09/03/2012 BBC News at Six


09/03/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 09/03/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Italy condemns as inexplicable Britain's decision not to give

:00:08.:00:12.

advanced warning of the failed hostage rescue. Briton Chris

:00:13.:00:15.

McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara were both killed when

:00:15.:00:20.

Special Forces tried to free them in Nigeria. New pictures have

:00:20.:00:23.

emerged of the house where the men were kept and the battle to free

:00:23.:00:31.

them. The Foreign Secretary tries to defuse the diplomatic row.

:00:31.:00:36.

were able to inform the Italian government as the operation got

:00:36.:00:46.
:00:46.:00:48.

under way but not to do more than that. Also on tonight's programme:

:00:48.:00:51.

The MP, Eric Joyce, pleads guilty to assaulting four politicians in a

:00:51.:00:58.

Commons bar. It is a matter of considerable personal shame. I have

:00:58.:01:03.

been duly punished. I'm lucky to avoid prison. And the energy

:01:03.:01:06.

company, EDF, agrees to pay �4.5 million after admitting staff

:01:06.:01:14.

misled customers. Coming up: Rangers players agreed to pay curbs

:01:14.:01:24.
:01:24.:01:35.

as efforts to save the club from Good evening. Welcome to the BBC

:01:35.:01:41.

News at Six. A diplomatic row has erupted after Italy's President

:01:41.:01:43.

attacked as inexplicable Britain's failure to inform him before

:01:44.:01:47.

launching a rescue mission to free two men - a Briton and an Italian -

:01:47.:01:51.

who were being held hostage in Nigeria. Chris McManus from Oldham

:01:51.:01:54.

and Franco Lamolinara were killed yesterday by their captors, as UK

:01:54.:01:57.

Special Forces and the Nigerian military attempted to free them

:01:57.:02:01.

from the north-western city of Sokoto. Downing Street defended the

:02:01.:02:04.

way the operation was handled, saying it had been a fast-moving

:02:04.:02:13.

situation. Here's our security correspondent. The house in North

:02:13.:02:19.

West Nigeria at the centre of yesterday's failed rescue attempt.

:02:19.:02:23.

Inside, evidence of a fierce gun battle - one which ended with news

:02:23.:02:28.

that the two hostages had died. Chris McManus from Bolton and

:02:28.:02:34.

Italian Franco Lamolinara had been held for 10 months by a violent Al-

:02:34.:02:39.

Qaeda linked cell. The Italian President asked why his government

:02:39.:02:43.

had not been consulted before the raid.

:02:43.:02:47.

TRANSLATION: The behaviour of the British government in not informing

:02:47.:02:53.

Italy is inexplicable. Political and diplomatic clarification is

:02:53.:02:57.

necessary. Foreign Office officials say the decision to send in troops

:02:57.:03:01.

had to be made fast - so fast the Italians could only be told after

:03:01.:03:07.

it was made. Why did it happen so quickly? The Nigerians confirmed

:03:07.:03:12.

the location of the hostages after arresting a suspect in the last few

:03:12.:03:15.

days. There were concerns the kidnappers were alerted to a

:03:15.:03:20.

possible rescue and the hostages were in danger of being moved or

:03:20.:03:23.

killed. Under pressure, the Prime Minister authorise the raid

:03:23.:03:28.

yesterday morning and then informed the Italians. The Special Boat

:03:28.:03:33.

Service went in first in a daylight raid, killing one gunman as they

:03:33.:03:36.

entered. They found the hostages had already been murdered by the

:03:36.:03:41.

time they reached them. We had to make a decision very quickly. We

:03:41.:03:45.

had very limited time. That constrained how much we were able

:03:45.:03:50.

to consult others. We were able to inform the Italian government as

:03:50.:03:56.

you operation got under way but not to do more than that. Today former

:03:56.:04:01.

colleagues of Chris McManus paid tribute to the 28-year-old from

:04:01.:04:07.

Oldham. My reaction was devastation. Chris was a very good team player.

:04:07.:04:11.

