17/05/2012 BBC News at Six

David Cameron says he won't stay silent as the eurozone heads for

uncharted territory. Fears that a Eurozone crisis could suffocate

Britain's economy - the Prime Minister says he'll do what it

takes to defend Britain. I will do what every is necessary to protect

this country, Secure our economy and financial system. It is very

serious and dangerous for our economy and all economies. That is

why our Prime Minister and Chancellor should be at the table

reading debate about the solution rather than carping on the

sidelines. We will ask how Europe's leaders reacted to the Commons.

Also on tonight's programme... A vote of confidence in British car

making - new investment by Vauxhall's owners creates thousands

of new jobs. Freed after eight years in jail for a crime he didn't

commit - the court hears the police didn't check his alibi. Pop a pill

a day - experts say millions more people should be given cholesterol

lowering statins. And Donna Summer dies at 63. Dozens of memorial

plaques are recovered by police in raids on scrap-metal yards. And the

extra �1 charge for posting parcels Welcome to the BBC News at Six.

David Cameron has said he will do whatever it takes to to defend

Britain from the eurozone crisis. With growing anxiety that the

uncertainty surrounding Greece is already spreading to other highly

indebted countries, Mr Cameron challenged eurozone leaders to do

more to contain the risks. And he defended the coalition's deficit

reduction plans, saying anything else was a cop out. The economy,

already back a recession, is now threatened from a squeeze whose

eurozone is steadily deepening. Today the Prime Minister adopted

the tones of an economic wartime leader. We are living in perilous

economic times. Turn on the TV news and you see the return of a crisis

that never really went away. Grease on the brink, the survival of the

euro in question and faced with this I have a clear task, to keep

Britain safe. In Athens the latest in a series of temporary Greek

governments was sworn in today. Ordinary Greeks have been reacting

by withdrawing their cash from the banks. There are not used at the

door yet but that is the fear. Meantime, in Spain, one of the

weaker economies in Europe on markets are charging the government

and ever higher price for the money they need to borrow in ever growing

quantities. Today the Prime Minister held a conference called

the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and the two President of

Europe in advance of a for a summit next week and a summit of the G8,

the club of the world's richest nations, this weekend. This was his

public advice to them from a leader not in the euro but he fears it is

casting a shadow over the British economy... The eurozone is at a

crossroads, it either has to make- up, or it is looking at a potential

break-up. Either Europe has a committed, stable, successful

eurozone, or we are in uncharted territory which carries huge risks

for everybody. Today the new French President pose with his new cabinet.

Francois Hollande was elected on a promise to recast Europe's's

austerity pact. It does not just pose an economic problem but a

political problem, for the coalition. That is because the new

French government say Europe should put policies to promote growth

ahead of those to promote austerity, echoing Labour's calls care at home.

No wonder then that David Cameron today wanted to claim that that

choice does not really exist at all. Deficit reduction and growth are

not alternatives. Delivering the first is absolutely vital in

securing the second. We cannot blow the Budget on more spending and

debt. In the Commons the Shadow Chancellor attacked the government

for believing cutting could ever have created economic growth.

Trying to cut the deficit faster has not boosted growth in recession,

it has choked off confidence, unemployment is up and we are

borrowing more than he planned, not less. The fact is this Prime

Minister, if he is ready claiming he is on the right course, he is

even more complacent and out of touch than even I thought. A Labour

blame the government for the plight, ministers blame the eurozone,

whoever is right, things do not look set to get better any time

Our Europe editor is in Brussels. Gavin, what is the reaction likely

to be to those comments today? There will be some irritation at

David Cameron's insistence that the eurozone and make-up, or face

break-up. In the past he was told to shut up by a former French

President when he spoke out, they were tired of being lectured by the

British. But this time round I think it will be different because

there is widespread acceptance that something Major needs to be done.

It is no longer taboo to talk about the possibility that Greece will

have to exit the euro. In fact, today Angela Merkel went out to say

I have the will, the determination to keep Greece in the eurozone. It

is not just politicians who are feeling anxious about where things

are heading. In both Greece and Spain are ordinary savers are

withdrawing money insignificant amounts. It is far from being a

panic yet but there is a real sense of unease as to where this eurozone

crisis is heading, which is something the politicians in Europe

had to address. Thousands of jobs have been saved

and hundreds of new ones created after Vauxhaul's American owners

announced new investment at the company's plant in Ellesmere Port.

