:00:08. > :00:14.No more excessive credit and debit card fees. The Government says it
:00:14. > :00:21.will make them illegal. It says it will stop big fees on card
:00:21. > :00:26.purchases such as cinema tickets, train tickets and holidays.
:00:26. > :00:35.holiday company were going to charge 2.5% surcharge for me using
:00:35. > :00:37.my credit card. I thought that was disgraceful. It came to �175 extra.
:00:37. > :00:40.But there are concerns that businesses may just raise their
:00:40. > :00:43.prices to compensate. Also on tonight's programme: The violence
:00:43. > :00:46.in Syria takes a deadly new turn with two bombings in the capital,
:00:46. > :00:48.Damascus. France agrees to pay thousands of women to have breast
:00:48. > :00:52.implants removed, though the Government here insists they are
:00:52. > :01:02.safe. Today is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year
:01:02. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:11..But will it make up for slow sales And an emotional George Michael
:01:11. > :01:17.makes his first appearance since he fell dangerously ill with pneumonia.
:01:17. > :01:22.I spent the last 10 days since I woke up, literally thanking people
:01:22. > :01:29.for saving my life. I have never had to do that before and I never
:01:29. > :01:35.want to do it again. In sport: Steve keen hits back at his critics
:01:35. > :01:45.including Jack Straw. He claims the support of leading Premier managers
:01:45. > :01:52.
:01:52. > :01:54.Good evening. Welcome to the BBC News at Six. Airlines, train
:01:54. > :01:58.companies and retailers are to be banned from charging excessive
:01:58. > :02:02.credit or debit card fees. Some companies are charging up to �8 for
:02:02. > :02:06.a transaction that costs as little as 20p to process. The Government
:02:06. > :02:12.says it will change the law by the end of next year and the consumer
:02:12. > :02:15.group, Which? Has called it a huge victory for consumers. But there
:02:15. > :02:22.are concerns that retailers may find other ways of clawing back the
:02:22. > :02:27.money. Simon Gompertz has the details. Card surcharges have
:02:27. > :02:31.spread like wildfire. You get them when you go to the cinema, often
:02:31. > :02:38.when you book a train ticket. Most complained about our Airlines was
:02:38. > :02:42.up there said churches add up to �300 million a year. -- said
:02:42. > :02:48.charges. This man took his family on a holiday of their lifetime to
:02:48. > :02:55.the Caribbean. A holiday company wanted to charge 2.5% for using a
:02:55. > :03:03.credit card. I thought it was disgraceful. It came to �175 extra.
:03:03. > :03:07.That is an extra �44 per couple they are going to have to find. I
:03:07. > :03:12.could not see any way the holiday company could justify that kind of
:03:12. > :03:15.fever. Companies are being more open on their websites about the
:03:15. > :03:21.charges. The Government ban would restrict them from charging no more
:03:21. > :03:25.than the actual cost of processing a payment. It is reasonable to
:03:25. > :03:30.enable service providers, airlines and others, to make some charged to
:03:30. > :03:36.the cost of using credit cards. I think it has to be a reasonable and
:03:36. > :03:43.fair charged to the consumer. what is reasonable and fair? The
:03:43. > :03:50.cost to the customer by easyJet is �12.95. It is �3.54 rail tickets
:03:50. > :03:57.from train line. To get your tax disc is �2.50. The processing cost
:03:57. > :04:06.by paying by debit card his twenties pence and for credit card
:04:06. > :04:11.is up to 2%. -- is 20p. Ryanair says its charge of �6 per flight is
:04:11. > :04:16.just an admin charge. It shows how tricky it could become for the
:04:16. > :04:21.Government, having to define what really is the card surcharge and
:04:21. > :04:27.how big a charge can be justified. Even if that leads to cut charges
:04:27. > :04:34.being cut, companies might raise other prizes to get the money back.
