbursement of labour and his leadership as a whole.
:05:47. > :05:55.Thank you, Vicky. The leader of a Maoist cult in south
:05:56. > :05:59.London has been found guilty of a string of sex assaults, cruelty
:06:00. > :06:02.to a child and false imprisonment. Aravindan Balakrishnan, who's 75,
:06:03. > :06:04.ran a communist collective which he One of his victims has spoken to
:06:05. > :06:14.our Home Affairs Correspondent Tom Captivity. Year after year, three
:06:15. > :06:20.decades in all, in ordinary flats and houses. It was more like
:06:21. > :06:24.invisible handcuffs. I would be struck down by lightning, or
:06:25. > :06:29.spontaneously combust if I went out on my own.
:06:30. > :06:33.Aravindan Balakrishnan's bizarre cult dominated the lives of its
:06:34. > :06:38.members, but now he is facing prison. It ended in 2013.
:06:39. > :06:43.To charity workers were asked to prepare for a rendezvous with three
:06:44. > :06:47.of his followers. -- two charity workers.
:06:48. > :06:49.We were told to meet at this point at 11:15am sharp.
:06:50. > :06:54.And they were moving very slowly from this direction. The young one
:06:55. > :06:57.appeared to have been in an accident. She was moving very
:06:58. > :07:01.unevenly and very awkwardly. The youngest had been born into the
:07:02. > :07:09.cult. Balakrishnan had hidden her from the world.
:07:10. > :07:13.I first learned to write, and I wrote I love Comrade Bala. My mother
:07:14. > :07:17.would say he the guard and starve our lives, so I had to worship him.
:07:18. > :07:23.This is her first ever interview. Fran, not her real name, told me to
:07:24. > :07:27.macro to had one goal. To rule the world. Like he is in charge, and
:07:28. > :07:31.basically, everyone is his slave. I used to feel like killing myself. I
:07:32. > :07:35.remember when I was aged six, I was even told not to look out of
:07:36. > :07:41.windows. Sometimes, I did, and I would see other children playing.
:07:42. > :07:44.The neighbour had a party for their little boy. There were balloons and
:07:45. > :07:50.slides in the garden. I was told not to look at that, but I did look. And
:07:51. > :07:56.I used to feel like I was missing out.
:07:57. > :08:02.The cult was born in the field trial 1970s. Balakrishnan quoted China's
:08:03. > :08:06.Chairman Mao, but later, the brainwashing began, that he had
:08:07. > :08:11.supernatural powers. This was the first of 13 flats and houses they
:08:12. > :08:16.lived in. There were always rules. Work for the collective, work for
:08:17. > :08:21.your family. -- forget your family. Doors were always locked, and going
:08:22. > :08:25.outside was frowned upon because of the risk of the British fascist
:08:26. > :08:29.state. Balakrishnan sometimes get 12 people and houses meant for far
:08:30. > :08:32.fewer. Neighbours saw faces at windows and him leaving his
:08:33. > :08:41.followers to the shops. But they did not see what went on behind closed
:08:42. > :08:46.doors. The beatings and the rapes. He did not sexually abuses daughter,
:08:47. > :08:51.but he did do this. I remember lying on the floor near the front door,
:08:52. > :08:55.and I remember Bala putting his foot on my head and kicking me, and then
:08:56. > :08:59.he put me outside the door and locked the door when I was outside,
:09:00. > :09:03.and that was just so scary, because I had been told that I would die if
:09:04. > :09:09.I was put outside, horrible monsters would come and take me away.
:09:10. > :09:14.Her mother, Sian Davies, had been loyal to Balakrishnan. But in 1997,
:09:15. > :09:18.she died, falling from a window. There was a wreck lives of ten macro
:09:19. > :09:21.to and his followers when they gave evidence at the inquest, but no one
:09:22. > :09:25.mentioned the daughter, and the local council had no record of her.
:09:26. > :09:30.Bala began claiming he controlled a mind machine, with power over life
:09:31. > :09:34.and death. He still believes it. People will see that little old man
:09:35. > :09:37.arriving at court, and say, how on earth could he keep eight or nine
:09:38. > :09:41.grown women in his trance for so long?
:09:42. > :09:46.Yes, I find it hard to believe as well. I think he used a combination
:09:47. > :09:56.of charm and violence to control them.
