:00:00. > :00:08.From paramilitary to politician - Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has
:00:09. > :00:15.The one-time IRA commander turned his back on years of violence -
:00:16. > :00:19.to help bring peace to Northern Ireland.
:00:20. > :00:22.He was a divisive and controversial figure -
:00:23. > :00:27.but tributes have been paid to him from across the spectrum.
:00:28. > :00:30.The ledger has both a debit and a credit side
:00:31. > :00:39.He came across as a very reasonable man.
:00:40. > :00:41.This may seem crazy, given his early life,
:00:42. > :00:44.but, in his later life, he was an easy man to talk to.
:00:45. > :00:46.We'll be live in Londonderry and Westminster with more reaction.
:00:47. > :00:52.Inflation leaps to 2.3% - the highest since 2013.
:00:53. > :00:57.Economists blame rising fuel and food prices.
:00:58. > :00:59.MSPs begin their debate about holding a second referendum
:01:00. > :01:07.Stolen 15 years ago - now these two paintings are back
:01:08. > :01:20.Manchester United's German World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger has
:01:21. > :01:45.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.
:01:46. > :01:48.Politician, former senior IRA commander,
:01:49. > :01:54.Martin McGuinness has died at the age of 66,
:01:55. > :01:56.two months after stepping down as Northern Ireland's
:01:57. > :02:03.It's understood he'd been suffering from a rare heart condition.
:02:04. > :02:06.Many people have paid tribute to a man who played a pivotal role
:02:07. > :02:08.in the Northern Ireland peace process, and whose relationship
:02:09. > :02:10.with former adversaries would become a symbol of reconciliation
:02:11. > :02:22.Lord Tebbit, who was injured in the IRA attack on the Grand Hotel
:02:23. > :02:25.in Brighton in 1984, called him a coward and a multi
:02:26. > :02:28.murderer, and said the world is a "sweeter place" without him.
:02:29. > :02:31.We'll have reaction from Londonderry and Westminster shortly.
:02:32. > :02:33.But first Ireland correspondent Chris Buckler looks back
:02:34. > :02:36.at Martin McGuinness's life - and a warning, his report
:02:37. > :02:46.To paint a true picture of Martin McGuinness,
:02:47. > :02:55.He was a paramilitary who once embraced violence,
:02:56. > :02:58.but also a peacemaker who reached out to rivals, a man who could be
:02:59. > :03:04.Born in Londonderry, into a large Catholic family,
:03:05. > :03:08.Martin McGuinness came of age as Northern Ireland's
:03:09. > :03:13.In that time of violence, he joined the IRA, quickly
:03:14. > :03:20.Can you say whether the bombing is likely to stop in the near future,
:03:21. > :03:25.Well, I always take into consideration the feelings
:03:26. > :03:33.The 1970s saw him become one of the faces of ruthless
:03:34. > :03:35.Irish republicanism, and he was jailed for terrorist
:03:36. > :03:40.McGuinness has changed considerably from the young man who used
:03:41. > :03:43.to swagger around the no-go areas in Londonderry, as commander
:03:44. > :03:49.What had started as a fight for civil rights had
:03:50. > :03:54.Yet, alongside the many bombings and shootings,
:03:55. > :03:58.Martin McGuinness saw opportunities at the ballot box for
:03:59. > :04:02.Sinn Fein, the political party linked to the IRA.
:04:03. > :04:05.Even then, the language of threat remained.
:04:06. > :04:07.We don't believe that winning elections, and winning
:04:08. > :04:10.any amount of votes, will bring freedom in Ireland.
:04:11. > :04:14.At the end of the day, it will be the cutting edge of IRA
:04:15. > :04:20.But after years of killings and chaos, in the 1990s,
:04:21. > :04:22.IRA ceasefires offered the opportunity for talks
:04:23. > :04:35.Not only would they shake hands, after the signing
:04:36. > :04:37.of the Good Friday Agreement, they joined each
:04:38. > :04:43.Eventually, at its head was the unlikely partnership
:04:44. > :04:46.of two former enemies - Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.
