24/07/2012

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:00:05. > :00:09.Senior executives and top journalists at the News of the

:00:09. > :00:11.World have been charged over the phone hacking scandal. Rebekah

:00:11. > :00:20.Brooks and Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former communications

:00:20. > :00:23.chief, are among the eight accused. I have concluded that in relation

:00:23. > :00:26.to eight of those 13 suspects, there is sufficient evidence for

:00:26. > :00:29.there to be a realistic prospect of conviction. The charges against

:00:29. > :00:34.them include hacking into the phone of the murdered schoolgirl Milly

:00:34. > :00:37.Dowler - an accusation Mr Coulson says he'll fight. Anyone who knows

:00:37. > :00:42.me or has worked with me would know that I wouldn't, more importantly

:00:42. > :00:45.didn't, do anything to damage the Milly Dowler investigation.

:00:46. > :00:54.Also on tonight's programme. A search and rescue emergency in

:00:54. > :00:59.Dorset - fears that a holidaymaker is trapped under a landslide.

:00:59. > :01:02.issued cloud of yellow dust from the cliffs. It landed on the beach,

:01:02. > :01:05.a huge cloud. Here at the Olympic Park, another

:01:05. > :01:08.1,200 troops deployed for London 2012 - ministers say they're

:01:08. > :01:13.leaving nothing to chance. Team GB is welcomed into the

:01:13. > :01:17.Olympic Village - we have a sneak preview of their home from home.

:01:17. > :01:27.And what do Orkney Islanders have that the rest of us don't? A study

:01:27. > :01:29.

:01:29. > :01:32.says they're the UK's happiest The British Olympic Association

:01:32. > :01:42.awaits a response from injury-hit triple-jumper Phillips Idowu before

:01:42. > :01:52.

:01:52. > :01:56.deciding whether he will compete at Good evening, welcome to the BBC

:01:56. > :01:59.News at Six from the Olympic Park. David Cameron's former

:01:59. > :02:02.communications chief, Andy Coulson, and Rebekah Brooks, the former News

:02:02. > :02:07.International chief executive, are among eight people who are to be

:02:07. > :02:10.charged over phone hacking. The pair are accused of knowing about

:02:10. > :02:14.the extent of the phone hacking carried out while they were both

:02:14. > :02:17.editors of the News of the World. There were hundreds of victims,

:02:17. > :02:27.including the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The pair have denied

:02:27. > :02:30.

:02:31. > :02:33.any involvement. Here's our home It has taken 19 months and the

:02:33. > :02:38.labours of up to 100 police officers. They have raided the

:02:38. > :02:43.homes of reporters, editors and executives, but for the accused,

:02:43. > :02:47.today was D-Day. All the evidence has been carefully considered.

:02:47. > :02:52.Applying the two stage Test and the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I've

:02:52. > :02:56.concluded that in relation to eight of those 13 suspects, there is

:02:56. > :03:00.sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction

:03:00. > :03:03.in relation to one or more offences. in relation to one or more offences.

:03:03. > :03:06.In all, there are 19 charges of illegally intercepting

:03:06. > :03:10.communications for top Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive

:03:10. > :03:14.of News International, is facing three charges related to phone

:03:14. > :03:18.hacking. She said she was distressed and angry. Andy Coulson,

:03:18. > :03:23.once editor of the News of the World and David Cameron as

:03:23. > :03:27.communications chief, faces �5. They are among those accused of

:03:27. > :03:33.hacking Milly Dowler's phone-in 2002 while police were searching

:03:33. > :03:38.for her. At his south London home, an angry Andy Coulson said he would

:03:38. > :03:43.fight the charges. Anyone who knows me or has worked with me will know

:03:43. > :03:48.that I would not and that I did not do anything to damage the Milly

:03:48. > :03:52.Dowler investigation. The News of the World, we worked on behalf of

:03:52. > :03:56.the victims of crime, particularly violent crime, and the idea that I

:03:56. > :04:01.would sit in my office dreaming up schemes to undermine investigations

:04:01. > :04:04.schemes to undermine investigations is simply untrue. He had veteran

:04:04. > :04:10.reporter Neville Thurlbeck faces and denies the same month

:04:10. > :04:15.accusations. As does Glenn Mulcaire, the original phone hacker, charged

:04:15. > :04:20.again, this time for conspiring to intercept a voicemails. He said he

:04:20. > :04:25.was extremely disappointed. Today's charge-sheet named specific victims

:04:25. > :04:29.of hacking, international celebrities like Brad Pitt and

:04:29. > :04:32.Angelina Jolie. And politicians, Charles Clarke, John Prescott and

:04:32. > :04:36.David Blunkett among them. They have been waiting for these charges.

