06/02/2012 BBC News at Six

Syria's army mounts the heaviest attack yet in the 11 months

uprising. Artillery fire aimed at the city of Homs, an opposition

stronghold. Dozens killed in the last 24 hours. Reports that a

hospital has been targeted. The BBC is in the city. The shelling is

constant now. We are hearing an impact every few seconds. In reply,

you can hear a little bit of Kalashnikov fire. It is a pretty

futile gesture. Tonight, Britain recalls its ambassador. Also in the

programme: Network Rail's boss turns down a bonus.

The cash will go to improve rail safety. I think that is a sensible

decision, it is a welcome decision and I think it shows they have

understood the public mood on this issue.

He has been dubbed a grave threat to Britain's National Security and

now Abu Qatada is being released on bail.

And 60 years to the day that she became Queen, Elizabeth II

rededicates herself to serving the nation.

In sport, England's batsmen are sent spinning to another defeat.

They lost their final match by 71 runs, their first ever series

Good evening and welcome to the BBC's News at Six.

For 11 months, the Syrian government has been trying to put

down a rebellion and today it has mounted its heaviest attack yet.

From dawn it has been pounding the city of Homs. Unconfirmed reports

suggest a hospital has been hit. The number killed in the city to

date is at least 15. That is after scores of people died over the

weekend. Homs has been a stronghold of the opposition. Our

correspondent Paul Wood is in the city with cameraman Fred Scott.

There are distressing images in this report.

Daybreak in Homs. The artillery fire was just beginning. Dazed, he

is steered gently to safety. In this part of the city, it is the

worst they have endeared. -- endeared. God is great, he shouts,

in defiance. The shelling is constant now. We are hearing an

impact every few seconds. In reply, you can hear a little bit of

Kalashnikov fire. It is a pretty futile gesture. Eyewitnesses say a

field clinic was hit. They filmed Over several days of this, most of

the casualties have been civilians. The houses do not have basements,

there is nowhere to hide. Where is the Arab League, she shouts. This

woman's son is badly winded. Give us guns, she screams, we cannot

defend ourselves. Even in the midst of all this, most hide their faces.

They say there is no telling what the regime will do. The only thing

they had their hopes in was the UN. We wanted the Arab League to give

our situation to the UN said the UN could help us. Now the UN has

abandoned us. Who is going to help us now? This man died attacking her

government sniper position yesterday. The regime says the

violence is caused by the fighters of the Free Syrian Army. No, says

the rebel commander here. Everything we do is to defend our

people. The regime cannot get to us so it retaliate against civilians

instead. They are certainly paying the price.

The shroud does for a seven-year- old girl. They carefully write her

Like all the dead here, she must be buried in darkness. Daytime is too

dangerous. There is no family, no prayers and little dignity. They

have to hurry, even now, they are attacked. There will be many more

such desperate and lonely burials. We can go live to Paul in Homs now.

Is this beginning to look more and more like a fully fledged civil

war? That is certainly the fear about the way it could go. It is

how it looked here this afternoon. About mid-afternoon we heard the

sounds of a gun battle. It went on for about one per five hours. That

was the Free Syrian Army, the rebel fighters, trying to break out and

attack government checkpoints. They only have light weapons like

Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. That is no match for

tanks and heavy artillery said they were driven back. On the way into

Homs over the last couple of days, we saw a lot of small actions. In

one attack we saw between 60 and 100 fighters attacking a government

based. That is certainly, as people starting to call it here, a civil

war. One caveat, we are seeing a very narrow view of Syria here. We

are in perhaps the most divided city, the city with the most

sectarian tensions and we are seeing a narrow fragment of a

conflict. But what is happening in Homs, I think, a lot of people in

Syria and outside a worried that this is the way things in the

country as a whole will go. Thank you.

Bosses at Network Rail have decided to go without their bonuses this

year. The chief executive, said David Higgins, was in line to

receive a bonus of up to �340,000. The decision follows intense

political pressure which saw the head of RBS way it is bonus last

week. James Landale reports. They run our railways and were on

track for bumper bonuses. For the boss of Network Rail, Sir David

Higgins, it might even have been as much as �340,000. But today, he and

his fellow directors said they would waive their bonuses. The new

Transport Secretary was under pressure to act and said she would

have voted against Network Rail's bonus plans at a meeting this

Friday. That meeting has now been postponed and Justine Greening said

the rethinks showed the directors are understood public opinion.

think it is a welcome opinion and it shows they have understood the

public mood on this issue at the moment. Labour said it was their

pressure which had forced ministers to act against a company which are

supported in part by the taxpayer. It is a pity that Justine Greening

and the government have been out of touch, had not realised that this

is something which matters to the public and had taken action earlier.