:09:57. > :10:00.Including this woman, who left the cult with Fran. 16 years ago, and
:10:01. > :10:04.ITV documentary team attempted to speak to the cult members. Josephine
:10:05. > :10:08.still believes Bala is innocent and all-powerful. When it all ended,
:10:09. > :10:14.Fran wrote this letter to her tormentors. I may have no wealth, no
:10:15. > :10:20.property, no position, no prestige, she wrote. But I do have my dignity.
:10:21. > :10:24.She is also highly intelligent. However, her carers have had to
:10:25. > :10:30.teach basic life skills. Her progress has been outstanding.
:10:31. > :10:33.She is a very competent and nearly independent young woman now. She is
:10:34. > :10:40.looking at moving into independent living fund and she is studying at
:10:41. > :10:43.college. What are your thoughts about
:10:44. > :10:48.Aravindan Balakrishnan? I forgive him, really. You forgive him? And I
:10:49. > :10:52.would like to reconcile with him in the future. If I leave the place
:10:53. > :10:55.with anger and hatred and bitterness, I am still in prison,
:10:56. > :10:57.and I don't want to be imprisoned away.
:10:58. > :10:59.David Cameron has visited Bulgaria's border with Turkey, to see how
:11:00. > :11:02.The German parliament has voted to send troops and equipment to help
:11:03. > :11:04.the international coalition against so-called Islamic State in Syria.
:11:05. > :11:06.They'll be providing military support
:11:07. > :11:13.The plan is part of the German response to the terror attacks
:11:14. > :11:16.Here's our correspondent Richard Lister.
:11:17. > :11:19.German Tornadoes, soon to be in the sky over Syria.
:11:20. > :11:21.These are reconnaissance planes and won't be dropping bombs,
:11:22. > :11:25.but they are a sign of renewed German engagement in the fight
:11:26. > :11:35.The debate about this mission, though, is a passionate one.
:11:36. > :11:37.Even its supporters said the plan gave them political bellyache but,
:11:38. > :11:41.in the end, the German parliament gave its overwhelming consent.
:11:42. > :11:46.MPs voted 3-1 in favour of intervening
:11:47. > :11:53.This threat coming from Isis and Assad has caused a death toll
:11:54. > :11:58.of hundreds of thousands of people, and it is a challenge for Europe,
:11:59. > :12:04.and for too long a time we have denied our responsibility.
:12:05. > :12:08.Now we have to live up to what is our responsibility in Europe.
:12:09. > :12:16.Last night, around 800 people demonstrated
:12:17. > :12:26."I find it outrageous that Germany is going to war again," he says,
:12:27. > :12:30."in my view, against the wishes of most Germans."
:12:31. > :12:32.This, though, will not be a combat mission.
:12:33. > :12:36.Germany will send a frigate to assist a French aircraft carrier off
:12:37. > :12:41.the Syrian coast, as well as the six Tornadoes and refuelling planes.
:12:42. > :12:45.1200 German military personnel will also go to the region.
:12:46. > :12:50.German soldiers like these training for foreign deployments are now
:12:51. > :12:56.Germany's post-war caution about sending troops overseas is
:12:57. > :13:01.being replaced by thoughts of expanding its army to meet
:13:02. > :13:06.The war in Syria is having a direct impact on Germany.
:13:07. > :13:09.Half the Syrian asylum seekers entering the EU have ended up there.
:13:10. > :13:13.Today's vote is aimed at restoring stability at home
:13:14. > :13:22.Police are investigating two cases of alleged misuse
:13:23. > :13:24.David Cameron has visited Bulgaria's border with Turkey, to see how
:13:25. > :13:27.the country deals with migrants trying to get to western Europe.
:13:28. > :13:29.Mr Cameron, who's visiting Bulgaria to try to get support
:13:30. > :13:34.for his attempt to get a better deal for Britain in Europe, said he was
:13:35. > :13:37.But he admitted yesterday that there'd be no deal in time
:13:38. > :13:40.for a key meeting of European leaders later this month.
:13:41. > :13:54.Our Political Correspondent Alex Forsyth reports now from Sofia.
:13:55. > :14:00.In Turkey, the border measures are stark. This barb wire fans was built
:14:01. > :14:07.by the Bulgarian authorities to slow the flow of migrants, and today,
:14:08. > :14:13.David Cameron paid a visit. His Bulgarian counterpart explained
:14:14. > :14:17.the measures taken here, not only to secure Bulgaria's border, but also
:14:18. > :14:20.this entry point to the European Union. Leaders agree, that is now
:14:21. > :14:28.essential. It is important that Europe has
:14:29. > :14:30.strong external borders, and here in Bulgaria, you can see a Prime
:14:31. > :14:34.Minister and a government that is absolutely committed to that. They
:14:35. > :14:37.have a sea border they protect, they have a land border with Turkey to
:14:38. > :14:42.protect, and I think there are real lessons to learn here about, if you
:14:43. > :14:45.give it a priority, you can get it done.
