:00:08. > :00:12.Italy condemns as inexplicable Britain's decision not to give
:00:13. > :00:15.advanced warning of the failed hostage rescue. Briton Chris
:00:15. > :00:20.McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara were both killed when
:00:20. > :00:23.Special Forces tried to free them in Nigeria. New pictures have
:00:23. > :00:31.emerged of the house where the men were kept and the battle to free
:00:31. > :00:36.them. The Foreign Secretary tries to defuse the diplomatic row.
:00:36. > :00:46.were able to inform the Italian government as the operation got
:00:46. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:51.under way but not to do more than that. Also on tonight's programme:
:00:51. > :00:58.The MP, Eric Joyce, pleads guilty to assaulting four politicians in a
:00:58. > :01:03.Commons bar. It is a matter of considerable personal shame. I have
:01:03. > :01:06.been duly punished. I'm lucky to avoid prison. And the energy
:01:06. > :01:14.company, EDF, agrees to pay �4.5 million after admitting staff
:01:14. > :01:24.misled customers. Coming up: Rangers players agreed to pay curbs
:01:24. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:41.as efforts to save the club from Good evening. Welcome to the BBC
:01:41. > :01:43.News at Six. A diplomatic row has erupted after Italy's President
:01:44. > :01:47.attacked as inexplicable Britain's failure to inform him before
:01:47. > :01:51.launching a rescue mission to free two men - a Briton and an Italian -
:01:51. > :01:54.who were being held hostage in Nigeria. Chris McManus from Oldham
:01:54. > :01:57.and Franco Lamolinara were killed yesterday by their captors, as UK
:01:57. > :02:01.Special Forces and the Nigerian military attempted to free them
:02:01. > :02:04.from the north-western city of Sokoto. Downing Street defended the
:02:04. > :02:13.way the operation was handled, saying it had been a fast-moving
:02:13. > :02:19.situation. Here's our security correspondent. The house in North
:02:19. > :02:23.West Nigeria at the centre of yesterday's failed rescue attempt.
:02:23. > :02:28.Inside, evidence of a fierce gun battle - one which ended with news
:02:28. > :02:34.that the two hostages had died. Chris McManus from Bolton and
:02:34. > :02:39.Italian Franco Lamolinara had been held for 10 months by a violent Al-
:02:39. > :02:43.Qaeda linked cell. The Italian President asked why his government
:02:43. > :02:47.had not been consulted before the raid.
:02:47. > :02:53.TRANSLATION: The behaviour of the British government in not informing
:02:53. > :02:57.Italy is inexplicable. Political and diplomatic clarification is
:02:57. > :03:01.necessary. Foreign Office officials say the decision to send in troops
:03:01. > :03:07.had to be made fast - so fast the Italians could only be told after
:03:07. > :03:12.it was made. Why did it happen so quickly? The Nigerians confirmed
:03:12. > :03:15.the location of the hostages after arresting a suspect in the last few
:03:15. > :03:20.days. There were concerns the kidnappers were alerted to a
:03:20. > :03:23.possible rescue and the hostages were in danger of being moved or
:03:23. > :03:28.killed. Under pressure, the Prime Minister authorise the raid
:03:28. > :03:33.yesterday morning and then informed the Italians. The Special Boat
:03:33. > :03:36.Service went in first in a daylight raid, killing one gunman as they
:03:36. > :03:41.entered. They found the hostages had already been murdered by the
:03:41. > :03:45.time they reached them. We had to make a decision very quickly. We
:03:45. > :03:50.had very limited time. That constrained how much we were able
:03:50. > :03:56.to consult others. We were able to inform the Italian government as
:03:56. > :04:01.you operation got under way but not to do more than that. Today former
:04:01. > :04:07.colleagues of Chris McManus paid tribute to the 28-year-old from
:04:07. > :04:11.Oldham. My reaction was devastation. Chris was a very good team player.
