11/04/2012 BBC News at Six

Jailed for arson - the man who set fire to a furniture store in London

during last summer's riots. A symbol of the mindless violence -

the House of Reeves store, which had survived the blitz, was finally

destroyed by this man, Gordon Thompson, who set fire to one of

their sofas. He's done so much tremendous harm for everybody, and

we have to fight back, and that's what we'll do.

Also on tonight's programme: panic in Indonesia as a powerful

earthquake spark a tsunami alert across the Pacific region bringing

back vivid memories of the Boxing Coming clean about their best deals

- how the big six energy companies will be helping you save money on

your fuel bills. And the wonders of the universe,

but mostly hidden from view - stargazers call for councils to

tackle unnecessary lighting. I'll be here with Sportsday later

in the hour on the BBC News channel including Bahrain in the balance -

four Formula One teams wait to hear Good evening, and welcome to the

BBC News at 6.00pm. The judge called it a "wilful act of shocking,

dangerous vandalism". "wifull It was one of the defining images of

last summer's riots - the huge blaze in south London which

destroyed a family-run furniture store that had stood on the site

for more than 140 years. The fire also spread to nearby flats,

forcing people to flee their homes. Today the man who started it,

Gordon Thompson, a 34-year-old painter and decorator, was

sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison. Sangita Myska is in Croydon

for us now. This is what's left of the site

that once housed five generations of a family business - the owners

of that business have described its loss as a bereavement, and they say

they hope today's sentence, the longest to be handed out in

relation to last summer's riots, will act as a mindful message to

those thinking of doing the same again.

It was this huge fire deliberately started at Reeve's of Croydon that

gave rise to some of the most memorable images from the worst

night of the London riots. For 144 years this historic building had

housed five generations of a family business. Today, the man who

destroyed it, Gordon Thompson, a painter and decorator and father of

two, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison. Father and son

Maurice and Trevor Reeve showed me around where the building once

stood. What was left has been demolished. The cost to the

business will eventually be covered by insurance, but the emotional

burden still remains. It was like losing a member of the family. This

has been here all my memorable life. I was - I played in here as a child.

I lived above here as a young man. I worked here as an adult, and this

was the place that Maurice made his own when he took over the company

from my grandfather in the early '80s. Thompson's crime was caught

on CCTV. You can see him at the top of the screen approaching the shop.

There's something burning in his hand. He touches it to a sofa,

which catches fire. The shop was soon engulfed in flames, the fire

so ferocious it set the buildings opposite it alight. It was at this

moment shop assistant Monika Concheck was forced to jump for her

life into the arms of a fireman. "Members of the public both in

Croydon and elsewhere were shocked at the television footage which

showed the extent of the damage caused by Thompson's actions. When

faced with the strength of the case against him, Thompson pleaded

guilty, which meant many witnesses did not have to relive distressing

memories about what happened that night." Thank you.

From the rubble, the Reeves have begun building their business back

up at a site across the road. They say they hope today's sentence will

be enough to deter others bent on wanton vandalism. Now, it's

expected that Thompson will serve about half of that 11-and-a-half-

year sentence. The Reeves say that nevertheless, they believe that

this is fair, and they hope that that'll be enough time for Thompson,

who has become known as a serial reoffender, to rehabilitate.

Thank you very much. Two powerful earthquakes in the

Indian Ocean triggered tsunami warnings today. There were scenes

of panic in some coastal areas as the quake hit, followed soon after

by a powerful aftershock. People fled to higher ground fearing a

repeat of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 in which hundreds of thousands

of people died. The epicentre of today's quake - which measured 8.6

- was close to the region in Indonesia that was worst hit in

2004. Amazingly, there've been no reports so far of serious injuries

or damage. Rachel Harvey reports from Thailand.

The terror on their faces speaks volumes. They know all too well

what an earthquake can do. In 2004, the Aceh earthquake isn't ancient

history. The memories are still fresh, still painful. You don't

forget the loss of more than 200,000 lives, and today the earth

issued another powerful reminder of this region's volatile foundations.

The response, visceral fear. But this time, there was purpose within

the panic - a mass movement to higher ground and the safety of a

mosque, one of the few buildings to survive the tsunami seven years ago

- local knowledge learned from bitter experience.

The same reaction in Phuket on Thailand's west coast, locals

guiding holiday makers to safety. They heard the siren, followed the

signs, knew what to do. Lessons have been learned. Today's

earthquake was hugely powerful, felt as far away as Bangkok and

southern India. So why no tsunami this time? In 2004, the one

tectonic plate slipped beneath another, displacing a huge volume

of water. Today's earthquake was lateral, two plates rubbing against

each other violently but less likely to spawn huge waves.