:14:46. > :14:49.How to stem and flow the migrants -- how to stem the flow of migrants
:14:50. > :14:52.into the EU was one of the topics discussed when David Cameron at the
:14:53. > :14:55.Bulgaria and Prime Minister here in the capital yesterday. EU leaders
:14:56. > :15:00.are struggling to cope with the Shia numbers, and as a result, in many
:15:01. > :15:08.places, once again, tensions are starting to flare.
:15:09. > :15:12.Last night, there were clashes at the border between Greece and
:15:13. > :15:17.Macedonia. Here, authorities are only allowing migrants from Syria,
:15:18. > :15:23.Afghanistan, and Iraq through. Those deemed to be fleeing persecution and
:15:24. > :15:32.conflict. It is causing blockades and frustrated confrontations. This
:15:33. > :15:37.morning, more angry scenes. For many individuals involved, this journey
:15:38. > :15:49.has become a personal crisis. For Europe, it is a political one.
:15:50. > :15:56.Labour has won the old by-election with a comfortable majority.
:15:57. > :15:57.And chaos around the Forth road bridge.
:15:58. > :16:00.It's going to be closed until the New Year because
:16:01. > :16:07.In sport, Lewis Hamilton rejects suggestions that he and Nico Rosberg
:16:08. > :16:12.after repair their revelation ship will face leaving Mercedes, after
:16:13. > :16:13.the team's boss said he would consider dropping one of them if
:16:14. > :16:20.tension escalated. One of the key arguments that
:16:21. > :16:22.the British government made in favour of airstrikes
:16:23. > :16:25.against Islamic State in Syria is Most of those fleeing Syria have
:16:26. > :16:31.settled in Turkey, Most of those fleeing Syria have
:16:32. > :16:37.settled in Turkey. Over 2 million Syrians are now
:16:38. > :16:42.there, escaping attacks by the regime of President Assad, and also
:16:43. > :16:44.by IS - Our correspondent Mark Lowen has met
:16:45. > :16:54.a new arrival now living Refugees are continuing to flee
:16:55. > :16:59.Syria here into Turkey. We have come to this town on the Turkish border
:17:00. > :17:05.with Syria to meet a town who left Islamic state's stronghold of Raqqa
:17:06. > :17:09.about 20 days ago. They came to live in this tiny shop front, about six
:17:10. > :17:13.metres long and three metres wide. You can see how basic preconditions
:17:14. > :17:17.are. A family of 15 are sleeping inside here. They have a television
:17:18. > :17:23.to watch what is happening back home in Raqqa, a tiny heater here, and
:17:24. > :17:26.then, the curtain and they have built a wall, actually, to create
:17:27. > :17:32.some kind of dividing space where they cook behind and have pretty
:17:33. > :17:35.basic toilet facilities. Now, they are too afraid to show their faces,
:17:36. > :17:39.because they still have relatives back home in Raqqa. But one member
:17:40. > :17:44.of the family has agreed to speak to us, to tell us a bit more about what
:17:45. > :17:51.life is like at the moment back in Raqqa and IS control.
:17:52. > :17:56.TRANSLATION: Life has stopped in Raqqa. There is no electricity,
:17:57. > :18:00.little water, and no work. If you wear tight trousers or have long
:18:01. > :18:04.hair or smoke, you are put in prison for 15 days. If you are out in the
:18:05. > :18:09.street during prayer time, you will be arrested. Women and young people
:18:10. > :18:13.can't go outside. Daesh forces us to join jihad. We were smuggled out by
:18:14. > :18:18.paying hundreds of dollars. Do you feel that the Western air
:18:19. > :18:24.strikes against Islamic State in Raqqa are working?
:18:25. > :18:29.TRANSLATION: They are successful, and are hitting places with a lot of
:18:30. > :18:33.Daesh fighters. Now, Daesh are afraid and paying people money to
:18:34. > :18:37.join them. But it is frightening living with the air strikes.
:18:38. > :18:40.Children can't sleep at night, houses shake.
:18:41. > :18:45.How do you feel about Britain joining the air strikes against IS
:18:46. > :18:48.in Syria? TRANSLATION: Whoever targets Daesh
:18:49. > :18:52.is a good thing, but we are just worried about civilians being hit.
