01/12/2011 BBC News at Six

Brace yourselves, we're heading into a euro storm - Mervyn King's

warning to British banks. The Bank of England boss tells them to build

up their reserves - even if it means cutting back on those big

bonuses. No-one who looks at the current position could deny that it

is extraordinarily serious and threatening. Therefore, those with

the responsibility to deal with it really do need to take action.

on tonight's programme... The trial of eight former police officers

accused of corruption - it cost �30 million, now it's collapsed. Jeremy

Clarkson heading for the departure gate - behind him a massive row

over what he said about strikers. Frankly I would have them all shot.

I would take them outside and execute them in front of their

families. How dare they go on strike? It's the kind of picture we

usually show you in the summer - why the experts are already talking

about a drought in England. Right Honourable Gentleman knows

very well that we had no choice but to close the school. 21 years after

Margaret Thatcher left office, Meryl Streep tells us what it's

like playing the Iron Lady. wanted to, in some way, capture

Hello and welcome to the BBC's News at Six. The Governor of the Bank of

England has used some of his strongest language yet to warn that

we're heading into another financial storm. Sir Mervyn King

says that Britain's high street banks should protect themselves

from the shock waves of the eurozone crisis by putting more

money away. And he said the need to build up their reserves was so

great that bank bosses should consider cutting back dividends to

shareholders and big bonuses to staff. Here's our chief economics

correspondent, Hugh Pym. It has been a gloomy week for economic

news, and there is absolutely no Christmas cheer from the heart of

the City of London today. The Bank of England had a sobering analysis

of the eurozone crisis and what it meant for the UK. The Governor was

giving his latest assessment of the committee. No-one who looks at the

current position can deny that it is extraordinarily serious and

threatening. Therefore, those with the responsibility to deal with it

really do need to take action. turmoil and protests in the

eurozone and worries about Italy's finances, it is clear that senior

policy makers are now thinking through what might happen if the

single currency was to break up. To what extent are you making

contingency plans for the possible default of a member of the euro,

and even the long term break-up of the eurozone? As you would expect,

the government, together with the FSA and the Bank of England, are

making contingency plans against a wide range of contingencies, but I

will not detail those. At the Bank of England they're normally very

careful with the language they use, and it sometimes takes a while to

interpret exactly what they mean. But today's message was absolutely

clear - they think the situation is potentially very serious. What

exactly are their fears about the threat to the UK banking system,

and what does it mean for the wider economy? Here's the problem - the

economy? Here's the problem - the exposure of UK banks to vulnerable

economies. Total lending to Greece is around �7 billion. For Portugal,

the total is �16 billion, which is dwarfed by the bank lending figures

to Italy and Ireland. If banks make big losses in those countries,

their inability to lend here would be severely restricted - for

example, mortgages and credit to consumers. Even fears about future

losses could make them restrict lending. The regulators want the

banks to put more money aside now, if need be to cut money put aside

for dividends and bonuses. The for dividends and bonuses. The

industry says it is already curbing pay packets.

