14/02/2012 BBC News at Six

month in a row. Its lowest level for over a year, down to 3.6% but

with family incomes tight, it's still tough out there. Generally it

is tight. Definitely. The Budget is tight so we are aware of how much

we are spending and keeping an eye on it. A warning for George Osborne

- Britain could lose its top credit rating if the economy doesn't grow.

Financial trouble for one of the great football clubs - Rangers goes

into administration. Will the Muslim extremist Abu Qatada be sent

home to Jordan? A British minister is there for urgent talks. And Kate

may be alone on Valentine's day but she still has plenty of admirers.

She was looking stunning! She was. The got pictures of the back of the

hair but we don't mind. She looked Inflation is down to its lowest

level for more than a year. It now stands at 3.6 %, showing that

prices are still rising but not at the same rate as before. The

falling cost of clothing, footwear and some household goods helped to

bring inflation down although it still remains above the Bank of

England target. But how much will all this help families still facing

a squeeze on their incomes? households in Liverpool, as in so

many other communities, any easing off of inflation would always be

welcome. Well the last year they have had to live with the reality

of gloomy news on the cost of The A80 goes up to 20%, the highest

rate ever. So aweing energy prices raise inflation up. Inflation

measuring price rises of goods and services has fallen sharply, for

many families visiting this museum in Liverpool free entry it is an

obvious attraction. Inflation was much higher than average wage rises,

putting pressure on household budgets but now there is price

pressures are easing. Geno and Clare have started to feel the

difference. I noticed with petrol prices, they stayed static recently

which help to. But generally it is still quite tight on Budget. They

definitely. For James and Lynsey, low-inflation cannot come soon

enough. Gas, electricity, food prices, petrol, everything has gone

up. It keeps rising and rising. So to go down is really nice.

increase in VAT helped push up inflation last year. Take a cup of

This price stayed the same due to no VAT increase. It is not just

families and other consumers who were hit by high inflation, the

museum itself has had to deal with sharply rising costs. It is as

hopeful as anyone that inflation it really does carry on falling from

here. For the first time in 10 years they have had to charge for

entry to one exhibition and they do not want to do that again. I hope

inflation starts to drop and I particularly hope gas and

electricity prices godowns. It will ease pressure on us but I will

believe it when I see it. Economists say it is important

inflation falls because it has damaged growth. If the value of

your pay packet is going down you cannot afford to buy as many goods

and services, therefore, if the demand is not there there is no

incentive for producers to supply. So that is the essential recipe

that has slowed growth in the UK economy. A brighter horizon is in

prospect with inflation expected to fall more this year but even then

prices will still be rising, just not as rapidly as before.

David Cameron welcomed the news on inflation but there was a sharp

reminder today of other challenges facing the economy. There was a

warning that Britain could lose its coveted triple A credit rating. It

came from Moody's, one of the organisations that sets the rating

for countries around the world. It gave Britain a "negative outlook"

over fears that the economy is not growing fast enough. Here's our

economics editor Stephanie Flanders. Remember these three letters?

George Osborne has always said they stood for something very important,

Britain's economic credibility. well maintained our triple-A credit

rating. This credit rating agency says our economic credibility will

be on the line at the election. One of the things I am keen on doing is

to preserve Britain's credit rating. Sir you might have expected

investors to take fright today after a major and writings agency

said there was a 30% chance of losing its status in the next 18

months -- major ratings agency. But there was not much reaction. The

cost of borrowing actually fell slightly. With the markets -- would

be markets get more excited if the downgrade happened? Probably. But

America and France have lost their rating recently. They are finding

it cheaper to borrow than before. That might be because borrowing

from international investors is a bit like entering a beauty contest.

It is not how pretty well, but how you line up against the others.

fear is if the UK were downgraded then people would be less willing

to lend money to the UK government, borrowing costs would rise and that

would feed into higher borrowing rate across the economy. But if it

is other countries been downgraded and downgraded further, then the UK

still looks like a relatively safe bet so in reality a UK downgrade

might not have that much impact. The problem for the Chancellor is

that he said keeping the Triple A is a big deal. The Chancellor said

their economic policies should be judged a on what the credit rating

agency said, to date the rating agency put the government on a

negative outlook because growth is that lining and unemployment is

rising. But Labour cannot make too much of the decision, after all,

the ratings agency said it was worried about the government doing

too little to tackle the deficit, not too much. Britain has to

confront its problems, that is the clear message from the rating

agency today. That is a reality check to the entire political

system that Britain cannot duck dealing with its debt problem.