:18:53. > :18:58.We all have relatives in Raqqa. We just hope Daesh can be defeated.
:18:59. > :19:02.Undercover pictures show what has become of Raqqa, a once prosperous
:19:03. > :19:08.city, now awash with weapons and under Sharia law. The capital of the
:19:09. > :19:11.IS declared caliphate. The aim of British and Allied air strikes is to
:19:12. > :19:12.crush the militants here and liberate those inside. It will be a
:19:13. > :19:14.long battle. A candle-lit vigil has taken place
:19:15. > :19:18.at the scene of a mass shooting Fourteen people died when a married
:19:19. > :19:22.couple opened fired on public health workers in San Bernardino
:19:23. > :19:24.during a Christmas party. Authorities are still trying to
:19:25. > :19:29.discover the motive for the attack. Our correspondent David Willis
:19:30. > :19:40.reports from California. The day after this California city
:19:41. > :19:43.was rocked by violence, its people came together at a multi-faith vigil
:19:44. > :19:47.intended to promote the message Yet for those caught up
:19:48. > :19:53.in the barbarity, Be they survivors or members
:19:54. > :19:56.of the rescue services. Police officer Mike Madden was
:19:57. > :20:02.the first on the scene. It was unspeakable,
:20:03. > :20:05.the carnage that we were seeing. The number
:20:06. > :20:11.of people who were injured and, And the pure panic on the face
:20:12. > :20:16.of those individuals that were still Among the weapons recovered
:20:17. > :20:22.from the attackers, these semiautomatic handguns and
:20:23. > :20:26.assault rifles, not to mention more than 1000 rounds of ammunition -
:20:27. > :20:30.enough, one official said, for the Muslims here also came together
:20:31. > :20:40.to condemn the attack. Syed Farook was said to have been
:20:41. > :20:43.a devout Muslim, someone who showed Until a couple of weeks ago, that
:20:44. > :20:50.is, when he suddenly stopped coming. Overall, a nice person,
:20:51. > :20:52.peaceful person. Also, he's a mechanic,
:20:53. > :20:56.he does mechanical work And I remember he told me I can tell
:20:57. > :21:05.the people here if they want to fix A dozen pipe bombs
:21:06. > :21:14.and thousands more rounds of ammunition were found at
:21:15. > :21:17.the apartment Syed Farook occupied And although
:21:18. > :21:23.the authorities still refuse to be drawn on the matter, it's looking
:21:24. > :21:26.increasingly likely that terrorism was a motive here, although that
:21:27. > :21:46.explains neither the target nor The jury in the trial of three men
:21:47. > :21:48.accused of the Hatton Garden burglary has been listening to
:21:49. > :21:52.conversations recorded on a bugging device about the scale of the
:21:53. > :21:55.robbery and even the types of medication the man had taken with
:21:56. > :21:58.them. That's taught to our home affairs correspond in, who is a
:21:59. > :22:06.Woolwich Crown Court for us. Tell us more. Yes, the jury has been
:22:07. > :22:10.hearing about how several weeks after the robbery, police had been
:22:11. > :22:16.observing some of the men responsible for it, and even had a
:22:17. > :22:19.listening device in a car. Today, we heard about accommodation between
:22:20. > :22:24.Terry Perkins and Daniel Jones. Both have pleaded guilty. One says, where
:22:25. > :22:28.have you put the Stones? Another says, leave them in the cemetery. We
:22:29. > :22:33.will say that is our bit. Later, Terry Perkins says, I'm going to
:22:34. > :22:38.melt my gold down. Jones says, your coins or the other stuff? Perkins
:22:39. > :22:40.says, the Indian, the 18, that can be my pension, do you know what I
:22:41. > :22:44.mean? They then started boasting about
:22:45. > :22:47.what they had done. Perkins says, this is the biggest
:22:48. > :22:51.robbery there could have been. Jones agrees.
:22:52. > :23:00.He says it will never happen again. Jones agrees. He says it is the
:23:01. > :23:04.biggest robbery in the f-ing world. Later, Jones says, I don't want to
:23:05. > :23:12.be paranoid, but almost ?50 notes, they were new, when they? Later,
:23:13. > :23:16.Perkins talks about his diabetes medication. If I had not taken my
:23:17. > :23:20.insulin, he said, you would have had to carry me out in a wheelie bins.