Staff at the factory have accepted a four year pay and conditions deal

which will allow more flexible working. Our correspondent John

Moylan is at the plant now. A few weeks ago there were real concerns

this plant could close as Vauxhall's owner sought to cut

costs across Europe. Instead, as the plants celebrate its 50th

birthday here, staff receive the best possible present today. It was

business as usual today but Falstaff there was one big

difference... After months of concern they were finally told

their jobs were safe. And that the next generation of this car, the

Astra, would see the plant through into the next decade. Everyone is

happy, it will be a good weekend, everybody will probably go out and

have a few more jars than usual. have children and a mortgage so it

is fantastic news. GM says its plans with the new car will involve

a �125 million investment, which will safeguard employment for 2,100

existing staff, adding a third shift to the plant will also result

in 700 new jobs. And there will be 3,000 jobs created across its

supply chain. We worked hard to make the best case for Ellesmere

Port, Vauxhall Motors in the UK. We came up with a labour agreement

which does that, it is great news for Vauxhall Motors, General Motors,

the workers and the UK economy. That agreement was only signed off

this morning. It includes a four year pay deal starting with a two

year pay freeze and there will be more flexible working. Union

members voted overwhelmingly to back it to lift the threat over the

plant. I believe there was a real threat, I believe General Motors

have acted appallingly and irresponsibly the way they let that

threat dangle. As a loyal workforce that always delivers, they were

prepared to put people through that torment. Britain's car workers

helped firms including the Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and many three

downturn by working flexibly and accepting tough pay deals. Now the

industry is reaping the rewards and trying to meet demand Worldwide.

The auto sector now exports more than it imports for the first time

since the mid- 1970s. We have seen the industry bounce back well. It

has exported its way out of trouble, which shows the fundamental

strength of the industry that has benefited by having a relatively

weak sterling which means our exports are competitive. Ellesmere

Port has been a cornerstone of the UK's water industry for half-a-

century and has kept generations of people here in work. Tonight staff

went home knowing that manufacturing tradition will

continue for years to come. Very few details of this labour deal

have emerged but what has happened here will be watched closely in

other parts of the industry. Management believe they have set

some sort of new benchmark which should signal how the UK's car

Sam Hallam, who spent eight years in jail for a crime he says he

didn't commit, walked free today after his conviction was quashed at

the High Court. Now 24, he criticised the original police

investigation into the murder of a trainee chef by a group of youths

in London in 2004. Tom Symonds reports. It took just one hour for

the appeal court to give Sam Hallam his freedom after eight years in

prison. He said he was shocked and happy but anger might come later.

always knew I was innocent, didn't just believe, I knew. The whole

system, Dirk police process, the court process, it was not fair.

This was yesterday after the surprising decision to free him

pending today's announcement. His family and friends have fought hard

to prove his innocence. Across London the spot where 21-year-old

Essayas Kassahun was beaten to death in a gang fight in 2004. Sam

was one of two convicted of the murder, there was no forensic

evidence, CCTV pictures, he was jailed because others said he was

here. Lady Justice Hallett said the case was undermined by two eye

witnesses, neither of he was particularly satisfactory. She said

there was scope for mistaken identity. As for some Hallam's

inability to say where he was that night, she said that was due to his

dysfunctional lifestyle rather than an intention to deceive. Sam was a

teenager on an inner London estate, he could not provide a strong alibi.

But police never checked his two mobile phones, one contained

pictures of his late father at this pub taken close to the time of the

murder. New evidence suggesting Sam was not at the murder scene. A

statement was read on his behalf outside the court. The Metropolitan

police should have followed up leads which would have proved my

innocence but the terror -- over the terrible murder of Essayas

Kassahun. They should have disclosed all the relevant evidence

in their possession to my lawyers and they did not. Tonight the

Pampas of the ish -- the CPS accepted there was no evidence and

had not opposed the quashing of the conviction. The Metropolitan Police

have yet to comment. The bodies of two British

servicemen killed in Afghanistan have been repatriated. Lance

Corporal Lee Davies of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and Corporal

Brent McCarthy, of the Royal Air Force Police, were killed in

Afghanistan on Saturday. They were shot whilst providing security for

a meeting with local officials in Helmand. Experts say thousands of

heart attacks and strokes could be prevented every year if the

cholesterol-lowering drugs statins were more widely prescribed. They

say even people with a low risk of heart disease should be given the

drug. That could be an extra five million people. Here's our health

correspondent Branwen Jeffreys. Statins Arie global best seller for

the pharmaceutical industry. The most widely prescribed kind of

medicine, they reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by busting

be harmful fats that clog up blood vessels. So who should be taking

them? Gill has always thought of herself as healthy, her GP

suggested statins because she had high cholesterol. She was sceptical

but eventually decided to take his advice. I was reluctant to take

them at first but I am glad I did because I had a heart attack a

couple of years ago and without them it would have either happened

much earlier, or been much worse. These polls are one of the most

commonly used drugs in the UK, they usually are given to people at high

risk. This research suggests giving in to 5 million people at lower

risk of disease. Is says 10,000 heart attacks or strokes might be

prevented and it could stop 2000 early deaths. If we want to prevent

people from having their first heart attack, or stroke, we have to

treat help the people. If we did that more widely we could save many

people from having at first disastrous event. But some argue

the problem is lifestyle. Statins have side effects for some patients.

