05/04/2012 BBC News at Six

20 million customers are banned from using hosepipes after two of

the driest winters on record. Water companies says households in

southern and eastern England face a �1,000 fine if they're caught

watering the garden or washing the car. Businesses are hit too.

We're already having to postpone and cancel projects. It's our

livelihood. Just use slightly less water, then

we'll manage the situation quite well but people are the key to the

whole problem. We'll be asking how long the ban

could last. Also on tonight's programme: A British terrorism

suspect held without trial for more than seven years demands to be

prosecuted here rather than America - claiming his case has been

mishandled. I would urge the director of public

prosecutions to please put me on trial in this country and to find

out what has gone wrong in my case. Sky News admits hacking into e-mail

accounts while investigating two separate stories. But insists it

was in the public interest. Guilty of burglary and handling

stolen goods during last summer's riots - a millionaire's daughter is

told she could face jail. They come up to the line. Great Britain are

going to take the gold medal. And raining Gold as Great Britain

add to their medal haul at the Track Cycling World Championships

Good evening. Welcome to the BBC News at Six.

A hosepipe ban has been introduced across parts of southern and

eastern England after two of the driest winters on record. 20

million households and businesses have been told that from today they

garden, wash the car or clean outside spaces. The ban imposed by

seven different water companies is expected to last through the summer.

Anyone caught flouting it has been warned they could face a fine of up

to �1,000. Jeremy Cooke is in Surrey. If you are watching this in

Scotland, Wales and the North West of England, it must seem like a

distant concern for stoppered in the east and south-east of England,

it is a reality. The hosepipe ban so widely predictors has finally

arrived. It will have an impact on lovely gardens like this, and those

of us who grew vegetables in the back garden. But it will also have

an impact on some businesses who will be hit by the restrictions.

The water companies of east and south-east England are running dry.

It means a hosepipe ban across the regions. 20 million consumers

facing water restrictions. Take a look at the reservoirs and it is

clear to see the problem. Two dry winters have left by landscaped --

landscape parched and farmers are feeling the full impact. It means a

hosepipe ban predicted, has arrived. Break the rules and you could be

fined �1,000. What are the do's and don'ts? Odyssey you cannot use a

hosepipe in the garden, but you can use a watering can. You cannot fill

a water feature with a hose, but cleaning a patio or a deck if it

gets dangerous is OK. Hosepipes on golf courses are out, but the

Olympic venues have been made an exception. So, the water companies

have laid out of their rules. Crucial now, is how their customers

respond. It is important, the key to managing the whole situation. It

we can get people to use slightly less water, we will manage the

situation quite well. But people are the key to the whole problem.

Foremost amateur gardeners, the hosepipe ban is an inconvenience.

But for professional landscapers it is more serious and is likely to

have an immediate impact on the work they do and on their incomes.

This man is doing what he can on this project in Surrey, putting in

drought-resistant plants. But the client wants the lawn re turfed and

that job is on hold because of the hosepipe ban. Small businesses will

suffer for this. It is not just small businesses, the environmental

and economic impact. It will affect the suppliers as well, plant and

Tower for suppliers. As well as the hosepipe ban, we are being urged to

save water in other ways, but where does it go? Flushing the toilet

take its stock to nine litres at the time. A standard cycle on the

washing machine uses 60 litres. And filling the bath takes on average,

80 litres of water. No one is saying things are as bad as the

1976 drought, but the ground water levels now are the same at the same

time of that year, at which led to a summer crisis and rationing and

standpipes. Be needed question is how long will it last? It is likely

to last throughout the coming summer and that is if we get a

period of heavy rain. So why has the ban been introduced

so early in the year, and how much do we need to change the way we use

water? Here's our Science Editor, David Shukman.

The drizzly Ireland, Britain as it is often thought of. This was the

seaside last summer. So how come we are experiencing a drought? The

most obvious reason is low rainfall. You can see the effects deep

underground. This more Hall is in Kent. Usually winter rain would

replenish this natural store of water, now the level is at a record

low. According to Met Office figures, the average winter

rainfall for the UK is 332 mm, just over a foot. By contrast, the

Central and South East England is a lot less at 220 mm. But in the

winter before last it got 200 mm, and this winter, 162. It is not

evidence of a long-term change. get lots of changes in the weather

in this part of the world, and it is probably those of variations in

our natural weather patterns that is bringing his drought. Another

reason is leakage. In Lincolnshire, an engineer checks the pipelines.

Every day, an estimated 3 billion litres is lost. One way to spot

leaks is to listen to them. The water companies are under pressure.