There may be bonuses paid in some parts of the industry, but those

are up against a strict code, policed by the Financial Services

Authority. The adamantly those will be paid in shares. The Bank of

England is warning that a storm from the eurozone could be heading

our way, and it is time for the banks to make sure they are on firm

So, stark words from the Bank of England Governor. Over in France,

President Sarkozy has just started giving a keynote speech on the

eurozone. But what signs are there that European leaders are getting

to grips with the crisis? Let's go live to Paris and join our Europe

editor, Gavin Hewitt, who's there. Gavin, what has the French

President been saying? Well, it is a very sombre speech. He said to

the French people that the crisis was not over, that it threatened

the French way of life. He said their current welfare state would

not be sustainable, they would have to learn to work more and spend

less. He's going on to have to explain to the French people how,

for instance, control will go increasingly to Brussels, which is

a hugely sensitive thing here. He has already been criticised for

handing over sovereignty, or planning to, of the French national

budget, to Brussels. Why is that about to happen? Because the

Germans are insisting that in future, there will be much greater

discipline over budgets, as a way of reassuring markets and taking a

step to sort out this crisis. Tomorrow, Angela Merkel will be

setting out her ideas over this. There is a real sense in Europe

that they probably have about a week to try to get ahead of this

crisis, because certainly at the moment, what they're having to do

to explain to their own people, that big changes, big sacrifices

will be necessary, if they are finally to address this eurozone

Britain's biggest ever police corruption trial has collapsed,

after a judge ruled that the defendants couldn't have a fair

hearing. The multi-million pound case was brought against eight

former officers from South Wales Police. They were accused of

perverting the course of justice, following a murder trial in 1988.

Our correspondent Hywel Grifftith joins us from Cardiff now. This

story began on Valentine's Day 23 years ago, in an in conspicuous

flat above his building behind me. There, police discovered Lynette

White's body, soaked in blood. But the story went on to become one of

miscarriages of justice and a catalogue of failure. Remembered by

her family as a happy girl who loved fashion, the body of Lynette

White was discovered in the bedsit she had used for prostitution. She

had been stabbed more than 50 times. 23 years later, the team who

investigated her death today walked free from court, cleared of

conspiring together to bully witnesses and manipulate evidence.

Their reputation has finally been restored. It went from despondency

to elation, but today, I'm very, very elated. At last I feel I was

vindicated. I did nothing wrong on this inquiry, and I told that to

the investigating team from the day I was arrested. There was no

evidence against me, and I'm absolutely relieved it is over.

eight detectives have worked together on South Wales Police-

month-old biggest-ever murder inquiry. It led them to arrest five

men. But at the trial, two were acquitted. I have been put in jail

for 20 years for a crime I do not know anything about. Who are John

Actie and Ronnie Actie had always claimed they were victims of a

miscarriage of justice. We really believe, family and friends, that

things would be done, but it is just disappointing again. Three men,

including Lynette White's boyfriend, were found guilty of her murder.

But the verdicts left a feeling of deep unease in the docks community.

A campaign to free the Cardiff three succeeded in 1992, but it was

not until the year 2000 that the murder investigation was reopened.

This time, DNA evidence led to this man being arrested, James Harbut,

who admitted to being the what a. The original investigation team

were arrested six years ago, accused of perverting the course of

justice, but today, the case against them collapsed. The police

budget alone has been more than a million pounds a year for many

years, in this investigation. There are 18 or 19 defence teams between

the two trials. The jury have been here since July, the judge has been

brought down from London, it has been a mammoth case. Tonight, South

Wales Police find themselves under fire once again. The Director of

Public Prosecutions has said he's extremely concerned, and a review

could be referred to the Independent Police Complaints

Commission. Nearly a quarter of a century after her death, the murder

of Lynette White has left many questions unanswered. One question

which has been answered is that a second trial of other officers

linked to the case will no longer go ahead, either. South Wales

police have agreed to refer the matter to the IPCC. They will have

to decide whether anything could have been done to avoid this case

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's mouth has got him into

trouble again. There have been thousands of complaints to the BBC

about his comments on yesterday evening's One Show. After his

remarks on striking workers, the union Unison called for him to be

sacked. Tonight, before flying out of the country, Mr Clarkson

apologised. Nick Higham has the story. Jeremy Clarkson at Heathrow

today, on his way to China, implying he had been quoted out of

context. See what I actually said... What he actually said was this.

What do you think about the strikes? Fantastic! London today

has just been empty. Everybody has stayed at home, you can get about,

the restaurants are empty. And then he added this, in the same

satirical tone. We have to balance it, because this is the BBC.

Frankly, I think they should all be shot. I would take them outside and

execute them in front of their families. How dare they go on

strike? Today, the BBC apologised, and so did Jeremy Clarkson, saying

he had meant it as a joke. But others failed to see the funny side.