:04:47. > :04:50.The firebrand unionist and radical republican became so close
:04:51. > :04:59.that they were nicknamed the Chuckle Brothers.
:05:00. > :05:07.There were republicans who continued to threaten that political progress.
:05:08. > :05:09.But when a police officer was killed, the then deputy first
:05:10. > :05:11.minister stood side-by-side with the chief constable to condemn
:05:12. > :05:15.They are traitors to the island of Ireland.
:05:16. > :05:18.Alongside the words, there were actions on all sides.
:05:19. > :05:22.The Queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten was killed by the IRA.
:05:23. > :05:24.Yet, after the Troubles, royal and republican were able
:05:25. > :05:30.Thank you very much, I am still alive!
:05:31. > :05:36.However, relationships at Stormont always seemed strained
:05:37. > :05:39.after Ian Paisley stepped down as First Minister, to be
:05:40. > :05:44.replaced by Peter Robinson, and then Arlene Foster.
:05:45. > :05:46.Earlier this year, with his ill health by then obvious,
:05:47. > :05:50.Martin McGuinness walked out of government, amid a row
:05:51. > :05:53.between Sinn Fein and the DUP, the boy from Derry's Bogside
:05:54. > :06:08.retiring as deputy first minister after years in the IRA.
:06:09. > :06:15.Even though it breaks my heart. My heart lies in the Bogside and the
:06:16. > :06:19.people of Derry. The past actions of the IRA
:06:20. > :06:22.will colour many people's views But as a republican who worked
:06:23. > :06:25.towards reconciliation, he will be remembered as a key
:06:26. > :06:35.figure in changing Northern Ireland. Well, the former First Minister
:06:36. > :06:42.of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, summed up the thoughts of many this
:06:43. > :06:45.morning when she said history would record differing views
:06:46. > :06:47.and opinions about his role. While some have paid tribute
:06:48. > :06:52.to his contribution to the peace process, others have said
:06:53. > :06:57.there are still questions about his IRA activity which may
:06:58. > :06:59.now never be answered. There is some flash photography
:07:00. > :07:02.in this report from our our political correspondent,
:07:03. > :07:13.Chris Mason. From an IRA commander to shaking
:07:14. > :07:17.hands with the Queen, a man reviled and admired. A giant of Northern
:07:18. > :07:23.Ireland for a generation, he would swap the gun for politics. Political
:07:24. > :07:28.parties of Northern Ireland have reached agreement. After the Good
:07:29. > :07:32.Friday Agreement 19 years ago, he would rise to become Deputy First
:07:33. > :07:41.Minister of Northern Ireland. Some people will remember him as the man
:07:42. > :07:45.of war, and who can never forget the violence of his early years, but for
:07:46. > :07:49.those of us who helped put together the Northern Ireland peace process
:07:50. > :07:56.with him, we will remember his legacy as the man of peace. I
:07:57. > :08:01.observed from my standpoint that wicked as those acts were by the IRA
:08:02. > :08:05.until the peace process, Martin McGuinness did play a significant
:08:06. > :08:10.part on the IRA's behalf towards bringing that to a conclusion and
:08:11. > :08:29.peace process. The current Prime Minister said...
:08:30. > :08:39.That contribution, working alongside, even joking alongside,
:08:40. > :08:45.Ian Paisley, a man known as Doctor no, who said yes to sharing power
:08:46. > :08:49.with him. As a Christian and person who reflects on life, it is not how
:08:50. > :08:54.you start your life that is important but how you finish your
:08:55. > :08:57.life and I think a lot of people will be thankful that Martin
:08:58. > :09:02.McGuinness finished his life a lot better than it could have been. The
:09:03. > :09:07.journey was remarkable. From the Republican side of Northern Ireland
:09:08. > :09:28.divide, this reflection from Gerry Adams, the man so often at his side.