We have reduced leakage by a third over the last six years and hit our

targets for the last six years running. But we have a lot to do

and we will be out there every day finding and fixing leakage. So two

dry windows in a row it is one problem, leakage is another. But

the third factor is the growth in our population, especially in

south-east England. And each of us is using more water. Should we

think differently? Were it comes from? How we get it? How much of it

we used? Do attitudes need to change? Images like this make it

hard to imagine water could be in short supply. But we used more per

person than many neighbouring countries. It is making the

connection between the fact the water used in the homes comes from

the natural environment. This drought is helping people to make

the connection. In a nation of Garden lovers, bans on hosepipes

are never popular but this is not yet a crisis. But we will have to

or use less water to avoid one. The British terror suspect, Babar

Ahmad, who's been held without trial for more than seven years,

says he wants to be tried in the UK rather than be extradited to the

United States. He's accused of running a jihadi website. Next week

the European Court for Human Rights will rule on his extradition. Our

Home Affairs Correspondent, Dominic Casciani, has this exclusive report.

He is the longest serving prisoner in a British jail, never convicted

of a crime. The US authorities are fighting to extradite him, claiming

he ran extremist websites to support terrorists. He will find

out his fate. In an exclusive BBC interview from prison, Babar Ahmad,

claims he has been denied justice by the British authorities. I would

urge the Director of Public Prosecutions to put me on trial in

this country and find out what has gone wrong in my case. There has

been a serious and unprecedented abuse of process. The Government

tried to stop us meeting Babar Ahmad, but a High Court judge

judges back the BBC. He has been held since 2004 in maximum-security

awaiting extradition to the United States. He is accused of running a

website called Azzam, which the USA provided materials at and support

for terrorism in Chechnya and Afghanistan. They said that

material was used to recruit people for jihad and that is why they want

to put you on trial? Be there is anything but broke any law of the

United Kingdom, or anything in there that is wrong, I don't

understand for the last 16 years were the police and the Crown

Prosecution Service have been. did you run the website? The right

place for me to respond to these allegations is in a court of law.

That is why I call upon the Crown Prosecution Service to put my heart

at rest and put me on trial in this country. Evan Kohlmann is an

extreme as an expert who is likely to testify against Babar Ahmad in

America. There has never been a sight like this that have a direct

line in, not just to radicals or extremists but movers and shakers

in the world of jihad and mujahedin. If Babar Ahmad is to be put on

trial, the question is where? His alleged crimes on computers while

he lived and worked in London. But it is in Connecticut in America he

is wanted. This is where his alleged website servers were based

on this is where US prosecutors say he should face justice. But Babar

Ahmad says the British police sent his case to America when he could

have been prosecuted at home. The police deny any wrongdoing. Next

week it will be decided if he can be extradited.

And a longer version of that interview can be seen on Newsnight

on BBC Two at 10:30pm. Sky News has admitted to hacking

into the e-mail accounts of individuals suspected of criminal

activity while investigating two separate stories. The broadcaster

says it passed its evidence onto police and insists it was acting in

the public interest. Police say an inquiry is ongoing into how the e-

mails were obtained. Matt Prodger, reports. This report contains some

flash photography. Until now, this closest Sky News

got to the hacking scandal was reporting it from its newsroom.

Today it was the news, with the revelation it organised Ashik Ali

authorised a journalist. The e- mails belonged to John Darwin, who

hit the headlines by faking his own debts and his wife could claim the

it insurance. This is the story Sky News ran as a result. It exposed

his wife as a liar and the e-mails pass to the police helped seal her

conviction for deception. Today, There isn't a specific defence

journalist can take advantage of to say they are acting in the public

interest. It is down to the discretion of the police and the

CPS whether or not they take this forward. Of course, when it goes to

court it is in the hand of a judge and maybe a jury. It is against the

law, so there is no legal defence. Is there an ethical defence? Given

the information they gleaned resulted in a prosecution, you

think the public interest was well served. There are number of things

to discuss. Many are waiting for the leg as an inquiry into press

standards and the CPS to provide guidance on such matters. I think

this story underlines the importance of his recommendations,

not just about phone hacking with - - which is one way of obtaining

information illegally. It make sense out that has been widespread

also. A for Rupert Murdoch it is another irritation. BSkyB, the

parent company is under investigation by Ofcom.

The daughter of a millionaire who drove looters around London during

the summer riots has been found guilty of burglary and handling

stolen goods. The 20 year old had denied the charges claiming she was

acting under duress. Here's Nick Higham.