They saw a combination of bad taste and a politically motivated attack.

For Jeremy Clarkson, a close friend of David Cameron, to say that, is

not only a misjudgment, it is incitement to hatred, it is a

horrible thing to do. Tonight, the union welcomed Jeremy Clarkson's

apology, and invited him to spend a day on a hospital ward with some of

its members. Earlier, the Prime Minister had sounded embarrassed by

the affair. It is a silly thing to say, I'm sure he did not mean that.

Jeremy Clarkson actually said two things which provoked complaints.

The other was a joke about people who commit suicide by throwing

themselves under trains. The One Show team thought that was so

offensive, they apologised at the end of the programme, but they did

not apologise for the joke about strikers, presumably because they

thought it fell on the right side of the line, between the

unacceptable and the merely satirical. When Jonathan Ross and

Russell Brand crossed that line by making offensive calls to an actor,

one was sacked, the other was suspended. Jeremy Clarkson himself

is no stranger to controversy, suggesting truck-driver has

murdered prostitutes core defence, and calling Gordon Brown a one-eyed

idiot. The latest reaction? It was absolutely disgraceful. It is just

his sense of humour. But maybe it should not have been on The One

Show. But Jeremy Clarkson can take it as well as the shoot-out. Good

one! This was his reaction to getting hit by a custard pie when

going to get an honorary degree in The The body of a 20-year-old

soldier killed in Afghanistan was flown back to the UK today.

Rifleman Sheldon Steel, from 5th Battalion The Rifles, was killed on

Monday by an improvised explosive device. He had been part of a foot

patrol in the Lashkar Gah region of Helmand Province when he was caught

Staff at the Iranian Embassy in London have started preparations to

leave the country after the Foreign Office ordered they be expelled

following an attack on the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers condemned the attack, while

agreeing to a further package of The forensic scientist who carried

out the tests at the heart of the Stephen Lawrence murder trial has

been cross-examined today. The lawyer defending one of the KO

excuse -- one of the co-accused has been cross-examined. Tom Symonds

reports from the Old Bailey. Does blood on this American-style bomber

jacket link Stephen Lawrence and Gary Dobson? Was aware of the

jacket at the scene of the murder? Questions for which the work of

scientist Edward Jarman may provide answers. The trial focused today on

the forensic tests he had carried out on a wide range of clothing

examined over a period of months. The jacket belonging to Gary Dobson

was a key item. First, a chemical test for blood found nothing. Under

cross-examination today, Edward cross-examination today, Edward

Jarman said there may not have been enough present to show up. Then, a

test for saliva, again, proving no results. Only when the jacket was

searched with a microscope was this spot of blood found on the collar.

And bits of blood were discovered clinging to the fabric. The

prosecution insists they could only be discovered with a microscope.

The defence claims there may have been contamination from Stephen

Lawrence's bloody clothes, even in the laboratory. But the blood was

soaked into the jacket itself. Edward Jarman was asked if the

saliva test, which involved spraying water onto the clothing

and pressing paper took it, could have liquidised dry blood. The

defence barrister asked Edward Jarman, if he had known there was

blood on the jacket... Later, Edward Jarman admitted, they were

not aware there was any blood on the item at the time. Experiments

had been done to see whether the saliva test could turn dried blood

into liquid. In the laboratory, it didn't. But he said he could not

rule it out. Tim Roberts QC for the defence said that was educated

guesswork. The jury heard that the blood was most likely to have been

wet when it got on the jacket, and that that was more likely to have

happened here, at the scene of the murder. Gary Dobson denies being

Our top story tonight: The Bank of England Governor,

Mervyn King, warns banks to build up reserves to protect themselves

from Eurozone problems, even if it means cutting bankers' bonuses.

Coming up: he had where there is discord, may we bring harmony.

The grocer's daughter portrayed by a Hollywood superstar - the career

of Margaret Thatcher comes to the big screen.