:04:36. > :04:41.It had to come because truth will out and basically for five years

:04:41. > :04:43.and more I've been fighting to get a proper examination of it. I

:04:43. > :04:48.wasn't satisfied with a parliamentary one because I don't

:04:48. > :04:51.think the truth was told. Leveson Inquiry is part way their. Now they

:04:51. > :04:55.are in the courts and the charges have been laid and they have a

:04:55. > :04:59.chance to tell the real story. is likely to be months before

:04:59. > :05:03.tabloid journalism is good in the dock at a trial, though at a

:05:03. > :05:10.magistrates' court hearing is expected shortly. The maximum

:05:10. > :05:12.possible sentence for intercepting to his two years in prison.

:05:12. > :05:17.Let's go live now to Downing Street and join our political

:05:17. > :05:23.correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, who's there. Both Rebekah Brooks

:05:23. > :05:26.and Andy Coulson are close to David Cameron. How politically

:05:27. > :05:32.embarrassing is this for him? embarrassing and it is embarrassing

:05:32. > :05:37.for this reason. It raises those questions of judgment. Andy Coulson

:05:37. > :05:41.was hired by David Cameron after he had resigned as editor of the News

:05:42. > :05:46.of the World and he was taken into David Cameron Skinner circle. When

:05:46. > :05:49.David Cameron came to Downing Street, he was brought him, too. He

:05:49. > :05:53.accepted the assurances from Mr Coulson and carried on and six

:05:53. > :05:57.months later he had to lose him for topped with Rebekah Brooks, they

:05:57. > :06:02.are neighbours, friends, they socialise together, they tasted

:06:02. > :06:06.each other, they had supper together. For problem is there will

:06:06. > :06:09.be months of trials and in the public's mind, the connection will

:06:09. > :06:13.be there. In Downing Street, there's nothing they can do about

:06:13. > :06:16.that. Specialist search and rescue teams

:06:16. > :06:18.have been called to a landslide at a beach in Dorset. One person,

:06:19. > :06:21.possibly a holidaymaker, is believed to be trapped after 400

:06:22. > :06:24.tonnes of rock and sand fell away. It happened near the Freshwater

:06:24. > :06:34.Beach Holiday Park at Burton Bradstock. Let's go live there now

:06:34. > :06:36.

:06:36. > :06:41.Tonight rescue workers are still sifting through tonnes of rubble

:06:41. > :06:46.for the missing person. This incident happened in just a split

:06:46. > :06:49.second. Hundreds of tonnes of rubble fell

:06:50. > :06:55.from the coast path on to this beach near Burton Bradstock. It is

:06:55. > :07:00.a popular resort for tourists, the area was packed on this hot day for

:07:00. > :07:04.top it all happened so suddenly, and there's a sense of shock.

:07:04. > :07:08.Coastguard rescue teams are painstakingly searching through the

:07:08. > :07:14.debris after the person who made the initial emergency call toll

:07:14. > :07:18.then someone was trapped. For landslip happened after 12:30pm

:07:18. > :07:25.today, just around the corner from a busy caravan park. A huge cloud

:07:25. > :07:28.of yellow dust from the rocks. It landed on the beach, a huge cloud.

:07:28. > :07:34.A massive cliff fall had happened and we were hoping no one was under

:07:34. > :07:40.it. Fire service, police and ambulance are at the St as the

:07:40. > :07:45.search continues. Police are asking people on land and at sea to stay

:07:45. > :07:51.away from the area as the Cliff remains unsafe. The causes of the

:07:51. > :07:55.landslide are being investigated. That search is still very much on

:07:55. > :07:59.going behind me and we are just nine miles from bare Minster, which

:07:59. > :08:04.is where just two weeks ago, to pensioners were killed when a

:08:04. > :08:07.tunnel collapsed on their car. -- two pensioners.

:08:07. > :08:10.Syrian government forces have used war planes to attack the country's

:08:10. > :08:12.second city in a further escalation of the conflict. There were fierce

:08:12. > :08:17.clashes in Aleppo, where rebel fighters launched an offensive at

:08:17. > :08:20.the weekend in an attempt to wrest control of the city from the army.

