04/01/2018 BBC News at One

The Prime Minister apologises

for delays to NHS operations

in England, as the health

service struggles to cope

with winter pressures.

A day after her Health Secretary

said sorry, Theresa May said

she recognised what patients

were going through.

We hope to ensure that those

operations can be reinstated

as soon as possible.

I know it's frustrating.

I know it's disappointing

for people, and I apologise.

The Prime Minister's words came

as new figures showed a sharp rise

in ambulance waits outside A&E

in the last week of 2017.

Also this lunchtime.

The White House threatens legal

action against President Trump's

former aide over claims

in a new book about the presidential

campaign and links with Russia.

Plans for farmers after Brexit -

they'll go on getting

subsidies until 2022 -

and then get payments

for protecting the environment.

Beggars CAN be choosers says

Windsor Council's leader -

for some it's a choice he says -

and they should be removed -

ahead of the Royal Wedding.

And Andy Murray heads

home after pulling out

of the Australian Open

with an ongoing hip injury.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News:

England let slip their advantage

over Australia in the final

Ashes Test, as they lose late

wickets in Sydney.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

A record number of people

called the NHS 111 number

during the festive period,

according to figures

published this morning.

There were nearly half a million

calls to the advice line in the last

week of December in England.

There was also a sharp increase

in the number of ambulances

being held outside hospitals.

Here's our health

correspondent, Catherine Burns

The Prime Minister today

in Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey,

thanking staff personally

for their hard work over

Christmas, and now we know

just how hard it was.

The National Health

Service continues to do

a fantastic job for people.

Yes, it has pressures over winter.

Yes, it has particular

pressures in the Christmas

and New Year period.

The staff are dedicated,

we've put extra resources in.

Figures from NHS England give us

a snapshot into a week

of considerable pressure.

The starkest number

is about ambulance delays,

when paramedics have to wait

with patients because A&E staff

are too busy to do a handover.

In the week running up

to New Year's Eve, crews had to stay

with sick patients for more

than half an hour

almost 17,000 times.

On almost 5,000 occasions,

the delay was longer than an hour.

This government refuses to fund

the NHS sufficiently.

We don't want apologies

and hand wringing.

We want the Government

to get a grip urgently.

There was also a record number

of calls to the NHS's 111

service, more than 480,000.

But these figures don't include this

week, when so far at least 20

hospital trusts in England have been

on the highest state of alert.

Unfortunately, what we usually see

in the NHS is a quiet period around

Christmas and then a pick-up.

Quite often, it's January that's

the really difficult point

for the NHS, and that's true last

year and it's been true

in previous years as well.

Authorities in Scotland,

Wales and Northern Ireland are also

reporting higher patient demand.

What we don't know now

though is how long this

period of extra pressure

will go on for.

Catherine Burns, BBC News.

Our health editor Hugh Pym is here.

So we have the Prime Minister

apologising today for delays to

operations, that are to come, and

these figures today show that last

week, the last week of 2017, the

system was already under strain.

Well, that is right. The wave of

publicity of problems in hospitals

really only developed from the

weekend on wards, and these figures

go up until last Sunday, December

31st. They show the big increase in

patient demand, this sharp increase

in the number of people calling 111,

up 21% on the previous week, and

those long waits for patients trying

to be discharged from ambulances

outside hospital wait morgue than 30

minute, 30 minutes is considered the

absolute maximum, those waiting

longer, that was up nearly 40% at

nearly 17,000, compared with round

10,000 in the last week of November.

So showing the real strain. That is

an interesting gauge. If ambulances

can't discharge their patients

because of problems ereceiving them

and finding beds, the ambulances

can't get back on the road again, so

that is last week. We are waiting

figures this week where we know

there are strain, the Prime Minister

today has apologised. She didn't use

the word apology yesterday, Jeremy

Hunt did, out and about she

apologised and said that she owed an

immense debt of gratitude to NHS

staff. She went out of her way to

praise staff. But I think all staff

working very hard under difficult

conditions will feel this is far

from over. It is just the early days

of the New Year, we have had reports

of flue cases being on the increase,

if that continues, the strain could

get even more severe. -- flu.

-- flu.

The row between Donald Trump

and his former top aide

Steve Bannon has intensified,

with lawyers for the President

threatening legal action over

comments attributed to Mr Bannon

in a new book about the presidency.