But I do welcome the fact that network well have done her job for

her. Network Rail was criticised by the rail regulator before Christmas

for late-running trains and it also admitted mistakes which led to the

deaths of two girls at a level crossing. The company said any

spare bonus cash would go into a fund to make level crossings safer.

Last week, the boss of RBS had to give up his bonus. Today it is the

rail bosses. Clearly, the political row about bonuses is beginning to

have an impact but it is too soon to say if there is a new culture of

restraint here. There was a mixed response from commuters in London.

Alleluia. I would say it is a triumph for common sense. Everyone

is feeling the crunch, so why shouldn't they? Without incentive,

the country does not flourish. to shareholders who should be

awarding bonuses, not the politicians. Some say the

government has got to back off. What you do not expect is a message

to come across from the government that it has an antique business

message. Whether that is denied emphatically on not, that is the

message that we are getting not only in the city of London, but

right across the world of business, industry and commerce. It has to

stop -- anti-business message. for now, there is light at the end

of the tunnel. For many, there is a difficult journey ahead.

The extremist Muslim cleric, Abu Qatada, is due to be released on

bail in the next few days. Abu Qatada is described as a threat to

national security. He is currently being held at a high-security

prison in Worcestershire. The decision to release him under

strict conditions comes after his sex full -- successful appeal

against deportation to Jordan. For a decade, he has been doing

battle against the British authorities as they have sought to

detain and support him. Last month, Abu Qatada won the right to stay in

the UK. Now, to the dismay of the Home Office, he has won the right

And those conditions include virtual house arrest. He will be

allowed out for just a couple of hours a day and will be banned from

using mobile phones and the internet. In a BBC interview

shortly after 9/11, Abu Qatada praised Osama Bin Laden.

TRANSLATION: Bin Laden, in the image I have of him, that is the

image of a Muslim man who defends the nation against its enemies, he

should be supported by every Muslim. The UK is trying to return him to

Jordan. Europe has said he cannot be sent back because evidence

obtained by torture could be used against him. Human rights activists

have welcome today's ruling. believe you should be released

because he is in the United Kingdom and he has committed no offence in

the UK. The European Court of Human Rights say he should not be sent to

Jordan for retrial because their criminal justice system is not say.

So, at a top-security prison in Worcestershire, one of their most

notorious inmates is preparing for life outside. The last time he was

free was in 2008. Then he was sent back to prison because he was said

to be in danger of absconding. Ministers know they are running out

of options as they fight to deport him.

The former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Reverend Ian

Paisley, has been admitted to hospital. The 85-year-old was taken

ill yesterday but his condition is not yet known. Reverend Paisley was

leader of the Democratic Unionist Party for almost 40 years.

Large parts of Britain are still in the grip of wintry weather tonight

with black eyes and freezing temperatures causing problems for

many commuters. For much of the day, the A one in North Yorkshire was

closed after a series of accidents but Heathrow managed to get back to

normal after hundreds of cancellations yesterday. Jeremy

Cooke joins us now from Reading. You can probably see that the M4 is

moving pretty well tonight but I can tell you that it is already

starting to feel really cold this evening. It could well be tonight

that we have problems with ice, just as we had first thing this

morning in many parts of England. The snow may have stopped, but the

chaos remains. On the A one in North Yorkshire this morning, the

new enemy was the ice. Jack-knifed lorries brought traffic to a

standstill at the height of rush- hour. On the morning school run in

Suffolk, two buses with pupils on board crashed in separate accidents.

The children were not injured. The AA has reported thousands of calls

from drivers broken down or stuck in the snow. The biggest problem

has been flat batteries because the cold weather weakens your battery.

If your batteries getting towards the end of its life, it may not

last out and it will take more effort on the part of the battery

to put out the power of the car needs. For those looking to escape

to the Sun, better news today. Despite freezing fog, boats -- most

flights were back on schedule. Still, the knock-on of 40 %

cancellations yesterday has brought more misery and frustration today.

This man is finally back in the UK after his flight from Los Angeles

to Heathrow was diverted to Barcelona. The captain came on and

said that as the usual chaos had occurred at Heathrow due to three

inches of snow, we were diverting. He said, we will divert to

Barcelona because it is a nice place to be. On the trains, that

have been some delays and cancellations. Greater Anglian

services into London among those impacted by frozen points. What

next for iced up Britain? Stand by for more freezing weather. I do not

think there will be much snow heading our way but it will remain

cold overnight and there will be further warnings of icy conditions.