Moody's is not looking for a Plan B in next month's Budget, far from it,

but the warning today is an uncomfortable reminder that you can

have a lot of austerity but without growth, you can still end up with a

lot of debt. We have two things it - the inflation figures and the

credit rating. Where does it leave us? It is a mixed bag. I think many

chancellors would have shrugged off the station, it is one ratings

agency out of three, they are really saying there is a chance we

will get a downgrade and frankly the ratings agencies have got

things wrong in the last two years, you could say we should not pay

attention to them at all. But as we know, that option is not open to

the Chancellor, he has said that keeping the Triple A is very

important. I think for most people watching what is happening to

inflation today is much more important to them and what is

happening to their cost of living than anything that has happened to

the credit rating. We know inflation is going faster, prices

are rising, but come the summer when inflation is going down, real

income has might start to grow again after several years of a

squeeze. That could boost confidence and help the economy.

Fenty. You can -- fine -- thank you. You can find that your personal

rate of inflation by looking at the It has been announced that a

meeting of European Finance ministers due to take place

tomorrow to discuss the great crisis has been cancelled. It is

claimed Greece, which was hit by a riot on Sunday, had failed to

provide enough information on how it plans to make Budget savings.

Greece wants a European Union bail- out of 130 billion euros. One of

the most famous clubs in football Rangers has gone into

administration. It comes after the tax authorities said the club owes

up to �75 million. Rangers face an immediate loss of ten points in the

Scottish Premier league almost certainly handing the title to

their great rivals, Celtic. Our Scotland Correspondent James Cook

is live at Ibrox now. Surely this is not the end of Rangers? It would

be extraordinary if this 140 Road club were to cease in existence.

Extraordinary if one of the most famous rivalries of world football

came to an end. But tonight that is no longer unthinkable. My report

contains flash photography... A sporting institution it now when

administration. For Rangers Football Club this moment was a

long time coming but it is still painful. We need to know what is

happening to the club. Nobody seems to want to talk to the fans, but

they are the people who bring the cash into this club to make it run,

and that is what needs to happen. It is not just the club, it is

families that come here together. Are you upset? Devastated, of

course. But we will come back stronger because of it. So how did

it come to this? Founded in 1873, Rangers is a footballing giant, its

54 domestic league titles the MD of any team. But success comes at a

cost. The previous owner splashed the cash, winning nine league

titles in a row and leaving the club with debts. Today he said he

was usually disappointed at the decision to appoint administrators.

David Murray had Rangers making losses of about 29 million in one

year, 33 million another year, and about 50.000.003rd gear. -- 50

million in the third year. Nobody can tell me that is not reckless

management. Last May Craig White took over but the venture

capitalist is controversial, he had been banned for seven years from

holding company directorships. Last week of evidence in a court case

was judged unreliable. Last night he was booed by fans. None the less,

he now hopes to fashion a debt-free company from the Ibrox Ashes.

Whilst a day is very sad for Rangers and its fans, the

administration addresses and uncertainty that has hung over the

club. The administration period, whilst difficult for all involved,

will give stability to the club in order for the club to move forward.

The immediate implication for Rangers is a 10 point penalty in

the Scottish Premier League, probably a hand it -- probably

handing the title to Celtic. After that, what happens is far from

clear. In the next few days Strathclyde police want to know

whether the club can foot the Bill for policing this Saturday's

fixture at Ibrox against Kilmarnock. If not, that game could be in

jeopardy along with the future of this club. Award at the Royal

Cornwall Hospital in Truro has been closed and staff so suspended after

an investigation was opened into the care given to an elderly

patient. -- staff suspended. Abu Qatada is spending his first full

day out of jail but the government is still determined to deport him.

A Home Office minister is in Jordan for high-level talks over whether

he will receive a fair trial there. Tonight be senior Jordanian

Minister told the BBC his country's Constitution now contains

guarantees that would meet the European standards. Wembley in

north London, a new resident is believed to have moved in but his

bail conditions mean he will not be out and about in the neighbourhood.

This is where Abu Qatada is said to be living with his wife and

children. It was laid last night that the man described as a threat

to national security was finally freed from Long Lartin jail top-

security jail. As he headed through the Worcestershire countryside to

London preparations were underway for a highly sensitive

international mission. Today a UK ministerial delegation flew into

Jordan. Their task - to get assurances that evidence obtained

through torture will not be used against Abu Qatada if he returns

there. This is what a minister told the BBC... Any statement made by

any accused person as a result of torture, or harmful acts, or

threatening of doing so, even if it is mental, is not admissible in

court. And Abu Qatada could be back there within a week, according to

one family friend. His brother told me Abu Qatada requests from the

British Government that he wants to have a guarantee from King Abdullah

that he will not face -- that he will face a fair trial and not be

put under torture. It is four years since Abu Qatada was last free in

the UK, now, as then, he will only be allowed out for a couple of

hours a day. Once Abu Qatada was known for his sermons but this time

there will not be any preaching, he will not even be allowed to attend

a mosque. He has to stay within a short distance of his home and will

Abu Qatada is seen as a man who can implodes others and gives religious

just a vocation to extremist views. But by ministers want him booked on

a one-way plane ticket. -- that is why ministers once embarked on a

one-way plane ticket. Our top story tonight.