Laura Johnson was the rich girl who went off the rails. A hard-working

student who suffered mental health problems and fell into bad company

after a spell at a clinic. While rioters went on the rampaged in

Woolwich last August, she was driving three young men round the

area, looting as they went. She was brought up in a large house in the

countryside from which her parents run their own marketing services

company. The defence claimed she acted under duress. She had become

infatuated by a drug dealer and thief, who threatened her if she

did not co-operate. But a photo taken on the night, shows her

smiling in her car. CCTV footage taken at a filling station shows

her briefly locked in. That was her chance, say the CPS, a chance to

call for help. But she drove off and join the looting. One witness

described looters running around like rats. The three men went back

and forth between this branch of curries and the car-carrying boxes.

When one of the boxes fell on the ground, she got out and picked it

up. It ended outside a branch of comets. She was allegedly revving

her car at Police and a hat to smash her car window to stop her

driving away. She was branded by Our top story:

20 million customers prevented from using hosepipes, as water companies

impose a ban that could last all summer.

And coming up: How science is helping Britain's

Olympic hopefuls. The technology behind these Olympics is more

extensive and advanced than ever before, looking for those marginal

gains that might make the difference between success and

failure. In the business news, winners and

losers - who will gain from tomorrow's tax changes? And nearly

40 years after the launch of the E- type Jaguar, Jaguar unveils its

They're being dubbed the super- primaries. They're schools with

more than 1,000 pupils and there are growing numbers of them in

England, as councils try to tackle the lack of primary school places.

Across England, more than 450,000 extra places will be needed by 2015,

partly as a result of a baby boom. It's thought that will rise to

around 800,000 by 2020. But the shortage is hitting some areas

harder than others, as Reeta Starting school is a major

milestone in a child's life, but in England the sheer numbers are

causing anxiety, with hundreds of thousands more children are

expected to join the school roll in the next few years. Four-year-old

William from Winchester is one of them. His mother is worried he will

not get into the Prime be school of their choice. It is their local

school, and they live under seven minutes away, but there is no

guarantee he will get in. I had no idea it would be such a lottery,

almost. We live really close, in the catchment area. I thought it

would be automatic and it is not automatic. We really do not know

and we are just waiting for that letter to come through. Winchester

has experienced an unprecedented push for primary places, up by 900

in just two years, placing great demands on this small city. Schools

are having to build everywhere, including into this car-park. It is

up to the local authority to plan for places but the man in charge

says it is difficult, as they have no exact data. It is not a precise

science. It is an art as much as a science. We can make firma

predictions about secondary schools. Primary schools, rather harder.

Younger families moving into the city, and new housing developments,

have put pressure on primary school places in Winchester. But it is not

just here. This is a major problem for parents and schools across the

country. It is most acute here in east London. Immigration and cheap

housing have meant that this school will expand to 1200 pupils, three

times the size of a standard large primary. The numbers mean that they

stagger lunchtime and playtime, have mobile classrooms in the car-

park, and have built on all of the playing fields to accommodate

pupils. It is not many people's idea of a cosy, intimate primary.

There is the ideal of a small village primary school, which is

close to many people's hearts. I think if a school is well managed,

will lead, if the teaching is good and excellent, it will be a good

school. Not everywhere is under such pressure, and the Government

says it is providing over �4 billion in the next four years for

those that are. Three Metropolitan Police officers

have been suspended and are being investigated after allegedly making

racist comments. It comes two days after the Independent Police

Complaints Commission confirmed it was investigating other officers

following allegations that a young black man was racially abused and a

15-year-old black boy assaulted at an east London police station.

The Government has defended tax and benefit changes that come into

force tomorrow, among them changes to the system of tax credits.

Labour say that up to a million householders could lose tax credits

and that families with children may lose on average �500 a year. Emma

Simpson reports. It is the start of another

financial year, and, as ever, there are winners and losers. Mother of

five Kerry Davenport stands to lose a lot. Her husband is unemployed.

She works part-time in a supermarket. But she cannot get the

extra four hours a week needed to keep the working tax credits. May

will lose more than �3,000 a year. It is going to be really difficult

for us. It will change huge amounts of things in our lives. We might

have to move because we cannot afford the rent any more. A lot of

the things that we buy in general, shopping, will be completely

changed. From tomorrow, couples with children will need to raise

their hours from 16 up to 24 a week, to get working tax credits.

Although there are a few exceptions, including families with carers. It

is a change that could affect up to 212,000 families. They could lose

up to �3,870 a year. The Shadow Chancellor, and a visit to a

nursery today, said 1 million people could end up losing tax

credits, and he commissioned a report to show how families, on

average, would be worse off. independent Institute of Fiscal

Studies say that �511 is the hit that families with children from

tomorrow will take. That is on top of the rise in VAT last year,

before they hit to pensioners next year. Of course, there are many

changes coming into effect tomorrow. The Government's highlighting the

increase in the amount we can earn before paying any tax. But that is

worth about �42 per person per year in real terms. On the local

election campaign trail in Wales today, the Prime Minister defended

the changes. When I became Prime Minister there were members of

parliament who were able to claim tax credits, because you could get

them if you were earning �50,000, so we had to change that. But in

the Budget, we delivered a tax cut the 24 million working people.