:08:20. > :08:25.Reports say fighting has been taking place at the entrance to the

:08:25. > :08:28.Old City, which is a world heritage site.

:08:28. > :08:33.1,200 military personnel who were on standby to bolster security here

:08:33. > :08:38.at London 2012 are now to be deployed. Ministers say they want

:08:38. > :08:41.to leave nothing to chance. This is on top of an extra 3,500 who have

:08:41. > :08:51.been brought in since the private company G4S said they were short of

:08:51. > :08:53.

:08:53. > :08:57.staff. Our defence correspondent, Yet more military personnel will

:08:57. > :09:00.soon be landing -- lending a helping hand. The extra forces will

:09:00. > :09:03.include several hundred Royal Marines as well as troops from 16

:09:03. > :09:07.Air assault Brigade and others from the first Armoured Division based

:09:07. > :09:11.in Germany. Olympic organisers insisted it wasn't due to any new

:09:11. > :09:15.security threat of failure, but at -- but that it was better to be

:09:15. > :09:19.safe than sorry. I'm grateful to the military who have done a great

:09:20. > :09:23.job. I'm grateful to the police who have worked with us in a terrific

:09:23. > :09:28.way to make sure the overall co- ordination around the venues is

:09:28. > :09:33.taken care of. I'm very grateful to the existing G4S security force,

:09:33. > :09:37.6,000 of them. If they are now under pressure. Her at least some

:09:37. > :09:42.of the key extra troops will be housed here at Tobacco Dock, which

:09:42. > :09:46.will ultimately be home to 2,300 of the military personnel while they

:09:46. > :09:50.work at the Olympics. It is not clear exactly where the extra

:09:50. > :09:54.military staff will work, but they will be filling in whatever gaps

:09:54. > :10:00.remain. 23,500 staff are involved in securing and helping with the

:10:00. > :10:04.Olympics. Of those, 18,200 will now be military doesn't melt after G4S

:10:04. > :10:08.failed to provide the promised number of civilian staff on their

:10:08. > :10:12.roles will include guarding sites, keeping athletes, VIPs and the

:10:12. > :10:18.public safe and secure a. Her I'm confident we will have a save games.

:10:18. > :10:21.We have the military, the police, the guards. There has been a need

:10:21. > :10:26.to put in more police officers around the country, but in London

:10:26. > :10:31.it was 60 officers. It will not cause us to fail. Today the Olympic

:10:31. > :10:34.organising committee said it was disappointed with G4S's original

:10:34. > :10:37.failure to deliver what was promised, but said Doug review of

:10:37. > :10:41.what had gone wrong and must wait until after the Games, but they

:10:41. > :10:47.also stressed that having more men and women from the armed forces

:10:47. > :10:51.involved should make for even say for venues. -- stay for venues.

:10:51. > :10:54.Part of the job of the security operation is to guard the Olympic

:10:54. > :10:56.Village behind me, and right now that's where Team GB athletes are

:10:56. > :11:02.being welcomed into their London 2012 home. Our sports correspondent,

:11:02. > :11:08.James Pearce, is there. This is such a big evening for Team

:11:08. > :11:16.GB. Their welcome ceremony is under way. Some of the biggest stars of

:11:16. > :11:19.the team I hear. I have just picked up Andy Murray in the crowd. A

:11:19. > :11:25.performance by the National Youth Theatre. This is the evening when

:11:25. > :11:31.the Games begin for many athletes. The inside the athletes village,

:11:31. > :11:38.home to 16,000 people. One of them is Team GB hockey player Ian Lewis.

:11:38. > :11:43.How do you do? Welcome to my home. Happy to show us around? No problem.

:11:43. > :11:49.First stop, the dining hall. This is an important place for you. This

:11:49. > :11:53.is where you get your food. It is enormous. Yes, this is where we

:11:53. > :12:00.refuel, morning, noon and night. What choices do you have? A large

:12:00. > :12:06.variety. I mainly keep to the best of Britain section and the European

:12:06. > :12:10.and American section. Mainly for avoidance of any unwanted illness.