:04:12. > :04:15.We're all distraught this has happened at this stage. The family
:04:15. > :04:21.of Chris McManus say they believe that everything that could have
:04:21. > :04:28.been done has been done. The tragic death of the two hostages are now
:04:28. > :04:33.risks sparking a diplomatic row. Gordon Corera is here. How serious
:04:33. > :04:38.is the row? The Italian Minister has said he wants more details in
:04:38. > :04:41.the next few hours. If you look at why this happened, there is
:04:41. > :04:45.speculation that perhaps the British did not tell the Italians
:04:45. > :04:50.because they feared they would not sanction the raid. Officials deny
:04:50. > :04:55.that categorically. They say it was partly because events are moving so
:04:55. > :04:59.fast with concerned -- with concern the kidnappers might have realised
:05:00. > :05:03.there was going to be a rescue attempt. They also say that in
:05:03. > :05:08.discussions with the Italians over recent months, it was always clear
:05:08. > :05:12.that the rescue attempt was a strong possibility. If the tent had
:05:12. > :05:15.succeeded, I do not think there would be many questions about when
:05:15. > :05:21.the Italians were told but it did not. The Italians are upset about
:05:21. > :05:24.the timing and want more answers. David Cameron has been setting out
:05:25. > :05:29.his plans to speed up the adoption process in England and remove what
:05:29. > :05:32.he says are the absurd barriers to mixed race adoptions. He said there
:05:32. > :05:35.was no more urgent task than to ensure every child was given the
:05:35. > :05:44.love of a stable family and that councils would be told to avoid
:05:44. > :05:48.waiting for the perfect match. Finding loving parents for a child
:05:48. > :05:52.through adoption simply takes too long. That is the message from the
:05:52. > :05:59.Government and it intends to make new laws to cut delays in the
:05:59. > :06:03.adoption process. Catherine Gibbs says the present system does not
:06:03. > :06:09.work. She adopted this boy who is eight and has cerebral palsy from
:06:09. > :06:14.South Africa. She had to be approved by the UK authorities.
:06:14. > :06:20.felt under a lot of scrutiny and came up against a lot of negative
:06:20. > :06:24.attitudes to me and to what was trying to do. It was incredibly
:06:24. > :06:28.difficult. It needed a lot of perseverance on my part to keep
:06:28. > :06:33.going with it and not stop when people were so very obviously
:06:33. > :06:37.against what I was trying to do. The Government says it will use
:06:37. > :06:41.legislation to force local councils to speed up the process.
:06:41. > :06:44.Interracial adoptions will be made easier so councils do not lose a
:06:44. > :06:50.time looking for a perfect match. Children identified for adoption
:06:50. > :06:54.should be put on a national register more quickly. Research
:06:54. > :06:59.suggests one in five adoptions breaks down. Some urge caution in
:06:59. > :07:02.too much speed. Ethnicity should not be a factor in finding loving
:07:02. > :07:07.parents for a child. The Prime Minister visiting a children's
:07:07. > :07:10.centre said it was an urgent task for the Government to sort had that
:07:10. > :07:18.option. He suggested social work concerns about white parents
:07:18. > :07:22.adopting black children were absurd. Kevani Kanda says it is not that
:07:22. > :07:26.simple. She has her own children now but was in care herself from
:07:27. > :07:30.the age of nine. She spent her childhood being fostered and in a
:07:30. > :07:34.home. She is not against interracial adoption but warns from
:07:34. > :07:40.her own experience with white foster parents that it is complex.
:07:40. > :07:47.It is easy to say we have found a local white couple to adopt shoot
:07:47. > :07:51.but there needs to be support in the long term for the child in the
:07:51. > :07:56.family. They need to train me and teach me about my culture and where
:07:57. > :08:01.I come from. Senior social workers welcomed the move to cut delays but
:08:01. > :08:05.warned that adoption is a life- changing decision and has to be
:08:05. > :08:09.taken to Caerphilly. Sometimes you need to balance various factors
:08:09. > :08:13.that make you decide whether the quickest option is the best option
:08:13. > :08:19.or whether you should wait longer for a family that will be a better
:08:19. > :08:25.match. Each case is individual. It is a complicated process. Her all
:08:25. > :08:32.agreed that delay in the life of a far Honourable child is damaging.