So there are doctors who think a different kind of prevention would

work better. A much healthier approach, I think, would be for

people to change their lifestyle, eat healthily, cut down on fat,

salt, eat more fruit and vegetables, go easy on alcohol and take more

exercise and of course give up smoking. That is much healthier.

Gill is doing both, taking exercise as well as statins. This research

adds to the picture of how well they work. The advice to the NHS in

England and Wales is already under review. Statins have become a

relatively cheap medicine, allowing them to be considered on their

merits and not just the cost. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will

join the Queen on the Royal Barge during the Thames Pageant to

celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. More than a million people are expected

to line the banks, bridges and parks along the river to see a

flotilla of a 1000 ships, boats and other vessels. Philippa Thomas has

This is how the organisers hope the Jubilee pageant will look. 1000

boats and 20,000 people on the Thames, viewed by 1 million more on

the riverbanks. It will be the biggest such gathering since the

pageant for King Charles II in 1662, immortalised in this famous

painting. But the River Thames today presents much more of a

challenge. It is half as wide and twice as fast. To slow down the

flow, they will be closing the Thames barrier. Instead of passing

under a single span, the pageant will sail under 13 bridges. At

2:30pm, the Queen and Prince embark on the barge. The church bells will

start ringing on the floating Belfry leading the procession and

then they will ring nationwide as the Queen, with Charles and Camilla,

William and Harry and Kate at 3 o'clock. There will be live music

to match London landmarks like the James Bond theme for MI6, before

the vessels head past the Palace of Westminster, the London Eye, and

with Dam Busters playing, the Royal Air Force Memorial. At 4:15pm, the

royal barge will hold just downriver of Tower Bridge, where an

hour or so later the National Anthem concludes a day filled with

music. The sounds are just phenomenal, from Quaye is too big

bands, orchestra's to traditional instruments. Performers like the

jubilant Commonwealth choir have been rehearsing for months. Prince

Charles has now tested one of the eight new bells cast for the

occasion, each named for a senior member of the royal family. Behind

the scenes, the security forces have tested dozens of scenarios for

trouble on the day. There will be 5500 police officers on duty. All

but three of the bridges will be closed to the general public and

there will be strict security checks for those permitted to view

the pageant from above. Our top story tonight: The Prime

Minister says he will do what it takes to defend Britain from a

eurozone crisis. He admits the UK economy is not beyond risk.

And still to come, a royal handover for the Olympic torch in Athens.

On BBC London: After investing �1 billion in Chelsea, will Raeburn

Adamovic finally see them winning the Champions League? -- Roman

Abramovich. And Adele his main songwriter of

the year at the Ivor Novello awards. -- Adele is named.

It is a challenging marine environment and it could hold the

key to a new way of generating power. In the stormy waters off the

Orkney Islands, scientists are testing a system for harnessing

tidal power. The currents of the North coast of Scotland are some of

the strongest in the world and in theory it should be possible to

make use of them. From the air, the Orkney Islands

looks serene. The waters below are placid. But these seize hold

incredible power. We venture out in gale-force winds. Rough conditions.

Some of them must be three metres. This well is heavy. The tides are

among the fastest in the world. Ahead of us, a new invention to

make use of all this energy. This animation shows what looks like a

wind turbine on the seabed. Giant blades turning in the tide,

generating electricity. The great attraction of tidal power is that

it is completely predictable. Here, a massive current flows from the

Atlantic through these islands to the North Sea and back again, add

up to 10 mph every day. The trick is to harness that power from

beneath the waves. The only way to see the turbine is by remote-

controlled submarine. Carrying a camera into the murky waters. Down

there, the vast machine spins gently, to slow to harm the fish,

apparently, but fast enough to make electricity. It is sent to shore by

cable. The plan is to install 10 devices next year, but you would

need 1000 of them to produce enough power to serve the city of half a

million homes. The machines have got to survive in half -- harsh

conditions. It can perform on the seabed up to its maximum power and

we believe it will be incredibly reliable. We have huge confidence

that we will build these machines in the future. A dozen different

technologies are being tried out. Tide and wave machines. But will

any work on an industrial scale? This is a test site, but we have

seen a big shift in recent times. Big industrial companies are taking

an interest and investing hard cash into these projects. The energy

flow and around our shores could be a major source of power. But it

will take years of research to make it happen.