:09:29. > :09:37.But some remember Martin McGuinness very, very differently. In 1984, the
:09:38. > :09:41.IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton, in the middle of the
:09:42. > :09:45.night. Their target, Margaret Thatcher. Five people were killed
:09:46. > :09:51.and many injured, among them a former Conservative Cabinet list
:09:52. > :09:56.Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret, who was left paralysed. Lord Tebbit
:09:57. > :10:00.said he hoped Martin McGuinness was parked in a particularly hot and
:10:01. > :10:05.pleasant corner of health for the rest of eternity. He had a
:10:06. > :10:11.significant role because of his cowardice. He knew the IRA had been
:10:12. > :10:16.penetrated to the highest levels by British intelligence and that before
:10:17. > :10:21.long he would have been arrested and charged with some of the many
:10:22. > :10:26.murders which he personally committed, and so he opted for the
:10:27. > :10:31.coward's way out and said, I am a man of peace. Two months ago, Martin
:10:32. > :10:37.McGuinness was still a central figure at Stormont. It was his
:10:38. > :10:42.resignation that led to the collapse of power-sharing government. It was
:10:43. > :10:44.to be the final act of a man whose actions for around half a century
:10:45. > :10:48.had helped define Northern Ireland. Tim Parry was 12 years
:10:49. > :10:51.old when he was killed by an IRA bomb, planted in a rubbish
:10:52. > :10:54.bin in Warrington. His father, Colin, founded
:10:55. > :11:00.a charity in his memory, dedicated to improving relations
:11:01. > :11:02.between Britain and Ireland and he He's given us his reaction,
:11:03. > :11:17.and his assessment of the legacy I reached the point where I have to
:11:18. > :11:26.tell you I liked the man. He was a very mild, softly spoken... He came
:11:27. > :11:30.across as a very reasonable man, and this may seem crazy given his early
:11:31. > :11:35.life, but in later life he was an easy man to talk to. He was quite
:11:36. > :11:40.open. It was not like talking to a politician often, where they are
:11:41. > :11:47.almost like reading from a crib sheet. I felt he talked to me man to
:11:48. > :11:55.man. Any risk giving I had, we reached the stage beyond handshakes
:11:56. > :12:00.and he would give me a man hug. I felt awkward but I did not tell him.
:12:01. > :12:06.I was not fond being hugged by a man. If you split his life in half,
:12:07. > :12:09.in the second half, a serious and committed peacemaker in Northern
:12:10. > :12:15.Ireland. If you look at the totality of his life, the early part of his
:12:16. > :12:19.life he was a terrorist. There is no getting away from the fact he killed
:12:20. > :12:23.people. History is littered with former terrorists who become
:12:24. > :12:28.statesman. Nelson Mandela. People who forced the state of Israel.
:12:29. > :12:33.Martin comes from the same group who have gone from Warriors to
:12:34. > :12:35.peacemakers. Colin Parry, who lost his 12-year-old son in Warrington.
:12:36. > :12:37.We'll have reaction from Westminster in a moment,
:12:38. > :12:39.but first to Londonderry, and our Ireland Correspondent,
:12:40. > :12:52.Give us your assessment of how Martin McGuinness will be
:12:53. > :12:57.remembered. Looking back on someone's life too often people look
:12:58. > :13:01.for a hero or villain but usually it is much more complicated and that is
:13:02. > :13:07.true in the case of Martin McGuinness. You cannot ignore the
:13:08. > :13:11.fact the years he defended IRA violence and hurt caused to
:13:12. > :13:15.individuals throughout this society, but you have to recognise the
:13:16. > :13:19.contribution he made to peace and progress of politics here.
:13:20. > :13:25.Ultimately, how you eventually view Martin McGuinness will depend often
:13:26. > :13:28.on where you are and the divides that existed throughout his life
:13:29. > :13:33.still exist today and Unionists will see him differently to nationalists.
:13:34. > :13:40.While the divides exist, much of the conflict has gone and it is worth
:13:41. > :13:45.remembering the impact of the conflict that shape society and
:13:46. > :13:49.individuals' lives, including Martin McGuinness. When he was young, the
:13:50. > :13:55.Bogside in Derry was a place often caught up in turmoil and trouble.
