29/11/2011 BBC News at Six

More years of pain - Britain's growth is slower and its borrowing

is up. A grim warning to families and businesses across the UK. The

Chancellor says it will take longer than planned to balance the books

and admits Britain's economy has been knocked off course. Our debt

challenge is greater than we thought because the boom was bigger,

the bust even deeper and the More tough times ahead in the

public sector, hundreds of thousands more face job losses and

pay is capped. Christmas is cancelled due to the

fact that we can't afford it. We'll be looking at what difference

today's measures can make. Also tonight:

A former News of the World journalist says his bosses knew

exactly what was going on with phone hacking.

The British Embassy in Iran invaded by hard-line supporters of their

government in retaliation for sanctions.

Michael Jackson's doctor gets four years in prison for involuntary

manslaughter. I will be here with Sportsday later.

Portsmouth Portsmouth football club could lose points in the

Good evening. Welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The tough times are far from over the Chancellor, George Osborne

warned. Whether it is public sector pay and jobs, tax credits or the

retirement age, there's more pain ahead. The British economy is doing

worse than expected with growth forecasts down and borrowing up. Mr

Osbourne pledged to save Britain from what he called a debt storm.

Labour said the coalition's strategy was now in tatters.

Our first report is from Nick This was the statement that George

Osborne never wanted to deliver, a moment he would have to travel from

the Treasury to Parliament, to tell the nation that the Government will

not have balanced the books by the next election.

Our debt challenge is even greater than we thought because the boom

was bigger. The bust even deeper and the effects will last even

longer. Those effects a packed House of

Commons was told would mean more pain now, more pain tomorrow, more

pain for longer. Why? Because what those working behind the door of

Number Eleven were told bit independent forecasters at the

Office for Budget Responsibility. That over the next few years, there

will be �111 billion in extra borrowing. That growth next year,

won be 1% -- won't be 1%, it will be 0en 7%. As a result, they redict

in total -- predict in total 710,000 public sector jobs will go.

The Chancellor blamed inflation coming from abroad and the crisis

spreading from the eurozone. Much of Europe appears to be

heading into a recession caused by a chronic lack of confidence in the

ability of countries to deal with their debts. We will do whatever it

takes to protect Britain from this debt storm.

Whatever it takes, means that many of us will end up working longer.

The State Pension Age will be increased from 66 to 67, starting

in the year 2026. That will affect anyone under the age of 52.

Whatever it takes also means more unwelcome news for public sector

workers on the eve of strikes and protests over cuts to their

pensions. The Chancellor has decided to tighten the squeeze on

public sector pay. It has been frozen for all but the worst paid

until 2012, after that, there will be a 1% cap on the pay bill for the

next two years. I accept that a 1% average rise is

tough, it is also fair to those who work to pay the taxes that will

fund it. There was to be more. Although out

of work benefits will increase with inflation, many tax credits are to

be frozen, but not those paid to the disabled. You can see why some

ministers might have been wondering when it would end. The Chancellor

had some good news, rail fare increases will be a little lower

and petrol rises too. We are able to cancel the fuel duty

increase planned for January and for the fuel duty to be only 3

pence higher than it is now. George Osborne couldn't claim it is

plan was on course, but he did insist there was no choice, but to

stick to it. Leadership for tough times. That's

what we offer and I commend this this statement to the House.

If Labour's response had been one sentence, it it would have been,

"We told you." The Chancellor, said Ed Balls, had blamed everyone but

himself. Families and businesses know it is

hurting and with billions more in borrowing to pay for rising

unemployment, today we find out the truth. It is just not working.

he were chancellor, he said, he would cut taxes and spend more to

get people back to work. If after just 18 months, his plan

is leading to falling growth, rising unemployment, and 158

billion pounds more in borrowing the country needs a new chancellor

or a new plan. This was the day when the list of

those with reasons to protest against Government cuts just got

longer. What we have seen today is there

will be an 80% increase in public sector unemployment and that's

going to hit the areas such as Wales with a reliance on public

sector jobs. Tonight, we know what they have

known at Number Eleven for sometime, the outlook is bleak, the forecast

is it is not going to get better Well, it was a very detailed

statement from the Chancellor. He also outlined new plans to boost

the economy and confirmed that benefits will go up by 5.2% from

next April and the basic state pension will increase by �5.30 a

week. There was also help for small businesses. The Government has

pledged to underwrite loans and extended a holiday on business

rates. Mr Osborne announced more money for schools in England and

gave details of plans to help people buy their own home. So what

do all those facts and figures boil down to if you are trying to run a

small business or make ends meet at home? Our correspondent Jon Kay has

been to Plymouth to get the Plymouth is used to weathering the

elements, but this storm is starting to feel like a prolonged

battering. Four weeks before Christmas, and the high street

unseasonably quiet. Kim says trade on her market stall has never been

slower, takings are down and now she is worried by changes to her

working tax credit. It is another nail in the coffin.