:12:10. > :12:13.Then on to the living quarters for top Team GB has been allocated one

:12:13. > :12:18.of the quieter corners of the village. This is my accommodation

:12:18. > :12:23.for the next three weeks. Here are some of my team-mates. The so-

:12:23. > :12:32.called intellectual in the corner reading a book! How many of you?

:12:32. > :12:38.And nine of us in a block. This is my personal residence over the next

:12:38. > :12:45.three weeks. Everything you need, really. Whitbread is yours? The

:12:45. > :12:51.Maint bed or the unmade bed? made bed. Pride of place is your

:12:51. > :12:55.wardrobe. This will come in handy over the next couple of weeks.

:12:55. > :12:58.Elsewhere, one man struggling to make it to the village. Beijing

:12:58. > :13:01.silver medallist at Phillips Idowu was pulled out of the training camp

:13:01. > :13:05.in Portugal, injured, and the British Olympic Association have

:13:05. > :13:10.asked for his medical records. chief medical officer has written

:13:10. > :13:15.to him. Once we receive that information, we can make a judgment

:13:15. > :13:20.about whether he is fit to compete. For others, it will continues to go

:13:20. > :13:23.according to plan. Team GB swim has even had time to pose for the

:13:23. > :13:31.cameras when they arrived in London this afternoon. One person I have

:13:31. > :13:33.just plucked from the crowd, former star of big brother, Anthony Ogogo.

:13:33. > :13:38.You have just arrived in the village today, what do you make of

:13:38. > :13:44.it? It is amazing. The atmosphere, the other countries are here, the

:13:44. > :13:50.flags are up. It is amazing. These are your fast Olympics, put into

:13:51. > :13:54.words what it is like to be here. Representing Team GB, I am so proud.

:13:54. > :14:00.Wearing a tracksuit, doing something I love doing in London,

:14:00. > :14:05.the sun is out. I can't wait to get going and perform on a massive

:14:05. > :14:12.stage. Inside his village, every corner there's someone famous. Who

:14:12. > :14:17.are you most looking forward to seeing? Up I saw Andy Murray. I am

:14:17. > :14:21.going to keep my head down, keep focused, think about the gold medal.

:14:21. > :14:27.If I see anybody famous, I will get a bit excited, but keep it under

:14:27. > :14:37.wraps. Best of luck. Win that gold for Team GB! You can see more about

:14:37. > :14:40.this on the BBC website. The Home Office has said it is

:14:40. > :14:45.seeking a High Court injunction to prevent border staff from going on

:14:45. > :14:49.strike on Thursday. The PCS union has threatened to take a striker

:14:49. > :14:53.action on the eve of the Olympics, the planned walkout is in a row

:14:53. > :14:55.over jobs and pay. Spain is facing deeper financial

:14:55. > :14:58.trouble after several of its regions went bust. They're now

:14:58. > :15:01.looking to the Madrid government to bail them out. Public sector

:15:01. > :15:04.workers are continuing a series of walk-outs. And today there's been

:15:04. > :15:13.another spike in Spain's borrowing costs. Our Europe correspondent,

:15:13. > :15:19.Matthew Price, is in Brussels for How can the Spanish government

:15:19. > :15:23.help? It has got enough problems of its own. That is true. Investors

:15:23. > :15:27.are asking exactly the same question, George. You have regional

:15:27. > :15:31.governments who are billions of euros in debt, Spanish banks

:15:31. > :15:34.billions of euros in debt, a worsening recession, and the

:15:34. > :15:39.markets do not seem to believe that Spain can survive for much longer

:15:39. > :15:45.without some form of national bailout. Now, what would that mean

:15:45. > :15:49.for the single currency? Well, Spain is the eurozone's 4th largest

:15:49. > :15:53.economy. There would be questions about how much money was needed,

:15:53. > :15:56.and it would come out of the eurozone bail-out fund. There would

:15:56. > :16:01.be questions about how much money would be left in those funds to

:16:01. > :16:04.help other potential countries in difficulty. There is a political

:16:04. > :16:08.question, Aap Germans willing to sign another cheque for one of the

:16:08. > :16:13.southern countries which is in so much debt? I have been talking to

:16:13. > :16:17.senior eurozone officials here. They said they thought they had

:16:17. > :16:21.bought themselves some weeks before they needed to work on this crisis,

:16:21. > :16:24.but not many of them have got Olympic tickets, I suspect rather

:16:24. > :16:33.than be able to attend games, they will be stuck in his building