:13:56. > :13:59.Those days are gone. Many of the scenes of those days whenever
:14:00. > :14:05.violence was a regular feature, there are murals on the wall, pieces
:14:06. > :14:09.of the past. I suppose in judging Martin McGuinness' legacy in the
:14:10. > :14:13.long-term the key question will be, can the work continue to ensure the
:14:14. > :14:15.images remain pieces of history? Chris Buckler.
:14:16. > :14:16.To Westminster now, and our assistant political
:14:17. > :14:26.Martin McGuinness never wanted to recognise the authority of
:14:27. > :14:32.Westminster but ultimately he had to work with them. I think that is
:14:33. > :14:38.right. There is a contradiction, paradox about his relations with
:14:39. > :14:41.Westminster. A man clearly reviled, loathed, detested Westminster and
:14:42. > :14:46.Westminster rule and the role of British governments in Ireland over
:14:47. > :14:50.generations and yet he had to come to terms with and deal with and
:14:51. > :14:53.negotiate with successive governments and it was Martin
:14:54. > :14:58.McGuinness who sent the message to Sir John Major saying the conflict
:14:59. > :15:03.is over. From the position of Westminster politicians, many viewed
:15:04. > :15:08.him as the hard uncompromising face of the IRA, a man with blood on his
:15:09. > :15:14.hands but they had to deal and negotiate with him and in a way it
:15:15. > :15:18.was the fact he was an IRA man that gave him such standing in the
:15:19. > :15:22.republican community that enabled him to bring hardline republicans
:15:23. > :15:28.into the peace process and make sure they stayed, despite difficulties in
:15:29. > :15:32.the peace process. And did not give up. Will he be forgiven? The truth
:15:33. > :15:39.is opinion will remain divided. He was and remains a polarising figure.
:15:40. > :15:44.Often it is generational. You find politicians of an older age you
:15:45. > :15:49.remember the IRA in its heyday and its bombing campaigns in the 70s and
:15:50. > :15:54.80s in Northern Ireland and Britain. You think of Birmingham, Guildford,
:15:55. > :15:59.they cannot forget. The younger politicians tend to focus on his key
:16:00. > :16:04.role in the peace process and bringing republican movement on
:16:05. > :16:06.board. I suspect the truth is it depends which part of his life you
:16:07. > :16:14.choose to emphasise. Inflation has risen
:16:15. > :16:19.above the Bank of England's target Prices rose by 2.3%
:16:20. > :16:27.in February, a bigger rise Economists say the leap
:16:28. > :16:30.is a result of the fall in the value of the pound,
:16:31. > :16:32.and rising oil prices. Here's our economics
:16:33. > :16:42.correspondent Andrew Verity. Until these latest figures, food had
:16:43. > :16:46.been getting cheaper for 2.5 years. Not any more. It is now among the
:16:47. > :16:52.reasons that inflation, above the official target of 2%, is back. At
:16:53. > :16:57.this firm of bespoke kitchen makers in Sheffield, they no-one of the big
:16:58. > :17:01.reasons why. The weaker pound is cutting into their profits. They're
:17:02. > :17:05.paying more for the raw materials they import and the fuel to
:17:06. > :17:08.transport them. Even though they're raising prices, it's not by enough
:17:09. > :17:13.to cover their higher costs. We've been hit with a lot of price rises
:17:14. > :17:16.on goods that we buy in from Europe, whether that be Appliances or
:17:17. > :17:19.components. One reason we buy in from Europe is because on those
:17:20. > :17:24.products, we can't get the same qualities in UK, and quality is
:17:25. > :17:26.really important to what we sell. Unfortunately it's been very
:17:27. > :17:30.difficult for us to pass all of those cost increases onto alkusshh
:17:31. > :17:33.customers, because we're in a very competitive market. In today's
:17:34. > :17:38.official figures, you can see further price rises coming down the
:17:39. > :17:42.line. Consumer prices are on average 2.3% higher. But at the factory
:17:43. > :17:47.gate, producers are charging 3.7% more than last year, not least
:17:48. > :17:51.because they in turn are paying 19% more for imported raw materials and
:17:52. > :17:58.fuel. The fact that prices are now rising as fast as pay means that
:17:59. > :18:01.real pay growth has disappeared. And unfortunately, in the next two
:18:02. > :18:06.months, it's likely that our wages in real terms will start to shrink.