They will be struggling to make a living here and it is getting

harder and harder. I will have to work twice as hard for longer hours.

I don't know, what do we do next? People in Plymouth just as across

the country knew the economic outlook was not bright and sunny,

but there seems to be genuine shock here that the forecast is now quite

as miserable as the latest figures suggest. Plymouth is clearly

hurting. The airport is about to close and the football club has

only recently emerged from administration. This is an old

naval city where wages are low and where the number of public sector

jobs is high. At the hospital, we met health worker Suzie Franklin.

After a two year pay freeze, she heard she will get a pay rise, but

of 1%. It is nothing, is it? Christmas is

cancelled this year due to the fact that we can't afford it. The rich

are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Perhaps the biggest shock is the news news that the the State

Pension Age is going up to 67. That means Laura, who we met Christmas

shopping, could have 4 and more years of hair -- 4 and more years

of hairdressing ahead of her. I have already got bad wrists. I'm

standing on my feet. I won't be able to do that then.

It has not blown over and they didn't expect things still to feel

Well, as we've been hearing, the Chancellor says the reason there

are even tougher times ahead is because the debt the country has to

pay back is getting bigger. So what's gone wrong? Here's our chief

economics correspondent, Hugh Pym. It is the statement George Osborne

hoped he wouldn't have to make, it is a much bleaker picture than he

set out in the Budget back in March. That seems like a long time ago now

and there was little the Chancellor could do to soften the blow.

So what's gone wrong? Some of the key predictions were off the mark.

The growth forecast for next year has been slashed by two-thirds to

0.7%. That means borrowing will be �120 billion in that financial year,

nearly �20 billion higher than forecast. Usually after a recession,

the economy bounces back quickly. Tax revenues from companies,

including those in the City of London come flooding back into the

Government's coffers and that allows borrowing to be reduced, but

with growth faltering, that has not happened this time.

So the next question is - who is to blame for the Government's

problems? The Chancellor points to

instability in the eurozone with protests over spending cuts and

fears of a recession which could hit UK trade. He He blames

pressures on consumersion his control, global cost increases have

hit food and energy bills, so Mr Osbourne wants to stick to his

course on cutting borrowing. He should stick to his plans. He

made cuts which are allowing the UK to have low borrowing costs. We

would sacrifice that if he were to change tact nowpm. There are a few

in the City who think he should change tact because his cuts are

hitting growth and making things worse.

If the Chancellor continues to cut spending into an economic downturn,

the UK may end up with more Government debt at the end of it

because if we go into a recession benefits will have to go up and tax

revenues will go down. Everything Hinges on economic

growth so when will it improve? The independent watchdog in charge of

forecasting had this verdict. We expect the momentum of the

economy to weaken further further during the final quarter of this

year, but then to pick up gradually through next year assuming the euro

area struggles through its current difficulties.

That's a big assumption. The Chancellor himself warned that if

the eurozone fell back into recession, the UK could go the same

way and if that happened, the borrowing figures could get revised

up again, making Mr Osbourne's task of trying to balance the books even

Our political editor, Nick Robinson, What does this do to George

Osborne's credit iablet? There is no doubt he had to eat the Prime

Minister's words. David Cameron said that he he would balance the

books bit next election and it is clear he he won't, but what the

Chancellor can say he stuck to his plans, that the independent Office

for Budget Responsibility says he will get there eventually and a

claim that it would be worse if he followed Labour's advice by

spending and borrowing more and is worse if much of Europe. Now that

that may not matter very much to many people watching tonight, who

are worrying not about credibility, but what this means for them and it

means much more of a squeeze for many more people and on the eve of

big public sector strikes, it means a whole series of new reasons why

people in public sector jobs might be angry just of course, the things

that people in the private sector had to tolerate, but it will hardly

help relations with the unions. Now you might be thinking in this grim

weather with these grim forecasts, if you are lucky enough to have a

job and money, at least you can start planning that nice holiday

next summer. Bad news, we have checked the small print of today's

statement, they have doubled the tax on the inflation linked element

For over a week the Leveson Inquiry into standards in the media has

been hearing evidence from a host of celebrities about their

treatment at the hands of the tabloids. Today it entered a new

phase with members of the press facing the questions. Paul McMullen,

who worked at the News of the World for seven years, told the inquiry

that people's voicemails were routinely hacked into and his

editors knew all about it. Nick The proceedings. He worked for the

News of the World for seven years, becoming its deputy features editor,

he is Paul McMullan and he became the first person with direct

knowledge to say under oath that the paper's editors knew that phone

hacking was taking place. He was asked first what he knew about

phone hacking. How common was voicemail interception by

journalists at the News of the World? Not uncommon. The

journalists swapped numbers with each other, you know, you might

swap I think I swapped Sylvester Stallone's mother for David Beckham

for example. Lord Justice Leveson told him he

need not incriminate himself. The prosecution turned to what editors

knew. Did your editors know that

voicemails were being intercepted? Yes.