:08:32. > :08:36.They have to live with the decisions. -- the life of a
:08:36. > :08:39.vulnerable child. The MP Eric Joyce says he was lucky to escape jail
:08:39. > :08:42.after pleading guilty to assaulting four politicians in a bar at the
:08:42. > :08:44.House of Commons. A court heard how the member for Falkirk head-butted
:08:44. > :08:48.a Tory MP, attacked two Conservative district councillors
:08:48. > :08:51.and then turned on a Labour MP. He has been fined and banned from
:08:51. > :08:59.entering a pub but he can still enter the House of Commons. Here is
:08:59. > :09:04.Ben Wright. Politics and drink can be a combustible brew. This is Eric
:09:04. > :09:08.Joyce, heading into court. The MP and former Army major set upon
:09:08. > :09:12.drinkers in a House of Commons bar last month. He pleaded guilty to
:09:12. > :09:17.four charges of assault during a late-night brawl but witnesses said
:09:17. > :09:21.was like a scene from the Wild West. The court heard accounts of flying
:09:21. > :09:26.fists, up turned tables and chaos. Eric Joyce had been drinking and
:09:26. > :09:33.looked completely out of it. He shouted, there are too many Tories
:09:33. > :09:39.in this bar. If people said I was Hammad, that was probably true. The
:09:39. > :09:42.prosecution said Eric Joyce shouted at the police: Stuart and she is
:09:42. > :09:47.the Conservative Member of Parliament he head-butted. This is
:09:47. > :09:54.Bill Wilson, the Labour MP who was punched. Two Tory councillors were
:09:54. > :09:59.also assaulted. It is a matter of considerable personal shame. I have
:09:59. > :10:04.been duly punished. I am lucky to avoid prison. He was spared a
:10:04. > :10:09.custodial sentence but given a 12 month community order and fined. He
:10:09. > :10:15.told the magistrate he would draw a line under his drinking. Drink was
:10:15. > :10:21.an aggravating factor. There is no doubt about that. Not everyone who
:10:21. > :10:25.drinks gets involved in fights, certainly not when you are my age.
:10:25. > :10:30.It was clearly a combination of alcohol and a tendency towards
:10:30. > :10:35.being physically aggressive. Eric Joyce has also been banned from
:10:35. > :10:38.bars and pubs for three months. There are plenty of watering holes
:10:38. > :10:42.in Parliament. Heavy boozing by politicians has dropped away in
:10:42. > :10:47.recent years. The MP who was head- butted said the case raises the
:10:47. > :10:50.issue of how well the House of Commons looks after MPs in
:10:50. > :11:00.difficulty. Eric Joyce were not contest the next election and
:11:00. > :11:01.
:11:01. > :11:03.Labour sources say he was soon be expelled from a party. -- at the
:11:03. > :11:06.party. A fresh allegation of attempted fraud at the welfare to
:11:06. > :11:09.work company, A4E, is to be investigated by the Government.
:11:09. > :11:11.Last month, the boss of A4E, Emma Harrison, stepped down as the
:11:11. > :11:13.Government's family champion after it was revealed that police were
:11:13. > :11:16.investigating allegations against former A4E employees. The company
:11:16. > :11:19.handles millions of pounds worth of government contracts for schemes to
:11:19. > :11:22.help people back into work. Eurozone ministers say that Greece
:11:22. > :11:25.has met the conditions to receive the first tranche of a massive
:11:25. > :11:28.multi-billion euro rescue package. It follows a deal reached by the
:11:28. > :11:33.Greek government with its private sector creditors to write off more
:11:33. > :11:38.than 100 billion euros of debt. It is the largest restructuring of a
:11:38. > :11:41.European government's debt since the Second World War. Two senior
:11:41. > :11:45.staff at Barclays each earned more than �6.5 million last year,
:11:45. > :11:47.according to the company's latest accounts. That is more than the
:11:48. > :11:51.bank's chief executive, Bob Diamond, whose earnings were just short of
:11:51. > :11:59.that amount, including a �2.7 million bonus. Robert Peston
:11:59. > :12:03.reports. Barclays is not the only bank to reward their top earners.