:18:07. > :18:11.In the budget two weeks ago, the official forecast was that inflation
:18:12. > :18:18.would hit at 2.7%. That now looks optimistic. Inflation could go out
:18:19. > :18:22.to over 3%. Some people have been expecting it to be near 4%, and that
:18:23. > :18:28.is of course because of the fall in the pound, plus energy prices. The
:18:29. > :18:31.question for any everybody is, what is going to happen to sterling in
:18:32. > :18:35.the future, is it likely to go down even further? The Bank of England
:18:36. > :18:38.has not raise interests for nearly ten years. But the odds of an
:18:39. > :18:41.interest rate rise later this year are already getting shorter.
:18:42. > :18:44.In the next hour, MSP's begin a two day debate
:18:45. > :18:48.Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced last week
:18:49. > :18:50.that she wants to hold a new vote, following the UK's
:18:51. > :18:54.Holyrood will vote tomorrow on whether to begin negotiations
:18:55. > :18:58.with the Westminster government on holding another referendum -
:18:59. > :19:05.Here's our Scotland Correspondent, Lorna Gordon.
:19:06. > :19:08.Who decides if there's to be another referendum on Scottish independence
:19:09. > :19:12.and who sets the date on which it be held?
:19:13. > :19:14.The government in Edinburgh believes they have the moral authority
:19:15. > :19:21.It was, they point out, an SNP manifesto commitment
:19:22. > :19:23.if circumstances changed, such as Scotland being taken out
:19:24. > :19:32.Nicola Sturgeon is not taking no for an answer.
:19:33. > :19:36.The UK Government was clear in 2014 that an independence referendum
:19:37. > :19:38.should, in their words, be made in Scotland
:19:39. > :19:45.That is a principle that should be respected today.
:19:46. > :19:47.The detailed arrangements for a referendum,
:19:48. > :19:50.including its timing, must be for the Scottish
:19:51. > :19:55.But the Scotland Act sets out how the legal authority to decide
:19:56. > :19:58.on whether or not there should be a referendum lies with Westminster
:19:59. > :20:18.and the Prime Minister, Theresa May, has said there will be no vote
:20:19. > :20:20.on Scottish independence before the UK leaves the EU,
:20:21. > :20:26.backed Scotland staying in the UK in 2014 then supported the UK
:20:27. > :20:28.staying in EU in 2016, and that almost half a million
:20:29. > :20:30.independence supporters actually backed Brexit last year seems
:20:31. > :20:33.The opposition unionist parties at Holyrood agreed.
:20:34. > :20:35.They will oppose the vote in the Scottish Parliament,
:20:36. > :20:38.arguing the will of the Scottish people was expressed in the first
:20:39. > :20:49.and is not what Scots want or need at this time.
:20:50. > :20:52.The SNP are in a minority at Holyrood, but with the support
:20:53. > :20:54.of the Scottish Greens, the vote will likely pass.
:20:55. > :20:57.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said any move
:20:58. > :21:00.by the UK Government to block an independence referendum will be
:21:01. > :21:02.democratically indefensible if she wins the backing
:21:03. > :21:13.Let's speak to our Scotland editor, Sarah Smith.