:04:34. > :04:40.The competitive pressure should keep that under check. There is a
:04:40. > :04:43.risk that some prices will go up as a result of this. A Europe-wide
:04:43. > :04:48.crackdown was planned anyway for a few years' time. The Government is
:04:48. > :04:52.bringing forward the UK ban on excessive charges to the end of
:04:52. > :04:57.next year. Simon joins me in the studio now. Customers will welcome
:04:57. > :05:02.this but how is the Government going to enforce it? It is likely
:05:02. > :05:07.to be difficult. The calculation would be different for each company.
:05:07. > :05:12.It would be simpler if they got rid of them altogether, as a lot of
:05:12. > :05:17.consumers would like to see, or if they set a lower, fixed charge. You
:05:17. > :05:19.could judge if they were following what the charge should be. You
:05:19. > :05:23.could have trading standards officers what the Office of Fair
:05:23. > :05:26.Trading looking to see if there were lots of complaints about the
:05:26. > :05:32.company and investigating that particular one to see if they are
:05:32. > :05:35.overcharging. We will have to see what the outcome is. More than 40
:05:35. > :05:38.people have been killed in what are believed to have been two suicide
:05:38. > :05:41.bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus. State television said it
:05:41. > :05:44.suspected Al-Qaeda was behind the attacks. But opposition activists
:05:44. > :05:47.accused the government of staging the blasts to influence an Arab
:05:47. > :05:57.League observer team, who have arrived to monitor the treatment of
:05:57. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:08.This was a devastating escalation of Syrian violence. In Damascus,
:06:08. > :06:13.scenes that evoke the terror of neighbouring Iraq. According to the
:06:13. > :06:17.Government for a two suicide bombers drove cars, attacked with
:06:17. > :06:22.explosives, into state intelligence buildings on the west side of the
:06:22. > :06:27.city. Here, a vehicle mangled by the blast. All of this happened in
:06:27. > :06:36.an area that should be one of the most secured in the country. The
:06:36. > :06:39.dead and the wounded were said to include security personnel and
:06:39. > :06:44.civilians. Television broadcast images of the survivors as they
:06:44. > :06:50.recovered in hospital. TRANSLATION: I saw a black car and
:06:50. > :06:54.an explosion. After that I was taken to hospital. Until today,
:06:54. > :06:59.Damascus had largely avoided the kind of violence that has affected
:06:59. > :07:07.much of the rest of Syria. State television began rolling live
:07:08. > :07:12.coverage, a relentlessly replaying the injury of death. -- imagery of
:07:12. > :07:16.death. The Government was blaming Al-Qaeda and linking it to the
:07:16. > :07:20.opposition saying, this was not the way to achieve democracy.
:07:20. > :07:25.Opposition activist so today's said these bombings had been fabricated
:07:25. > :07:30.by the regime to discredit the opposition in the eyes of Arab
:07:31. > :07:34.League observers who have just arrived in Syria. With independent
:07:35. > :07:42.media banned or restricted, it is not possible to investigate the
:07:42. > :07:46.claims and counter-claims. The Arab League observers were taken to
:07:46. > :07:53.witness the aftermath. This evening, the United States urged them not to
:07:53. > :07:58.allow what had happened in Damascus to impede their work of deterring
:07:58. > :08:02.human rights abuses. This woman crying to God is from a village in
:08:03. > :08:09.the north, where the opposition accuses the Army of massacring over
:08:09. > :08:15.100 civilians. Here in Homs, at rebel fighters shoot down the
:08:15. > :08:19.Government flag. It is a potent symbol of a country spiralling into
:08:19. > :08:22.ever more unpredictable violence. The Government says it is keen to
:08:22. > :08:25.act on advice that all NHS patients should be able to access their
:08:25. > :08:27.medical records online. The Health Secretary said the proposal, by a
:08:27. > :08:30.group of doctors advising the Government, would empower patients.
:08:30. > :08:36.Some GPs support the idea, others fear that confidentiality might be
:08:36. > :08:39.put at risk by hackers. The French government has said it will pay for
:08:39. > :08:43.30,000 women to have their breast implants removed as a precautionary
:08:43. > :08:48.measure. Doctors there are concerned about the high rupture
:08:48. > :08:50.rate of the silicone implants, made by the French company PIP. 40,000
:08:50. > :08:55.women in Britain were given the same implants but health officials
:08:55. > :09:05.here insist there is no need to have them removed. Here is Fergus
:09:05. > :09:05.
