12/09/2012

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:00:06. > :00:08.The Prime Minister apologises on behalf of the nation for the

:00:08. > :00:17.failures that caused the Hillsborough disaster and the

:00:17. > :00:20.police cover-up that followed. 96 Liverpool fans died 23 years ago

:00:20. > :00:26.after police failed to prevent a crush at a match in Sheffield - and

:00:26. > :00:31.then blamed the fans. On behalf of the Government, and indeed our

:00:31. > :00:34.country, I am profoundly sorry that this double injustice has been left

:00:34. > :00:37.uncorrected for so long. Liverpool, people have gathered to

:00:37. > :00:44.remember the dead as their families are told many of them might have

:00:44. > :00:51.been saved. If today says one thing to the world, we are vindicated in

:00:51. > :00:54.our search for the truth. Also tonight: The US ambassador to Libya

:00:54. > :01:00.is killed in a protest over an American-made film deemed insulting

:01:00. > :01:03.to the prophet Mohammed. Another fall in unemployment - to

:01:03. > :01:07.just over 2.5 million as the number of people finding work rises

:01:07. > :01:09.sharply. And thinking of the future? On a

:01:09. > :01:19.Royal visit, Prince William lets slip how many children he would

:01:19. > :01:20.

:01:20. > :01:24.like to have. Coming up in sport: Will Kevin Pietersen be be shregd

:01:24. > :01:34.for England's Test tour of India? The ECB delayed naming the squad

:01:34. > :01:44.

:01:44. > :01:46.Good evening, welcome to the BBC News at Six. The Prime Minister has

:01:47. > :01:49.apologised on behalf of the nation for the injustice suffered by the

:01:50. > :01:54.families of the 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster 23

:01:54. > :02:01.years ago. Newly published documents have revealed a cover-up

:02:01. > :02:04.in which police tried to deflect the blame on to the fans. Among the

:02:04. > :02:07.findings of today's report: The safety of the crowd admitted to

:02:07. > :02:10.the terrace was compromised at every level.

:02:10. > :02:14.There were operational failings with flaws in responding to the

:02:14. > :02:19.emerging crisis. And the police deflected the blame by altering

:02:19. > :02:22.more than 100 police statements after the event. It also emerged

:02:22. > :02:25.that 41 fans might have been saved if the emergency services had

:02:26. > :02:35.responded differently. Our correspondent Judith Moritz is in

:02:35. > :02:39.Liverpool. Yes, and this evening thousands of

:02:40. > :02:44.people are gathering here in the city centre to remember those who

:02:44. > :02:49.died at Hillsborough. They gave a rapturous round of applause when

:02:49. > :02:55.the relatives of the dead arrived here and then a few minutes ago

:02:55. > :03:03.they began to chant justice for the 96, it used to be a plea. Tonight

:03:03. > :03:09.it feels like a call for something which has virtually been achieved.

:03:09. > :03:12.Liverpool has been a city in mourning for 23 years. When

:03:12. > :03:17.Hillsborough happened, its grief was there for all to see, but over

:03:17. > :03:21.the decades since that loss has become caught up with anger. People

:03:21. > :03:25.here feel that it was their relatives who bore the brunt of the

:03:25. > :03:30.blame. They've campaigned for justice, the truth, and an apology

:03:30. > :03:34.from the top. Today, they got just that. The new evidence that we are

:03:34. > :03:38.presented with today makes clear in my view that these families have

:03:38. > :03:43.suffered a double injustice. The injustice of the appalling events,

:03:43. > :03:46.the failure of the state to protect their loved ones, and the

:03:46. > :03:50.indefencible wait to get to the truth and the injustice of the

:03:50. > :03:55.denigration of the deceased that they were somehow at fault for

:03:55. > :03:58.their own deaths. On behalf of the Government and our country I am

:03:58. > :04:03.profoundly sorry this double injustice has been left uncorrected

:04:03. > :04:08.for so long. To the families we say we are deeply sorry for your loss.

:04:08. > :04:12.We are deeply sorry for the pain you have suffered. We sincerely

:04:12. > :04:16.hope that today marks a day of truth.