:21:14. > :21:20.That debate gets under way very soon, what are we expecting? Well,
:21:21. > :21:24.this is going to be one of the most important debates the Holyrood
:21:25. > :21:27.chamber has heard, and there will be passion on both sides. First
:21:28. > :21:30.Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be making the case for why it should be
:21:31. > :21:34.up to the Scottish Parliament to decide when there is another
:21:35. > :21:36.independence referendum, and she will be asking the parliament to
:21:37. > :21:41.vote to give her that authority. Lined up against her, you will have
:21:42. > :21:43.the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems, all of them opposed to another
:21:44. > :21:47.referendum, one of them saying it is not what the people of Scotland
:21:48. > :21:50.want, that there is no public clamour for another referendum,
:21:51. > :21:53.apart from people who are very enthusiastic supporters of
:21:54. > :21:56.independence. And they will keep saying that it is more important
:21:57. > :21:59.that the Scottish Government should focus on running schools and
:22:00. > :22:03.hospitals than it is to constantly argue for another independence
:22:04. > :22:08.referendum. The result of the vote is not in much doubt. The Scottish
:22:09. > :22:12.Rings will back the SNP and when there is a vote in the House
:22:13. > :22:14.tomorrow, the SNP will win the vote, which means the First Minister will
:22:15. > :22:17.then have the authority to make a formal request to the Prime Minister
:22:18. > :22:22.for another referendum. She knows what the answer is going to be, we
:22:23. > :22:26.know that, Theresa May has already said, now is not the time. Nicola
:22:27. > :22:29.Sturgeon says, she's prepared to talk about the timing, maybe they
:22:30. > :22:32.could find a compromise there. It is not clear whether the Prime Minister
:22:33. > :22:35.is in the space to that. The former Deputy First Minister
:22:36. > :22:43.of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness, has
:22:44. > :22:47.died at the age of 66. He had been suffering
:22:48. > :22:56.from a rare heart condition. I think maybe the best thing about
:22:57. > :23:01.cricket is whacking the ball like say wag, what do you think? If you
:23:02. > :23:03.work it, you can just get out. Can cricket recapture a lost
:23:04. > :23:20.generation of children who've never On BBC London, the latest sculptures
:23:21. > :23:22.for Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth are unveiled. And what does the
:23:23. > :23:31.weather have in store? Two paintings by Vincent van Gogh,
:23:32. > :23:34.which were stolen in 2002, have been The works - a seascape
:23:35. > :23:38.and a painting of Van Gogh's father's church -
:23:39. > :23:40.were stolen from the van Gogh Museum on the orders of an
:23:41. > :23:43.Italian crime family. They were found last year
:23:44. > :23:45.during a police raid in Naples. From Amsterdam, Anna
:23:46. > :23:52.Holligan reports. After 14 years and a traumatic
:23:53. > :23:59.journey, the paintings Now protected by thick screens,
:24:00. > :24:05.they're not taking any chances. Two early works by one
:24:06. > :24:07.of the Netherlands' We have no idea what happened
:24:08. > :24:14.to them in the intervening years. In this beach view, a small
:24:15. > :24:16.piece in the lower left But it does not really disturb
:24:17. > :24:22.the image as such too much. And the small church
:24:23. > :24:26.is practically unharmed. It took opportunist thieves less
:24:27. > :24:31.than four minutes to break in through the roof,
:24:32. > :24:34.using a rope and sledgehammer, rip the paintings from the nearest
:24:35. > :24:38.wall with brute force, and escape before the police
:24:39. > :24:41.arrived, leaving a hole Italian police arrested
:24:42. > :24:46.two men in 2016. They'd been investigating
:24:47. > :24:50.allegations of drug trafficking, but apparently, one detainee
:24:51. > :24:52.confessed that the network The Italian authorities
:24:53. > :25:03.were proud of their work. These two works are of vast historic
:25:04. > :25:06.and sentimental value. The Sea View at Scheveningen is one
:25:07. > :25:09.of only two seascapes painted by van Gogh during his time
:25:10. > :25:14.in the Netherlands. The wind was so blustery that day,