The wintry weekend has certainly been one to remember for an Essex

family. Baby Megan's mum went into labour at the height of the snow

which meant the ambulance crew could not get three. A while I was

on the phone to the ambulance, Sarah started giving birth. I ended

up putting the phone down and she gave birth to Megan. Tonight, tank

just are dropping once again in many parts of the country. --

temperatures are dropping once again.

There are two separate Met Office weather warnings in place tonight.

One is for the whole of eastern England from Northumberland down to

Kent and Sussex, that is for widespread ice. Also there is a

Our top story tonight - the Syrian army launches its fiercest attack

yet on the city of Homs, which has been the centre of resistance

against the regime. Coming up - a disappointing whitewash for England

as they suffer a 3-0 defeat against Pakistan in the cricket. Later -

all the business news, including the latest developments in the

Greek bail-out talks and why car dealers sold only 200 more cars in

January than a year ago. The inquiry into tress standards has

heard from the longest-serving editor of a national paper, Paul

Dacre of the Daily Mail. He defended the paper's use of a

private investigator, saying most papers did the same. Earlier,

Scotland Yard's Deputy Assistant Commissioner told the inquiry that

her team had identified over 800 people whose phones had been hacked.

Paul Dacre rarely appears in public. Preferring the Daily Mail newsroom,

where he's said to run Britain's second-biggest selling daily with

drive. Today he was accused of believing attack is the best form

of defence. It certainly seemed so. The Mail had paid damages to

Christopher Jeffries, wrongly accused of murderingio Yates, but

it wasn't as mad as other papers, he said, or as TV. What about a

JanMoir's article. Thousands complained it was homophobic about

Stephen Gately's death. This is an example about how twittering can

create a fire storm. A well-known celebrity said it was unpleasant,

who hadn't read the article and it was tweeted to people and we had a

viral storm. Last week the mother of Abigail Witchalls, left

paralysed by a knife attack, complained to the inquiry, but said

Paul Dacre, it was a superb feature, compassionate and extraordinary.

Then there was Hugh Grant, who came to the inquiry to accuse the Mail

papers of phone hacking. That, said the Mail, at the time, was a

mendacious smear. Today, he stood by the phrase, there his been no

phone hacking at the Mail and he went further. Mr Grant has spent

his whole life invading his own privacy. What wasn't the question.

Please let me finish, particularly his -- he's spoken frequently about

his desire to have a child and when he was making a film about a child.

He also had a potentially explosive suggestion for locking newspapers

in to a future system of voluntary self-regulation. Get the newspaper

industry to issue reporters with a press card like this, without it

they won't be allowed to report the courts, police press conferences

and other official events. It would, he said, like a kite mark for

responsible journalism, but some are already saying it's a bit too

close to licencing journalists, something unacceptable in a free

society. It's a day of celebration, but also

one of commemoration. 60 years ago prince success Elizabeth discovered

she had become queen after the death of her father, George VI.

Today, in a statement to mark the anniversary, she renewed her vow to

serve and said she was deeply moved by the support she has received.

The main events marking the Diamond Jubilee will take place in the

summer, but today it was a quiet visit to kings line in Norfolk. --

kings line in Norfolk. -- kings Lynn in Norfolk. The Queen has said

she has been deeply moved by the messages of support she has

received, as she marks the 60th anniversary of her coming to the

thereon. -- to the throne. At the Town Hall the Mayor delivered a

loyal address and spoke for many. For 60 years Your Majesty has given

dedicated and exemplary service to the people of this country and the

Commonwealth. 60 years ago this morning, the nation had been

stunned when the BBC interrupted its programmes to announce the

death of the Queen's father, King George VI. This is London. It was

announced from Sandringham at 10.45 am today, that the king, who

retired to rest last night in his usual health passed peacefully away

in his sleep earlier this morning. It's hard now fully to appreciate

the impact the death of Britain's war-time King had on the country.

Alistair conald Campbell was at ten at school -- Donald Campbell was

ten at school. A teacher was taking a class. Half way through the class,

one of the staff came in and whispered something into the

teacher's ear. Suddenly we were conscious that this grown man

sitting in front of us was crying. For a child of our generation and

in the 1950s, you didn't often see grown men especially in public

expressing emotion of that kind. He recovered himself, he slowly walked

to the chalkboard and wrote the words in French, "The king is

dead." That was how I learnt the news of King George's VI's death.