:09:05. > :09:10.Walsh. France and Britain are now at odds over the road PIP implants.
:09:10. > :09:14.Banned last year because they contain non-medical great silicone.
:09:14. > :09:22.The French are recommending the implants be removed, even if they
:09:22. > :09:26.appeared undamaged. The state would pick up the bell. The French Health
:09:26. > :09:31.Minister said the removal of the implants was a preventive measure
:09:31. > :09:35.and not urgent. Women who do not want them removed will be offered
:09:35. > :09:40.six-monthly scans. Let's look in more detail at the medical position
:09:40. > :09:45.being taken in Paris and London on the PIP implants. The French say
:09:45. > :09:49.there is no increased risk of breast cancer. The British agree.
:09:49. > :09:55.The French have found an increase rupture risk from the implants. The
:09:55. > :09:59.medical watchdog here has not. That difference is so far unexplained.
:09:59. > :10:04.The French say the unauthorised Jelfs their lead could cause
:10:04. > :10:08.inflammation. Here, tests have shown no health risks. The British
:10:08. > :10:13.government will not be paying for their removal. Removing the implant
:10:13. > :10:19.requires an operation, requires anaesthesia, requires a degree of
:10:19. > :10:23.risk. We are taking expert advice. We are not in a position where we
:10:23. > :10:28.can recommend that the risk should be entered into routinely where
:10:29. > :10:31.there is no safety concern that would justify taking that risk.
:10:31. > :10:36.Michelle Richardson is disappointed that Britain is not following the
:10:36. > :10:42.lead of France. She says she has suffered health problems since
:10:42. > :10:47.having the implants. She was told it would cost �2,500 to replace
:10:48. > :10:55.them. I do not know if it has ruptured been made. All I know it
:10:55. > :10:58.is it is not where it is supposed to be and it hurts. Nobody has done
:10:58. > :11:03.anything for me for that. Some surgeons here believe the British
:11:03. > :11:08.government should follow the example of the French. They are not
:11:08. > :11:12.medical grade silicone. They have not been tested for
:11:12. > :11:18.biocompatibility. Some women might say, I will keep them in for the
:11:18. > :11:22.time being and others might say, I would prefer to have them removed.
:11:22. > :11:28.The French moves are likely to add to the worry and confusion felt by
:11:28. > :11:31.many British women. Hundreds of whom are planning legal action over
:11:31. > :11:34.the implants. Four senior police officers, including a Chief and
:11:34. > :11:36.Deputy Chief Constable, are being investigated by the Police
:11:36. > :11:40.Complaints Commission for alleged misconduct in a gangland murder
:11:40. > :11:50.case. It relates to claims that evidence concerning the killing of
:11:50. > :11:53.
:11:53. > :11:59.Adrian Lee, currently chief constable of Northamptonshire, now
:11:59. > :12:04.under investigation for his past conduct. Also under scrutiny his
:12:04. > :12:08.deputy, Suzette Davenport and two Assistant Chief Constable, Marcus
:12:08. > :12:15.Beale, now with the West Midlands force and Jane Sawyers, who is with
:12:15. > :12:20.staff to check. -- Staffordshire. In 2002, there was a murder in a
:12:20. > :12:26.country lane in Staffordshire. The victim was Kevin Nuness, a drugs
:12:26. > :12:32.dealer. He was abducted at gunpoint by his killers. It was a gang rang
:12:32. > :12:36.to shooting and the murder inquiry went on for some years. -- gangland.