:25:15. > :25:17.it blew tiny grains of sand The Congregation Leaving
:25:18. > :25:22.the Reformed Church In Nuenen was a gift for van Gogh's mother
:25:23. > :25:27.after she'd broke her leg. He changed it after his father
:25:28. > :25:29.died to include images The museum is deliberately
:25:30. > :25:33.displaying the paintings as they were found, with slight
:25:34. > :25:35.damage representing Now, anticipating the moment they're
:25:36. > :25:52.back in the admiring public eye. It all began when a headteacher
:25:53. > :26:00.in West Sussex wrote to the Government detailing his
:26:01. > :26:02.concerns about his school's And now, hours before the end
:26:03. > :26:06.of the consultation period, the number has snowballed -
:26:07. > :26:08.thousands of headteachers, representing one and a half million
:26:09. > :26:11.students, are now urging ministers to rethink their new funding
:26:12. > :26:14.formula for schools. Our education correspondent,
:26:15. > :26:15.Gillian Hargreaves, reports. Here are my magnets, two very
:26:16. > :26:18.powerful bring back that is. Tonbridge House in Horsham in
:26:19. > :26:21.West Sussex provides an outstanding Even though it's one
:26:22. > :26:25.of the worst funded ?2000 less per child
:26:26. > :26:28.than some other schools. It had hoped to be
:26:29. > :26:31.a winner when the new way of allocating cash was announced
:26:32. > :26:34.by the Government, giving more money to rural areas and less to inner
:26:35. > :26:38.cities, but when the head looked at his school's finances,
:26:39. > :26:43.he found he was out-of-pocket. So, we've just got another e-mail
:26:44. > :26:46.coming in and that's another head. With only hours to go before
:26:47. > :26:49.the Government ends its public consultation, Jules White
:26:50. > :26:54.is one of thousands of head teachers who've written to their MPs saying
:26:55. > :26:57.they can't manage and the new We're having to make
:26:58. > :27:00.devastating cuts at the moment. I'm not replacing
:27:01. > :27:02.staff as they leave. I lost three members
:27:03. > :27:08.of staff last year. year. Maybe four to five
:27:09. > :27:16.members of support staff, and that can be office-based,
:27:17. > :27:18.administration, also help our most vulnerable
:27:19. > :27:24.youngsters, we can't afford them. Under this new funding formula,
:27:25. > :27:26.he will receive ?180,000 more, but his costs, for things like pay,
:27:27. > :27:28.National Insurance, heating and lighting,
:27:29. > :27:33.have risen to ?220,000. So now the school is
:27:34. > :27:35.?40,000 worse off, even It is unprecedented
:27:36. > :27:42.for thousands of heads to come together like this
:27:43. > :27:48.without trade union coordination. But that's a measure
:27:49. > :27:52.of both the fear and furious teachers feel about the cuts
:27:53. > :27:57.they're having to make. At this school, these
:27:58. > :28:01.are anxious times for teachers and support staff,
:28:02. > :28:03.but it's not only southern England. There have been protests
:28:04. > :28:05.across the country. This one was in Cheshire at
:28:06. > :28:08.the weekend, with teachers saying, even with a new deal, there is not
:28:09. > :28:12.enough cash to pay the bills. The Government says
:28:13. > :28:14.the funding formula It's promised to help those
:28:15. > :28:22.in difficulties and is spending a At the moment, it's
:28:23. > :28:27.hard to see how both How does cricket win back
:28:28. > :28:35.what's known as the 'lost generation' of school children,
:28:36. > :28:37.who've never had any Cricket's governing body, the ECB,
:28:38. > :28:40.will this summer target five- to eight-year-olds,
:28:41. > :28:42.to try to attract If they are not playing cricket
:28:43. > :28:52.by eight, it is probably too late. ?4 million invested to attract
:28:53. > :28:55.50,000 children, or else Cricket is the heartbeat
:28:56. > :29:03.of the English summer. All Stars Cricket -
:29:04. > :29:12.parents sign up, their children get a backpack with accessories
:29:13. > :29:14.and eight coaching There will normally be ?40 to pay,
:29:15. > :29:19.but it is a system designed for fun. The ECB recruited an Australian
:29:20. > :29:21.expert to drive participation. He's dealing with some
:29:22. > :29:23.stark realities. We saw some stats come out 12 months
:29:24. > :29:30.ago that the average child in this country spends less time outside
