08/12/2011 BBC News at Six

Scotland battered by hurricane- force winds. Schools closed,

transport disrupted and more than 50,000 homes without power.

A red alert from the Met Office, with gusts of up to a 165mph.

actually quite difficult to stand up against the wind. You can really

feel the full force of the scale. Vehicles toppled and roads blocked

as residents struggle to cope with the disruption. It has been a long

time since I have seen it quite so bad. We decided to call it a day

and go home. Also on tonight's programme:

A make-or-break summit for the eurozone as leaders gather in

Brussels under intense pressure over the debt crisis. We need to

get that stability in the eurozone at that is good for a European

countries and good for Britain, but we also need to protect Britain's

interests, those are my aims. A major inquiry after claims that

exam board staff gave teachers advice about the questions their

pupils could get in GCSEs and A Levels.

And he was banned for this foul in October, but now a reprieve means

Wayne Rooney will play in the group stage of Euro 2012.

And I will be here with the sport Good evening, welcome to the BBC

News at Six. Scotland has been battered by the worst storm in ten

years. Hurricane force winds of up to a 165mph have left schools

closed, driving dangerous and thousands without power. Hundreds

of schools - including every single one in Glasgow - have been shut

today and the Forth Road Bridge closed to traffic. The north of

England has been affected too, but it is Scotland that has been hit

hardest. James Cook reports from Glasgow.

It is Britain's worst storm for a decade and it is not over yet.

Turmoil at see this morning hinted at what was to come on land. This

was Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde as the storm rushed ashore.

The TAS been a long time since I have seen it quite so bad. -- it

has been. I was at work in Dumbarton and a big piece of a sign

came back hit the windows so we decided to call it a day. Up river,

the skies darkened and Glasgow was in goal, caught on this time-lapse

footage. -- engulfed. The storm is peaking on the River Clyde and it

is quite difficult to stand up against this wind. You can really

feel the full force of the gale. As the wind swept eastwards, the

danger Rose. In the Aberdeen city centre, Christmas decorations came

down early. Amazingly, no shoppers were injured. The owners of these

cars also had a lucky escape. A collapsing wall caused nothing more

but twisted metal and shock. have we heard the rumbling and we

heard the bang of the building collapsed. A very scary. Many

children got a day off. Fiscal in Edinburgh closed at lunchtime, but

hundreds of schools in the West of Scotland were shot all day -- at

this school in Edinburgh. It is a shame they couldn't make the

decision earlier in the day. closed all day, so advice lazy day.

It was terrible. I didn't know until this morning. And that was it.

A Scottish government says this is why schools were shut. The bus was

empty, the driver was not hurt, but what if it had been packed with

pupils? When you have the kind of information the Scottish government

had last night from the expert at the Met Office and the police, it

was appropriate to act in the way that we did and did my view it was

correct. Those decisions included the closure of several major

bridges as gusts on the mountain tops reached 165mph, police

advising against all travel in Scotland -- central Scotland. Those

who did venture out did so at their peril. Across the north of Britain,

dozens of lorries overturned. This was in Yorkshire. The conditions

were too harsh even for Scottish football. The Hibernian training

session in Edinburgh was called off. And the storm rages on. Tonight,

more than 50,000 homes in Scotland are without power and snow is on

the way. The Met Office is warning of blizzards.

Our Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon is by the Firth of Forth. My

goodness, it is still looking awful there.

The conditions here are ferocious, conditions across Scotland today

have been difficult, disruptive and at times downright dangerous. The

main commuter route to get out of Edinburgh and head north, the cat

did. It is completely deserted. -- Look at it. Battered bridge has

been shut to traffic since mid- morning. We have had gusts in the

central bait of upwards ofmph -- 8 Tmph. The Met Office warning of

165mph, very difficult conditions, and as James Cook said, it is not

over yet. The advice is to stay off the roads if you possibly can until

9pm this evening, when the winds are expected to get worse in the

north-east of Scotland. And it is not just Scotland. In the last few

minutes, we have heard that North Yorkshire police are dealing with a

major incident, with bridges being swept away.

Did take care, and thank you. -- do take care.

There will be no second chance - the future of Europe is at stake.

That was the warning from French President Nicholas Sarkozy ahead of

the latest EU summit. The 27 leaders, including David Cameron,

face a daunting task. The key issue - how much power Brussels should

have over national budgets. Tonight, Mr Cameron pledged to veto any new

EU treaty that would damage Britain. Our Europe Correspondent Matthew

Price reports on what's being described as a make-or-break summit.