We're all distraught this has happened at this stage. The family

:04:12.:04:15.

of Chris McManus say they believe that everything that could have

:04:15.:04:21.

been done has been done. The tragic death of the two hostages are now

:04:21.:04:28.

risks sparking a diplomatic row. Gordon Corera is here. How serious

:04:28.:04:33.

is the row? The Italian Minister has said he wants more details in

:04:33.:04:38.

the next few hours. If you look at why this happened, there is

:04:38.:04:41.

speculation that perhaps the British did not tell the Italians

:04:41.:04:45.

because they feared they would not sanction the raid. Officials deny

:04:45.:04:50.

that categorically. They say it was partly because events are moving so

:04:50.:04:55.

fast with concerned -- with concern the kidnappers might have realised

:04:55.:04:59.

there was going to be a rescue attempt. They also say that in

:05:00.:05:03.

discussions with the Italians over recent months, it was always clear

:05:03.:05:08.

that the rescue attempt was a strong possibility. If the tent had

:05:08.:05:12.

succeeded, I do not think there would be many questions about when

:05:12.:05:15.

the Italians were told but it did not. The Italians are upset about

:05:15.:05:21.

the timing and want more answers. David Cameron has been setting out

:05:21.:05:24.

his plans to speed up the adoption process in England and remove what

:05:25.:05:29.

he says are the absurd barriers to mixed race adoptions. He said there

:05:29.:05:32.

was no more urgent task than to ensure every child was given the

:05:32.:05:35.

love of a stable family and that councils would be told to avoid

:05:35.:05:44.

waiting for the perfect match. Finding loving parents for a child

:05:44.:05:48.

through adoption simply takes too long. That is the message from the

:05:48.:05:52.

Government and it intends to make new laws to cut delays in the

:05:52.:05:59.

adoption process. Catherine Gibbs says the present system does not

:05:59.:06:03.

work. She adopted this boy who is eight and has cerebral palsy from

:06:03.:06:09.

South Africa. She had to be approved by the UK authorities.

:06:09.:06:14.

felt under a lot of scrutiny and came up against a lot of negative

:06:14.:06:20.

attitudes to me and to what was trying to do. It was incredibly

:06:20.:06:24.

difficult. It needed a lot of perseverance on my part to keep

:06:24.:06:28.

going with it and not stop when people were so very obviously

:06:28.:06:33.

against what I was trying to do. The Government says it will use

:06:33.:06:37.

legislation to force local councils to speed up the process.

:06:37.:06:41.

Interracial adoptions will be made easier so councils do not lose a

:06:41.:06:44.

time looking for a perfect match. Children identified for adoption

:06:44.:06:50.

should be put on a national register more quickly. Research

:06:50.:06:54.

suggests one in five adoptions breaks down. Some urge caution in

:06:54.:06:59.

too much speed. Ethnicity should not be a factor in finding loving

:06:59.:07:02.

parents for a child. The Prime Minister visiting a children's

:07:02.:07:07.

centre said it was an urgent task for the Government to sort had that

:07:07.:07:10.

option. He suggested social work concerns about white parents

:07:10.:07:18.

adopting black children were absurd. Kevani Kanda says it is not that

:07:18.:07:22.

simple. She has her own children now but was in care herself from

:07:22.:07:26.

the age of nine. She spent her childhood being fostered and in a

:07:27.:07:30.

home. She is not against interracial adoption but warns from

:07:30.:07:34.

her own experience with white foster parents that it is complex.

:07:34.:07:40.

It is easy to say we have found a local white couple to adopt shoot

:07:40.:07:47.

but there needs to be support in the long term for the child in the

:07:47.:07:51.

family. They need to train me and teach me about my culture and where

:07:51.:07:56.

I come from. Senior social workers welcomed the move to cut delays but

:07:57.:08:01.

warned that adoption is a life- changing decision and has to be

:08:01.:08:05.

taken to Caerphilly. Sometimes you need to balance various factors

:08:05.:08:09.

that make you decide whether the quickest option is the best option

:08:09.:08:13.

or whether you should wait longer for a family that will be a better

:08:13.:08:19.

match. Each case is individual. It is a complicated process. Her all

:08:19.:08:25.

agreed that delay in the life of a far Honourable child is damaging.