:23:21. > :23:24.The jury heard that it was the jewellery that was carried out in a
:23:25. > :23:26.wheelie bin from the Hatton Garden burglary, the biggest in English
:23:27. > :23:27.history. Thank you, Daniel.
:23:28. > :23:30.From next month, train fares will rise by an average of 1.1%.
:23:31. > :23:32.The industry body, the Rail Delivery Group, says this is the smallest
:23:33. > :23:38.The rise for regulated fares is limited to no more than 1 per cent.
:23:39. > :23:39.Unregulated prices, such as off-peak leisure tickets,
:23:40. > :23:55.Sales of Volkswagen cars fell by almost 20% last month when overall
:23:56. > :24:00.sales for new cars were otherwise up. For VW, the news comes in the
:24:01. > :24:03.wake of the scandal over the rigging of emissions of millions of its
:24:04. > :24:06.diesel cars. Our transport correspondent reports.
:24:07. > :24:11.Two months after they admitted lying to the public about how polluting
:24:12. > :24:17.their cars are, VW's feeling the backlash. UK sales are down, for the
:24:18. > :24:23.second month in a row, and many other car brand sales are going up.
:24:24. > :24:26.I think the buyer is speaking. Last month, sales were down, but many
:24:27. > :24:32.cars that had been pre-ordered were being delivered. Now, we know people
:24:33. > :24:37.are not going into Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Audi dealers like they
:24:38. > :24:40.were. So absolutely, this is beginning to bite.
:24:41. > :24:48.1.2 million UK cars are programmed with VW's defective software. We can
:24:49. > :24:52.tell you how it works. The official emissions test is
:24:53. > :24:56.always exactly the same. So the car's on-board computer can work out
:24:57. > :25:01.when it is being checked in a lab, and it tells the engine to cut
:25:02. > :25:05.pollution from the exhaust pipe. Back on the real road, the car stops
:25:06. > :25:12.cheating, performance improves, but it is much more polluting.
:25:13. > :25:17.All the VW group of brands fitted with the device are suffering. Last
:25:18. > :25:26.month, VW sales were down 20%. Audi was down more than 4%. Seat's fell
:25:27. > :25:30.nearly 24%, Skoda's 11%. But clearly, not everyone is put
:25:31. > :25:33.off. Ya, I would definitely be happy to
:25:34. > :25:39.buy another VW, because it is just a very efficient car. It performs very
:25:40. > :25:42.well, and I haven't really had any issues with it.
:25:43. > :25:45.I think the omission scandal would definitely put me off. I mean,
:25:46. > :25:48.because you definitely don't know what the reality is of it any
:25:49. > :25:51.longer. Boxlike and says it will start
:25:52. > :25:57.fixing cars next month, but it is still not clear how that fix might
:25:58. > :26:00.affect performance. -- vault Biden says it will start fixing cars next
:26:01. > :26:01.month. They could face claims for millions
:26:02. > :26:18.in compensation. The Forth Road Bridge has been shut
:26:19. > :26:21.after discovery of defects on Tuesday. Our correspondent is there
:26:22. > :26:25.for us now. This spot is a really quiet today.
:26:26. > :26:29.Normally, you would expect to see 80,000 cars and vehicles passing
:26:30. > :26:33.back and forth across the bridge. Today, absolutely nothing, and
:26:34. > :26:36.instead of that background hum of traffic, all we can hear at the
:26:37. > :26:39.moment is the whistling of that increasingly strong wind. Now,
:26:40. > :26:43.throughout the morning, people have been coming down here to take
:26:44. > :26:50.photographs of this bizarre sight, but other day goes on, patience is
:26:51. > :26:54.beginning to wear thin. In the small hours, nightmare for
:26:55. > :26:58.drivers as the cones went out on Scotland's busiest road bridge. The
:26:59. > :27:02.only vehicles able to pass contained the engineers who were trying to fix
:27:03. > :27:08.it, and this is their focus. A crack in the steelwork, deep the need the
:27:09. > :27:10.roadway. For those at the wheel, it has meant long queues and lengthy
:27:11. > :27:19.diversions. This doesn't help anybody, but if
:27:20. > :27:22.the bridge is unsafe, it is a need. These businessmen are feeling
:27:23. > :27:24.stranded. The rare tranquillity of this empty bridge offers little
:27:25. > :27:28.comfort. The first thing that came to mind
:27:29. > :27:34.was, how am I going to get over the other that water? It is a real big
:27:35. > :27:38.structure, so the first thing was just to jump on Google straightaway
:27:39. > :27:42.and look for an alternative route. The situation at the bridge has been
:27:43. > :27:46.getting worse by the day, from lane closures to weight restrictions,
:27:47. > :27:50.then a short-term closure, and now this. It is not the first time
:27:51. > :27:54.problems have been found bridge. The cabling that goes across the top
:27:55. > :27:57.of the towers has been snapping in small places in recent years, and
:27:58. > :28:02.that defect has led to the construction of the new bridge
:28:03. > :28:06.alongside, and unfortunately, that is not going to be opening for
:28:07. > :28:09.another year. Today, it seems many took the advice
:28:10. > :28:14.to stay at home, although there were some jams.