Kerry Davenport does not earn enough to pay any tax. She has

worked out she will be better off on the dole.

Great Britain has done it again at the Track Cycling World

Championships in Melbourne. Dani King, Laura Trott, and Joanna

Rowsell set the world record twice in a day to win the team pursuit.

From Australia, James Pearce reports.

Britain against Australia, part two. Yesterday, the British men had

beaten their hosts with a world record time. Today, it was the turn

of the women. But this contest was so different. While the men's had

been close, the British women were totally dominant. They had broken

their own world record in qualifying for the final. Now it

was just a question of how much they would break it by again. The

answer was astonishing. Great Britain are going to take the gold

medal. Look at the time. I don't believe it! It is a world record

again. They had taken a second of their previous best time. They have

to beat us now. We have not lost since Manchester World Cup last

year. It will be on our track. It definitely puts out a strong

message. And there could well be more British medals tomorrow.

Current Olympic champion, Victoria Pendleton, is through to the semi-

finals of the individual sprint. But there is no doubt about the

stand-out performance of the day. Britain's Women's pursuit team will

go to London 2012 as one of Britain's best bets for a gold

medal. Nobody should get carried away yet. It is the Olympics which

matter, but the sight of Britain's on top of a podium this close to

the Games certainly bodes well. Well, it all bodes well for this

summer's Games. Great Britain's cyclists have already benefited

from plenty of cutting edge research. And now that's being

extended across a range of sports to help improve the performance of

Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It's hoped

they'll be among the best prepared competitors for London 2012, as

Fergus Walsh reports. The Science of Sport. Shelly Woods,

a Paralympic wheelchair racer, is in a wind tunnel at BAE Systems in

Lancashire. It is normally reserved to check the aerodynamics of

fighter jets. We have never done any testing like this before and we

never knew how to sit, or the best way to sit. Cycling has done a lot

of testing. For me, it is all about my racing position, the most power

I can get through the wheels at the same time as being aerodynamic.

Technology, engineering, biomechanics, medicine, nutrition,

every aspect of sports science is being used to give British athletes

the edge at these Olympics. Hundredths of a second separated

Shelly Woods in bronze from gold at the 5000 metres in Beijing. She

will have a newly designed racing chair this summer, and his

attention to detail extends across a huge range of sports. -- this

attention. If you can do 100 things 1% better, you are on the right

track. Research innovation looks to find the gains that can add up to

5% on performance, but it is the icing on the cake. The athlete has

to be the best prepared they have ever been and to be exceptionally

talented. Britain's women's hockey team finished six at Beijing and

realised that in London they would need to be fitter, faster and

stronger. But these workouts at the High Performance gym at Bisham in

Buckinghamshire are as much about brain as brawn. This apparatus can

calculate speed and force, allowing instant feedback. It means we have

something measurable every time we come into the gym, so it is

imperative to get our levels of recovery, to make sure we are in

our peak performance coming into training. The English Institute of

Sports Performance Centre in Loughborough is part gym, part

laboratory, testing athletes oxygen and blood. It is all part of the

quest for the marginal gains that could make the difference between

success and failure this summer. Bronze medal where there is the

best wibble manager over the Easter period. It has been cold out there

today. We had cloud in the south and north, with sunshine in between

melting the snow cover. Overnight, the cloud in the south will

continue to break up. Temperatures will tumble. In the north, the

cloud moving in. But it is unreliable, so quite chilly in

northern areas. Much colder in the south. There could be a potentially

damaging frost. The cloud will push south tomorrow, producing showers

in England and Wales and patchy rain across Scotland and Northern

Ireland. More cloud in Wales in the afternoon. The best of the sunshine

in the south of the country. Not much sunshine for Northern Ireland,

just about into double figures. Some patchy rain here and there.

Most of the rain in Scotland will be across the north of the mainland.

Cold air across the far north. Double figures through the central

belt. Lots of cloud across northern England, with patchy light rain.

Largely dry in the Midlands. Cloud will increase in southern areas,

but southern England will stage drive. Temperatures should be

higher. -- temperatures will stay dry. On Saturday, patchy rain here

and there, and it could feel at chilly down the eastern side of

England and Scotland. Cloud will be the main theme over the Easter

period. Not a lot of sunshine. Temperatures near average. After