:08:25.:08:32.

They have to live with the decisions. -- the life of a

:08:32.:08:36.

vulnerable child. The MP Eric Joyce says he was lucky to escape jail

:08:36.:08:39.

after pleading guilty to assaulting four politicians in a bar at the

:08:39.:08:42.

House of Commons. A court heard how the member for Falkirk head-butted

:08:42.:08:44.

a Tory MP, attacked two Conservative district councillors

:08:44.:08:48.

and then turned on a Labour MP. He has been fined and banned from

:08:48.:08:51.

entering a pub but he can still enter the House of Commons. Here is

:08:51.:08:59.

Ben Wright. Politics and drink can be a combustible brew. This is Eric

:08:59.:09:04.

Joyce, heading into court. The MP and former Army major set upon

:09:04.:09:08.

drinkers in a House of Commons bar last month. He pleaded guilty to

:09:08.:09:12.

four charges of assault during a late-night brawl but witnesses said

:09:12.:09:17.

was like a scene from the Wild West. The court heard accounts of flying

:09:17.:09:21.

fists, up turned tables and chaos. Eric Joyce had been drinking and

:09:21.:09:26.

looked completely out of it. He shouted, there are too many Tories

:09:26.:09:33.

in this bar. If people said I was Hammad, that was probably true. The

:09:33.:09:39.

prosecution said Eric Joyce shouted at the police: Stuart and she is

:09:39.:09:42.

the Conservative Member of Parliament he head-butted. This is

:09:42.:09:47.

Bill Wilson, the Labour MP who was punched. Two Tory councillors were

:09:47.:09:54.

also assaulted. It is a matter of considerable personal shame. I have

:09:54.:09:59.

been duly punished. I am lucky to avoid prison. He was spared a

:09:59.:10:04.

custodial sentence but given a 12 month community order and fined. He

:10:04.:10:09.

told the magistrate he would draw a line under his drinking. Drink was

:10:09.:10:15.

an aggravating factor. There is no doubt about that. Not everyone who

:10:15.:10:21.

drinks gets involved in fights, certainly not when you are my age.

:10:21.:10:25.

It was clearly a combination of alcohol and a tendency towards

:10:25.:10:30.

being physically aggressive. Eric Joyce has also been banned from

:10:30.:10:35.

bars and pubs for three months. There are plenty of watering holes

:10:35.:10:38.

in Parliament. Heavy boozing by politicians has dropped away in

:10:38.:10:42.

recent years. The MP who was head- butted said the case raises the

:10:42.:10:47.

issue of how well the House of Commons looks after MPs in

:10:47.:10:50.

difficulty. Eric Joyce were not contest the next election and

:10:50.:11:00.
:11:00.:11:01.

Labour sources say he was soon be expelled from a party. -- at the

:11:01.:11:03.

party. A fresh allegation of attempted fraud at the welfare to

:11:03.:11:06.

work company, A4E, is to be investigated by the Government.

:11:06.:11:09.

Last month, the boss of A4E, Emma Harrison, stepped down as the

:11:09.:11:11.

Government's family champion after it was revealed that police were

:11:11.:11:13.

investigating allegations against former A4E employees. The company

:11:13.:11:16.

handles millions of pounds worth of government contracts for schemes to

:11:16.:11:19.

help people back into work. Eurozone ministers say that Greece

:11:19.:11:22.

has met the conditions to receive the first tranche of a massive

:11:22.:11:25.

multi-billion euro rescue package. It follows a deal reached by the

:11:25.:11:28.

Greek government with its private sector creditors to write off more

:11:28.:11:33.

than 100 billion euros of debt. It is the largest restructuring of a

:11:33.:11:38.