:12:03. > :12:09.The high rolling, big paying City of London. Today we learn the
:12:09. > :12:15.rewards paid by top executives by Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland
:12:15. > :12:19.and Lloyds. Or less than last year but substantial sums by most
:12:19. > :12:25.standards. For years, one of the best-paid chief executives of any
:12:25. > :12:31.bank has been Bob Diamond at Barclays. He has received awards of
:12:31. > :12:35.�6.3 million in total. One of his senior colleagues is getting more -
:12:35. > :12:42.�6.7 million. At the World Bank of Scotland, the rewards of Stephen
:12:42. > :12:47.Hester and our �2.8 million. That is somewhat less than his colleague,
:12:47. > :12:52.who has been paid bonuses of �3.3 million and has received �4.2
:12:52. > :12:58.million in shares and a signing-on deal. As for Lloyds, its chief
:12:58. > :13:04.executive has a package worth �2.3 million. He waved his bonus after
:13:04. > :13:10.taking time off for extreme exhaustion. Of the three banks, but
:13:10. > :13:20.Keyes was the most generous pair with seven executives receiving �5
:13:20. > :13:20.
:13:20. > :13:27.million each or more than that. -- Barclays. Eight of its bankers earn
:13:27. > :13:31.more than �2 million each. The Treasury says it shows RBS is
:13:31. > :13:36.responding to government pressure. It is controversial because it is
:13:36. > :13:40.82% owned by the tax payer. Chancellor and Prime Minister had
:13:40. > :13:45.given various promises that they would rain in excess and use their
:13:45. > :13:48.power as a shareholder in RBS to ensure there is responsibility
:13:48. > :13:54.exercised. People would be entitled to ask, where is the Prime Minister
:13:54. > :13:59.and where is the Chancellor? What are they doing about this? Stephen
:13:59. > :14:05.Hester, he waved his �1 million bonus in January under extreme
:14:05. > :14:10.pressure from politicians and the media. One influential City figure
:14:10. > :14:14.warns that the British economy would be damaged if people like him
:14:14. > :14:21.would prevent en masse to work abroad. I think this country has to
:14:21. > :14:24.ask itself whether we really do want great international banks -
:14:24. > :14:30.great international financial companies - head quartering
:14:30. > :14:32.themselves here and basing themselves in London, making a �63
:14:32. > :14:37.billion a year contribution to the income of the Exchequer or whether
:14:37. > :14:41.we would prefer to kill the golden goose and chase them all out.
:14:41. > :14:47.Bank of Scotland was found guilty by the Financial Services Authority
:14:47. > :14:53.a serious misconduct will take in crazy race between 2006 and 2008
:14:53. > :15:02.before it was bought by Lloyds. Bankers paid rose by two match in
:15:02. > :15:03.the boom years and has not been cut Our top story tonight:
:15:03. > :15:06.Italy has condemned as "inexplicable", Britain's decision
:15:06. > :15:08.not to give advanced warning of the failed hostage rescue.
:15:08. > :15:11.Coming up: Racing towards 2012 - we meet the
:15:11. > :15:21.new stars of Britain's swimming team hoping for its strongest ever
:15:21. > :15:24.
:15:24. > :15:34.Coming up, the latest from Istanbul, as British athletes go for gold at
:15:34. > :15:36.
:15:36. > :15:38.the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
:15:38. > :15:42.David Cameron is promising a further crackdown on so-called
:15:42. > :15:45.legal highs. They're drugs not intended for human consumption but
:15:45. > :15:48.that can be legally sold - such as methoxetamine, which has been
:15:48. > :15:50.linked to the deaths of two people in Leicestershire. Our UK affairs
:15:50. > :15:59.correspondent, Chris Buckler, reports on the drugs's popularity
:15:59. > :16:04.and how easily it can be bought for For many on a night out, alcohol is
:16:04. > :16:08.the drug of choice. But others will take a legal substances, or similar
:16:08. > :16:13.drugs -- will take illegal substances or similar drugs.