:04:16. > :04:26.96 Liverpool fans were fatally crushed at Sheffield Wednesday's

:04:26. > :04:29.Hillsborough ground on sath - 15th April 19 -- 1989.

:04:29. > :04:33.The families have spent years fighting the suggestion that the

:04:33. > :04:39.fans were drunk and ticketless. It's a battle they fought

:04:39. > :04:44.tirelessly. We were the eyes, we were the ears, but by God, we were

:04:44. > :04:47.the voices and we used our voices to get to this stage and I am so

:04:47. > :04:52.proud of all our families for that because without them and the

:04:52. > :04:57.support we have had we wouldn't have got this today. For two years

:04:57. > :05:00.the Hillsborough Independent Panel has shifted through more than

:05:00. > :05:03.400,000 pages of documents. For the first time it's been able to reveal

:05:03. > :05:07.as well as the police problems the ambulance service failed

:05:07. > :05:11.extensively, too. It's emerged that 41 of the 96 victims had the

:05:11. > :05:16.potential to have survived. And after the families have spent years

:05:16. > :05:21.suspecting a coverup, the panel have found that 116 witness

:05:21. > :05:25.statements by police officers were amended or changed.

:05:25. > :05:30.The families say that for 23 years they've never had the truth.

:05:30. > :05:35.Do you now feel that that's changed for them and this is the truth?

:05:35. > :05:38.the process of the panel's work on more than one occasion the families

:05:38. > :05:43.have said to me that this is the first time that they feel they've

:05:43. > :05:48.ever been taken seriously and that anybody has ever really listened to

:05:48. > :05:52.them. The football match at Hillsborough was abandoned at six

:05:52. > :05:57.minutes past three. Today, Liverpool fell silent at that time,

:05:57. > :06:00.a reminder that at the heart of the campaigning, the revelations and

:06:00. > :06:10.the apologies, the memory of 96 people is what this city holds on

:06:10. > :06:10.

:06:10. > :06:16.Tonight as the crowds here in the city centre grows larger by the

:06:16. > :06:20.minute, people leave leaving work to come here and join in singing

:06:20. > :06:24.Abide With Me, taking time to remember those who died, the

:06:24. > :06:28.families here I understand are going to be lighting candles,

:06:29. > :06:34.flames in memory of their loved ones. And just taking time to

:06:34. > :06:39.remember them, but the question they'll be asking beyond tonight is

:06:39. > :06:43.what happens next? Because this report is something that these

:06:43. > :06:47.families never dared hope to see. They said to me that they had had

:06:47. > :06:51.their hopes raised and dashed so many times before, they didn't dare

:06:51. > :06:54.hope. Now it's here, they're going to consider various options,

:06:55. > :07:04.including legal steps to take things forward.

:07:05. > :07:06.

:07:06. > :07:09.Thank you. Good evening, welcome to the BBC

:07:09. > :07:12.News at Six. The Prime Minister has apologised on behalf of the nation

:07:13. > :07:16.for the injustice suffered by the families of the 96 people who died

:07:16. > :07:20.in the Hillsborough disaster 23 years ago. The truth and the lies,

:07:20. > :07:24.among hundreds of thousands of pages, the shocking betrayal of the

:07:24. > :07:28.victims of Hillsborough is revealed. The fans who made their way across

:07:28. > :07:32.the Pennines that sunny spring Saturday had been betrayed before

:07:33. > :07:38.they even got to the ground. The stadium was a death trap and

:07:38. > :07:42.the authorities knew it. But this was an era when managing

:07:43. > :07:48.football crowds saw public order put before public safety. Fans

:07:48. > :07:50.herded into pens, treated like animals. So even when it became

:07:50. > :07:55.horribly obvious that lives were being lost, the documents record

:07:55. > :08:01.how a fleet of ambulances was kept outside the stadium, unable to help

:08:01. > :08:04.the injured and dying. Fans rushed through a broken turnstile crushing

:08:04. > :08:09.supporters against the front of the stand... It was lies, the gate had

:08:09. > :08:13.not been charged by fans, but opened by police themselves as the

:08:13. > :08:16.Chief Constable knew only too well. South Yorkshire Police set about

:08:17. > :08:22.altering the written evidence from the day, amending scores of

:08:22. > :08:26.statements to shift blame away from senior officers, and on to the fans.