Later on the News Channel, the energy regulator Ofgem calls for a

simpler and more competitive market. And the coffee shops Starbucks

creates 5000 new jobs in the UK Today is officially the start of

winter, and we're leaving behind one of the warmest and driest

autumns since records began. Now the Environment Agency is warning

that some parts of England face a prolonged drought lasting well into

next summer. Our Science Correspondent David Shukman looks

at what this extraordinary weather might mean for our future.

A salmon battles upstream at Ludlow in Shropshire, but there has been

so little rain that the river level is too low and the fish cannot make

it. A reservoir near Northampton, unusually short of water for this

time of year, so special permission has been given to fillet from a

river. Large areas of England are at risk of drought. In Essex, the

driest county in Britain, a reservoir is being expanded to hold

more water. It is one of the largest construction project in the

country. But the big question is whether it will be adequate if

conditions change in the years ahead. Even now, they have to bring

water here all the way from Norfolk. The forecast for climate change

suggests that summer's here but may become even drier, making schemes

like this for storing water all the more important if those forecasts

are right. Essex is drier than many parts of the Middle East, but will

the lack of rain across many regions right now become more

common? No one can be sure. can't say one way or the other. We

do not know. Is it going to be as bad as people say, or worse or not

as bad? We need to make sure we do what is needed. So it is very

difficult planning for too little water, and it is just as hard

planning for too much. In Nottingham, a huge new defence

against flooding. This was the scene here 11 years ago. The new

scheme should protect 16,000 homes, but against what? The Environment

Agency is being cautious, building a new war that can rapidly be

raised if needed. This scheme will have a lifetime of decades. We want

to make sure it can adapt as climate change does or does not

materialise. But we do not want to overspend now for something that

might not materialise. The threat might not be that bad? It might not

be, but we can adapt if it is. how should the country prepare for

floods and droughts? I asked a government adviser. I do not think

there is a need to panic. There are many decisions we can put off for

the future. But if we look at long- term decisions, if we do not get it

right now, we could be sleepwalking into a disaster for future

generations. Predict in when rain will top the reservoirs and by how

much is one of the toughest challenge is not for just the

decades ahead, but also right now, with an anxious wait for rain this

winter. The coffee chain, Starbucks, has

announced plans to create 5,000 jobs in the UK over the next five

years. It's due to open 300 new outlets, most of them drive-

throughs. The company says the move will particularly benefit the young

unemployed. Half the chain's coffee shop staff are under 24 years old.

This time tomorrow, we will know who England are up against in the

Euro 2012 finals next summer. The competition is being staged in

Eastern Europe next year, in Poland and Ukraine. But there are growing

concerns that racism and pour into structure could mar the competition

for fans and players. The biggest sporting event in

Polish history has appeared on the horizon. Euro 2012 will kick off

here in Warsaw, the catalyst for billions of pounds' worth of

investment, European football's showpiece event is on everyone's

minds. But so are its challenges. This riot in Warsaw last month,

involving Polish football hooligans, is a reminder of the violence that

has marred the sport here for years. Racism is an issue. Pape Samba Ba

place in Division One of the Polish league, but the Senegalese

international was forced out of his former club by racist abuse. They

were screaming. They were saying something bad. What were they

saying? You are an African, go back to your country. He also has

concerns about racism rearing its head at Euro 2012. If Poland are in

the same group as England, they know England have black players.

Maybe it will happen. English football has tried hard to

eradicate racism from the sport, and UEFA insists that these players

have nothing to fear next summer. So you will be tough? We will be

extremely tough towards any behaviour which is against the

festival of football. But Euro 2012 has two hosts. Despite fears of the

preparations, neighbouring Ukraine has completed four stadia on time

including the final venue in Kiev. Getting around the second biggest

country in Europe, however, could require patience.

If England are drawn to play here in Kiev, there will also have to

play in Donetsk, 750 kilometres away, and fans travelling by train

will have a journey of over 12 hours ahead of them.