In Brussels today, there is some Christmas cheer. But mention of the

euro and the gloom there soon sets in. Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel,

they are coming back, will it make a difference? They are not moving

forward, he told me. The leaders meet again and again but there is

never anything concrete. Some fear the single currency might not

survive this crisis, but we found them still churning out new coins

at the Belgian mint. The key problem for the eurozone is a

crisis of confidence. At the moment, investors are not convinced that if

they'd lend A eurozone countries some money, they will get it all

back one day. Until the politicians cannot correct that perception, the

crisis will go from bad to worse. They will try to stop that here,

over dinner that will last into the early hours. The leaders of the

EU's 27 countries will continue to set out a plan. The two big

eurozone players, France and Germany, have made progress on a

compromise proposal. It envisages tough new rules on tax and spending

in the eurozone. Any country that breaks the rules will face semi-

automatic penalties, and for all eurozone countries will have their

national budget scrutinised by Brussels. The main players were

trying to beef up support for that plan at a summit of Europe's main

conservative parties today. A Briton's Conservatives were not

there at the David Cameron pulled them out of the grouping two years

ago -- Britain's. Those who did attend couldn't have been clearer.

TRANSLATION: Everyone knows that if there is no agreement by Friday,

there will be no second chance. We need compromise and quick decisions.

All the world is watching us and what the world wants is not more

national problems, but European solutions. Most agree that such a

solution will involve this, the European Central Bank. Today, the

bank lowered interest rates across the eurozone. That will help growth.

But the head of the Bank disappointed markets when he played

down the prospect of any new financial support for indebted

countries. This evening, David Cameron arrived in Brussels,

promising to protect British interests. These are important

talks and we need to get that stability of the eurozone that is

good for European countries, good for Britain as well, but we also

need to protect Britain's interests, that is my aim. The best protection

would be an end to the euro crisis. In a moment, we can talk to our

Political Editor Nick Robinson, but first to our Europe Editor Gavin

Hewitt. We have seen this procession of

European leaders before. Is this time going to be any different?

Well, George, an evening certainly up tough-talking lies ahead. What I

have detected is a growing demand that is there -- if there is going

to be treaty change, it is done on the level of all 27 members, not

just with the 17 countries that are in the eurozone. Several countries

that they have raised objections that if it happens just on the

basis of the 17, they will end up in the second here, they will be

outsiders. Bad blood pressure on David Cameron, because he is seen

as the main obstacle -- that puts pressure. Now, this evening, before

dinner, I understand that Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel will get

together with David Cameron for about 15 minutes, and what they

want to explore from him is exactly what he means when he says he will

defend British interests and what his red lines are. Then they will

go into dinner, and the really hard bargaining will be get there. An

hour leave them well they begin to discover if this is going to be yet

another difficult summit. Nick, it is a delicate job for

David Cameron, because he wants to save the euro, he wants to solve

that, but he has also pledged to make sure Britain does not get

damaged in the process. And to save his skin, to save his

party's unity and to save the coalition as well. You can tell

that by the different things he says in different places. He did a

meeting in Britain before coming to Brussels and he talked about the

fact that he might veto any treaty. As soon as he arrived here, the

emphasis was on having stability in the eurozone, which he believes is

vital for people watching at home because it is about the future of

the British economy, not just the economy in Europe itself. Now, he

has some bargaining chips, but he does not want to be the man who is

blamed at the end of tomorrow night for bringing the whole thing down.

It is a very lonely task, they say it is lonely at the top and it is

likely at the summit, because the Prime Minister is surrounded by

people who want something different from him and he does not have these

advisers with him. He could adopt the tactic that John Major did when

the single currency was created and Britain stayed out. He hid a senior

diplomat under the table who handed notes to him to tell him what to

say. Nick, Gavin, thank you both.

A man has been but -- arrested in the connection of a murder of a

The serial child killer Robert Black is to serve a minimum of 25

years in jail for murdering a schoolgirl 30 years ago. He was

convicted last month of abducting nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy as she

cycled to a friend's house in County Antrim in 1981. Black is

already serving multiple life terms in Wakefield prison.