:16:13. > :16:16.Methoxetamine, or MXE, is one of a range of so-called legal highs sold
:16:16. > :16:21.online, or in the shops. This week, the government took steps towards
:16:22. > :16:25.banning it, after Leicestershire Police linked it to two deaths. The
:16:25. > :16:29.results of toxicology tests are still to be released. However, it
:16:29. > :16:35.is clear that just like illegal drugs, legal highs can have
:16:35. > :16:39.negative effects on their uses. don't feel right. I thought my
:16:39. > :16:44.teeth were going to fall out, it was horrible. Don't do them.
:16:44. > :16:49.legal highs, there is no result of what the comedown or the
:16:49. > :16:59.experiences. Legal eyes are not controlled under the Misuse of
:16:59. > :16:59.
:16:59. > :17:05.Drugs Act. The government -- legal We found that many shops, including
:17:05. > :17:09.this one in Stockport, stick to those rules, but it is not the case
:17:09. > :17:19.with every supplier. In a store in Sheffield we were told what the
:17:19. > :17:19.
:17:19. > :17:22.effect of the different legal highs We asked about the packets stating
:17:22. > :17:32.that the drugs were not for human consumption, the warning was
:17:32. > :17:39.
:17:39. > :17:43.Another of the legal highs we were David Cameron was asked about black
:17:43. > :17:46.mamba during this week's Prime Minister's Question Time. He said
:17:47. > :17:51.the Home Office were aware and looking at the drab, and insisted
:17:51. > :17:55.that the government were determined to stamp out legal eyes -- at the
:17:55. > :18:00.drug. One of the problems is people buying it and thinking it is like
:18:00. > :18:07.cannabis. In actual fact, it is much stronger. Despite the promise
:18:07. > :18:11.of action, drugs charities say banning individual substances will
:18:11. > :18:14.not work. We are not going to solve the problem in the long term by
:18:14. > :18:18.doing that. We are going to replace one with another and you will end
:18:18. > :18:22.up sooner than later with something that is much worse. The government
:18:22. > :18:25.said it will ban groups of drugs that cause harm, but many are
:18:25. > :18:29.worried about the availability of legal highs. This store in
:18:30. > :18:39.Sheffield insisted it was not their policy to sell drugs fought legal
:18:40. > :18:42.
:18:42. > :18:45.consumption but insisted there employee had ignored that.
:18:45. > :18:47.The energy firm, EDF, has agreed to pay out �4.5 million after
:18:47. > :18:50.admitting its sales staff misled customers. The energy regulator,
:18:50. > :18:52.OFGEM, found that people weren't given enough information during the
:18:52. > :18:55.sales process. Our business correspondent, John Moylan is here.
:18:55. > :18:58.This is pretty embarrassing for EDF, what exactly did they do wrong?
:18:58. > :19:00.is the result of an 18 month investigation which found that some
:19:00. > :19:03.doorstep people from EDF for not giving customers all of the
:19:03. > :19:06.admission that they needed, and its telesales agents who were cold-
:19:06. > :19:10.calling were claiming big savings, without knowing they could be
:19:10. > :19:16.delivered. EDF was facing a sizable find that has offered to make a
:19:16. > :19:20.sizable payment, the biggest of its kind, that will effectively go to
:19:20. > :19:25.customers -- but has offered. The payout is in the region of �4.5
:19:25. > :19:31.million. It means that 70,000 of EDF's Most Honourable customers
:19:31. > :19:35.will receive a payout in the region of �50 as a refund on their bills -
:19:35. > :19:45.- Most Honourable customers. Ironically, it is not going to the
:19:45. > :19:45.