:16:33. > :16:38.Our top story tonight: Rebekah Brooks and David Cameron's former

:16:38. > :16:43.communications chief, Andy Coulson, are among eight people to be

:16:43. > :16:46.charged over phone-hacking. Coming up: The heat is on, how Olympic

:16:46. > :16:50.athletes and organisers have been coping on the hottest day of the

:16:50. > :16:56.year. In the business news, as Europe's

:16:56. > :17:01.biggest economy loses caste, Moody's lowers its outlook on

:17:01. > :17:10.Germany's triple A rating. And HSBC's former chairman and CEO says

:17:10. > :17:14.he regrets the Bank's role in Now, how would you rate your well-

:17:14. > :17:17.being, not just a standard of living but how happy you feel?

:17:17. > :17:21.After the biggest ever study into the subject, it turns out that

:17:21. > :17:26.people of Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides seem to have the secret

:17:26. > :17:30.for a contented life. Home editor Mark Easton reports on whether the

:17:30. > :17:35.findings could ever find their way into government policy.

:17:35. > :17:39.How happy were yesterday? How anxious on a scale of 1 to 10? How

:17:39. > :17:42.would you rate your life satisfaction? The most detailed

:17:42. > :17:46.survey of Britain's well-being ever conducted reveals that the country

:17:46. > :17:49.is actually a pretty chipper sort of place with records of people

:17:49. > :17:54.scoring their overall satisfaction at over seven out of 10, but not

:17:54. > :17:59.everyone is brimming with joy. Asked if they were happy yesterday,

:17:59. > :18:04.11% rated them at below five out of 10, and 22% said their anxiety

:18:04. > :18:09.levels were high. For most contented part of the country is

:18:09. > :18:12.the furthest 0, Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides, where 83% of

:18:12. > :18:16.people reported high levels of happiness. It is not about money,

:18:16. > :18:20.and it is not always sunny here, but the five least anxious areas in

:18:20. > :18:25.the UK are all in the north of Scotland. So what do the islanders

:18:25. > :18:29.put it down to? I have lived all over the world and I chose to come

:18:29. > :18:36.back here, best place to be. can still walk up under the street

:18:36. > :18:40.and say eye and feel as if you really belong in the place. Farmers

:18:40. > :18:44.have a reputation for being a bit gloomy, but data finds that people

:18:44. > :18:48.who work on the land are actually among the happiest. In Lancashire,

:18:48. > :18:52.I met a dairy farmer who refuses to let the current row over milk

:18:52. > :18:58.prices getting down. New line at one with nature, you feel the

:18:58. > :19:02.elements are in-your-face. -- you are at one with nature. I am here

:19:02. > :19:07.all the time, I like it. At the other end of the scale, the former

:19:07. > :19:11.industrial areas of the South Wales valleys score very poorly.

:19:11. > :19:15.Unemployment is seriously bad for happiness. Whitehall departments

:19:15. > :19:18.will be scouring the numbers for the secrets of the feel-good factor.

:19:18. > :19:22.Policymakers are now obliged to consider well-being when

:19:22. > :19:26.calculating value for money. Public policy needs to get behind those

:19:26. > :19:30.figures and understand why those differences exist, so for example

:19:30. > :19:35.is it just about the types of jobs that people had in those areas? Is

:19:35. > :19:39.it about the public services on offer? This local Post Office may

:19:39. > :19:42.not make economic sense, but the evidence is that places like this

:19:42. > :19:46.make the communities they are in happier, so when considering

:19:46. > :19:50.whether the Government should subsidise the village post office,

:19:50. > :19:54.well-being statistics may well swing the argument. Just as post

:19:54. > :19:57.offices are about a lot more than stamps, so well being is about a

:19:57. > :20:03.lot more than money. The challenge is to work out what the numbers

:20:03. > :20:06.tell us about human happiness. There has been an outbreak of

:20:06. > :20:10.legionnaire's disease in Stoke-on- Trent. Seven confirmed cases are

:20:10. > :20:14.being treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

:20:14. > :20:17.Five of the patients are said to be improving. The other two, both men

:20:17. > :20:21.in their 70s, are in a stable condition.

:20:21. > :20:25.The son of the late comedian Ronnie Barker has appeared before

:20:25. > :20:28.magistrates accused of making indecent images of children. Adam

:20:28. > :20:33.Barker, who had been on the run for eight years, was charged this

:20:33. > :20:37.morning after going to a police station in west London.