Nevertheless, experts say the decision to issue an alert was

justified. When they give the warning, they have no idea what

kind of earthquake it is. We found this out quite recently. This is

when you analyse the data arriving all over the world. You can find

out what kind of earthquake it was, what the mechanism was, but when

they send their warnings out, they have no idea of that. No room for

complacency and no sign of it in Aceh - just help for those who

couldn't help themselves increasingly urgent warnings, a

desperate prayer and - this time - tragedy avoided.

The annual number of applications to take children into care in

England has exceeded 10,000 for the first time. The Courts Advisory

Service says the figure is 10% up on last year. It's thought the

publicity given to the death of Baby Peter in north London has

contributed to the sharp rise in new applications.

The big six energy companies in Britain have agreed to write to

their customers every year to let them know which are the best

tariffs available and how to get them. The move, agreed with the

Government, could save some households up to �100 a year. Our

business correspondent John Moylan reports.

Energy share, energy smart - there are more than a hundred tariffs and

deals out there, so how are you expected to choose? Now the

Government says the suppliers will have to send out letters detailing

which one might be most suitable for you. To help everyone with

their bills, to get more people switched on to the energy they use,

I can announce today that we have secured a landmark deal with the

six big energy companies who cover 99% of customers, to give customers

a guaranteed offer of the best tariff for them. That matters

because according to the Government, as many as 70% of customers are on

the wrong tariff. It believes households could save up to �100 by

shopping around. The problem is three-quarters of us don't tend to

switch. The companies say it's not their

fault since last autumn's energy summit. They have been working with

the Government to make tariffs and bills simpler. Today some

downplayed the significance of it all. In reality, the Government's

announcement isn't that different to industry has been doing. We have

been reaching out in different forms for a long while now. We're

trying to reach out in a more consistent form, a new norm to

approach customers. We all want to cut our electricity and gas bills,

but receiving a letter is just the start. You then have to contact

your energy company and agree upon a new tariff, and of course, you

won't be told if another supplier has a better deal. However,

consumer groups have welcomed the announcement, but they warn the

customers will end up paying for the cost of this mass mail shot,

and they point out that many people will still not have access to the

best offers. The cheapest deals in the energy market are for those

people who are online and have direct debit facilities. That's the

way it is. If you don't have access to that, if that's difficult for

you, you'll not get the cheapest deals. Labour fanned the flames

today, dismissing the plan and saying the over-75s should be

automatically offered the best tariffs, and it will only work if

more of us switch, and that's something which even Nick Clegg

says he struggles to do. The BBC has learned that several

Formula One teams expect this month's Bahrain Grand Prix to be

cancelled. Unrest in the country meant that the race was removed

from last year's Formula One calendar, but organisers had

thought next weekend's race would go ahead. We can speak now to Dan

Roan. What's the latest. A sense of deja vu surrounds the Bahrain Grand

Prix. Last year's race was cancelled by the tiny kingdom. Now

with that unrest continuing, there are fresh calls by human rights

groups for it to be boycotted. There are safety concerns

surrounding the event. The negotiations and manoeuvrings are

continuing behind the scenes. They're intensifying as to who

makes this decision. There is a huge decision at stake with

contracts to be honoured by the Bahrain Government as well. They

see this event as an opportunity to show days sport. Bernie Ecclestone

told me they had overnight. Now several teams expect the race to be

cancelled. They have concerns. Time is running out. They'll gather

ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend. A decision has to be made

soon, but whichever way it goes, it shows sport and politics do collide,

especially in this most political of sports.

Thank you very much. David Cameron has been defending

the government's plans to limit charitable donations. But he says

he will look sympathetically at the concerns of leading charities who

claim their funding will be hit. He made the comments in Indonesia

during the second day of his tour of Asia where there was good news

for British jobs. The national airline, Garuda, signed an order

for eleven Airbus passenger jets, which will safeguard hundreds of

jobs in the UK. James Landale is travelling with the Prime Minister

and has just sent this report. A new country, a different President,

another guard of honour, but from David Cameron, the same message. He

wants British business to get their hands on some of Indonesia's huge

and growing markets, maybe even sell them some of our weapons. In

the economy that is growing at an extraordinary 6% a year is one, he

said that Britain cannot ignore. This is an economy of 240 million

people. It's going to be a top ten economy in the next few decades.

Britain should be investing here, selling here, and that's why I'm

pleased to get on a plane with a bunch of business people, go to the

fastest growing parts of the world and drum up British business

because it means jobs back at home. It doesn't matter how many thousand

miles away I am from Great Britain. The only thought I have in my mind

is what are we going to do to get British jobs, to get our economy

going? Some of the people travelling with you are defence

contractors. You're here in part to promote defence sales. How do you

avoid getting caught out and some of these weapons being used by the

wrong people at the wrong time? have strict controls in Britain and

a strict licensing system for who we're able to sell these things to.