European government's debt since the Second World War. Two senior

:11:38.:11:41.

staff at Barclays each earned more than �6.5 million last year,

:11:41.:11:45.

according to the company's latest accounts. That is more than the

:11:45.:11:47.

bank's chief executive, Bob Diamond, whose earnings were just short of

:11:48.:11:51.

that amount, including a �2.7 million bonus. Robert Peston

:11:51.:11:59.

reports. Barclays is not the only bank to reward their top earners.

:11:59.:12:03.

The high rolling, big paying City of London. Today we learn the

:12:03.:12:09.

rewards paid by top executives by Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland

:12:09.:12:15.

and Lloyds. Or less than last year but substantial sums by most

:12:15.:12:19.

standards. For years, one of the best-paid chief executives of any

:12:19.:12:25.

bank has been Bob Diamond at Barclays. He has received awards of

:12:25.:12:31.

�6.3 million in total. One of his senior colleagues is getting more -

:12:31.:12:35.

�6.7 million. At the World Bank of Scotland, the rewards of Stephen

:12:35.:12:42.

Hester and our �2.8 million. That is somewhat less than his colleague,

:12:42.:12:47.

who has been paid bonuses of �3.3 million and has received �4.2

:12:47.:12:52.

million in shares and a signing-on deal. As for Lloyds, its chief

:12:52.:12:58.

executive has a package worth �2.3 million. He waved his bonus after

:12:58.:13:04.

taking time off for extreme exhaustion. Of the three banks, but

:13:04.:13:10.

Keyes was the most generous pair with seven executives receiving �5

:13:10.:13:20.
:13:20.:13:20.

million each or more than that. -- Barclays. Eight of its bankers earn

:13:20.:13:27.

more than �2 million each. The Treasury says it shows RBS is

:13:27.:13:31.

responding to government pressure. It is controversial because it is

:13:31.:13:36.

82% owned by the tax payer. Chancellor and Prime Minister had

:13:36.:13:40.

given various promises that they would rain in excess and use their

:13:40.:13:45.

power as a shareholder in RBS to ensure there is responsibility

:13:45.:13:48.

exercised. People would be entitled to ask, where is the Prime Minister

:13:48.:13:54.

and where is the Chancellor? What are they doing about this? Stephen

:13:54.:13:59.

Hester, he waved his �1 million bonus in January under extreme

:13:59.:14:05.

pressure from politicians and the media. One influential City figure

:14:05.:14:10.

warns that the British economy would be damaged if people like him

:14:10.:14:14.

would prevent en masse to work abroad. I think this country has to

:14:14.:14:21.

ask itself whether we really do want great international banks -

:14:21.:14:24.

great international financial companies - head quartering

:14:24.:14:30.

themselves here and basing themselves in London, making a �63

:14:30.:14:32.

billion a year contribution to the income of the Exchequer or whether

:14:32.:14:37.

we would prefer to kill the golden goose and chase them all out.

:14:37.:14:41.

Bank of Scotland was found guilty by the Financial Services Authority

:14:41.:14:47.

a serious misconduct will take in crazy race between 2006 and 2008

:14:47.:14:53.

before it was bought by Lloyds. Bankers paid rose by two match in

:14:53.:15:02.

the boom years and has not been cut Our top story tonight:

:15:02.:15:03.

Italy has condemned as "inexplicable", Britain's decision

:15:03.:15:06.

not to give advanced warning of the failed hostage rescue.

:15:06.:15:08.

Coming up: Racing towards 2012 - we meet the

:15:08.:15:11.

new stars of Britain's swimming team hoping for its strongest ever

:15:11.:15:21.
:15:21.:15:24.

Coming up, the latest from Istanbul, as British athletes go for gold at

:15:24.:15:34.
:15:34.:15:36.

the World Indoor Athletics Championships.

:15:36.:15:38.

David Cameron is promising a further crackdown on so-called

:15:38.:15:42.

legal highs. They're drugs not intended for human consumption but

:15:42.:15:45.

that can be legally sold - such as methoxetamine, which has been

:15:45.:15:48.

linked to the deaths of two people in Leicestershire. Our UK affairs

:15:48.:15:50.

correspondent, Chris Buckler, reports on the drugs's popularity

:15:50.:15:59.

and how easily it can be bought for For many on a night out, alcohol is

:15:59.:16:04.

the drug of choice. But others will take a legal substances, or similar

:16:04.:16:08.

drugs -- will take illegal substances or similar drugs.