:12:36. > :12:38.All four police officers and domestication served with the
:12:38. > :12:43.Staffordshire force. The Independent Police Complaints
:12:43. > :12:47.Commission has now served notices on the four telling them they are
:12:47. > :12:51.under investigation. It is the equivalent of reading somebody
:12:51. > :12:56.their rights, if it were a criminal investigation involving members of
:12:56. > :13:02.the public. It does not infer any kind about come to the
:13:02. > :13:06.investigation. The alleged failure to disclose evidence relates to the
:13:06. > :13:11.trial in 2008 of the five men who were convicted of the killing. The
:13:11. > :13:15.legal process is now operating on two fronts. As the investigation
:13:15. > :13:20.into the police of us has continues, the convicted men are preparing for
:13:20. > :13:26.their case to be re-examined. It is due in the Appeal Court in the
:13:26. > :13:31.first half of 2012. Adrian Lee is a police national spokesman on ethics.
:13:31. > :13:35.Neither he nor his colleagues have been suspended as their behaviour
:13:35. > :13:38.is scrutinised. Today is expected to be one of the busiest shopping
:13:38. > :13:40.days of the year with millions of people making those last minute
:13:40. > :13:43.buys before Christmas. But with retailers suffering due to the
:13:43. > :13:53.economic slowdown, will the all- important Christmas sales give them
:13:53. > :13:54.
:13:54. > :13:59.It is Christmas time, always crucial for retailers and rarely as
:13:59. > :14:03.important as this one, when spending power of shoppers squeeze
:14:03. > :14:13.cars with cost-of-living increases. Some are not around to enjoy the
:14:13. > :14:18.Christmas takings. Much of the Habitat change has folded. -- chain.
:14:18. > :14:26.Thorntons has admitted life is tough. Today, last sensa called in
:14:26. > :14:29.administrators because of financial troubles. It has more than 150
:14:29. > :14:34.stores and 2600 staff. Many shoppers like those we'd talked to
:14:34. > :14:40.in Wakefield are watching every penny, even in the final countdown
:14:40. > :14:45.to Christmas. Her we're on a budget this year. We have given ourselves
:14:45. > :14:49.�20 each to spend on each other. had cut down on Christmas presents
:14:49. > :14:54.I spent on friends. How ever busy the stores may look, we will not
:14:54. > :14:59.know how much shoppers have spent in total until early in the New
:14:59. > :15:04.Year. We have had some indicators giving a few clues as to the mood
:15:04. > :15:10.of consumers. One survey of shopper numbers shows a slight fall on last
:15:10. > :15:15.year's Christmas season. Consumer credit figures show a drop of �0.2
:15:15. > :15:20.billion. People pay back more than a borrowed. There is an estimate
:15:20. > :15:26.from Deserve that spending is down more than 2%. This has been a
:15:26. > :15:29.subdued Christmas. Come the end of the month, I see no reason why it
:15:29. > :15:34.will have changed. One leading retailer said that shoppers were
:15:34. > :15:39.now flocking in after holding back too late in the day. We are seeing
:15:39. > :15:44.that the sales are picking up against last year. We are seeing
:15:44. > :15:49.good increases but only in the last two weeks. There is no doubt there
:15:49. > :15:54.is a last minute rush into the shops. Online sales were up
:15:54. > :16:02.strongly on last year. No retailer thinks it is an easy Christmas.
:16:02. > :16:04.Most know the climate will be Our top story tonight: The
:16:04. > :16:08.Government announces plans to ban excessive credit and debit card
:16:08. > :16:15.fees. Coming up: The teenager who bunked off jury service to see this
:16:15. > :16:23.and was jailed for it. I never thought of myself as breaking the
:16:23. > :16:33.law or going to prison. I'm not sure what it is going to do for my
:16:33. > :16:44.
:16:44. > :16:46.World leaders, including David Cameron, have attended the state
:16:46. > :16:51.funeral of the first President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel,
:16:51. > :16:53.who died on Sunday. Thousands of people queued at Prague Castle to
:16:53. > :16:58.pay their last respects to the playwright and dissident who led
:16:58. > :17:08.the overthrow of communism in the former Czechoslovakia in 1989. Our
:17:08. > :17:10.