Britain has strong defence industries that employ thousands of

people in our country, and in a country like Indonesia that is now

a democracy, that is a responsible player on the world stage, that has

a right to defend itself, I think it is acceptable under the right

conditions to sell them some of or goods. David Cameron left Britain

with his Government on the back foot after a self-inflicted fuel

shortage, coalition tensions over security and an unpopular Budget

he's still being forced to defend, including plans to concern tax

relief for big charitable donors. What do you say to charitys who say

this is just going to cause their donations the try up? Let's be

clear about what we're proposing. We're saying individuals should be

able to have �50,000 worth of tax allowances or a quarter of their

salary, however high their salary is, going in tax allowances, but

we've got to put an end to the abuse that some people have been

using tax allowances to get their effective income tax rate not at

50p, not at 40p, sometimes as low as 20p or 10p. There is abuse going

on. We need to deal with that to make sure that the rich pay their

share of income tax. But it's his decision to cut the 50p top rate of

income tax that critics say has lost him so much trust. Politics

has to be about doing the right thing about the long-term health of

your economy and country. Having a top rate of tax that makes you

uncompetitive with countries like Italy can't be sensible. Do you

still say we're in this together? Absolutely, I do. Can you say the

words? We're all in it together. The tour of South-East Asia

continues. David Cameron is clearly at ease walking the world stage.

His officials insist these trips do boost exports, don't solve his

Our top story: The man who set fire to a furniture store in London

during last summer's riots has been jailed for Len and a half half

years. Coming up: I will be reporting live from Jordell Bank in

Cheshire as a report suggests half the population can't see many stars

at night because of light pollution. And I will be here with Sportsday

later on the news channel. Bahrain in the balance. Formula One teams

wait to hear if this month's race Security forces in Syria have

continued shelling opposition held areas using tank and artillery fire

today. The latest violence comes despite the looming deadline for a

ceasefire, which has been proposed by the former UN Secretary General

Kofi Annan. It's due to start at 6.00am tomorrow morning. Opposition

leaders who have taken refuge across the border in Turkey say

they'll have to fight on, if the regime continues its attacks. Our

special correspondent Fergal Keane has sent this report from Rehanli

on the border. Waiting for news from the country

they fled, this is Rehanli where new arrivals from Syria are

processed before being sent on to other camps. We didn't meet anybody

who expressed optimism. But a few at least were willing to give the

Annan mission the benefit of the doubt. Do you think there is going

to be be peace? I hope for that, sea says, but they have talked

before and it's come to nothing. I do just hope for peace.

From here you can see Syria. It's calm, but other parts of the border

region have become precarious in the past few days.

Syrian forces have fired across, hitting refugees.

And here, shooting to stop soldiers from defecting to the Free Syrian

Army. GUNFIRE.

Inside Syria the last days have seen furious fighting. In Homs,

troops have pounded opposition districts with tank fire and

mortars. No sign here of any military withdrawal.

In parts of the city there's little left to fight over.

Gunfire. The activist filming this burning shopping centre calls out

"are you watching, Kofi Annan, where is the international

community?" such words and such images have

accompanied Kofi Annan throughout his mission but he is still

insisting on the possibility of a ceasefire.

If everyone respects it, I think by 6.00 on Thursday 12th, 6.00am on

Thursday 12th we should see much improved situation on the ground.

As tanks were on the move in Homs, Kofi Annan could only hope in the

assurances he had been given. But this evening the Government

insisted it would stop fighting tomorrow, though it reserved the

right to retaliate if attacked. am confident my Government is fully

committed to Mr Annan's plan, but in the same time since the violence

is mutual you can only guarantee our side. I cannot guarantee the

violence from the armed group and those countries harbouring them.

But the Free Syrian Army refuses to believe anything the Government

says. Will your forces stop shooting when the deadline expires

tomorrow morning? TRANSLATION: I don't believe our forces will

stop shooting because the other side won't stop. If the other side

stops, the Syrian people would march on the President's Palace on

the same day. This means the regime won't stop.

It is possible that the violence across the border might die down

when the deadline runs out tomorrow morning, but there's no likelihood

of a permanent cessation. Both the regime and the opposition now

believe this is a fight to the finish. That is the logic that's

undermined the Annan mission from the very start.

Plaid Cymru has launched its local election campaign saying that Wales

needs strong and sustainable communities as a step towards

independence. The party, under its new leader Leanne Wood, will be

defending more than 200 seats on 3rd May. She said Plaid's campaign

would centre on protecting public services from spending cuts.

I think that there is sa great potential for us to offer an

alternative to the austerity policies that are coming from the

Westminster Government in London. People are finding it really

difficult at the moment and people are very worried about their

futures and I hope that we can offer an alternative to the

downward spiral that's being offered by the British parties.