Ukraine's Soviet-era transport infrastructure lags well behind

UEFA's traditional territory to the west, and fans are being warned.

One of the biggest challenges for travelling fans that we have had at

the European Championships. The infrastructure, the transport. Add

in the levels of racism, we are having to issue warnings to black

and Asian fans. This is where the fate of those competing in Euro

2012 will be decided tomorrow. The challenge for Poland and Ukraine to

prove worthy hosts is already under way.

She was known as the Iron Lady who "was not for turning". Well, 21

years after she left Downing Street, Baroness Thatcher's extraordinary

life is now the subject of a feature film. Meryl Streep has

taken on the role, and in an exclusive TV interview with the BBC,

she's spoken of the challenges involved in portraying one of the

most powerful women of the 20th century. And I asked the right

honourable gentleman, whose fault is that? There might be only one

Margaret Thatcher, but she has had many imitators over the years.

Teachers cannot teach when there is no heating. Now Meryl Streep is

taking a turn to don the blue suit. What did she want to bring to what

is already a well worn part? wanted to, in some way capture

whatever it was that drew people to her, and whatever it was that made

people have a special venom for her as a public figure. You turn if you

want to. The lady's not for turning. The most difficult thing I had to

do was to find the breath to not only make my points, but to make

sure that you did not get your point in. And another thing.

Milk's gone up. 49p a pint. Meryl Streep plays two Margaret Thatchers.

One is the political powerhouse, the other a fictionalised version

depicting a frail old lady with dementia, having recurring visions

of her deceased husband. To play one character in two such different

ways is not easy. Without sounding too grand about it,

there is a Shakespearean element to it, like a Learoyd Hamlet. Oh, I

love you. Will Gompertz! Oh, God. I always called this Lear for girls.

It is concerned with the end game and how, you know, power diminishes

in every capacity. Now here is a man who knows Margaret Thatcher

well. He found Meryl Streep's performance totally convincing, but

was uncomfortable about the portrayal of his one-time boss in

old age with Failing Mental Health. This will be very controversial.

Margaret Thatcher is depicted as a feeble old lady, lonely, to some

extent hallucinating. I found that painful to watch. If it were about

my mother, I would feel very unhappy. I do think you can defend

it as a work of art. Did you have qualms about doing it while she was

still alive? I felt that if we did it in the right way, it would be OK.

Members of my family have had dementia. And friends. There is a

feeling that the walls are more permeable between the present and

past. Meryl Streep has been nominated for more Oscars than any

other actress, but it has been a while since she last won. The Iron

Let's take a look at the weather now with Chris Fawkes.

It will be a cold night for some of us. There will be a widespread

frost in the countryside, with icy patches, especially where we have

seen showers falling by day. There is more general rain piling in

across south-east England and East Anglia. This rain could give us an

inch of wet weather across parts of East Sussex and Kent before

clearing away. And then underneath clearing skies, temperatures will

plummet. There will be widespread frost and icy stretches on

pavements across the north and west. It is there that we will see the

most frequent showers overnight. Tomorrow will be a cold start as

well. But in the afternoon, the cloud will thicken up across the

West and we do see outbreaks of rain in western parts of Wales. It

will turn damp as well for north- west England. For Northern Ireland,

cloud and cold air. For much of the afternoon, temperatures will be

struggling. A similar picture for western Scotland. But late in the

day, milder air will push in. There will be snow over the mountains for

northern Scotland. East of the Pennines, lots of sunshine. With

will hang on to the sunshine across south-east England. The breeze will

bring thicker cloud into the south- west of England before the end of

the day. Looks like the weather will then turn wet during Friday

night. There will be a spell of wet weather across England and Wales.

Cooler air will follow into the North. We will see snow across

northern hills, which will drift to lower levels as we go into Sunday.

The Bank of England governor Mervyn King warns banks to build up