Urgent inquiries have been launched in England and Wales after claims

that teachers have been given unfair advice about the questions

their pupils can expect in next year's GCSEs and A levels. It

follows the suspension of two Welsh exam board staff following secret

filming by the Daily Telegraph, which appeared to show teachers

being given details of likely questions - and the best way to

answer them. Are the boards in charge of our

children's exams of cheating their own systems? Telling teachers the

answers to questions they have set? That is what seems to be happening

in this undercover film done by the Daily Telegraph at the seminars for

teachers run by the Welsh exam board. Examiners are allowed to

give support and guidance, but here, the exam and that seems to go

further. We are cheating, we are telling you the cycle. Probably,

the regulator will tell us off. Examiners were apparently seen

telling teachers which areas pupils were likely to be questioned on and

phrases to include in answers. The Welsh government is investing --

investigating the claims that the exam board has taken action. Those

exam as have been suspended from their current duties pending the

investigation being completed -- examiners. The story names English

exam boards to, leading the Education Secretary to set up an

inquiry and to threaten tough action. It could be the case that

exam boards lose the right to preside over exams. We want to

ensure that our exams are respected and the best in the world, and as

far as I am concerned, at any powers we need to invoke, we will

use. The amount of detail is extensive. This class at a west

London school is soon due to sit mock GCSEs. Ofqual has warned it

could Paul papers drawn up for next summer. Exam sector is a multi-

million-pound industry that is under great pressure. The exam

board get paid by schools to set their papers and they compete

fiercely. Head teachers need pupils to do well in the exams so that the

school does well in the league The head teacher here describe what

influences a school to choose a particular board. If an exam board

is thought to be easier, it could play a part, in choosing that board,

because obviously, results matter. This evening, the Daily Telegraph

released more claims, suggesting exam standards are not being upheld.

With time running out to restore faith in the system, the watchdog

Our top story tonight... Scotland has been battered by hurricane-

force winds, with schools closed and transport disrupted. Coming

up... Meet Moira, the 84-year-old charity fundraiser who will carry

Men only has become a thing of the past in most work places, but in

the closed world of submarines, it's been a cast iron rule. Now,

for the first time in the history of the Royal Navy, women are to be

allowed to serve as submariners. They'll begin by 2013 on board

Vanguard subs, carrying nuclear weapons. Our defence correspondent,

Jonathan Beale, has the details. They have already broken down

barriers, as fast jet pilots, medics and bomb disposal experts in

Afghanistan Fund, and in the Royal Navy, working alongside men on

ships, for the past 20 years. But submarines, until now, have

remained a man's world. Deep under see, been confined conditions, it

has not always been easy to recruit enough men, which is one reason to

recruit more women. It gives us a great opportunity to make better

use of the talent we have available. It also gives women the same

opportunity as men to enjoy a successful career in the submarine

service. It had been feared that there was a threat due to the high

levels of carbon dioxide. So pregnant women will remain banned.

As you can see, there's more than enough space. But there are other,

more practical problems, like finding the room for separate

toilets and sleeping quarters. Space on a submarine is very tight.

This is HMS Alliance, an old cold- war submarine, which had a crew of

65, but only 50 beds, meaning that some of the crew had to share bunks.

Even today, on some submarines, they still have to what is called

"hot bunk". Women can only serve on the larger boats, like the ones

carrying Britain's nuclear deterrent. They have already found

their first volunteer. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to serve

on the submarines, in a different operating environment. I cannot

wait. But it will be a dramatic change to the all-male environment.

And some who have served as submariners wonder whether the Navy

will be able to enforce its no touching rule for mixed crews.

Physical attraction, very confined spaces, if I try and brush past you

now, it will get quite intimate. It raises all types of potential

problems. Life on a submarine is inevitably intimate. But women will

be joining the all-male crew was A forensic scientist who reviewed

the entire Stephen Lawrence murder case has told jurors that she found

"no realistic possibility" of evidence being contaminated.

Lawyers for Gary Dobson and David Norris have argued that

contamination could account for the fragments of Stephen Lawrence's

blood, hair and fibres found on their clients' garments. From the

Old Bailey, Philippa Thomas reports. This forensic scientist is going

through the entire history of the case, looking for opportunities for

the contamination of evidence. She began in April 1993, when Stephen

Lawrence was stabbed. Police photographed his jacket on a sheet

of the floor of the police station in Eltham. Only two weeks later,

other evidence was brought to the same station. The question for the

jury is, could blood, hair and fibres have been transferred in

this kind of situation? The expert said it would have to have been a

On another key piece of evidence, a tiny spot of Stephen Lawrence's

blood on Gary Dobson's,, the scientist said that its transfer by

means of contamination was so unlikely as to be practically

impossible. The defence team will begin cross-examining the expert

The row between the Government and unions over public sector pensions

has taken another twist. Under new proposals announced by the

Government today, more than half a million NHS workers will not need

to pay any more into their pensions next year. Our industry

correspondent, John Moylan, is at the Department of Health with the

details. That may be OK for those particular NHS workers, but what

about the rest of the public sector? Yes, it is not clear today

whether this move will be replicated across other departments.