New literacy tests are to be introduced for six to 14 year-olds

in Wales in a bid to raise standards. The Welsh Government has

set out a five-year plan including more teacher-training and more

resources after inspectors raised concerns. Official assessments show

that Wales lies behind Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.

-- lags behind. The Olympic flame has been passed

over to Princess Anne at a ceremony in Athens. David Beckham and Boris

Johnson, the Mayor of London, were also there. David?

Greece has now given us the Olympic flame but for much of the afternoon

here, I am afraid we gave them a real taste of British weather. It

was tipping it down. After the flame was blown out last week, you

started to wonder if it was a bad omen. Just as the torch was brought

in, the sun came out and it dried up. The ceremony went off smoothly

and the flame is now on its way. The Olympic flame had better get

used to this. After a week in the Greek sunshine, the tort was given

a rather damp send-off in Athens this afternoon. -- the torched.

Despite that, the London 2012 delegation insists it will not

dampen the impact of the flame's arrival in the UK. Handing over the

Olympic flame, her Royal Highness Princess Anne. This is an amazing

moment for us. Lighting the touchpaper of the 70 day fuse that

is going to detonate with the great pyrotechnics of the opening

ceremony. As the President of the British Olympic Association, the

Princess Royal has been a central figure in the preparations for the

London Games. What of caused by the Queen and other members of the

royal family. -- watched of course. Princess Anne became the first

member of the royal family to compete in the Olympics, as part of

the three-day eventing team in Montreal. She is known as a fierce

competitor, proud of a sporting heritage. I presume you would have

loved to have competed in a home Olympics? I would have found it

really difficult, I suspect, to do it at home. Much easier to have

done it elsewhere. I would hate to be doing it now, I can tell you. It

has got worse. Because of the pressure? I think so, for everybody.

It would have been a couple of the athletes that had higher profiles

before. Tomorrow the flames starts its journey back to the UK in

British hands. After such a long wait, could this be the moment when

the Olympics really take off? From here the flame has been taken to

the British Embassy in Athens, where it will spend the night

before tomorrow being loaded on to a special gold plane chartered by

British Airways, which will fly into Cornwall. Then on to Land's

End on Saturday for the start of its 70 date journey around the

country. Although the relay has now started, we do not know who will

like it in the Olympic Stadium on July 27th. -- set it alight.

Donna Summer has died at the age of 63 after a battle of cancer. A

multiple hits became the soundtrack for the 70s, defining an age of

glitter, flashy clothes, and dance. We look back at her unique

contribution to music. # It is so good.

It was in 1977 the sound of the future. The synthesisers, Donna

Summer's voice, it was the birth of electronic dance music.

Donna Summer had grown up in Boston and then moved to Germany. It was

there that she met Georgio Moroder, a music producer experimenting with

synthesisers. Love To Love You Baby was for its time a more than

receive. -- more than racy. Sexy, glamorous and good to dance to.

became known as the Queen of disco. I think that it is one of the key

records in electronic music and will always be recognised as such.

She had 29 hit singles and today her family said she was a woman of

many gifts, the greatest being her faith. Finding Christianity helped

to recover from the pressures of fame during the disco era but it

made her uncomfortable with some of her older songs. She denied

allegations that she had made anti- gay comments, but the controversy

affected her career. As the years went by, all was forgotten and the

old songs were performed again. She was the Queen of disco.

Donna Summer, who has died aged 63. This weekend we could be huddling

around the Olympic torch. The cool field continues. There will be

cloud across the UK overnight with some outbreaks of rain, especially

dismal in central Scotland. Rain in northern England and Northern

Ireland at times. Showers further South. Some clear spells in the far

South. Temperatures in towns and cities stay in double figures here.

Down to two in the far North of Scotland. Winds blowing. The some

sunny spells but sunshine in short supply it with the breeze coming

off the North Sea. In the far South, the cloud thickens and it becomes

damp, misty along the South coast. Rain coming and going, and a

greater risk of seeing interruptions to play in the

cricket. Greater brightness developing in North Wales, but for

South Eastern England and Scotland it is damp. Bright interludes in

Northern Ireland, but generally it is cold with figures in single

figures again. It is a cloudy day with rain in northern England and

North Wales on Saturday. Some bright as in the South and with

sunshine the temperatures could reach something like May. But

further North, single figures again. That cold wind continues to blow on

Sunday. Further rain across central, eastern and southern parts of

England. Brighter skies further North with a bit of sunshine. It is

hoped that the Olympic torch is windproof. You can keep up to date

with its progress and the forecast online.

Thank you. A reminder of the main news: The