The remarks allege that a meeting

Mr Trump's son had with a group

of Russians during the presidential

campaign was "treasonous",

and claims that Mr Trump was poorly

prepared for the job.

The President said Mr Bannon,

who was sacked last August,

had lost his mind.

Dan Johnson reports.

The President a right-hand man,

driving the right-wing America first

politics, that put Trump in the

White House. But like so many

advisers Steve Bannon didn't last

long.

He is not a racist, I can tell

you that, he is is a good person, he

actually gets a very unfair press in

that regard. But, we will see what

happens with Mr Bannon.

Quite. Well

he found himself outside the big

White House tent, and now, he is

taking careful aim. He says a

meeting between Donald Trump Jr and

Russian officials should have been

reported immediately to the FBI,

describing it as treasonous and

unpatriotic. Predictably the

President's spokeswoman didn't agree

I think that is a ridiculous

accusation and one I am pretty sure

we have addressed many times before,

if that is in reference to comments

made by Mr Bannon I refer you to the

ones he made previously on 60

Minutes where he called the

collusion with Russia about this

President a total farce. So I think

I would look back tharkts if anybody

has been inconsistent it has been

him, not the President or this

administration.

Donald Trump's

response was even tougher.

When he was fired he not only lost

his job, he lost his mind. It's fire

and fury indeed. The book claims the

former Prime Minister Tony Blair was

bidding to be a White House Middle

East adviser. And that he told the

President's son-in-law that British

intelligence may have spied on the

Trump campaign.

This story is

literally a total fabrication, I

mean I have never had any such

conversation, not with someone in

the White House, outside of the

White House, not that the time or

any time, not anywhere. The idea

that British intelligence services

was interfering in the middle of an

American Presidential election is

preposterous, it is, this is

politics today, and you get these

wild conspiracy theories that

unfortunately, people believe, but

it is literally an invention.

There are also claims Trump's

campaign team were shocked and

horrified by his win, that his wife

was in tears about it, and that the

President was angry many A-list

celebrities snubbed the

inauguration, his daughter

apparently mocks his hair and is

planning to take on the top job. The

truth isn't clear in a White House

defined by an unconventional new

normality.

defined by an unconventional

new normality.

Our diplomatic coreespondent

James Robbins is here.

Sqraim, how potentially damaging so

President Trump is this?

It is

damaging at many levels. This book

won't bring down the President, but

it will weaken him and weaken the

rubbly can party op which he relies

for domestic legislation, I think it

is damaging because it paints such a

lurid picture, of a President who

was apparently shocked and stunned

by his own victory, was apparently

completely unprepared for office,

was not especially respectful of the

constitution, was board by the

detailed of it, surrounded himself

with advisers whom one regards as

unsuited to going into the White

House, and all based on a campaign

in which it is alleged some of those

key strategists had what could be

described by Steve Bannon as

treasonous relationships with

Russia, so deeply damaging stuff. In

the middle of of an investigation

headed by Robert Muller. It matters

domestically for the reasons I have

set out. It matters initially as

well, because the President is

Commander-in-Chief, and it raises

questions not least in American

minds about his suitability to take

big decisions, in relation to North

Korea, to Iran and the wider Middle

East.

Many thanks.

Many thanks.

The Environment Secretary has set

out how farming subsidies will be

dealt with after Brexit,

saying farmers will receive payments

to protect the countryside.

Farmers are also guaranteed

the current EU level

of subsidies until 2022.

Michael Gove said measures such

as planting Wildflower meadows,

and improving water quality would be

included - current payments are

based on how much land farmers own.

Duncan Kennedy reports.

Britain has more than 200,000 farm

holdings, but the imminence

of Brexit has put farmers and food

policy into a state of uncertainty.

A healthy rural economy...

That's why issues of animal welfare,

food standards and trade deals

dominated today's farmers'

conference in Oxford.

Michael Gove said Britain would be

a high-quality food exporting

nation after Brexit.

He said EU subsidies would be

phased out, but farmers

would still get financial help.

We guarantee that, in cash terms,

the amount of money that we give

to farmers will remain exactly

the same right up until the next

general election in 2022,

and what we want to do is to ensure

that thereafter there is a smooth

path towards a different

form of paying farmers.

You've just got them on hay here,

Craig, or something...

Minette Batters farms in Wiltshire

and says the certainty

of Michael Gove's financial

commitment to farmers after we leave

the European Union will be

welcomed by the industry.