:17:10. > :17:14.special correspondent, Alan Little, reports. In St Vitus Cathedral they
:17:14. > :17:18.draped his coffin in the flag of the country he led out of
:17:18. > :17:24.dictatorship. He was the unwanted politician. Now the unwanted
:17:24. > :17:29.limelight falls on the eyes of his widow. The eyes of the world
:17:29. > :17:34.intrude on her private grief. Vaclav Havel brought leader of the
:17:34. > :17:38.world to Prague Castle today, Lech Walesa, two British Prime Ministers.
:17:38. > :17:46.The French head of state. Two US Secretaries of State, and a former
:17:46. > :17:51.President. SIRENS WAIL
:17:51. > :18:01.And noon they sounded the sirens and the church bells across the
:18:01. > :18:07.Czech lands. The nation stood in quiet reflection. The former US
:18:07. > :18:14.Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, Czech-born, said he was a
:18:14. > :18:20.unique man who confronted his jailers with truth. His humanity
:18:20. > :18:24.spoke to all. Vaclav Havel was a playwright who emerged in the 1980s
:18:24. > :18:30.as the leader of a group of young dissidents determined to confront
:18:30. > :18:36.the Communist authorities. Day after day in 1989 he led hundreds
:18:36. > :18:41.of thousands in protests on Wenceslas square. He made the
:18:41. > :18:45.journey from prison cell to presidency in a matter of weeks.
:18:45. > :18:48.His guiding belief was the truth would always triumph over a lie. He
:18:48. > :18:54.wad determined, he said, to live a life of truth, even if that meant
:18:54. > :18:58.going to prison. Today the people of this whole country have stopped
:18:58. > :19:06.to remember the transforming effect that principled stand has had on
:19:07. > :19:11.their lives. What is Havel's legacy? 22 Years ago this was a
:19:11. > :19:15.country that put poets, playwrights and priests in prison. The
:19:15. > :19:22.presiding Archbishop of Prague, Dominik Duka, was jailed along
:19:22. > :19:25.sides Havel. Havel had the values of the mainstream. At the moment
:19:26. > :19:32.those needed his clearest articklaigsz. Today a free and
:19:32. > :19:35.democratic people paid their homage. -- articulation.
:19:35. > :19:38.There have been two powerful earthquakes in the New Zealand city
:19:38. > :19:41.of Christchurch, ten months after the quake which killed more than
:19:41. > :19:44.180 people. This was the scene inside a supermarket when the quake
:19:44. > :19:50.struck, with a magnitude of 5.8. There were dozens of minor injuries
:19:50. > :19:53.but no deaths. Buildings were damaged and power supplies cut.
:19:53. > :19:57.A teenage juror jailed for halting a trial after pretending to be ill
:19:57. > :20:00.so he could go to the theatre has admitted it was a stupid thing to
:20:00. > :20:03.do. 19-year-old student Matthew Banks was released four days into a
:20:03. > :20:06.14-day sentence for contempt. His family say the sentence was very
:20:06. > :20:16.harsh and are now considering an appeal to try and clear his
:20:16. > :20:21.criminal record. Judith Moritz has more. The musical Chicago is
:20:21. > :20:24.playing to sellout crowds in London's West End, so when a
:20:24. > :20:29.students from Manchester got tickets to the show as an early
:20:29. > :20:34.Christmas present he was keen to go. The problem was that 19-year-old
:20:34. > :20:37.Matthew Banks should have been here that day on jury service 200 miles
:20:37. > :20:42.away at Manchester Crown Court. Matthew decided to skip court. He
:20:42. > :20:47.phoned in sick and went to the theatre. But checks were made, the
:20:47. > :20:54.judge found out and sent him to prison. I've been locked up with so
:20:54. > :20:59.many other people who had killed people, assaulted people. Like I
:20:59. > :21:03.said, I was, I deserve to be punished but I think that was a
:21:03. > :21:10.little harsh. Today after being released Matthew faced callers on
:21:10. > :21:14.Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire programme. And just to go away and
:21:14. > :21:18.watch a play when there's a man's life or reputation, I can't
:21:18. > :21:23.understand why I would do that. was, like I said, a very stupid
:21:23. > :21:28.thing to do. Matthew was sentenced to 14 days at this jail in Salford.