:29:31. > :29:32.than a prison inmate, and that a fairly scary stat,
:29:33. > :29:35.so we need to be more proactive in getting kids to play
:29:36. > :29:37.and get them active. Well, this launch has been taking
:29:38. > :29:40.place in London 2012 territory. The cricket demonstration has been
:29:41. > :29:45.going on underneath the Orbit. And a great legacy of
:29:46. > :29:47.all that recent Olympic Britain has suddenly won
:29:48. > :29:50.medals in triathlon, Where does a traditional sport
:29:51. > :29:58.like cricket fit in now? Will English cricket ever reach
:29:59. > :30:01.the heights of 2005, when the Ashes commanded huge
:30:02. > :30:05.free-to-air TV audiences We probably have missed
:30:06. > :30:11.a generation, we probably have missed a great opportunity,
:30:12. > :30:13.but it doesn't mean you just stop and go, all right,
:30:14. > :30:16.we just let game drift. There are so many other
:30:17. > :30:18.sports that we all know about now that we didn't know
:30:19. > :30:22.about 12 years ago and I guess Part of the idea here
:30:23. > :30:27.is to demystify cricket. There is a lot to it,
:30:28. > :30:35.there are a lot of rules to it. It can be quite a complicated sport,
:30:36. > :30:39.but for the kids this age it's just about running about,
:30:40. > :30:41.having some fun and being Don't underestimate the cricketing
:30:42. > :30:44.wisdom of some eight-year-olds. A lesson I learned
:30:45. > :30:46.with with these two. I think maybe the best thing
:30:47. > :30:48.about cricket is whacking It's not about whacking
:30:49. > :30:54.it all the time. If you whack it once and do a silly
:30:55. > :30:59.stroke and just get out. If you're playing against a tight
:31:00. > :31:03.defence, you have to hit it with a ground stroke,
:31:04. > :31:06.because that's the easiest way. This doesn't look like traditional
:31:07. > :31:11.cricket, and it's not supposed to. If only the ECB could
:31:12. > :31:14.guarantee sunny summer days. That's just another
:31:15. > :31:27.part of the challenge. With the spring flowers out, the
:31:28. > :31:32.cricket season is not far away. But while some have been dancing in the
:31:33. > :31:36.sunshine, others have been sitting on the snow. Believe it or not, snow
:31:37. > :31:39.is more likely in March than it is in December. We have seen plenty in
:31:40. > :31:44.parts of Scotland and northern England as well so far today.
:31:45. > :31:47.Becoming a little less abundant during the afternoon. In Wales and
:31:48. > :31:51.the south-west of England, the showers will become more frequent
:31:52. > :31:55.this afternoon. Central and eastern areas, should stay dry. Cold for
:31:56. > :32:04.all. Arctic air in place at the moment. Rain, sleet and Hill snow
:32:05. > :32:10.across the south-west of Wales and into northern England. That could
:32:11. > :32:15.cause some problems. Towards the south and east, staying dry and
:32:16. > :32:17.frost free, but a cold night in store in Scotland. Tomorrow, much
:32:18. > :32:31.more sunshine around. For the morning commute, it is
:32:32. > :32:35.northern England where we see the ugliest of the weather, with some
:32:36. > :32:38.heavy snowfall over the top of the Pennines. Quite a bit of rain around
:32:39. > :32:44.north-west England, north-east Wales, down in towards central and
:32:45. > :32:54.southern parts of England. Bright start for the south-west tomorrow.
:32:55. > :33:02.Sunshine and showers towards the south-west, some of them heavy. Much
:33:03. > :33:06.of Scotland and Northern Ireland, a much better day than today, but
:33:07. > :33:15.feeling cold in a strengthening wind. Fizzling out of it, but into
:33:16. > :33:18.Thursday, plenty of cloud across England and Wales. Occasional rain
:33:19. > :33:24.at times. Scotland and Northern Ireland, driest and brightest after
:33:25. > :33:29.a frosty start. Southernmost counties of England and Wales, there
:33:30. > :33:32.could be a spell of heavy, persistent rain on Friday. But it
:33:33. > :33:39.does clear through, with high pressure building into the weekend.
:33:40. > :33:44.Crisp mornings but some lovely sunny days at the weekend.
:33:45. > :33:53.Our main headline... Former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland,
:33:54. > :33:55.Martin McGuinness, has died at the age of 66. That is all from