:28:15. > :28:18.It was not as bad as expected, but the next few weeks will be a
:28:19. > :28:22.challenge. The bridge closure is now unavoidable, but we will try to
:28:23. > :28:27.mitigate the impact, supporting travel plans, encouraging people to
:28:28. > :28:30.use public transport, rail, for example, looking at ferry services
:28:31. > :28:35.also, and bass prioritisation is. We will do everything we can. The
:28:36. > :28:39.Scottish Government says it has not taken today's decision lightly, but
:28:40. > :28:43.it says reopening the bridge now will damage it even further.
:28:44. > :28:46.We're now getting word that even the engineers are being pulled off a
:28:47. > :28:50.bridge because of the increasingly strong wind, but actually, it is
:28:51. > :28:57.going to take them several weeks to fix the problems here. The rest of
:28:58. > :28:58.the year, the bridge will remain closed, and it is still not exactly
:28:59. > :29:10.clear win in 2016, As you can see from the report,
:29:11. > :29:13.plenty of strong winds a story well, but before I get onto that, I want
:29:14. > :29:17.to reminisce a little. They're with me. This was yesterday, a blanket of
:29:18. > :29:21.cloud across the country, cold on the North of Scotland, but milder
:29:22. > :29:26.further south. But look at this. This morning, we were greeted with
:29:27. > :29:29.blue sky and sunshine. Thanks to our weather watcher mat for sending in
:29:30. > :29:32.this picture. Sunshine generally across the south coast, through East
:29:33. > :29:36.Anglia and into the Midlands and parts of the North East. Further
:29:37. > :29:40.north, clouds starting to gather already. We have a significant area
:29:41. > :29:46.of low pressure. Our fourth named storm across the UK for this season
:29:47. > :29:53.Storm Desmond arise later on today, bringing severe gale force gusts of
:29:54. > :30:00.wind and also some significant reign as well. Bright and breezy
:30:01. > :30:02.conditions continuing further south, condition is widespread. Not as cold
:30:03. > :30:06.and Scotland as yesterday, but the significant weather will really
:30:07. > :30:11.start gathering strength is removed with the latter stages of the day,
:30:12. > :30:17.so in that evening, we could see gusts of wind 's in excess of 70
:30:18. > :30:22.miles hour, and relentless rain as well, so there could be an issue
:30:23. > :30:26.with some travel disruption, certainly tune into your BBC local
:30:27. > :30:30.radio stations for further updates throughout this evening. In the
:30:31. > :30:36.Atlantic, a ribbon of rain, a conveyor belt of rain, gathering
:30:37. > :30:38.pace, pushing into the North West through the evening, and into
:30:39. > :30:41.tomorrow. And the strongest of the winds will start to drift further
:30:42. > :30:45.south across southern Scotland and to the North of England. Amber
:30:46. > :30:48.weather warnings have been issued, meaning be prepared for some
:30:49. > :30:52.disruption due to the intensity and longevity of that rainfall. We could
:30:53. > :30:57.see as much as 200 millimetres before the rain use is off, already
:30:58. > :31:00.falling and saturated ground. The winds down into central and southern
:31:01. > :31:06.Scotland, crossed the peaks and Pennines Pennines, here we could see
:31:07. > :31:09.gusts of 60-70 on high ground. Central and southern England and
:31:10. > :31:16.will be bright, drive through the day, but still pretty windy here.
:31:17. > :31:21.Some significant weather to start our weekend. Into Sunday, our
:31:22. > :31:24.weather front drifts further south-east, weakening all the time.
:31:25. > :31:28.A band of cloud and patchy rain. Cooler to the north, but it looks as
:31:29. > :31:31.though the significant weather continues. All the details on the
:31:32. > :31:36.website if you want more information about those weather warnings.
:31:37. > :31:39.Thank you. Well, that is all from us. Now on BBC One, time for the
:31:40. > :31:42.news where you are.