:19:45. > :19:51.customers most affected -- most Probes into N Powell, SSE and
:19:51. > :19:55.Scottish Power are ongoing. -- into Npower. Probably because of this
:19:55. > :20:00.ongoing investigation and criticism from MPs which talked about Del Boy
:20:00. > :20:03.sales tactics, most of the major suppliers have ended unannounced
:20:03. > :20:06.doorstep sales. A year after the tsunami that
:20:07. > :20:14.struck in Japan, the cost of the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima is
:20:14. > :20:18.now put at $130 billion. The human costs are incalculable. 130,000
:20:18. > :20:24.people are still unable to return home. Damian Grammaticas has been
:20:24. > :20:28.back to see how life has changed in two communities close to Fukushima.
:20:28. > :20:38.You can't see it, but absolved by the trees, the radiation threat is
:20:38. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:47.all around us. From this point, A year ago, Iitate was home to
:20:47. > :20:50.26,000 people, 25 miles from Fukushima. Today, it is too
:20:50. > :20:54.radioactive to live here. Japan's government wants to clean up not
:20:54. > :20:59.just Iitate, but several thousand square kilometres of contaminated
:20:59. > :21:02.land around here. Nothing like it has been done before, not even
:21:02. > :21:08.after the Chernobyl disaster. No one knows whether all this can be
:21:08. > :21:11.made fit for humans to live in again. Professor Yoichi Tao is
:21:11. > :21:16.trying to work out how to find and remove the caesium that the
:21:16. > :21:19.disaster spewed out. Carried on the wins, it has spread over an area
:21:20. > :21:27.several times the size of Greater London. The radiation will last
:21:27. > :21:30.longer than a human lifetime. government say they will
:21:30. > :21:35.decontaminate everywhere, but it a huge area, I don't think they can
:21:35. > :21:43.do it. It will cost a colossal amount. And Fukushima's reactors
:21:43. > :21:49.are still fragile, so many are too fearful to live in the shadow of
:21:49. > :21:55.the nuclear plant. 15 miles from it, Minamisoma is bisected by the
:21:56. > :22:00.nuclear explosions own -- exclusion zone. The 25,000 people who fled
:22:00. > :22:04.last year have not returned. Across the town, the top five centimetres
:22:04. > :22:11.of soil is being removed. More radioactive particles keep falling
:22:11. > :22:17.from the trees. At the Haramachi Saiidi nursery school, they now
:22:17. > :22:22.take radiation readings every day, and then swab the playground clean,
:22:22. > :22:26.before the children are allowed out to play. All wear masks. The school
:22:26. > :22:29.is one of the few places that has been completely decontaminated. A
:22:29. > :22:35.counter installed in the playground shows radiation a little above
:22:35. > :22:39.normal, but within safe limits. TRANSLATION: They have cleaned up
:22:39. > :22:44.our Nursery and playground, that's all. We can't even take the
:22:44. > :22:50.children out of the front gate. Our life is limited to these tiny
:22:50. > :22:54.spaces. Even when it levels are low, many parents won't bring their
:22:54. > :22:58.children back here. Living with radiation is a risk they don't want
:22:58. > :23:01.to take. An agreement appears to have been
:23:01. > :23:04.reached that will allow Rangers Football Club to complete this
:23:04. > :23:08.season's fixtures. It is understood the players have struck a
:23:08. > :23:13.provisional deal with administrators to take wage cuts of
:23:13. > :23:16.up to 75%. The club needs to save �1 million a month to keep going.
:23:16. > :23:20.Rebecca Adlington became a household name when she won two
:23:20. > :23:24.gold medals at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Now there is a
:23:24. > :23:29.whole host of other British swimmers hoping for Olympic glory,
:23:29. > :23:34.and many believe this could be the strongest British Olympic swimming
:23:34. > :23:37.team ever. James Pearce is at the Aquatics Centre in Stratford.