:08:26. > :08:31.Even now, 23 years after the event, I would wish to profoundly

:08:31. > :08:35.apologise, not only to the family of the 96, but also Liverpool fans

:08:35. > :08:44.in general. The panel discovered documents which reveal how the

:08:44. > :08:48.police spread their untruths, local Conservative MP Irvine Patnick was

:08:48. > :08:51.asked that Liverpool fans had aou reupbated on police and stolen from

:08:51. > :08:56.the dead. So it was the Sun newspaper reported police lies as

:08:56. > :09:00.the truth, a vile slander for which 23 years too late its author, the

:09:00. > :09:03.editor, Kelvin McKenzie, today finally apologised.

:09:03. > :09:08.It's now clear that the original inquiry held shortly after the

:09:08. > :09:11.tragedy was not aware just how many key statements had been tampered

:09:11. > :09:14.with or destroyed. The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was

:09:14. > :09:19.briefed by her private Secretary that the behaviour of the police

:09:19. > :09:22.was close to deceitful. The terrible terrible events that

:09:22. > :09:28.happened here on a warm sunny spring Saturday carved deep wounds

:09:28. > :09:32.that are still raw, a generation later. The prayer today is that the

:09:32. > :09:38.documents release will leave no dark corners where distrust and

:09:38. > :09:42.grievance can breed, and allow the healing process finally to begin.

:09:42. > :09:45.A monumental coverup, and a sickening campaign of

:09:45. > :09:55.sreulification against victims, grieving families, traumatised

:09:55. > :09:55.

:09:55. > :09:59.survivors and a city in shock. Today, is a rare and famous victory

:09:59. > :10:02.for the the individual against the establish am, the indomitable

:10:02. > :10:07.spirit of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters who waged a

:10:07. > :10:11.long and lonely battle for justice. Walk on with hope in your hearts,

:10:11. > :10:21.it's a fitting anthem for Liverpool, a city where people believe they

:10:21. > :10:23.never walk alone. Let's talk to our political editor

:10:23. > :10:27.Nick Robinson in Downing Street. Emotional scenes in Liverpool

:10:27. > :10:30.tonight, also emotional scenes in the Commons at lunchtime when the

:10:31. > :10:35.Prime Minister apologised on behalf of the nation. It was a Commons

:10:35. > :10:40.quite unlike that we get used to, gone was the noise, gone was the

:10:40. > :10:44.name-calling. Gone, if you like, was the politics. This was hundreds

:10:44. > :10:47.of MPs packed on to the benches of the House of Commons with very

:10:48. > :10:52.different views, and yet packed there to speak as one, of their

:10:52. > :10:56.outrage and their shame. Of course, nothing can match the emotion that

:10:56. > :11:00.we are seeing in Liverpool tonight, the scenes as people gather to

:11:00. > :11:04.express their hurt, their thankfulness as well about this

:11:04. > :11:08.verdict today, but in the Commons what was extraordinary was the

:11:08. > :11:12.silence with which the Prime Minister was heard when he read out

:11:12. > :11:17.a verdict he had only been given himself about an hour earlier. The

:11:17. > :11:21.only noise one heard were the odd gasp and the odd cry of shame as

:11:21. > :11:25.MPs learned of the multiple instances in which the police had

:11:25. > :11:29.altered the evidence in order to coverup what had gone wrong. We

:11:29. > :11:36.heard from MPs who had been at the match, we heard from one who could

:11:36. > :11:40.barely control her emotion. Speaking 23 years on, but fighting

:11:40. > :11:45.to avoid crying in front of her colleagues. It was one of those

:11:45. > :11:50.days when it was not right for most to ask the question, why for so

:11:50. > :11:54.long did so many in power leave unchallenged the distortion that is

:11:54. > :11:58.we now know were peddled by some in the police, and some in the press?