It appears that 630,000 of these staff will not now pay extra

contributions next year. This is all about protecting the low paid.

But those same staff do not know what is going to happen in

subsequent years. And also, if they're not going to pay extra

contributions next year, it means that high earners within the NHS

will end up paying higher contributions next year, and that

model may not work. I think the reaction from the unions has pretty

negative to all of this, they regard this intervention as

Wayne Rooney can now play at least one match for England in the group

stage of Euro 2012. It follows a decision by UEFA to reduce a three-

match ban, imposed after his red card against Montenegro in October,

to two. So how important could that be for England's prospects? Here's

our sports correspondent, Dan Roan. Having travelled across Switzerland

to be here in person, Wayne Rooney arrived at UEFA headquarters to

plead for leniency. It was only 12 hours since Manchester United had

been knocked out of the Champions League. Wayne Rooney's involvement

at Euro 25 now hung in the ballot. This led to a three-match ban,

jeopardising his participation in the tournament. But with the

support of England manager Fabio Capello and a team of FA lawyers,

he got the result he had wanted, and the punishment was reduced by

one match. We're very pleased with the outcome. We arrived here today

with the possibility of Wayne Rooney missing the whole of the

group phase, which would have been a huge challenge for Fabio Capello

and the team. To have him available for the final group game, it is a

positive result for us. Despite a chequered record at major

tournaments, it is a sign of Wayne Rooney's value to England, that the

news was met with such relief. takes a lot of pressure off the

England team, and of Wayne Rooney himself. He will be delighted that

he can play his part in the group stages. Despite the way for's

decision today, England will still have to wait for Wayne Rooney, he

will not be available for the first two fixtures, against France and

Sweden. But this is nonetheless a major victory both for the player

and for his country. Wayne Rooney left the hearing knowing that any

doubts over his inclusion in the England squad next summer were now

over. The team's prospects have received a significant lift before

More than 6,000 people have been chosen to carry the Olympic torch

next summer. Among them are community workers, top athletes and

others nominated for personal achievement. 37,000 people applied

to help carry the flame around the country ahead of the opening

ceremony in London. Our sports correspondent, James Pearce,

Sebastian Coe, with some of the happy people who have been selected

to carry the Olympic Torch next year.

NEWSCASTER: All through the night, the flame was carried... The last

time Britain hosted the Olympics was 1948. The 2012 torch relay will

be on a far grander scale. The next time the torch comes to London,

excitement will be building, it will be just a week before the

start of the Games. By then it will have been on a journey which

touched every corner of the UK. In Herefordshire, it will be carried

by a very proud 84-year-old. Moira's first reaction on hearing

that she had been chosen? Why me? In fact, few would deserve the

honour more. Earlier this year she raised more than �10,000 in a

charity event at her village hall. The hall was often booked, you have

got to pick your time. I managed to finish it on the day of the London

Marathon, and we had a super cream tea party. Other torch bearers had

the chance for a quick practice this morning. When the torch starts

its journey around your nation, you... To think, that is the

Countdown, that it is when is getting quite serious. London's

next Olympics is getting ever closer. The torch bearers now have

special reason to look forward. Let's take a look at the weather

Let's take a look at the weather now, with Nick Miller. It will be

better later tonight, but we are not there yet. It is still very

nasty out there. In the past hour or so, there have been gusts up to

85 miles an hour at Stornoway Airport, for example. We still have

those very disruptive conditions across central and southern

Scotland in particular. Still, that all-important red warning in force

from the Met Office. It is windy right across the UK. Eventually, in

central Scotland, it improves from west to east this evening. After

midnight, it begins to get quieter and clearer. Our attention will

turn to ice for tomorrow morning across Scotland, parts of Northern

Ireland and north-west England. The snow just adding to the ice threat

for the morning rush-hour tomorrow. Across southern areas, three or

four degrees, plenty of sunshine, still very breezy, but not as windy

as today. During the day tomorrow, this band will be weakening, moving

south. To the south of that, largely dry, with some sunshine. It

will be a colder day. Especially across southern areas. Friday night

will be cold, a cold start to the weekend. On Sunday, rain moving