:23:37. > :23:42.Roberto Adlington is hoping to qualify for the 800 metres tonight,
:23:42. > :23:47.is she likely to get through -- throwback Adlington. Her final gets
:23:47. > :23:56.under way in 15 minutes. I don't need to be very bold to say she
:23:56. > :24:01.would look at place and win the race. Rebecca Addington is in very
:24:01. > :24:04.good company when it comes to potential medallists. It is one of
:24:04. > :24:07.London 20 top's most impressive structures, but British runners are
:24:07. > :24:13.becoming increasingly confident that the venue will end up being
:24:13. > :24:17.known more for them success inside, than any view outside. It has been
:24:17. > :24:22.an outstanding week for a number of our top competitors. One after the
:24:22. > :24:26.other, they have shown their Olympic potential. Hannah Miley, 21
:24:26. > :24:36.years old. Winner here in the 400 metres individual medley, his
:24:36. > :24:41.silver medallist at last year's Liam Tancock, aged 26, one of the
:24:41. > :24:49.world's finest backstroker us. Already, North champion, now aiming
:24:49. > :24:55.to be Olympic champion. Ellen Gandy, 20 years old, impressive winner of
:24:55. > :25:01.the 200 metres butterfly. She too is a 200 metres silver medallist at
:25:02. > :25:07.the World Championships. She has a real chance of becoming a star of
:25:07. > :25:11.Team GB. A medal of any colour would be brilliant but a gold medal
:25:11. > :25:16.would be the best thing. I have dreamt that the Queen would present
:25:16. > :25:22.them and it would be great. then there is Rebecca Adlington, on
:25:22. > :25:27.Sunday she was dominant in qualifying for the freestyle event.
:25:27. > :25:31.She is likely to win by an even greater margin in the 800 metres.
:25:31. > :25:36.British women is in a fantastic place, particularly the women's
:25:36. > :25:40.team. In some events we have at four ladies in the top 16, going
:25:40. > :25:49.for two spots. Loss of 15 and 16 year olds are ready to fill their
:25:49. > :25:55.This should be just the beginning. British medals in a British pool,
:25:55. > :26:00.no Maunder Olympic tickets are so hard to come by.
:26:00. > :26:05.Paralympian Ellie Simmonds became the first person to break a world
:26:05. > :26:15.record in this pool. The Aquatics Centre is going to be one of the
:26:15. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:20.places to be this summer. Thank you. We could get some fine
:26:20. > :26:25.spring sunshine by day this weekend. There may be some interesting
:26:25. > :26:29.viewing at night. The recent increase in solar activity means
:26:29. > :26:33.the aurora is possibly visible almost anywhere. It does depend on
:26:33. > :26:37.the cloud. And there will be some breaks here and there overnight. I
:26:37. > :26:43.can't promise everywhere clear skies. We are expecting lumps of
:26:43. > :26:46.cloud to drift across the country. The thickest cloud will persist
:26:46. > :26:50.across Northern Ireland and western Scotland. Where there will be
:26:50. > :26:56.drizzly rain. Elsewhere it is generally dry. It is a mild night.
:26:56. > :27:05.By and large, a cloudy start to the weekend but it should cheer up.
:27:05. > :27:09.At one or two spots of drizzly rain, we are going to keep thicker cloud
:27:09. > :27:16.throughout the weekend across the Highlands of Scotland. To the east
:27:16. > :27:21.of the hills with a bit of sunshine, temperatures could jump out. 13 or
:27:21. > :27:27.maybe 14 -- jumped up. Cloudy over north-west England. Temperatures
:27:27. > :27:34.with a bit of sunshine may reach 13 or 14. Much of England and Wales
:27:34. > :27:37.will see bright and find conditions. Western coasts may stay quite grey
:27:37. > :27:41.and dreary. It should brighten up for the Millennium Stadium for
:27:41. > :27:46.Wales against Italy. As for Ireland against Scotland, it could be
:27:46. > :27:51.milder in Dublin. Through the evening, we will not see a great
:27:51. > :27:56.deal of change. A few more holes in the cloud, we could again see the
:27:56. > :28:00.aurora. Sunday is a similar day. Eastern areas favourite for bright
:28:01. > :28:04.and sunny spells. Most likely to stay grey with the odd spot of
:28:04. > :28:08.drizzle. Where the sun comes out, temperatures will jump into the