New figures on the cost of living. Inflation drops for the second

month in a row, down to 3.6%. Coming up. Back in the spotlight.

Manchester City striker Carlos Inflation is down. Britain's credit

rating is under question but how have the market reacted? We have

the latest results from Indian giant owners of player to and

Jaguar. It's Valentine's Day and her

husband is 8,000 miles away but the Duchess of Cambridge wasn't short

of admirers today as she embarked on her first full day of solo

public engagements. Kate was in Liverpool visiting a charity and a

children's hospital. And, as Judith Moritz reports, she was greeted by

hundreds of well-wishers. Her husband may be postdate 1,000

miles away in the Falklands, but the Duchess of Cambridge still

celebrated Valentine's Day. Her suitor was an eight-year-old boy

called Jackson, apparently Prince William also sent a card and

flowers to his wife, who spent the day in Liverpool on his second ever

solo public engagement. First stop, and alcohol-free bar in the city

centre. She was shown how to make a non-alcoholic cocktail called, of

course, the Duchess. There was also a performance by this choir of

recovering addicts, run by the charity Action on addiction, one of

four organisations of which she is patron. For her to come here was

fantastic. Some of the stuff she heard today, people's personal

testimonies about their life, alcoholism and addiction,. Onwards

to the all-day children's hospital where the crowds braved the cold.

This are the first time she has done a public walkabout without her

husband at her side and she has come to Liverpool to find that all

of these people have turned up just for her. She was a big hit with the

children here. This nine-year-old has crones disease and is being

treated at the hospital. Amazing when she came. She was really nice

to me. Was she how you thought she would be? No. Why? I thought she

would have been a bit older. Just months into her royal career, she

is already becoming known for her relaxed personal approach,

something appreciated by the parents and children on the cancer

Ward. It's an honour to meet her for that she is beautiful and she

made you feel at ease. Style watchers were satisfied, too. Her

high street out of it met with local approval. She was looking

stunning. We only got pictures of the back of her hair. She looked

gorgeous. Next month, she will accompany the Queen on two

engagements. Later she will travel to the Far East with William. From

now on, her public life will only get busier.

The government has suffered a fresh debate over its welfare reforms,

one of the most controversial piece of legislation to become before

Parliament. Peers voted to reject moves to cut benefits to claimants

and with a spare bedroom but now ministers say they will push

through their proposal regardless. Let's go live to the House of Lords

now and join our Political Correspondent Ben Geoghegan. What

does this mean? It's embarrassing for the government and means the

legislation will have to go from house of Lords back to the House of

Commons, where MPs are going to try and the jet was amendment, which is

what they have already done in the case of the seven defeats the

government has suffered already in this legislation. What has happened

just now his peers have voted to change a proposal which would have

limited some benefits to people who lived in council housing and where

they had a spare room. Peers have argued that that would be unfair.

It would have a bad effect on children with families so what

happens now this Bill will have to return to the House of Commons in

parliamentary ping-pong. It has been hugely controversial. Where

does it stand now? The government is determined to force this Bill

through, and today, the ministers have said they want to put in place

transitional arrangements and they have already announced some will,

for example, �26,000 benefit cap they want to introduce will not be

imposed until summer has been claiming for nine months. The

government says it may make some other reassurances this evening but

they have also been telling members of the Lords today that the message

from the credit rating agency Moody's is that this country has to

reduce its spending including on welfare. Thanks very much. Thank

you. Police in Thailand say four people and an Iranian man have been

hurt in a series of explosions in the capital Bangkok. The Iranian

man, believed to be the bomber, was hurt after attempting to throw a

bomb at police. Two other explosions were reported in the

same busy commercial district of the city.

It's been announced that Whitney Houston's funeral is to be held on

Saturday at the church in Newark where the performer sang as a child.

The 48-year-old's body has now been flown to New Jersey. The singer was

found dead on Saturday in a bath tub at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

One of the world's most important waterways, the Strait of Hormuz, is

once again at the centre of heightened international tension.

Last month the Iranians threatened to close it. But today, in a show

of strength, the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sailed

through the Strait. The second time in a month. Although shadowed by

Iranian patrol boats, there were no incidents. Our Defence

Correspondent Jonathan Beale is on board.