:20:37. > :20:41.Now, to you pay your cleaner or gardener cash in hand? Many of us

:20:41. > :20:44.do, but now the government has described the practice as morally

:20:44. > :20:50.wrong if the point is to avoid paying VAT. The Treasury says that

:20:50. > :20:54.other people and that having to pay more tax. Shia Danny Savage. --

:20:54. > :20:57.here is. Cleaning, gardening and plumbing,

:20:57. > :21:01.just some of the jobs that people K cash-in-hand to have done. There's

:21:01. > :21:06.nothing wrong with paying cash, but a government minister says it is

:21:06. > :21:10.morally wrong to do so if it is done to avoid paying tax. But how

:21:10. > :21:15.right is it? This Yorkshire-based building materials supplier knows

:21:15. > :21:19.what can happen. If the customer is specifically asking you to knock

:21:19. > :21:23.the vat of in return for a lower price, that is very difficult, if

:21:23. > :21:26.you are trying to run an honest business, and yet you know you are

:21:26. > :21:32.competing against other people who are in such circumstances that they

:21:32. > :21:36.are prepared to do so. But Alan Dowd, an electric in Leeds, says he

:21:36. > :21:40.would rather be paid in cash, but it is certainly nothing to do with

:21:41. > :21:44.avoiding tax. You are not waiting for money. A lot of time you are

:21:44. > :21:49.waiting three months to actually get paid, bills, invoices from big

:21:49. > :21:54.places. You're just constantly waiting all the time, and you

:21:54. > :21:58.cannot buy parts for other jobs. The Government says paying

:21:58. > :22:02.tradesmen in cash means a lot of tax is not being paid and fuels the

:22:02. > :22:08.black economy, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not

:22:08. > :22:13.been offered a discount for cash or asked for one? I think it is quite

:22:13. > :22:18.agreeable for people to be paid cash, especially when it is a one-

:22:18. > :22:21.man band, it makes the world go wrong. If somebody will do

:22:21. > :22:26.something on the side for a bit less money, I'm sure they would do

:22:26. > :22:31.it, because we are British! inevitably, questions are being

:22:31. > :22:34.asked in high places. I have paid a lot of cash in hand, I will tell

:22:35. > :22:40.you that! But will people listen to a moral message about tax

:22:40. > :22:44.avoidance? It is morally wrong, but not half as serious as major

:22:44. > :22:48.scandals we have seen in recent months and years, so yes, it is

:22:48. > :22:54.wrong, but it may also be wrong to put too much emphasis on it.

:22:54. > :22:58.Measuring the extent of lost revenue is difficult. But tax-

:22:58. > :23:03.paying tradesmen, like these year, say it leads to unfair competition.

:23:03. > :23:08.The message for the Treasury is that cash in hand to avoid tax is

:23:08. > :23:12.robbing the nation. Now, here in East London, it has

:23:12. > :23:17.been the hottest day of the year so far, but it has not been like that

:23:17. > :23:25.in every part of the UK. For the Olympic organisers and athletes,

:23:25. > :23:29.the heat is a blessing and a curse. Jon Kay is sweltering at Tower

:23:29. > :23:32.Bridge. Jon. Yeah, George, I know it has not

:23:32. > :23:35.been great everywhere, but in London at least tonight it does

:23:35. > :23:40.finally feel like the summer is here, temperatures nudging 30

:23:40. > :23:43.degrees Celsius tonight, and in fact the Olympic host city seems to

:23:43. > :23:50.have been getting hotter and hotter from the moment the torch arrived

:23:50. > :23:54.here at the weekend. London's warm-up is under way. At

:23:54. > :23:58.Eton Dorney, the world's top rowers are acclimatising to of our unique

:23:58. > :24:02.conditions. One week ago, they would have been in thermals here,

:24:02. > :24:10.but suddenly the capital feels like it is hosting the summer Olympics,

:24:10. > :24:13.rather than the winter Games. In Hackney, two miles from the Olympic

:24:13. > :24:21.Park, they are making up for lost sunshine. It is the best weather

:24:21. > :24:27.ever! It is beautiful! Everyone smiles, no miserable faces.

:24:27. > :24:31.obviously had not been on the A12, where Olympic traffic meant long

:24:31. > :24:35.delays and short tempers. I think it is going to be a bit chaotic

:24:35. > :24:40.over these couple of weeks, to say the least. How has it affected you?