We've worked for 43 years under

European policy so, of course,

it's going to take time,

and we really welcome his commitment

to be looking at a longer period.

2024 is very well received.

Michael Gove was, of course,

one of the key Leave campaigners

in the EU referendum.

He said that it was Britain that

should decide what its farmers can

do, what trade policies they can

work out and what food standards

should be for the public.

But there are others who are saying

that his message today is far too

optimistic in terms of what Britain

can achieve when it leaves the EU.

A separate report today from MPs

said that Brexit trade deals risked

Britain's very food security,

as we face cheap foreign imports.

They warn that we could end up

having to take products

like American chickens washed

in chlorine as part

of the price we pay for trading

with non-EU countries.

Michael Gove also said today

public access to farmland

as well as top-quality animal

welfare was at the centre

of government policy.

But the uncertainties of Brexit

and what follows make it difficult

for him and all those involved

in farming to know exactly

how our agricultural

landscape will change.

Duncan Kennedy, BBC

News, Oxfordshire.

Tony Blair has warned Jeremy Corbyn

he must change course on Brexit or

be unable to deliver his promise. He

said he would oppose any likely

outcome to the Brexit negotiations.

Chris Mason is at Westminster for us

now.

Good afternoon. This song

Brexit is a frequent spinner on the

Tony Blair play list of political

interventions and the chorus is

familiar, he wants the UK to stay in

the European Union, he thinks that

would be sense. He says that the

country either via Parliament or an

election or another referendum

should get a say on the final Brexit

deal, once that becomes clear and he

would like Labour to articulate that

position, or he says a Labour

government would encounter the same

problems as he sees it as the

Conservatives in negotiating Brexit

while doing many other things.

It is going to be extremely

difficult in my view for Labour to

deliver on its promise, if it puts

itself in the same position as the

Tory Government are going to be on

Brexit, because it will find that it

has less money to deal with the

country's problem, that it's

distracted by dealing with Brexit,

rather than dealing with the Health

Service and jobs, and living

standard and so on, and therefore,

in my view if you end up and I have

said this before, if you end up in a

situation where you do Brexit and

have a Corbyn Government, this

country is going to face a

challenging situation.

Quick

response from one shadow Labour

minister, saying Mr Blair's

intervention was one helpful, lots

of Labour voters voted for Brexit,

and will regard this as the melt

poll tan elite ignoring them. A

reminder it is not just the

Conservatives who have divisions

over Brexit, Labour does too.

Technology firms are rushing to fix

two security flaws in computer

chips made by a number

of leading manufacturers.

The defects could allow hackers

to steal personal data from nearly

every modern computing device

and smart-phone which

have the chips fitted.

Our technology correspondent

Rory Cellan Jones is here.

Technology firms are rushing to fix

two security flaws in computer

chips made by a number

of leading manufacturers.

The defects could allow hackers

to steal personal data from nearly

every modern computing device

and smart-phone which

have the chips fitted.

Our technology correspondent

Rory Cellan Jones is here.

In theory many millions of people

will be affected. The bugs meltdown

and sceptre, are in chips, which

power complete, smartphones and all

other devices.

The flaws were

discovered some time ago and the

industry has been working to find a

cure, they reckon they are nearly

there in many cases, that the new

defence, new security updates should

be in place soon. They wanted it

kept secret for as long as possible

because they wanted to fix it before

it became known to hackers. It is a

big dangerous in theory in practise,

there has been no evidence anybody

has been affected so far and the

industry will certainly hope it can

get those defences shored up in time

to stop that happening.

OK. Thank

you.

Thank you.

Our top story this lunchtime.

The Prime Minister apologises

for delays to NHS operations

in England, as the health

service struggles to cope

with winter pressures.

And coming up -

vanishing in Venice -

thieves make off with

jewels worth millions

of pounds in a daring heist.

Coming up in sport:

Injury worries for Johanna Konta

less than two weeks out

from the Australian Open.

She retires from the Brisbane

International with a hip problem.

Australian authorities have

recovered most of a seaplane

which crashed near Sydney

on New Year's Eve, killing five

members of a British

family and the pilot.

Richard Cousins, chairman

of the Compass catering group,

died with his two sons,

his fiancee, her daughter,

and a Canadian pilot when the plane

crashed into the Hawkesbury River.

The aircraft had been submerged

in more than 40 feet of water,

as Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.

The salvage operation

at Jerusalem Bay began

shortly after dawn.