In that we did all these things for our editors, for Rebekah Brooks and

for Andy Coulson. Rebekah Brooks was editor of the

News of the World from 20000 to 2003, Andy Coulson from 2003 to

2007, both denied knowing about phone hacking. Mr McMullan was

furious the initial police inquiry ignored their alleged part in all

of this. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson,

they are the scum of journalism for trying to to drop me and and my

colleagues in it. How dare these people run off scot-free for about

a year. Mr McMullan said a bodyguard to Princess Diana offered

�30,000 for information about her movements. A a reporter said the

tabloids were more interested in getting away with this than telling

the truth. A journalist said he no longer trusted the Press to

Our top story tonight. The Chancellor has been setting out

his plans to revive the flagging economy, while admitting Britain

faces slower growth and higher than expected levels of borrowing.

Coming up: Chaos for motorists in parts of

western and southern Scotland after a night of torrential rain closes

roads. And later on the BBC News Channel,

finance ministers meet in Brussels to beef up the European bail-out

and sidestepping a shareholding revolt, James Murdoch is re-elected

Just hours after hearing they will face pay curbs and more job losses,

public sector workers are preparing for the biggest strike for a

generation. Up to two million employees will walk out over

changes to their pensions. They say they will have to work longer and

pay more for a smaller pension. But ministers say, with people living

longer, the current pensions are no longer affordable. Here's our

Industry Correspondent John Moylan. At this school in Yorkshire this

afternoon, pupils went home knowing there would be no school tomorrow.

It will be a similar story across much of the UK, parents will have

to look after their children instead. I don't agree with it but

they have a point. I get that. I think the inconvenience levels are

too great for the unfortunate, I can't strike because they have to

look after my children but, otherwise, I would have been

striking. Tomorrow, 2 million public sector workers are expected

to walk out. They would include many who work in the health service,

although emergency cover will be provided. It's likely to be the

biggest strike seen in the UK for a generation. At demonstrations and

picket lines, emotions are likely to be running high. Workers face a

two-year pay cut of just 1%. More than 700,000 public sector jobs

could go. This arbitrary announcement by the government,

without any negotiation or discussion of any sort, is not

conducive to positive negotiations to resolve the already difficult

dispute we face on public service pensions. The impact of the strike

will be felt far and wide. More than 23,000 schools could close,

5,500 non-urgent hospital procedures have been the scheduled,

and they could be three hour delays at passport control at Heathrow.

Some have seen it all before. This man runs an NHS Trust. I'm a

seasoned campaigner, was managing as possible during the winter of

discontent in the late Seventies, and we had dusted of those plans,

got everything going, and we're confident we will see the day

through. This is a seasoned campaigner, too, going on strike

for the first time in almost 40 years in teaching. Most of my staff

are going on struck -- tried, reluctantly, but we feel we have to

make a stand. -- going on strike. What's not clear is whether it will

make a difference. And you can find out how the

strikes are likely to affect you on our website. Or tune into your BBC

local radio station. Dozens of Iranian students have

forced their way into the British embassy compound in Tehran. They

burned the Union flag and ransacked the building in retaliation for

Britain's part in new sanctions aimed at curbing the country's

nuclear programme. As James Reynolds reports, embassy workers

were taken hostage before they were The British embassy is one of the

most fortified buildings in Tehran. But this afternoon, protesters

climb the walls, the police didn't stop them. Their incursion here and

at a separate residential compound, comes a week after Britain

tightened sanctions. In response, Iran promise to expel the British

ambassador but these demonstrators had decided to go further. This is

what things look like inside the compound.

TRANSLATION: The British should go with the Americans went, pack up

their things and go. America's embassy in Tehran was stormed in

the 1979. US diplomats were kept hostage for more than 400 days.

Tonight, William Hague said it appears all British staff and

dependence in Tehran are accounted for. We have made clear to the

government in Iran they must take immediate steps to ensure the

safety of UK personnel. To ensure property taken from the embassy

compound is returned. And it to Secure the compound with immediate

effect. But this afternoon, protesters wanted to enjoy the

moment. Here, one man turned a portrait of the Queen upside-down.

The latest reports suggest protesters have now agreed to go.

The trial of two men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence has

heard that a detective deliberately sabotaged a database relating to

exhibits in the case. Detective Constable Paul Steed made the

changes after being removed from the inquiry when he was convicted

over an assault in Spain. Two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, are

currently on trial for the murder of Stephen Lawrence at a bus stop

in Eltham in 1993. They deny the charges.