The new queen was in Kenya at the time of her father's death. She was

just 25 years old. She returned to London to be greeted by Prime

Minister Winston Churchill and his Cabinet. At her accession council

she pledged to continue the work of her beloved father and to serve

Britain and the other countries of which she is monarch. This morning,

on her last few days in Norfolk, before returning to Buckingham

Palace, she was receiving the first of the thousands of greetings which

will convey the country's thanches for 60 years of service. -- thanks

for 60 years of service. Cricket - and England have slumped to a 71-

run defeat in the third Test in Dubai. It means a first ever series

whitewash to Pakistan. It also marks a complete turnaround since

the sides last met in England when the series was overshadowed by the

spot-fixing scandal. England now risk losing their status as the

world's number one team, as Joe Wilson reports from Dubai. History

will record that England's cricketers were tourists in Dubai.

Neither tide nor time will erase the shame. They were left chasing

324 to win. Losing Trot was a big blow. Pietersen's misreading seemed

inevitable. He did nothing to advance his reputation in these

matches. He wasn't alone. When Ian Bell bashed this ball straight into

the hands of the fielder, he had scored 51 runs in the whole series.

A flourish from Matt Prior took us into the late afternoon. A glimpse

of what might have been. Reality was another RBW. Panesar last out.

The match and series emphatically to Pakistan. Recognition. Once

outcasts of world cricket, they had outplayed the world's top-ranked

team. We would like to win the World Cup. It feels like it. We

have everyone in Pakistan talking about what is happening with us in

England, so all the media and television, they all need this win.

We haven't been good enough or quick enough in adapting our games

here. That is for sure. Obviously I haven't been involved in a series

with so many of the batsmen have had a hard time as this one.

England losing this series 3-0 is an embarrassment. They didn't see

it coming, but they insist they won't panic. The question is - do

they have the right technique or team? He was one of the most

influential artists of his generation- his paintings known for

their warts-and-all realism, especially of the human figure. Now,

six months after his death, Lucian Freud's distinctive work is being

showcased at a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery later

this week. Our arts editor, Will Gompertz, has been to take a look.

This is very, very rare footage. Lucian Freud did not usually let

people film him at work. It was taken in his studio last year, on

the last day he ever painted. It was his final portrait. He died,

leaving it unfinished. The sitter is the same man who was allowed to

film the artist at work. It is David Dawson, his long-time

assistant. He would look very, very intently, closely at a certain part

of your body, mix the colour on a pallet and put one mark down and

look again and clean that bit off on his apron, mix some more, just a

slight gradient difference, put that mark down. Decision-making all

the time. Lucian Freud had the eyes of a hawk, with which he used to

intensely scrutinise his subjects. He wanted to create paintings that

revealed the inner personality of his sitter and the artist. He liked

to paint family members and they liked to sit for him. Here is his

daughter, Bella. He portrayed her many times and she got to observe

how he worked. I would go in and he would just working on something new

and he would sketch out the image and if it was a portrait there

would be this piece around here, the brush strokes, like their mind

was coming to life or something. was a meticulous painter and spend

weeks, months, even years, on a single portrait. He rushed for no-

one. I watched it slowly being made, what he did. I could talk, sit

there talking until he began to paint the mouth, which was

enjoyable. I could smoke as well. Yeah, it was a fascinating

experience. I think it's a very good portrait. They have a haunting

and timeless quality. You can feel the weight of the sitter and the

intense gaze of the artist. It's time for an update on the weather

time for an update on the weather with Matt Taylor. A little snow in

the forecast shortly, but for some it is the familiar travel foes

tonight of patchy, dense fog and also icy conditions. Icy where you

have seen the showers today. Parts of snow in the south-west, but the

showers will produce the snow later on, across inland areas of Suffolk

and potentially Essex and Cambridge. Even a light dusting around London

and to the south-east later on. Nothing too much to cause problems

as far as snowfall, but it will turn icy later as temperatures for

many drop well below freezing. Exception to the frosty, icy start

to Tuesday morning will be Northern Ireland and western Scotland. A

little more cloudy, keeping temperatures up. There may be a

little bit of patchy frost and ice to watch out for. Northern Ireland

-- sorry, Scotland, many will wake up to sunny, but for many there may

be dense fog. Temperatures in the north of England as low as minus

five to ten in one or two spots and again, some fog around the north-

west and Merseyside. Wales, fairly cloudy. Nothing significant, but as

that cloud works westwards, we lose the early morning sun that we have

across West Wales and parts of northern England. Some of the fog

in Scotland will linger and later in the day we see clearer

conditions push into the south-east and East Anglia. Sunshine here, but

it turns colder, so a frosty night to come across much of England and

Wales and eastern Scotland. There will be areas of cloud around, but

a generally dry and bright day. Different story for Northern

Ireland and western Scotland. Windy and wet with snow on the hills.

Temperatures will hold up on Wednesday night as the cloud pushes

east. But for England and Wales it is going to be a very cold night

Wednesday. A real widespread and severe frost with temperatures as