Police divers used inflatable bags

to lift parts of the seaplane

from the bottom of the Hawkesbury

River.

On the surface, a crane

pulled the wreckage

from the water onto a barge.

One of the first pieces

of the aircraft to be

recovered was a damaged wing,

followed by the engine,

the front propeller and the tail.

We now know that the seaplane that

came down in these waters

on New Year's Eve was badly damaged

in another fatal

accident 20 years ago.

The plane was previously used

as a crop-duster that crashed

near the city of Armadale,

killing the pilot.

It was rebuilt and bought

by Sydney Seaplanes in 2006.

The wreckage will be taken

for examination to Canberra.

It will hold vital clues,

including possible digital data

and mobile phone footage

from the passengers that could

explain why a routine sightseeing

flight ended in disaster.

We've got a range of factors

that we look at to fully reconstruct

the sequence of events that led up

to the accident and to hopefully

find factors that contributed

to the accident, with the ultimate

goal of trying to prevent something

like this happening again.

Six people died in the accident,

including the British

businessman Richard Cousins,

his two grown-up sons, his fiancee

and her 11-year-old daughter.

The Canadian pilot was also killed.

Air crash investigators plan

to release their initial

findings within a month.

Phil Mercer, BBC News,

at Westhead near Sydney.

Children moving from primary to

secondary school are "ill-equipped"

for the "avalanche of pressure" that

awaits them on social media,

according to the Children's

Commissioner for England.

Anne Longfield says social

media begins to dominate

children's social lives,

and calls on schools to do

more to prepare them

for the emotional demands it makes.

Elaine Dunkley reports.

With social media in

the hands of children,

there are challenges of growing

up in a digital age.

A report published today called

Life In Likes warns that many

children are starting secondary

school unable to cope

with the sudden demands of social

media as their world expands.

I feel like I'm pressured by other

people, because my friends do it

so I feel like I have to do it

to fit in.

You see people, if they are getting

bullied on social media,

sometimes they don't even

tell their parents and,

if you don't tell your parents,

they are never going to find out.

Most social media platforms state

users must be over the age of 13,

but the reality is some children

using these sites are younger.

Children become increasingly anxious

about their online image and keeping

up with appearances,

but this report also highlights that

many children are overdependent

on getting likes and positive

comments in order to feel accepted.

We know that children's anxiety

levels have been increasing

but we've often looked at what that

means for 14 and 15-year-olds.

I'd like the Government to introduce

compulsory digital literacy

in all schools for years six

and seven, the top of primary

school, the first year

of secondary school,

to help children anticipate

what this means, to help

build their resilience and help

empower them to be more in control

in their own social media accounts.

Whilst there are many benefits,

parents, teachers and mentors can

find it difficult staying on top

of the changing way children use

social media when they go

into secondary school.

We all know what it's like to post

something on social media and not

everybody like it and people

to disagree with what we're saying

or people to post things about us

that we don't want them to.

That's a really difficult thing

for young teens or even children

to have to deal with.

Parents want to help their children

with how to deal with that,

but there's no set guidance

on what parents are supposed to be

telling their children,

and I think the report today

has highlighted that.

Secondary school is a difficult time

when young people feel

pressured to fit in.

Today's report is urging early

intervention to help young people

deal with the online realities

of social media.

Elaine Dunkley, BBC News.

Jewellery thought to be worth

several million pounds has been

stolen in a daring heist in Venice.

Police say at least two thieves

delayed the alarm system

at the Doge's Palace,

before breaking into

a reinforced cabinet to take

a broach and earrings.

The jewels had been on loan

from the royal family of Qatar.

James Reynolds has the details.

The exhibition held

at the Doge's Palace in Venice

was called Treasures

of the Moguls and Maharajas.

The jewellery on display,

some of it on loan from the ruling

family of Qatar, was worth

millions of pounds.

For one criminal gang,

this was all too tempting.

At least two thieves helped

themselves to a golden brooch

and a pair of earrings.

Incredibly, they did

so during normal visiting hours.

TRANSLATION:

While the exhibition

was open to the public,

one of the glass cases of jewels

on display was open.

Some jewels were stolen

and the thieves made their getaway

by mixing with the public.

Officials suspect the gang

may have spent several

months planning the theft.

Investigators are now trying to work

out exactly how the thieves managed

to switch off the museum's alarm

system and how they managed to walk

away while hiding among visitors.

Experts from Rome have been sent

to help find out who did it.