A former parliamentary aide accused of being a Russian spy has won her

fight to stay in the UK. An immigration appeals commission

decided that Katia Zatuliveter had not passed secrets to Moscow while

having an affair with her boss, the Liberal Democrat MP, Mike Hancock.

The man found guilty of causing the death of one of pop music's

greatest entertainers has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray was handed the maximum term

by a court in Los Angeles, three weeks after a jury convicted him of

involuntary manslaughter. The judge said he had committed an horrific

violation of trust in caring for Michael Jackson. Our Los Angeles

Correspondent Alastair Leithead is there.

What was the reaction like in court when the judge delivered this?

there was little inside the court itself but a chair from the crowd

had gathered yet another trial of Conrad Murray and today for the

sentencing. When they heard he got the maximum sentence, saying he

showed no remorse for what he done, and he was a danger to the

community. The family were here and said that they wouldn't make a

statement personally but asks a friend and lawyer on their behalf

to address the court and say they had lost a father, a son, and a

brother and whatever the sentence was, it wouldn't bring him back.

Jermaine Jackson said he hoped for a four-year sentence but said that

wouldn't be enough. The defence didn't call Conrad Murray, he kept

silent. They said they hoped that the judges would give him a shorter

sentence. He didn't to force the issue of compensation will now be

addressed in another court hearing, when the family are asking for $100

million in lost income from the concerts Michael Jackson didn't

carry out when he died. OK, thank you very much. A night of

torrential rain has caused flooding across parts of western and central

Scotland. Roads were closed and trains and buses cancelled. Guests

at a hotel in Greenock were trapped, unable to reach their cars, as our

Scotland Correspondent James Cook reports.

All night and day the rain came down. A fortnight's worth in 24

hours. It blocked drains, flooded roads, and swamped fields. It has

increased all night. At first light this morning, it looked as if it

was a bigger flood as I've ever seen here. The Mup nine was closed

but Greenock was at worst hit, and some motorists had to be rescued

from their cards. 60 guests were marooned at this hotel, trapped by

the flood waters since the early morning. There's a car on the road

which tried driving through and she started floating sideways for the

it was pretty bad but everybody just went about their business

eating breakfast and the water kept getting higher and higher. It's

unbelievable. I'd never experienced anything like it. This town of a

50,000 people was cut off, and the A 82 Glasgow, blocked. Tonight,

this major road remains closed. They are pulling cars out of the

water and is a lot of cleaning up a bridge remains to be done. -- and

there is a lot of cleaning up which remains to be done.

Let's go back to our main story tonight. The Chancellor's Autumn

Statement. We can talk to our Economics Editor, Stephanie

Flanders who's at the Treasury. Where does this leave us going on

in the next three years? numbers are as bad as we thought

they would be. It's important when you hear about falling growth

forecast, and here the politicians argue about whose fault it is. At

the centre of this is a judgment not made by George Osborne but by

the Office for budget responsibility, which has decided

the growth we have lost in the last few years, in this very

inhospitable global economy, is not coming back. That has enormous

implications over the next few years for all of us, for the wealth

of the company -- country. There's a million fewer new jobs built into

this forecast than there were eight months ago. As we know, it has

implications for the Chancellor's For the extra spending cuts in the

first years of the next Parliament. All of that, remember, George,

depends on the eurozone getting resolve and confidence coming back

quite soon for the that's not what the markets expect and it doesn't

happen, the numbers in a few months' time, will be even worse.

Stephanie, thank you. Let's take a look at the weather now with Darren

It looks like today's rain has swept its way through so things

will quieten down, actually overnight. It will also turn colder

and there will be quite a few blustery showers as well. The

squally band of rain goes into the near Continent. I think there will

be a lot of showers tonight and they will be wintery in Scotland

over the Pennines maybe and over the Cumbrian fells. Across the

northern part of UK in particular, those temperatures not far away

from freezing. Tomorrow, it will feel colder once again and the wind

will blow in a lot of shudders from the west of the UK. Not many

getting to the east. Many places here will be dry with sunshine. For

Match Of The Day, the Midlands, East Anglia, should be dry with

sunny spells. -- for much of the day. Showers becoming fewer during

the day and we will see more sunshine. A scattering of showers,

particularly in the afternoon. West Wales could get quite a covering

tomorrow. Frequent and heavy showers developing. Not many for

the East. Northern Ireland starts with a few showers but gets better

during the afternoon, actually, as are the windows strengthens.

Scotland, some sunshine, dry spells, but showers, too. -- But the wind

strengthened. An early warning from the Met Office. We are going to get

a lot of wind tomorrow night and we are going to get wet, with further

spells of heavy rain and the risk of flooding, especially in flooding

-- Scotland. The wind blows were by Thursday morning and sunshine and

showers follow-on but it will feel colder, particularly across the

Thank you. A reminder of tonight's main news. The Chancellor has been