:16:08.:16:13.

Methoxetamine, or MXE, is one of a range of so-called legal highs sold

:16:13.:16:16.

online, or in the shops. This week, the government took steps towards

:16:16.:16:21.

banning it, after Leicestershire Police linked it to two deaths. The

:16:22.:16:25.

results of toxicology tests are still to be released. However, it

:16:25.:16:29.

is clear that just like illegal drugs, legal highs can have

:16:29.:16:35.

negative effects on their uses. don't feel right. I thought my

:16:35.:16:39.

teeth were going to fall out, it was horrible. Don't do them.

:16:39.:16:44.

legal highs, there is no result of what the comedown or the

:16:44.:16:49.

experiences. Legal eyes are not controlled under the Misuse of

:16:49.:16:59.
:16:59.:16:59.

Drugs Act. The government -- legal We found that many shops, including

:16:59.:17:05.

this one in Stockport, stick to those rules, but it is not the case

:17:05.:17:09.

with every supplier. In a store in Sheffield we were told what the

:17:09.:17:19.
:17:19.:17:19.

effect of the different legal highs We asked about the packets stating

:17:19.:17:22.

that the drugs were not for human consumption, the warning was

:17:22.:17:32.
:17:32.:17:39.

Another of the legal highs we were David Cameron was asked about black

:17:39.:17:43.

mamba during this week's Prime Minister's Question Time. He said

:17:43.:17:46.

the Home Office were aware and looking at the drab, and insisted

:17:47.:17:51.

that the government were determined to stamp out legal eyes -- at the

:17:51.:17:55.

drug. One of the problems is people buying it and thinking it is like

:17:55.:18:00.

cannabis. In actual fact, it is much stronger. Despite the promise

:18:00.:18:07.

of action, drugs charities say banning individual substances will

:18:07.:18:11.

not work. We are not going to solve the problem in the long term by

:18:11.:18:14.

doing that. We are going to replace one with another and you will end

:18:14.:18:18.

up sooner than later with something that is much worse. The government

:18:18.:18:22.

said it will ban groups of drugs that cause harm, but many are

:18:22.:18:25.

worried about the availability of legal highs. This store in

:18:25.:18:29.

Sheffield insisted it was not their policy to sell drugs fought legal

:18:30.:18:39.
:18:40.:18:42.

consumption but insisted there employee had ignored that.

:18:42.:18:45.

The energy firm, EDF, has agreed to pay out �4.5 million after

:18:45.:18:47.

admitting its sales staff misled customers. The energy regulator,

:18:47.:18:50.

OFGEM, found that people weren't given enough information during the

:18:50.:18:52.

sales process. Our business correspondent, John Moylan is here.

:18:52.:18:55.

This is pretty embarrassing for EDF, what exactly did they do wrong?

:18:55.:18:58.

is the result of an 18 month investigation which found that some

:18:58.:19:00.

doorstep people from EDF for not giving customers all of the

:19:00.:19:03.

admission that they needed, and its telesales agents who were cold-

:19:03.:19:06.

calling were claiming big savings, without knowing they could be

:19:06.:19:10.

delivered. EDF was facing a sizable find that has offered to make a

:19:10.:19:16.

sizable payment, the biggest of its kind, that will effectively go to

:19:16.:19:20.

customers -- but has offered. The payout is in the region of �4.5

:19:20.:19:25.

million. It means that 70,000 of EDF's Most Honourable customers

:19:25.:19:31.

will receive a payout in the region of �50 as a refund on their bills -

:19:31.:19:35.

- Most Honourable customers. Ironically, it is not going to the

:19:35.:19:45.
:19:45.:19:45.

customers most affected -- most Probes into N Powell, SSE and

:19:45.:19:51.