:11:58. > :12:03.The truth has now been made public. What happens now? Well, it is clear

:12:03. > :12:06.now that the country's top lawyer, the attorney General, is

:12:06. > :12:12.considering whether he can quash the original verdict at the inquest

:12:12. > :12:16.into those who died. The inquest, of course, reported that they were

:12:16. > :12:21.accidental deaths and call a new inquest instead, which it would be

:12:21. > :12:23.hoped by those families of the victims would produce new verdicts.

:12:23. > :12:27.The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, the force that was

:12:27. > :12:30.involved is saying that he would be prepared to pursue criminal

:12:31. > :12:35.convictions if there's evidence. It is, of course, quite a big if. We

:12:35. > :12:40.would now be talking almost a quarter of a century on, getting

:12:40. > :12:43.secure evidence that would stand up in a court of law to prosecute

:12:43. > :12:47.individuals, could prove very difficult. But many will have been

:12:47. > :12:54.struck by the words of two people today, first of all, the MP who

:12:54. > :12:58.represents the area of Liverpool FC, who said today made history, now we

:12:58. > :13:02.must change history. But also the words of the Prime Minister himself,

:13:02. > :13:07.who said after truth has to come justice.

:13:07. > :13:11.Thank you. There is more detail on the newly

:13:11. > :13:20.released doms on the BBC -- documents on the BBC website with

:13:20. > :13:24.key points and analysis. President Obama has condemned the

:13:24. > :13:26.killing of the American ambassador to Libya. Christopher Stevens died

:13:26. > :13:32.alongside three American colleagues in violence sparked by protests

:13:32. > :13:37.over a US-made film which is considered offensive to Islam.

:13:37. > :13:41.Here's our diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.

:13:41. > :13:45.The ruins of the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya's

:13:45. > :13:49.second city. Last night, armed attackers overwhelmed those

:13:49. > :13:53.guarding it, Libyans outside, marines inside. Throwing grenades

:13:53. > :13:58.and with powerful weapons they set fire to large parts of the compound

:13:58. > :14:06.and killed American officials, including the ambassador.

:14:06. > :14:15.My name is Chris Stevens... Christopher Stevens was promoted to

:14:15. > :14:18.ambassador months ago. The stau states con-- United States

:14:18. > :14:22.condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack.

:14:22. > :14:25.We are working with the Government of Libya to secure our diplomats, I

:14:25. > :14:29.have also directed my administration to increase our

:14:29. > :14:34.security at diplomatic posts around the world. And make no mistake, we

:14:34. > :14:39.will work with the Libyan Government to bring to justice the

:14:39. > :14:43.killers who attacked our people. Outside the burning consulate last

:14:43. > :14:47.night, a local resident said what happened was in response to an

:14:47. > :14:52.anti-Islam video posted on the internet from the United States

:14:52. > :14:56.which insults the prophet Mohammed. After extracts of the video were

:14:56. > :15:06.shown on TV in Egypt, thousands of people protested outside the

:15:06. > :15:08.

:15:08. > :15:09.American Embassy in Cairo. They tore down the stars and Stipes,

:15:09. > :15:12.replacing it with an Islamist banner. Whatever the precise

:15:12. > :15:14.motives of the heavily armed men who killed the American ambassador

:15:14. > :15:16.in Libya, it seems that first sight baffling. America's Secretary of

:15:16. > :15:20.State, Hillary Clinton, said it herself, how could this happen in a

:15:20. > :15:24.country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from

:15:24. > :15:28.destruction? But views of freedom are different, of course. Americans

:15:28. > :15:32.value freedom of religion, but also the constitutional right to say

:15:32. > :15:35.whatever they want, however offensive. But in much of the

:15:35. > :15:39.Muslim world, where some countries are now winning greater political

:15:39. > :15:44.freedoms in the Arab spring, the concept of freedom certainly does

:15:44. > :15:49.not extend to insulting the prophet. Libya's Government has condemned

:15:49. > :15:53.the attacks in Benghazi, but says the anti-Islam film is merely a

:15:53. > :15:57.pretext. Instead, they blame pro- Colonel Gaddafi elements reacting

:15:57. > :16:06.to the arrest of his formish spy chief, who was brought back to

:16:06. > :16:10.Unemployment has fallen again. There has been a small drop in the

:16:10. > :16:16.number of people out of work. Unemployment fell by 7000 in the

:16:16. > :16:19.three months to July. It now stands at two point 59 million. Not only

:16:19. > :16:23.is the jobless total down, but the number of people finding work has

:16:23. > :16:26.also risen at the fastest rate for two years.

:16:26. > :16:30.It is too early to talk about a new dawn, but in the Medway area in

:16:30. > :16:35.Kent, as in many parts of the country, the jobs market is looking

:16:35. > :16:38.brighter. Kim Heath can vouch for that. She has found an opening as a

:16:38. > :16:42.casual worker. She was on a training scheme run partly by the

:16:42. > :16:46.Medway Youth Trust. It got her work experience in their hotel, which

:16:46. > :16:51.went so well that she got a job. The hours each week very, but she

:16:51. > :16:56.is pleased to have the opportunity. I work the hours I am given, and if

:16:56. > :17:02.they asked me to stay longer, I do. I never turn down a shift, because

:17:02. > :17:06.I need the experience. But Caitlin page has not been so lucky. She is

:17:06. > :17:11.a graduate job seeker. After a first class honours degree this

:17:11. > :17:15.year, she has now had to sign on. She has put in 100 job applications,

:17:15. > :17:21.but still no luck. After taking out loans and working hard for her

:17:21. > :17:26.degree, she feels let down. I feel like to, almost. From when I was at

:17:26. > :17:29.school, I was told that if you do a degree, you will walk straight into

:17:29. > :17:34.a middle-management job and get paid loads of money and everything

:17:34. > :17:38.will be brilliant. And you come out of university and find you have to

:17:38. > :17:43.apply for jobs at the bottom, with rubbish pay. But for many, it is a

:17:43. > :17:48.positive picture. The number of people in work increased to its

:17:48. > :17:52.highest level in almost four years. Looking at the overall economic

:17:52. > :17:55.landscape, one thing is puzzling for policymakers. Even though the

:17:55. > :18:00.economy is in recession, with output contracting, jobs have been

:18:00. > :18:04.created, with total employment numbers rising. And there does not

:18:04. > :18:08.appear to be a simple explanation. Stacey is an employer who is hiring

:18:08. > :18:12.staff. She thinks things are better than the official output figures

:18:12. > :18:16.suggest. Her family's electronics components business has seen orders

:18:17. > :18:21.growing. We have taken on two members of staff in the factory. We

:18:21. > :18:24.are recruiting for an apprentice to join us in the office, so we are

:18:24. > :18:30.growing as a business. And hopefully, we will grow again over

:18:30. > :18:33.the next year, when we hope to employ two more members of staff.

:18:33. > :18:39.closer look at the figures shows that although UK wide unemployment

:18:39. > :18:44.has fallen, it was up in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

:18:44. > :18:49.The UK's largest manufacturer, BAE Systems, has announced that it is

:18:49. > :18:54.in talks to merge with the parent company of Airbus, EADS. It would

:18:54. > :18:59.create a huge European aerospace, defence and security firm worth

:18:59. > :19:03.nearly �30 billion. Let's get more on this with Richard Westcott.

:19:03. > :19:09.would be one of the world's biggest deals. On one side, you have one of

:19:09. > :19:12.the UK's biggest companies, BAE Systems. They make submarines and

:19:12. > :19:17.the high-tech fighter jet. On the other side, you have one of

:19:17. > :19:22.Europe's biggest companies, EADS, best known for Airbus, but they

:19:22. > :19:27.also helped make the Euro fighter. If they merge, EADS would be the

:19:28. > :19:31.bigger partner in the deal. But the key here is jobs. These companies

:19:31. > :19:37.combined employ 48,000 people in the UK. The fear is that if they

:19:37. > :19:42.get together, what happens to those jobs? They have until October the

:19:42. > :19:45.tenth to tell us what they will do. Our top story tonight: the Prime

:19:45. > :19:48.Minister apologises on behalf of the nation to the families of those

:19:48. > :19:51.who died in the Hillsborough disaster. Coming up:

:19:51. > :20:01.It's a family affair - Prince William on how many children he is

:20:01. > :20:04.hoping for with Kate. Her later in business on the BBC News Channel,

:20:04. > :20:09.unemployment is down, even though we are in a recession, so what is

:20:09. > :20:18.going on? And it has been yet another big day

:20:18. > :20:20.Finding a cure for some types of deafness appears to be a step

:20:20. > :20:25.closer after scientists in Sheffield used human embryonic stem

:20:25. > :20:28.cells to reverse hearing loss in gerbils. Although patient trials

:20:28. > :20:38.are still some years away, the researchers say this successful

:20:38. > :20:38.

:20:38. > :20:42.animal research marks an important step forward.

:20:42. > :20:46.These nerve cells under the microscope are what researchers

:20:46. > :20:52.hope may one day reverse deafness. They were created from human

:20:52. > :20:56.embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to turn into any tissue.

:20:56. > :20:59.The scientists are trying to tackle a form of deafness that affect

:20:59. > :21:03.about one in 10 people with profound hearing loss. In the

:21:03. > :21:07.condition, nerve cells in the copier, in the inner ear, are

:21:08. > :21:12.damaged, preventing sound from travelling down the auditory nerve

:21:12. > :21:16.to the brain, like it in a telephone wire. In the lab,

:21:16. > :21:20.researchers grew stem cells derived from donated embryos smaller than a

:21:20. > :21:26.pinhead and grew them in to help the replacement nerve cells. They

:21:26. > :21:30.injected these into 18 death gerbils, considered a good animal

:21:31. > :21:37.model for human hearing. Tests showed that on average, 45% of

:21:37. > :21:41.their hearing was restored. We have proof of the concept that stem

:21:41. > :21:47.cells can be used to repair the damaged ear. But this is only the

:21:47. > :21:53.beginning. More work is needed, but as proof of a concept, it is a good

:21:53. > :21:57.step forward. This woman could hear perfectly as a child until she

:21:57. > :22:01.contracted typhoid. Her treatment left her profoundly deaf. She works

:22:01. > :22:06.for the charity which helped fund the research, and says she would

:22:06. > :22:10.volunteer for any patient trials. would definitely seize the

:22:10. > :22:14.opportunity to hear again, to know that in future when I have kids, I

:22:14. > :22:20.will be able to hear them and not have to rely on my partner or my

:22:20. > :22:24.family to tell them -- tell me what my daughter or son is saying.

:22:24. > :22:30.questions remain, such as, does the hearing improvement last? The

:22:30. > :22:33.gerbils were followed up the just ten weeks. And is it safe? The

:22:33. > :22:37.research in the journal Nature is encouraging, but these

:22:37. > :22:47.uncertainties mean a patient trials using these cells are still several

:22:47. > :22:48.

:22:48. > :22:51.years away. 290 people are thought to have died

:22:51. > :22:54.in a fire which swept through a factory in Pakistan. It is one of

:22:54. > :22:57.the worst industrial accidents in the country's history, and many of

:22:57. > :23:00.the victims were unable to escape because the building had no fire

:23:00. > :23:06.exits, alarms or sprinklers. The blaze happened in the city of

:23:06. > :23:09.Karachi. Hour after hour, or searching in

:23:09. > :23:16.the wreckage and more victims recovered, many charred beyond

:23:16. > :23:20.recognition. For relatives, the agonising wait for a body to bury.

:23:20. > :23:27.Mohammed Mortarzer was still looking for his son. He is my

:23:27. > :23:33.youngest, he said. Where is his body? Dozens survived by jumping

:23:33. > :23:37.from the roof and the upper stories, like this person. A crane made a

:23:37. > :23:42.hole in the war, he said, and I jumped from the third floor, but

:23:42. > :23:48.five of my relatives were trapped inside. I beg rescue workers to

:23:48. > :23:52.help them, but no one paid attention. Then I passed out. This

:23:52. > :23:57.is the inferno from which he escaped. It engulfed the garment

:23:57. > :24:04.factory in minutes. At first, some were brought out alive, but soon it

:24:04. > :24:10.was body after body. The factory windows were barred. Most had no

:24:10. > :24:15.way out. No safety measures were taken in the design of the building.

:24:15. > :24:19.There were no safety exits. The people got trapped. The search for

:24:19. > :24:24.the dead continues now. Employees claim that the factory owners cared

:24:24. > :24:30.more for their garments than the lives of their workers. Tonight,

:24:30. > :24:34.rescue workers are still dousing burning embers inside the factory.

:24:34. > :24:38.Employees say it was a death trap, but as is often the case in

:24:38. > :24:46.Pakistan, the authorities allowed it to remain open. Relatives of

:24:46. > :24:49.those who perished here are asking if anyone will be held to account.

:24:49. > :24:53.Prince William has revealed for the first time that he wants to have

:24:53. > :24:56.two children. The comments came on the second day of a visit by the

:24:56. > :25:05.Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Singapore, which has been organised

:25:05. > :25:10.to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

:25:10. > :25:16.The day began with a walk in the gardens. No ordinary walk, mind you,

:25:16. > :25:19.this was a long and aerial pathway in a huge glass dome, complete with

:25:19. > :25:24.a waterfall. And no ordinary gardens. These are Singapore's

:25:24. > :25:29.Gardens by the bay, a spectacular garden project conceived and

:25:29. > :25:34.designed by British engineers. The crowds had gathered, their first

:25:34. > :25:39.real chance to see William and Kate. And as they always do, the couple

:25:39. > :25:42.took their time. Crouching down to talk to children who had been

:25:42. > :25:46.waiting in the heat, and reaching out to shake as many hands as

:25:46. > :25:51.possible. Disappointing a few, For Room the handshake never

:25:52. > :25:56.materialised, but delighting and overwhelmingly British crowd.

:25:56. > :26:01.are a fantastic influence on the country. They are such a special

:26:01. > :26:07.couple. They are young and fresh for the Royal Family. Across the

:26:07. > :26:12.city, they saw something of local culture. There were Chinese lion

:26:12. > :26:17.dancers, doing tie and -- Chinese lion dances. And demonstrations of

:26:17. > :26:22.melee martial arts. At a children's centre, Kate joined in with an art

:26:22. > :26:27.class. And at a Rolls-Royce factory, she completed work on a new jet

:26:27. > :26:32.engine. Will this kind of thing be the story in tomorrow's papers?

:26:32. > :26:36.Possibly not. Running alongside the focus on community events like this

:26:36. > :26:42.and promoting British business is the focus on the couple themselves,

:26:42. > :26:47.and particularly on Kate. Kate per se family, to be more precise. The

:26:47. > :26:57.couple met a lot of children today, and to one of them, Williams said

:26:57. > :26:58.

:26:58. > :27:03.he hopes he and Kate will have two Now the weather.

:27:03. > :27:07.It will become windy over the next couple of days, but tonight, the

:27:07. > :27:13.main feature is the temperatures, dropping off sharply under largely

:27:13. > :27:23.clear skies. There will be a fresh feel To tomorrow morning. Tonight,

:27:23. > :27:23.

:27:23. > :27:33.we have some wet weather to get rid of for in the east of England and.

:27:33. > :27:36.Clear spells will allow the temperatures to drop. It will feel

:27:36. > :27:41.particularly chilly first thing tomorrow morning. There will be

:27:41. > :27:46.plenty of sunshine across the southern half of the UK. Further

:27:46. > :27:50.north, outbreaks of rain persist in northern Scotland. The cloud will

:27:50. > :27:54.increase across Wales and south- west England. More cloud in the

:27:54. > :27:59.afternoon, but it generally stays dry and bright here. Sunny spells

:27:59. > :28:04.in the east after a chilly start. More cloud spills in across north-

:28:04. > :28:07.west England. Maybe a few light showers here. We should hang on to

:28:07. > :28:12.brightness across the east of Northern Ireland. But eastern

:28:12. > :28:21.Scotland will see outbreaks of rain, particularly wet in the far north-

:28:21. > :28:26.west. Those winds will be very lively tomorrow evening. It stays

:28:26. > :28:31.blustery into Friday across the UK. Some showery rain at first in the

:28:31. > :28:36.south. Scattered showers in the far north-west, but for many, it will

:28:36. > :28:40.be dry and bright. But it will feel cooler because of those winds. The