The police describe the gang,

with some understatement,

as very skilled professionals.

James Reynolds, BBC News, Rome.

Shares in the department store

Debenhams have fallen by 20%,

The leader of the council in Windsor

has said the police should take

action against rough sleepers

and what he calls "aggressive

begging" before the wedding

of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

in the town in May.

Simon Dudley said some people

begging were not in fact homeless,

and had made a "voluntary choice"

to live on the streets.

Adina Campbell is in Windsor.

Well, this letter has got lots of

people talking here in Windsor, and

it has proved to be very

controversial. Some homeless

charities say they are sickened by

the details in this letter, while

others say there is a problem with

begging and it needs to be tackled.

Earlier, I was speaking to some of

the homeless people here, and

Windsor is set to get a lot busier

over the coming months with the

royal wedding being an May the 19th.

It may be one of the country's most

affluent areas, with a prime tourist

attraction, but nestled among the

expensive shops and the is poverty,

and those begging on the streets in

this town have now been targeted by

the local council leader, who once

then gone before the royal wedding.

It's a royal borough, said the Queen

is right behind me in the castle,

and there is a royal wedding coming

up and they don't want us on the

streets.

Do you think it is fair?

Of

course not.

In a 3-page letter, the

lead of Windsor and Maidenhead royal

borough council is calling on Thames

Valley Police to use legal powers to

remove beggars for the Simon Dudley

says a significant number of the

adults chose not to turn up and use

the accommodation that the council

had purchased for them, instead

choosing to remain on the streets

begging, creating a concerning the

hostile atmosphere or residence and

the 7 million tourists who come to

Windsor each year. But homeless

charities are angry, and say

vulnerable people are being unfairly

targeted.

It's just totally

unwarranted to bring the royal

wedding into this. This should not

be a situation that has hit the

headlines because of that. This

should have hit the headlines

because people are sleeping in bus

shelters.

Windsor castle is one of

the country's most popular tourist

destination and, on May the 19th,

when Prince Harry marries Meghan

Markle yet, tens of thousands of

people are expected. Police and the

local authorities will want to make

sure everyone from all different

communities are safe and secure. For

those who work here, some say

homelessness and begging our

long-running issues. For the people

who say they've been forced to make

a living here on the streets, their

days could be numbered.

In the last hour, the Prime

Minister, Theresa May, has been

speaking about this. She is the MP

in neighbouring Maidenhead and she

says she disagrees with the

council's comments and says the

council should be working with

police and other local authorities

to make sure beggars and the

homeless get the support they need,

but it's fair to say, from the

people I've spoken to today, it has

cast a dark shadow over the upcoming

wedding.

Andy Murray has pulled out

of the Australian Open

after failing to recover

from an ongoing hip injury.

The three-time Grand Slam tennis

champion hasn't played a competitive

match since Wimbledon last summer.

And there's been more bad news

in the women's game -

British Number one Johanna Konta

was forced to retire

from her Brisbane Open quarterfinal,

also because of a hip injury.

Here's our sports

correspondent Joe Wilson.

Andy Murray in Brisbane, departing.

No Australian Open for him.

He'd practised competitively,

seemed all right, he told reporters,

but the hip would not stand up

to the pressure of the tournament.

When Murray limped to defeat

at Wimbledon last summer,

we thought he'd be back.

After all, he stands for resilience,

whatever the state of his body.

Six months on, he's still not played

in a competitive match.

Today Murray, in his official

statement, admitted he is not yet

ready to compete and is flying home

to assess all the options.

That suggests surgery.

The messages of support

included good wishes

from Scotland's First Minister.

Murray is still an inspiration,

says Nicola Sturgeon,

but where does he go

from here as a tennis player?

The Australian Open

is busy promoting itself,

and tennis must go on,

although it's a sport

heavily reliant on over-30s

for its marketing, and that's not

a long-term solution.

Johanna Konta will still

carry British hopes

at the Australian Open

- well, perhaps.

She withdrew from her match

in Brisbane overnight

with suspicions of, guess what,

a hip problem.

More assessment on Friday.

Low-grade strain, she suggests.

Just be fit for June,

Wimbledon might well hope.

This week, Andy Murray posted this

picture of himself on social media.

The little kid inside me,

he explained, just wants

to play tennis and compete.

It's very difficult to be denied

something so simple.

Joe Wilson, BBC News.

Two late wickets took the shine off

a good opening day for England

in the final Ashes Test in Sydney.