:21:28. > :21:38.He was released after four days because of prison procedure. The
:21:38. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:43.trial he was taking part on was postponed. People do need to
:21:43. > :21:47.understand it is an important civic duty. After all, most people seem
:21:47. > :21:52.to be fairly favourable to the idea of having trial by jury. And that
:21:52. > :21:56.requires members of the public to give up their time to come and do
:21:56. > :21:59.it. Matthew's mother and stepfather feel that his punishment was too
:21:59. > :22:03.severe. The teenager says he's relieved to be home in time for
:22:03. > :22:06.Christmas. The singer, George Michael, says
:22:06. > :22:09.he's incredibly fortunate to still be alive after a month suffering
:22:09. > :22:12.from pneumonia in a hospital in Vienna. Emotional and looking frail,
:22:12. > :22:15.the singer thanked doctors, whom he said had saved his life, and
:22:15. > :22:25.promised to resume a cancelled concert tour once he's recovered.
:22:25. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:32.Daniel Boettcher's report contains flash photography. George Michael
:22:32. > :22:37.on stage in Prague in August at the start of a tour that was to take
:22:37. > :22:41.him across Europe, accompanied by a Symphony Orchestra. A new departure
:22:42. > :22:46.for the singer, but last months the tour was cut short. He was admitted
:22:46. > :22:50.to hospital in Austria. The diagnosis pneumonia. Today it
:22:50. > :22:55.became clear just how ill the singer was. I've got a couple of
:22:55. > :22:59.minutes. I'm not supposed to speak for long. Merry Christmas everyone.
:22:59. > :23:06.Looking fail and sounding short of breath he told reporters he was
:23:06. > :23:09.lucky to be alive. It was by far the worst month of my life, but I'm
:23:09. > :23:14.incredibly, incredibly fortunate to be here. Saying he was recovering
:23:14. > :23:20.from a tracheotomy George Michael pied tribute to medical staff in
:23:20. > :23:24.Vienna who treated him. I spent the last ten days since I woke up
:23:24. > :23:30.literally thanking people for saving my life, which is something
:23:30. > :23:34.I've never had to do before, and never want to have to do again. I
:23:34. > :23:41.really, really, really from the bottom of my heart thank everybody
:23:41. > :23:46.who sent messages and everybody in that ICU unit who made sure I'm
:23:46. > :23:51.still here today. The singer made a commitment to play to everyone who
:23:51. > :23:58.had a ticket for the cancelled tour dates, and to perform an extra show
:23:58. > :24:01.for the doctors who saved his life. Today is likely to be busiest day
:24:01. > :24:04.of the Christmas getaway, with 18 million cars estimated to be on the
:24:04. > :24:07.roads. There'll be no repeat of last year's snowy weather that
:24:07. > :24:10.prevented millions making the journey to friends and relatives.
:24:10. > :24:19.But it appears the high cost of fuel means more people are opting
:24:19. > :24:24.to stay at home. Jon Kay is on the M5 in North Somerset. Fiona, this
:24:24. > :24:28.time last year the M5 here near Bristol was completely snarled up.
:24:28. > :24:32.Do you remember there was snow and ice across most of Britain, roads
:24:32. > :24:39.were closed and flights were cancelled. Tonight, so far, in
:24:39. > :24:44.mosts, so good. And not just because of the milder weather.
:24:44. > :24:48.Britain is on the move tonight on the roads, railways and in the air
:24:48. > :24:52.we are travelling in our millions for the Christmas weekend. For the
:24:52. > :24:57.UK's road network today is expected to have been the busiest day of the
:24:57. > :25:02.whole festive period, with 18 million cars making journeys.