The technology giant Apple and several major book publishers in

America, including Penguin and Harper Collins, have been accused

by the US government of fixing the price of e-books. The arrangement

allegedly forced customers in the States to pay tens of millions of

dollars more for books than they would otherwise have spent. Joining

us from Washington is our correspondent Steve Kingstone. This

applies specifically to the American market but explain more

about what they're being accused of. Well, this relates to what the US

Justice Department is calling the revolution in publishing, the fact

more of us are downloading books rather than buying in print in

shops and when that revolution began five years ago the market was

quickly cornered byam a-- Amazon which offered books at discounted

prices and this lawsuit alleges five of those publishers came

together with Steve Jobs and conspired to fix prices, to bring

them up by Apple selling books to customers using the iPad, at prices

set by the publishers with Apple taking a 30% commission. It's

alleged that Apple boosted this was a martial arts move against Amazon

which caused prices to go up, and cost consumers tens of millions

says the Government. Three of the five publishers have settled with

the US Government, the other two and Apple have not, so those cases

will go to court. Thank you very much.

Now with the clear skies we've had lately you may well have noticed

the stars and planets like Venus and Mars shining particularly

brightly. But according to the Campaign To Protect Rural England

we should be able to see far more of them. They say Britain's night

sky is still saturated by light pollution, mainly unnecessary

street lighting. So what can be done to clear the view? Danny

Savage is at the Jodrell Bank Observatory.

Well, earlier this year about 1,000 star-gazers were asked to go out on

a clear night and see how many stars they could count in the

Constellation of Orion, most of them managed to count a handful of

stars. They said this was down to light pollution.

In modern times this is what a map of Britain's lights would appear

like. The red areas are the brightest lit

towns and cities, the very dark blue is where there are virtually

no lights. According to figures out today, more than half of the UK's

population can't see the night sky, because of light pollution.

Campaigners say it blurs the distinction between town and

country. I am 31 and can't think of the last time I saw the Milky Way,

if I ever did and lots of children will grow up never having seen the

Milky Way. So for most people the only way they can see the full

wonder of the night sky is to visit somewhere like Jodrell Bank to get

an idea of what's above us. We have been to places where there was no

light pollution, so, for example, last year we went to Tenerife, we

could see the stars. You can't see here, what did we think of them?

Amazing, weren't they? I prefer it when there's no light, like street

lights or anything. I like it when it's just stars.

And experts say we shouldn't underestimate the value of being

able to see the Constellations. think astronomy has been shown to

be an inspiration for young people, they get into science and

technology through an interest in astronomy. If you are not able to

see what is up there above your heads, how do you draw people into

it? That's something to worry about. But there are concerns that

creating conditions to see the stars will cause its own problems.

Most people appreciate the merits of trying to turn off street lights

wherever possible, but we know from research that most accidents and

breakdowns happen in areas where there is poor visibility and poor

lighting. We need to think about the effect of that, in particularly

well build-up areas. Coincidentally guidance has been issued to local

authorities to reduce light pollution through better design,

some areas have switched off at night. But it's not always a

popular idea with residents. But what all sides in this

discussion agree is that public safety has to come first. Although

the Campaign to Protect Rural England say that poor excuses for

bad or excessive lighting are still being heard too often.

Residents of a Southern California neighbourhood were told to stay

indoors when they were paid a visit by a huge black bear. The animal,

thought to weigh around 42 stone, strolled through back gardens,

scaled fences and even climbed on top of cars as it searched for food

in La Crescenta, California. It was eventually cornered and shot

with a tranquilliser dart before being released back into the wild.

That would give you a fright! Let's Grizzly weather too!

Do not adjust your set, this is not snow, but hail taken earlier on in

Hampshire. Violent storms around, hail, thunder and torrential rain.

The storms easing away this evening, some places have had a lovely day.

A day of contrast. One or two showers will linger tonight. Most

of us will become dry. Where the sky is clear it will turn chilly,

certainly in the suburbs and rural areas close to freezing with a

touch of frost and one or two mist patches. Tomorrow starts bright and

chilly for many, but like today the showers will bubble up and they'll

flourish across the more central and eastern parts of England and

Wales, in particular. Very hit and miss. Other parts of the UK will

fare better. Regional variation, but if you are across the heart of

England don't be surprised if you encounter lively storms again. Some

places avoiding the showers entirely, and across the south-west

of England here any showers will be isolated and by the afternoon most

of us will be bright and sunny. For west Wales, too, where it's further

east there will be lively downpours. Across the Irish sea into Northern

Ireland, I am hopeful bar the odd isolated shower it should be dry

and bright with sunshine throughout much of the day. The showers across

Scotland will be rather lighter than further south and many places,

particularly across the Highlands, should stay fine. A cold wind

developing across the north-east of Scotland, spreading southwards on

Friday. The showers turning wintry across Scotland over the higher

ground, and that cold air, and winds out. A chilly feel through

the weekend and many showers this weekend will be turning wintry.