Captain Joe Root went for 83,

and Jonny Bairstow for five,

as England closed on 233 for five.

Australia have already won

the series, after England lost

the first three tests.

Patrick Gearey reports from Sydney.

This is a city almost

surrounded by water,

just not typically from above.

Strangely murky in Sydney,

a morning to wait undercover.

When it dried, Joe Root

chose to stay indoors

and sent his opening batsman out.

Mark Stoneman looked in particularly

good nick until he got

a particularly bad nick.

24, just a start.

And so to the curious

case of James Vince,

a batsman who looks better

in pictures than numbers,

whose beauty is often

followed by a beast.

That is an awful shot.

This has been England's Ashes

trouble from tranquillity.

Now Josh Hazlewood thought

he had Alastair Cook.

The umpire didn't, but

the technology backed the bowler,

marginal and maybe crucial.

So Root, who had earlier chosen

to bat, had plenty of it to do.

This was 50, handy,

but the celebration told

of an unfinished job.

By now, the conditions

had been transformed

from drizzling to sizzling.

Dawid Malan was dropped but shuffled

on to his half-century.

Whisper it, but England

were comfortable.

Only an illusion.

Third ball with the new ball, almost

inevitable, another 100 missed,

Root didn't need telling.

Now things started to unravel.

Instead of a nightwatchman to see

out the final balls,

Jonny Bairstow went out,

got out and handed the day to

Australia, a day which

encapsulated a series.

I think it sums up where

we've been this tour.

We've been on top for so long

in games and we make one or two

mistakes and suddenly we let

the Aussies back in.

So England finish the day

once again in shadow,

the same shadow which has stalked

them all over Australia,

that of missed chances.

They must try and clear their heads

to make a competitive total on day

two, but the damage may already

have been done.

Patrick Gearey, BBC News in Sydney.

Weather forecasters have issued

warnings about a huge winter storm

over the eastern United States

which it's thought has already

claimed the lives of nine people.

Parts of the Niagara Falls

have frozen because of

the severe conditions.

The state of Florida,

which has seen its first snowfall

for almost 30 years,

has declared a state of emergency.

Similar measures are also

in place in Georgia,

Virginia and North Carolina.

Here's Darren Bett.

It is heading our way, this cold and

snow. Let's pick up the story,

because we have had this Arctic

plunge of their coming in across

North America for a couple of weeks,

so it's been very cold. I'm into

that, we got a developing winter

storm which you can see on the

picture. Hurricane strength winds

out at sea, and blizzards with all

of that cloud and wind driving its

way northwards, with the greatest

fault of snow north of New York, 12

to 18 inches. I said we were not

going to get that cold air for that

we have had some snow today over the

higher ground, not just in Northern

Ireland but also Scotland and

perhaps the far north of England.

Some big waves after the winds eased

overnight, and they have started to

pick up again across England and

Wales, and blowing in a lot of

broken cloud, so maybe a hint of

sunshine in the south, but gusty

winds around those western hills and

coasts. Further north, it's going to

be quite a bit colder. The winds are

light and we've got persistent rain,

maybe some sleet and hill snow in

there, and it's sort of slow moving

across Scotland. It maybe eases in

the far north. Further south,

another dose of gales after the

winds dropped, and that is where we

will see most of the showers towards

the south-west and Wales. Not too

cold overnight yet, because there

will be a fair bit of cloud around.

A limited amount of sunshine for

tomorrow, perhaps the best bit of it

developing in the south-east. Quite

a view showers getting blown in

across England and Wales, heavy and

frequent in Wales and the

south-west, and showers further

north. Damp weather in the afternoon

across north-east England for the

colder across the board,

significantly so in the southern

half of the UK, and it's going to

get colder through the weekend.

Instead of the low pressure bringing

in cloud and wet weather, we will

find high pressure building from the

north and drawing down colder air

and wind from the North Sea, so it

will feel cold in that wind,

especially for eastern areas on

Saturday, and maybe one or two

wintry showers. Gales likely, more

cloud in the south, temperatures not

quite as low but suddenly falling

away further north. Once the winds

eased down in most areas, with high

pressure building, a widespread

frost. In the northern half, it

could be down to minus ten. Not so

cold in the south, but the wind

eases down on Sunday, and it should

be brighter with more sunshine, but

cold for all of us.

That's all from the BBC News at One,

so it's goodbye from me -

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.