Scottish Power are ongoing. -- into Npower. Probably because of this

:19:51.:19:55.

ongoing investigation and criticism from MPs which talked about Del Boy

:19:55.:20:00.

sales tactics, most of the major suppliers have ended unannounced

:20:00.:20:03.

doorstep sales. A year after the tsunami that

:20:03.:20:06.

struck in Japan, the cost of the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima is

:20:07.:20:14.

now put at $130 billion. The human costs are incalculable. 130,000

:20:14.:20:18.

people are still unable to return home. Damian Grammaticas has been

:20:18.:20:24.

back to see how life has changed in two communities close to Fukushima.

:20:24.:20:28.

You can't see it, but absolved by the trees, the radiation threat is

:20:28.:20:38.
:20:38.:20:41.

all around us. From this point, A year ago, Iitate was home to

:20:41.:20:47.

26,000 people, 25 miles from Fukushima. Today, it is too

:20:47.:20:50.

radioactive to live here. Japan's government wants to clean up not

:20:50.:20:54.

just Iitate, but several thousand square kilometres of contaminated

:20:54.:20:59.

land around here. Nothing like it has been done before, not even

:20:59.:21:02.

after the Chernobyl disaster. No one knows whether all this can be

:21:02.:21:08.

made fit for humans to live in again. Professor Yoichi Tao is

:21:08.:21:11.

trying to work out how to find and remove the caesium that the

:21:11.:21:16.

disaster spewed out. Carried on the wins, it has spread over an area

:21:16.:21:19.

several times the size of Greater London. The radiation will last

:21:20.:21:27.

longer than a human lifetime. government say they will

:21:27.:21:30.

decontaminate everywhere, but it a huge area, I don't think they can

:21:30.:21:35.

do it. It will cost a colossal amount. And Fukushima's reactors

:21:35.:21:43.

are still fragile, so many are too fearful to live in the shadow of

:21:43.:21:49.

the nuclear plant. 15 miles from it, Minamisoma is bisected by the

:21:49.:21:55.

nuclear explosions own -- exclusion zone. The 25,000 people who fled

:21:56.:22:00.

last year have not returned. Across the town, the top five centimetres

:22:00.:22:04.

of soil is being removed. More radioactive particles keep falling

:22:04.:22:11.

from the trees. At the Haramachi Saiidi nursery school, they now

:22:11.:22:17.

take radiation readings every day, and then swab the playground clean,

:22:17.:22:22.

before the children are allowed out to play. All wear masks. The school

:22:22.:22:26.

is one of the few places that has been completely decontaminated. A

:22:26.:22:29.

counter installed in the playground shows radiation a little above

:22:29.:22:35.

normal, but within safe limits. TRANSLATION: They have cleaned up

:22:35.:22:39.

our Nursery and playground, that's all. We can't even take the

:22:39.:22:44.

children out of the front gate. Our life is limited to these tiny

:22:44.:22:50.

spaces. Even when it levels are low, many parents won't bring their

:22:50.:22:54.

children back here. Living with radiation is a risk they don't want

:22:54.:22:58.

to take. An agreement appears to have been

:22:58.:23:01.

reached that will allow Rangers Football Club to complete this

:23:01.:23:04.

season's fixtures. It is understood the players have struck a

:23:04.:23:08.

provisional deal with administrators to take wage cuts of

:23:08.:23:13.

up to 75%. The club needs to save �1 million a month to keep going.

:23:13.:23:16.

Rebecca Adlington became a household name when she won two

:23:16.:23:20.

gold medals at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Now there is a

:23:20.:23:24.

whole host of other British swimmers hoping for Olympic glory,

:23:24.:23:29.

and many believe this could be the strongest British Olympic swimming

:23:29.:23:34.

team ever. James Pearce is at the Aquatics Centre in Stratford.

:23:34.:23:37.

Roberto Adlington is hoping to qualify for the 800 metres tonight,

:23:37.:23:42.

is she likely to get through -- throwback Adlington. Her final gets

:23:42.:23:47.

under way in 15 minutes. I don't need to be very bold to say she

:23:47.:23:56.

would look at place and win the race. Rebecca Addington is in very

:23:56.:24:01.

good company when it comes to potential medallists. It is one of

:24:01.:24:04.