:25:02. > :25:06.Gridlock in West London, where part of the busy A4 has been closed for
:25:06. > :25:09.engineering work. But in most places things have been quieter
:25:09. > :25:15.than normal. Partly because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday
:25:15. > :25:22.this year, so traffic has been more spread out. We've lifted 118 sets
:25:22. > :25:25.of roadworks, so 98% of our network is roadwork-free. The Jones family
:25:25. > :25:28.in Gloucester aren't driving anywhere this year. They've
:25:28. > :25:33.abandoned their usual habit of visiting relatives round the
:25:33. > :25:39.country, and the car will stay outside. The AA says nearly 70% of
:25:39. > :25:44.us are staying at home. That's 10% more than last year. We had to make
:25:44. > :25:49.the choice about what we spent the money on. By not spending it on
:25:49. > :25:52.fuel and travelling we had more money to spend on the children's
:25:52. > :25:57.Christmas presents. Experts say last year's bad weather has also
:25:57. > :26:03.put many of us off travelling at Christmas time. Who would want to
:26:03. > :26:10.risk a repeat of this? The railways are still expecting to be busy.
:26:10. > :26:14.This was Cardiff station this noon. Over the holidays the networks
:26:14. > :26:16.predict 20 million train journeys. There'll be some closures for
:26:16. > :26:23.engineering works but rail companies say more will be running
:26:23. > :26:28.this year than last. As for air travel, despite all the talk of
:26:28. > :26:32.economising, 4.3 million Brits are heading abroad for Christmas.
:26:32. > :26:36.That's 250,000 more than last year, and these passengers at Heathrow
:26:36. > :26:41.couldn't wait. Sitting in the sunshine and drinking lots of
:26:41. > :26:45.wine... We've left presents with family and now we're running away.
:26:45. > :26:53.But who needs Dubai or Florida? This was Tynemouth near Newcastle
:26:53. > :26:58.today. So far, the mildest Christmas many here can remember.
:26:58. > :27:01.The M5 here seems to be running more freely this evening than it
:27:01. > :27:06.would be on a normal Friday Nate at rush hour. Motoring organisations
:27:06. > :27:09.say don't be fooled. They say the real problem could be next week
:27:09. > :27:15.when everybody who is travelling decides to come back, maybe all at
:27:15. > :27:19.exactly the same time. You have been warned! Let's hope not. Let's
:27:19. > :27:23.look at the weather now. It all look at the weather now. It all
:27:23. > :27:27.looks very mild, John. Indeed. That's the way it is set to stay
:27:27. > :27:32.this Christmas period. If you have a sledge, you won't be using it in
:27:32. > :27:39.the near term, for sure. Squall y winds will clear from the
:27:39. > :27:44.seevements things settle down overnight. It will turn -- squally
:27:44. > :27:51.winds will clear from the south- east and things will settle down
:27:51. > :27:55.overnight. Rain in western Scotland, it turns increasingly damp and
:27:55. > :28:00.windy across the west of Scotland. Patchy rain for northern and
:28:00. > :28:04.western areas. The brightness hangs on further south and east through
:28:04. > :28:08.Christmas Eve. Some variety across the UK. Mid afternoon, damp and
:28:08. > :28:12.disappointing in Northern Ireland. Heavy and persistent rain in
:28:12. > :28:15.western Scotland. We'll see a lot more rain over the next two or
:28:15. > :28:19.three days, with the risk of floodsing. Parts of eastern
:28:19. > :28:23.Scotland and the north-east of England will see very little of the
:28:24. > :28:27.rain. Most of it will be west of the Pennines. Patchy rain in
:28:27. > :28:32.northern and western Wales, Snowdonia and parts of the South
:28:32. > :28:37.West. This rain shouldn't be too heavy at this stage. A breezy day.
:28:37. > :28:40.After that chilly start temperatures are slow to recover.
:28:40. > :28:45.8-9 degrees. Across the south-east of England, brightness hanging on
:28:45. > :28:49.through the day. After that cold start it will feel raw was the wind
:28:49. > :28:53.picks up. The wind will push the rain back northwards on Christmas
:28:53. > :28:57.day. Western Scotland is really going to cop it. Further south and
:28:57. > :29:01.east it is drier. Brightness in the far south-east. Boxing Day, wet and