It is the most potent symbol of America's military might. The USS

Abraham Lincoln loaded with warplanes and now preparing to pass

through potentially dangerous waters. Strait of Hormuz. These

jets are more than a show of force, they are here to send a clear

message to Iran as to who really controls these waters. As it

approaches the narrowest point, just 21 miles wide, the coast is in

sight. Iran are threatened to close it through which 20 per the double

world oil troubles. It hasn't yet, but it is watching every inch of

this journey. The USA says this is a routine voyage but it comes at a

time of growing concern about Iran's nuclear programme and rising

tension. The presence of the ship is provocative. You look at the

weaponry on board, we routinely transit in and out from the Arabian

Gulf added to the north Arabian sea so that we can go out and do our

work in supporting the troops in Afghanistan and give the carriers

out there a break. But they are taking no chances. USA helicopters

warned off a small boats getting too close and further in the

distance, an Iranian patrol boat to spotted while one of its military

planes brazenly shadows overhead. But if this is an attempt to scare

off the US Navy, it doesn't seem to have worked. We see small boats but

they are far enough away and we don't have to do anything. If they

did do something, you could deal with it? Yes, I'm confident. With

open waters inside, the Abraham Lincoln can continue on its next

mission providing his support over Afghanistan. But it will soon be

replaced by another US carrier which will also patrol of these

troubled waters. It's taken three-and a-half months

Bobby Majesty the City striker Carlos Tevez has finally returned

to his club. He has been back home in Argentina following his feud

with Roberto Mancini. He hasn't kept quiet, saying the club are

mistreated him in a way no player deserves. There are some flash

photography in this report. Today the inconceivable became the

merely bizarre. Carlos Tevez, one of the highest paid players,

arrived in Manchester to be frantic reception, three months after going

to Argentina. The rumblings with his manager became a rupture back

in September when he apparently refused to warm up as a substitute

in a Champions League fixture. Roberto Mancini said Carlos Tevez

was finished at the club. On the eve of his return, though, contrite

seemed to be the hardest word. Manchester City treated me in a way

no player deserves, he told a local TV station. Certainly spending time

with his family in Argentina has come at a price for Carlos Tevez.

He has been fined �1.2 million by his club for breach of contract. He

has lost �9.3 million overall including wages and bonuses. He has

missed 30 games for the club. So why has he decided to return to his

club now? He may quite like the idea of pocketing �200,000 a big

again as one of playing football over the next six months. His

manager Roberto Mancini may also feel he needs is tightly stuttering

strike force bolstering and as for the fans, they are sounding

pragmatic. I have mixed emotions. He could come back and help us in

the league and score important goals in important games coming up

but on the other hand, he has to do the club with a lack of respect.

think you will get a rough time from the fans. If he scores a

couple of goals, I'm sure they will soon come round. He is unlikely to

come straight back into the team but his manager seems willing at

least two unbilled the door. The birds a man she knows his

millionaire owners want nothing short of a Premier League title the

seasons. Needs, it seems, must. Let's take a look at the weather

now with Matt Taylor. Is this No, there are changes ahead for the

end of the week. For the time being, the mild weather is with all of us.

Breezy conditions will be with us throughout tonight bringing in a

lot of cloud across the country. The strongest in eastern England,

gale force in places. We will see patchy light rain and drizzle in

northern Scotland and around the coast. Most will be dry, and

because of the breeze, it would be too cold tonight. Temperatures, 5-6

into the morning. A great start on Wednesday morning. Drizzle on the

Western coats, North East Scotland and East Anglia. Also on western

coasts. Inland, it should be dry with increasing brightness

developing in the side of England, the Midlands, the Pennines. Even at

the sunshine is a bit hazy here and there but temperatures, away from

the coast, 8-9, maybe 12 Celsius across north-east England and South

the Scotland but again, that will be tempered by the breeze. Across

Northern Ireland and Scotland, the best of the conditions will be in

the south-east. Drizzle in north and west coasts, which will

continue on Wednesday night. A fairly mild night once again. By

the end of the night on Thursday morning, wet-weather developing

across Scotland and Northern Ireland and during the day, pushing

its way into northern England. Temperature still around nine-11

Celsius. That wet-weather will be in Cardiff and London and England

and Wales for Friday and Saturday. Edinburgh and Glasgow brighten up

into the weekend but the temperatures also dropping and

there is a hint it is going to turn colder for most of us into the

weekend with snow in the north of Scotland and the return of

Thank you very much. A reminder of tonight's main news.

New figures on the cost of living. Inflation drops for the second