London 20 top's most impressive structures, but British runners are

:24:04.:24:07.

becoming increasingly confident that the venue will end up being

:24:07.:24:13.

known more for them success inside, than any view outside. It has been

:24:13.:24:17.

an outstanding week for a number of our top competitors. One after the

:24:17.:24:22.

other, they have shown their Olympic potential. Hannah Miley, 21

:24:22.:24:26.

years old. Winner here in the 400 metres individual medley, his

:24:26.:24:36.

silver medallist at last year's Liam Tancock, aged 26, one of the

:24:36.:24:41.

world's finest backstroker us. Already, North champion, now aiming

:24:41.:24:49.

to be Olympic champion. Ellen Gandy, 20 years old, impressive winner of

:24:49.:24:55.

the 200 metres butterfly. She too is a 200 metres silver medallist at

:24:55.:25:01.

the World Championships. She has a real chance of becoming a star of

:25:02.:25:07.

Team GB. A medal of any colour would be brilliant but a gold medal

:25:07.:25:11.

would be the best thing. I have dreamt that the Queen would present

:25:11.:25:16.

them and it would be great. then there is Rebecca Adlington, on

:25:16.:25:22.

Sunday she was dominant in qualifying for the freestyle event.

:25:22.:25:27.

She is likely to win by an even greater margin in the 800 metres.

:25:27.:25:31.

British women is in a fantastic place, particularly the women's

:25:31.:25:36.

team. In some events we have at four ladies in the top 16, going

:25:36.:25:40.

for two spots. Loss of 15 and 16 year olds are ready to fill their

:25:40.:25:49.

This should be just the beginning. British medals in a British pool,

:25:49.:25:55.

no Maunder Olympic tickets are so hard to come by.

:25:55.:26:00.

Paralympian Ellie Simmonds became the first person to break a world

:26:00.:26:05.

record in this pool. The Aquatics Centre is going to be one of the

:26:05.:26:15.
:26:15.:26:16.

places to be this summer. Thank you. We could get some fine

:26:16.:26:20.

spring sunshine by day this weekend. There may be some interesting

:26:20.:26:25.

viewing at night. The recent increase in solar activity means

:26:25.:26:29.

the aurora is possibly visible almost anywhere. It does depend on

:26:29.:26:33.

the cloud. And there will be some breaks here and there overnight. I

:26:33.:26:37.

can't promise everywhere clear skies. We are expecting lumps of

:26:37.:26:43.

cloud to drift across the country. The thickest cloud will persist

:26:43.:26:46.

across Northern Ireland and western Scotland. Where there will be

:26:46.:26:50.

drizzly rain. Elsewhere it is generally dry. It is a mild night.

:26:50.:26:56.

By and large, a cloudy start to the weekend but it should cheer up.

:26:56.:27:05.

At one or two spots of drizzly rain, we are going to keep thicker cloud

:27:05.:27:09.

throughout the weekend across the Highlands of Scotland. To the east

:27:09.:27:16.

of the hills with a bit of sunshine, temperatures could jump out. 13 or

:27:16.:27:21.

maybe 14 -- jumped up. Cloudy over north-west England. Temperatures

:27:21.:27:27.

with a bit of sunshine may reach 13 or 14. Much of England and Wales

:27:27.:27:34.

will see bright and find conditions. Western coasts may stay quite grey

:27:34.:27:37.

and dreary. It should brighten up for the Millennium Stadium for

:27:37.:27:41.

Wales against Italy. As for Ireland against Scotland, it could be

:27:41.:27:46.

milder in Dublin. Through the evening, we will not see a great

:27:46.:27:51.

deal of change. A few more holes in the cloud, we could again see the

:27:51.:27:56.

aurora. Sunday is a similar day. Eastern areas favourite for bright

:27:56.:28:00.

and sunny spells. Most likely to stay grey with the odd spot of

:28:01.:28:04.

drizzle. Where the sun comes out, temperatures will jump into the

:28:04.:28:08.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS