05/12/2013 BBC News at Six

First Scotland and now the rest of the UK is battered by a powerful

storm. Two people are killed. One was a truck driver in West

Lothian. Winds of up to a 100mph have disrupted transport and left

tens of thousands of homes without power.

Officials issue the highest category flood warnings. Tousands of homes

are evacuated, from Rhyl in Wales to Great Yarmouth in Norflok. Ways were

crashing and over that shelter and then doubling over the embankment

wall, which has broken away. -- waves.

There's a warning that tidal surge could be the worst in 60 years.

Also on tonight's programme: George Osborne gives his most

optimistic economic forecast yet. In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor

said he wanted a responsible recovery and there are more tough

decisions to come. The plan is working. It is a long-term plan for

a grown-up country. But the job is not done. By doing the right thing,

we're heading in the right direction. Britain's moving again.

Let's keep going. For most people in our country, living standards are

not rising, Mister Speaker, they are falling year on year on year.

Millions will have to work longer - people in their thirties will have

to wait until they are 69 for a state pension.

There's some relief for commuters. Fuel duty will be frozen next year

and train fares rises will be capped to the rate of inflation.

Nigella Lawson faces more questions about her drug use. She tells a

court she would rather be honest and ashamed.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News, England fightback on the

opening day of the second Ashes Test to finish strongly as it is honours

even in Adelaide. Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News At Six. A powerful storm that cut across

Scotland in the early hours of the morning has now moved south. Two

people have been killed - one in West Lothian and the other in

Nottingham. High winds have battered parts of Scotland, Wales, Northern

England and Northern Ireland. More than 100,000 homes are without

power. The Environment Agency has issued 43 severe flood warnings.

That's the highest category. Tonight, people from Lincolnshire to

Kent are braced for what experts say could be the worst tidal surge in 60

years. In the last half an hour, we have heard the Government's

emergency committee has met for the second time today. In a moment, a

report from Scotland but first, Jeremy Cooke in Cleethorpes.

Yes, thanks and for most of the Day today, the story across northern

Britain has been one of high winds but tonight, it is one of high

water. It has breached the sea wall and is coming in over the road and

we are still a full hour away from high tide.

The force and the fury of nature. Northern Ireland in the firing

line. This was Portstewart, battered by galeforce winds and massive

waves. Soon, the surge hit the coast of North Wales. People in Rhyl had

been told to prepare, but nothing could stop the water. There is no

wall, no defence, just nothing there to stop it. The waves were crashing

in over the top of that shelter and then doubling and over that big

embankment wall, which has broken away. So this was a promenade. It is

going to take a lot of digging out. Now it is England's eastern seaboard

facing a red alert. Last-minute makeshift sandbagging, amidst

warnings that tonight's storm surge could be the worst for 60 years. The

government's emergency COBRA committee sending out a clear

message. Pay close attention to announcements by the Environment

Agency, local transport and local government, so in some places where

local evacuations have commenced, I would ask everybody to cooperate

with the local authorities. In Cleethorpes, they know to take the

warnings seriously. In 1953, the flooding was devastating. Jane lived

through that as a baby and then the floods of 1976. Now, again, she is

fearing the worst. From where we are now, looking

out... It is coming in fast. You are smiling, but it is worrying times.

Oh, God, it is. If it does breach somewhere and it comes into our

businesses, the mess... Several East Coast communities have been

evacuated. These residents have been told to move out, to stay with

family or friends or in community shelters. The advice is to evacuate

the property. On the Norfolk coast, house-to-house calls urging people

to say -- stay safe. I haven't been here when this has happened before,

it is the first time it has been a natural emergency. High tide is not

the end of the matter. There may be one more difficult day ahead. We are

worried about three tides. The first one is at 10:45pm this evening. The

next will be around 10am tomorrow morning and around 9:30pm tomorrow

night after that, so this is a 36-48 hour flood operation, we would like

to stress that. Tonight, the River Tyne in Newcastle has broken its

banks as the rest of the English East Coast remains on the highest

flood alert. The powerful storm struck Scotland

this morning. Winds gusting at more than 140mph were recorded on Aonach

Mor in the Highlands. The entire rail network was closed because of

safety fears. A lorry driver was killed when his vehicle was blown

over. Here's our Scotland Correspondent James Cook.

The storm swept in just before dawn, with gusts of more than 100 mph. It

could not have peaked at worst moment -- a worse moment, the height

of rush hour, leaving the motorways blocked and tens of thousands of

people stranded. The Forth Road Bridge was closed to all traffic

except, it seems, at for one lone cyclist taking his life in his

hands. The further out you go, the more exposed you are and the highest

recorded speed was 191 mph. We assessed the situation and cleared

the traffic from the bridge and deemed it too dangerous to leave

personnel on the bridge. There were dangers elsewhere. This accident in

West Lothian claimed the life of a lorry driver. His vehicle had

apparently been blown onto these two cars. There were similar scenes

across the central belt, as the emergency services battle to free

people from the wreckage of metal and wood. It wasn't any easier in

the air. This pilot's skill was put to the Test on the approach to

Edinburgh airport. The railways were hit as well. Glasgow Central station

was closed when debris hit the roof, as the entire Scottish rail

network came to a halt. Apparently, the glass fell in in the train

station and just now, I was in the room and the window just flew open

and the alarms started going. I'm sure it will be fine when they get

it sorted but it is delaying everything today, we can't do

anything about it. At the height of the storm, the power companies say

130,000 homes were without electricity. 50,000 in the south of

Scotland, 80,000 in the North. Hundreds of engineers have been

working to restore supplies. And everywhere you look, there is

damage. You can see here the real power of the storm as it swept

across Scotland this morning and forecasters say there is more to

come. Blizzards and flooding to follow. This afternoon, those

blizzards arrived with a vengeance. As the temperature drops, police are

now warning of snow and ice and a difficult day is giving way to a

dangerous night. Let's go back to Jeremy in

Cleethorpes. How are people preparing for this tidal surge you

have been talking about? Well, we have seen lots of

businesses along the seafront here sandbagging their properties as best

as they can come using black bin liners, rather than sandbags, which

are in short supply. The residential areas which are likely to be

affected have, as we have seen, been evacuated and they have been told to

go to friends and family or shelters. And really, this is, as

you say, a massive inconvenience that so many people but we should

remember this has been a day of tragedy in Scotland with a lorry

driver who lost his life and in England, in Nottinghamshire, when a

man lost his life because of a falling tree, we understand.

Jeremy, thank you very much. To keep up-to-date with the latest in your

area, you can tune into your local BBC radio station or go to our

website. Our other main story tonight:

the Chancellor's Autumn Statement -the first one he's been able to

deliver against a backdrop of higher growth, higher employment and lower

borrowing. Mister Osborne told the Commons that

the growth forecast this year had more than doubled. And with

borrowing falling faster than expected, the independent Office for

Budget Responsibility predicts a small surplus by 2018. The statement

included help for young people, small businesses and retailers. But

the squeeze goes on. Millions of people will have to work longer

before they are entitled to their state pension. James Landale was

watching the Autumn Statement and has sent this report.

Christmas has come to Westminster. The season of goodwill, but not

always one of good finances. The Chancellor normally lives for the

House of Commons this time of year with a sack full of bad news.

But... Is there any Christmas cheer?

Today, there was. In the Green book, George Osborne had what he saw as

tidings of great joy and made his way to Parliament knowing that the

Tory faithful would be joyful and triumphant. Britain's economic plan

is working. But the job... But the job is not done. Britain is

currently growing faster than any other major advanced economy. Far

from the mass unemployment that was predicted, we have a record number

of people in work, hundreds of thousands fewer on welfare.

Borrowing is then come he said, and by 2018... The OBR do not expect a

deficit at all. Instead, they expect Britain to run a small surplus. That

was music to Tory ears, but, and it was a big but, the Chancellor said

all of this growth is not enough to get rid of the deficit. Spending

would still have to be cut. We will not let up in dealing with our

country's debts. We will not spend the money from lower borrowing. We

will not squander the hard earned gains of the British people. The

stability and the low mortgage rates, the lower deficit and falling

borrowing have been hard earned gains of the British people. The

stability and the low mortgage rates, the lower deficit and falling

borrowing have been hard-won they could easily be lost. So he can out

the spending cuts still to come. Another ?3 billion from Whitehall

budgets over the next three years. And... From next year, total cap on

welfare spending. And many others will have to do work longer before

we can claim our pension. We think a fair principle is that as of now,

people should expect to spend one third of their life in retirement,

and according to the latest figures, that would have been

increasing the state pension age to 68 in the mid-30s and higher in the

mid-40s. There would be a crackdown on tax evasion, non-UK residents

would have to pay taxes on their properties, and this year's fuel

duty rise has been scrapped, rail fares up less than expected, tax

breaks from some married couples from 2015 and more school meals for

free, at least until 2015. And there was hell to get small firms

investing. Business rates capped at 2%. The smallest firms free from

rates for another year and a ?1000 discount for pubs, cafes and small

shops. And to help businesses and young people, the Chancellor says he

will scrap employer National Insurance for anyone under the age

of 21. This statement shows the plan is working. It is a long-term plan

for a grown-up country. But the job is not done. By doing the right

thing, we are heading in the right direction. Britain is moving again,

let's keep going. Not good enough, say Labour. There may be a recovery

but it is not helping everyone, as their new poster claims. In the

Commons, red-faced shadow Chancellor struggled to get heard. As Tory

shouted, he called the economy wrong. For all of his boasting and

utterly breathtaking complacency, the Chancellor is in complete

denial. Under this Chancellor and this Prime Minister, for most people

in our country, living standards are not rising, Mr speaker, they are

falling year on year on year. He used to say he would balance the

books in 2015. Now he once that macro now he wants us to

congratulate him for saying he will do it in 2019 --now he wants us to

congratulate him for saying he will do it in 2090. Bilson, Mister

Osborne was more Scrooge than Santa. There are ?3 billion more of cuts to

come, it is misery on top of austerity and people will have to

work until they are 70 to claim the basic state pension. Tonight, the

Chancellor got the headlines he wanted. The real Test will be

whether voters think today's good news is not just for Christmas, but

for many years to come. Other measures today include a rise in the

state pension of 2. .95 a week, free school dinners for infants until

2015. Plans for councils to sell expensive social housing an

regenerate run-down estates. Support for exports by British businesses

will be doubled to 50 billion and tax allowances for shale gas. Those

are some of the details. Now our chief economics correspondent has

looked at how the big picture has changed in recent months.

Inside number 11 they're probably thinking, what a difference eight

months makes. The economic climate on the day of the Autumn Statement

is fair. Turn back through the last few months to the time of the Budget

in march and -- March and it was gloomier. At that time there were

fears of another recession. The growth forecast from the Office for

Budget Responsibility was just 0. 6%. After an upturn over the summer,

the latest forecasters pushed up growth to 1. 4%. Next year has been

revised up too. Unemployment is predicted to fall from 7. 6% of the

workforce this year to 7. 7.1% next year. Close to the level at which

the Bank of England will consider interest rate rises.

The cut in public spending, the reduction in public sector

employment and the ongoing squeeze in real wages are all matters that

are of concern to eeconomists. Over-- economists. Overall there is

a sustainable improvement in the economy and that will outweigh some

of the risk factors. News not so welcome to the Treasury, the Office

for Budget Responsibility slightly reviled down growth forecasts from

2015 saying there was uncertainty over longer run projects. Web the

financial years -- web the financial years 2014 and it 2017/18 the

forecast was ?433 billion of borrowing over that period. That's

been re-viced down to ?360 billion. There's a surplus predicted for

2018/19. But to achieve that means continued curbs on spending. The

scale of the cuts announced for 2015/16 is substantial. Then two

more years of significant cuts on public service spending, probably

bigger than the cuts we've seen over the years of this Parliament. Then

if we're going into surplus after that, another year of no increase.

Yes, austerity has got a long way to run. In a move to help businesses,

the Chancellor capped their rate increases, smaller retailers got an

extra boost with a ?1,000 discount on their bills, a move designed to

stemming the tide of store closures. It was the right call from the

Chancellor to tackle the thorny issue of business rates. The cost of

property is one of the things which is damaging the High Street. One

thing which hasn't improved since March is overall Government debt.

That's still rising. A few more years of economic growth will be

needed before it gets on a downward trend.

That change to the state pension age has been brought into force a decade

earlier than expected, a move that will affect millions of people. It

means those now in their 40s will have to work until 68 before

becoming eligible for a pension. Reeta Chakrabarti is in Bristol

finding out what people young and old made of the Chancellor's speech.

How long with baby Ellen have to work before she gets a state

pension? Longer than her mum Dianne, that's for sure. She has to work

longer than her mum, Maureen. On hearing George Osborne say the state

pension age was going up, Dianne, along with her husband John was

resigned. I think keeping busy is the key. Having to work till 69, 70,

it makes no odds to me really. That's the age we have to work to,

then that's what we have to do. But Maureen, who is in her late 50s says

working at an older age isn't easy. As you get older, your health

deteriorates. Thinking that my daughter and son-in-law will have to

work until they're 69, we've no idea how they're going to feel by then.

The state pension age was already set to increase in line with

improving life expectancy. Now some changes will happen a decade sooner,

around 2035. If you're in your 40s, it means you will wait until you're

68 to retire on a state pension. Those in their 30s, will probably

work to 69. If you're younger, you may reach 70 before being able to

claim. The youngest but one member of the family, Maya, will from next

year get a free school dinner, as George Osborne confirmed, so will

everyone in infant school across England. While university is some

way off for these youngsters, there'll be more places from next

year though twis fees maximum are still ?9,000. Down the road from the

school, the own of this Bristol dee is weighing up his options. The

Chancellor announced 20,000 more apprenticeships. But for employees

under 21 he's scrapped national insurance contributions. There's a

saving to be made. It would help us take people on and train them up to

get them to be what we need in the business. It's not as if Christmas

has come early for all young people. George Osborne linked welfare to the

under 201s to Cornwall I -- 21s to qualifications and training. I would

rather be out there working and making money. But then people who

need it, then they need it. How else will they live? You have to train

because it's just a waste of time and taxpayers' money other-wise.

George Osborne has brought Christmas cheer for some young people. Unlike

Santa, for others, he's taken it away.

Let's hear from our political editor, Nick Robinson, in

Westminster. We said earlier this was the first statement where the

growth numbers were going up for the Chancellor. But you didn't get a

sense of mission accomplished. No, and he didn't want you to get that

Seb. Much -- sense. It was an important moment for him and a good

day in this sense: He's had to rip up his economic forecast many times

in the past, but he's never had to rip them up and tell you that the

news is better than expected. Today he was able to do that on growth and

borrowing. There was a number in the official and independent forecasts

that said the budgetary black hole, the problem, the so-called

structural deficit in the jargon, that isn't getting smaller simply

because the economy is growing more. That allowed the Chancellor to say

the job isn't done yet. He's saying to the electorate, keep me after the

election, you need to keep this Government doing the things it's

doing now. Labour responded by saying all of this good news misses

the point that for most people they're feeling worse off than they

did before and the figures show that even while the economy grows they

will feel worse off at next election than at the last. There's no doubt

that George Osborne had an easier day than Ed Balls, who ended up

shouting over the Tory MPs who were shouting at him. But the real test

is who you believe - do you agree with the Chancellor that the glass

is half full? Or do you agree with Ed Balls that the glass is more than

half empty? There's comprehensive analysis of the Autumn Statement on

the BBC News website. The time is 6. 23pm. Our top story

this evening: Authorities are warning of the worst tidal surge in

60 years as a powerful storm hits the UK. And in his Autumn Statement,

George Osborne says the British economy is bouncing back, but that

the job is not yet finished. In Sportsday on BBC News: World

champion Ronny O'Sullivan is out of the UK Snooker Championship, beaten

in the quarter finals. Nigella Lawson has objected to her

treatment as a witness since admitting she'd taken drugs, telling

a court this afternoon, "If you want to put me on trial, put me on

trial." The TV chef was testifying at the trial of two of her former

assistants, Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo. Both sisters deny fraud. (

report contains flash photography. Ms Lawson aroifd at court to face

pay second day of questions about her alleged drug addiction. In

court, she denied drug dealers had visited her home and that she had

hidden cocaine in her handbag. In an emotional outburst she said, "If you

want to put me on trial, put me on trial." She said of her former

husband, "I have been bullied. I am not going to continue to be

bullied." She was often photographed with her former husband Charles

Saatchi in the past. But this summer these paparazzi photos were

published showing Mr Saatchi with his hand around Miss Lawson's neck.

The couple divorced shortly after. She's giving evidence in the trial

of her former personal assistants. They deny dishonestly spending on a

company credit card. Miss Lawson denied claims that she authorised

lavish spending by Francesca Grillo. "I can be totally sure I didn't say

go and spend ?7,000 on yourself." Her admission that she used cocaine

has attracted the world's media. She told the court she would not be

talking about it again. Let's return to one of our main

stories today, the Autumn Statement. Robert, the Chancellor said he wants

a responsible recovery. Is that what he's getting? He is not taking any

great risks. His Autumn Statement was what economists would call

fiscally neutral. That means that the spending increases and tax cuts

were paid for. But the actual recovery, perhaps, doesn't seem

quite as sustainable as he might like, certainly that's the view of

his own Office for Budget Responsibility. It says that the

jump in growth has been fuelled by a resurgence of consumer spending,

which it had not been expecting and that that jump in consumer spending

has been caused by people effectively saving less, not

spending the proceeds of increased income. That can't go on for all

that long. The strength of this recovery will depend on whether

businesses start to invest again. The OBR expects them to. But that is

not guaranteed. There's one other thing, which I'm afraid made me feel

slightly gloomy. The OBR is pretty pessimistic to the extent that

productivity per worker will rise. That led to a really startling,

disappointing conclusion, which is that public finances on the

Chancellor's important measure are actually a bit worse. Thank you very

much. Now in a moment, hay full weather

forecast. First a reminder of some of the images from a day which has

brought danger and disruption. Scotland took the brunt of the storm

initially. The driver of a lorry was killed when it was blown over by

gale-force winds in West Lothian. In Rhyl lifeboats were used to rescue

people from flooded homes. Hundreds of people had to take refuge in an

emergency centre. The authorities have urged 10,000 residents in

Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex to leave their homes urgently ahead of the

first surge which is expected tonight. Here's the weather

forecast. It has been an evolving situation

throughout the day today. We started off stormy, very wet and windy,

particularly in low-lying levels across the northern half of the

country. Gusts in excess of 90mph. Then the winds started to transfer

south across the north of England and stretching down across that

North Sea coastline into East Anglia as well. Now the issue is this storm

surge that we've been talking about. We need really three ingredients,

this area of low pressure crossing us, we need strong winds, and high

spring tides. That's resulting in 28 severe weather warnings, flood

warnings being issued for East Anglia and the south-east corner. On

top of that, with the winds ease figure away through the night --

easing away through the night, we could see snow showers develop in

the far north-east. As they ease away, falling on freezing

temperatures, wide spread ice could be a problem across the far north.

In rural spots temperatures down as low as minus five to minus nine. It

starts bitterly cold in Scotland. Not as windy. Temperatures still

below freezing at 8am. Yes, some icy surfaces around. They're not as cold

in Northern Ireland. A few showers around and stretching through the

Cheshire gap into the Midlands as well. Anywhere south of that line

into the south-west it stays milder. Temperatures first thing around

three, six degrees. The mild air trying to move in through the

south-west all the day. Friday is bitterly cold into the north. We see

showers, longer spells of rain brushing into the west, still wintry

as well. Temperatures in Scotland really struggling. Plenty happening

through the night tonight. -- tonight. More details throughout the

evening. That's all from the BBC's news at

6pm. It's goodbye from me and on BBC One, we join our teams where you

are.