:24:40. > :24:44.It is stressful. The Olympics has not even started and we are

:24:44. > :24:49.experiencing this. It is terrible, but I'm not going to moan because

:24:49. > :24:53.we could be sitting in traffic and it is raining! The Olympic flame

:24:53. > :24:56.travelled by Tube this morning. This commuter journey was bang on

:24:56. > :25:02.time, but last night there were long delays on the underground near

:25:02. > :25:08.the Olympic Park, and today the heat caused more problems. Some

:25:08. > :25:13.trains heading into London from East Anglia. These foreign visitors

:25:13. > :25:18.spent much of the day perfecting the British Board of queueing,

:25:18. > :25:22.collecting Olympic tickets from an agency. -- British sport. Athletics,

:25:22. > :25:27.beach volleyball, handballed, tennis. A frustrating wait, but

:25:27. > :25:34.many were just a relieved that it is no longer raining. It is better

:25:34. > :25:38.than last week, when it was drizzly, cold, and all the sudden the summer

:25:38. > :25:41.is here! It is good. Everyone seems happy and excited about the

:25:41. > :25:45.Olympics now. Whoever was in charge of planning the weather on the

:25:45. > :25:49.Olympic Committee, they got it right on. At Horse Guards Parade,

:25:49. > :25:54.where soldiers normally Trooping the Colour, the elite Australian

:25:54. > :26:04.beach volleyballers are trying out their Olympic arena. A bit of

:26:04. > :26:05.

:26:05. > :26:10.sunshine, and suddenly Bondi Beach Now, if those Australians were back

:26:10. > :26:14.home right now, it would be seven degrees Celsius on Bondi Beach,

:26:14. > :26:18.compared with 30 degrees here. Of course, it is winter there, and

:26:18. > :26:21.before we get too smug, the word on the street is that as we get closer

:26:22. > :26:26.to the opening ceremony, this is not necessarily going to last much

:26:26. > :26:29.longer. George, I think you have news on that for us.

:26:29. > :26:36.I know a man who can tell us whether it will last longer or not,

:26:36. > :26:39.Alex Deakin is out there, enjoying It is going to change, but only

:26:39. > :26:43.gradually, there is the possibility of rain for the opening ceremony,

:26:43. > :26:47.but just a possibility. For the next couple of days of the southern

:26:47. > :26:52.half of the country, it is more of the same, perhaps getting hotter

:26:52. > :26:55.and more humid. Today we had 30 degrees Celsius, the hottest day of

:26:55. > :26:59.the year so far across the south- east, but further north a lot of

:26:59. > :27:02.cloud, temperatures in the high teens and that cloud for central

:27:02. > :27:06.Scotland and Northern Ireland, which is making for a pretty soggy

:27:06. > :27:09.evening here. Heavy bursts of rain as that wet weather drifts across

:27:09. > :27:14.central and southern Scotland through the course of the evening,

:27:14. > :27:18.gradually fizzling out overnight. Most places dry by morning. It is a

:27:18. > :27:23.warm night, shimmied across the south, temperatures in the high

:27:23. > :27:28.teens, more comfortable further north. A subtle change tomorrow,

:27:28. > :27:31.brighter across the central belt of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Much

:27:31. > :27:41.cloud through northern England, parts of the Midlands and just the

:27:41. > :27:46.

:27:46. > :27:50.possibility in the Midlands of one showers. A pleasant stay in Glasgow,

:27:50. > :27:53.21 Celsius, 70 Fahrenheit. For the football tomorrow evening, looking

:27:53. > :27:58.hot and sticky at the Millennium Stadium, perhaps a little bit more

:27:58. > :28:03.cloud in Coventry, but it does look fairly hot as the sport gets under

:28:03. > :28:09.way. Then into Thursday, again, hot and sunny across the south, more

:28:09. > :28:14.cloud around, perhaps not quite as hot, still ploughed across central

:28:14. > :28:19.areas. -- cloud. Into Friday, we see more of a change. At the moment

:28:19. > :28:22.it is just a possibility of a shower at the opening ceremony, the

:28:22. > :28:30.message is they tuned to the fore cast over the next couple of days,

:28:30. > :28:34.A reminder of the main news: Rebekah Brooks and David Carmen's