:00:00. > :00:08.Heavy rain and galeforce winds hit much of the UK, causing widespread
:00:09. > :00:15.disruption and threatening chaos for Christmas travel. Thousands of homes
:00:16. > :00:21.are without power, and as the rain sweeps in, many flood warnings are
:00:22. > :00:28.in place. Roads and train services are affected with cancellations and
:00:29. > :00:34.speed restrictions on some lines. We have to make it up as we go along,
:00:35. > :00:37.we just have to leave it until the afternoon, and we might get stuck
:00:38. > :00:42.and we don't want to get stuck in the wrong place. They talk about 70
:00:43. > :00:50.mph, but I think these gusts are more than that. Well, it is better
:00:51. > :00:53.than snow. We'll have the latest on the weather prospects for tonight
:00:54. > :00:56.and tomorrow. Also in the programme: The former Labour MP and minister
:00:57. > :00:57.Denis MacShane has been jailed for six months for fiddling his
:00:58. > :01:00.expenses. Freed from prison. Two members of
:01:01. > :01:03.the Russian band, Pussy Riot, jailed for protesting in a church, are
:01:04. > :01:05.given an amnesty. And the vaccine that offers a
:01:06. > :01:11.potential treatment for brain cancer. We speak to its first
:01:12. > :01:15.recipient. And coming up in the sport on BBC
:01:16. > :01:18.News: Cardiff boss Malky Mackay says he expected to be sacked at the
:01:19. > :01:19.weekend, before the club's owner Vincent Tan changed his mind about
:01:20. > :01:48.his ultimatum. Good evening. Much of the UK has
:01:49. > :01:51.been been hit by a fierce storm with heavy rain and winds threatening
:01:52. > :01:54.chaos for thousands of people preparing for Christmas travel. In
:01:55. > :01:57.Cumbria, a man has died after falling into a fast-moving river and
:01:58. > :02:06.a woman has died in a swollen river in Snowdonia. Winds of up to 87 mph
:02:07. > :02:09.have caused widespread disruption, with thousands of homes without
:02:10. > :02:12.power in Berkshire and the West Country. High winds and torrential
:02:13. > :02:14.rain have also affected travel. Roads have been closed, train
:02:15. > :02:16.operators are warning of delays, disruptions and cancellations and
:02:17. > :02:18.cross-channel ferries have been affected as well. Jon Kay reports on
:02:19. > :02:33.the day's events. Merry Christmas. This was Devon as
:02:34. > :02:38.the storm hit land after speeding across the Atlantic overnight. It's
:02:39. > :02:43.been like this since the first thing this morning in the south-west of
:02:44. > :02:50.England. Torrential rain, nonstop, driving winds. Not exactly a festive
:02:51. > :02:55.start to Christmas week. Santer won't be going down this chimney. On
:02:56. > :03:02.Dartmoor, properties were left damaged by winds of 70 mph. It
:03:03. > :03:08.happened at 8:30am this morning when the chimney got taken off. As the
:03:09. > :03:12.storm made its way across the South of England, thousands of homes were
:03:13. > :03:17.left without power, from lands end to the outskirts of London. There
:03:18. > :03:22.were similar scenes in West Wales, where roads were blocked and flood
:03:23. > :03:26.warnings were issued, as river levels rose quickly. The timing
:03:27. > :03:31.could not have been much worse. This was always going to be one of the
:03:32. > :03:34.busiest days for Christmas travel, but the QE2 bridge between Kent and
:03:35. > :03:40.Essex has been closed until tomorrow morning, and in Somerset, the M5
:03:41. > :03:45.provided frightening conditions the motorist. It was quite buffeting.
:03:46. > :03:50.When you overtake the trucks, you have to be prepared. It is very
:03:51. > :03:56.blowy. It has been horrendous from Swindon through Redding and Exeter.
:03:57. > :04:00.This is a prolonged period it's not looking great for tomorrow. And on
:04:01. > :04:06.Boxing Day, we could be having more the same. Pretty awful Christmas
:04:07. > :04:10.period, I think. For those relying on the railways, getting to the
:04:11. > :04:14.station was just the first battle. Passengers then faced delays, speed
:04:15. > :04:18.restrictions and cancellations in many parts of the UK. We just
:04:19. > :04:21.completely make it up as we go along because we don't know which service
:04:22. > :04:25.will be running. We know if we leave it till the afternoon, we'll be
:04:26. > :04:38.stuck on we don't want to get stuck in the wrong place over Christmas.
:04:39. > :04:41.They talk about 70 mph, but I think it's more than that. But it's better
:04:42. > :04:43.than snow. There are more than 20 blockages at the moment, and wherein
:04:44. > :04:45.the first few hours of something that will probably last 24 hours.
:04:46. > :04:48.Cross-channel ferry services have been disrupted. It was a deserted
:04:49. > :04:54.departure lounge in Portsmouth after a number of cancellations. For
:04:55. > :04:59.last-minute Christmas shoppers, a case of dodging the weather rather
:05:00. > :05:04.than the crowds. Southampton's festive market was more drizzle than
:05:05. > :05:08.glitter. And in London's Hyde Park, this winter wonderland attraction
:05:09. > :05:09.was forced to close. Leaving Santa Claus hanging around waiting for
:05:10. > :05:16.things to improve. Well, let's hear how the bad weather
:05:17. > :05:20.is affecting current road and rail travel. In a moment, we'll hear from
:05:21. > :05:22.Richard Westcott who's at Euston Station, which has been badly
:05:23. > :05:25.affected by power supply problems. First though, Sian Lloyd, who's with
:05:26. > :05:33.the Highways Agency in Birmingham. Sian. Yes, here at the National
:05:34. > :05:39.traffic operations Centre the staff are monitoring some 4000 cameras
:05:40. > :05:44.across the motorway network in England. They are also taking calls
:05:45. > :05:47.from members of the public, getting the very latest situation from
:05:48. > :05:51.people reporting accidents as they happen. They are really taking a
:05:52. > :05:55.close, close look at what is happening across the country, then
:05:56. > :05:59.taking important strategic decisions, such as reducing the
:06:00. > :06:03.speed limits on the motorways. That is happening an awful lot this
:06:04. > :06:06.evening. People who are out there travelling today will be aware of
:06:07. > :06:14.that. The important message from here is for drivers to slow down. If
:06:15. > :06:16.we take a look at the bank of monitors they are looking at at the
:06:17. > :06:20.moment, we can see they are focusing very much on the M25. Traffic there
:06:21. > :06:27.is literally bumper-to-bumper tonight. This is traditionally one
:06:28. > :06:31.of the busiest days of the year for travelling, and with the appalling
:06:32. > :06:35.weather conditions we've been having, these high winds and heavy
:06:36. > :06:41.rain, it's been very difficult for people who are out on the road
:06:42. > :06:46.tonight. To give you the latest on the hotspots, the QE2 and Dartford
:06:47. > :06:51.Crossing will remain closed tonight. They are going to look at that
:06:52. > :06:55.potentially reopening at 4am tomorrow morning. Also in Kent, the
:06:56. > :07:00.Sheppey Bridge, which is closed, they are looking at taking a
:07:01. > :07:06.decision on that at about midnight. In Cambridgeshire, the Orwell bridge
:07:07. > :07:11.is closed to high sided vehicles. Many, many local incidence and
:07:12. > :07:16.surface water remaining a big problem -- incidentals. And it's
:07:17. > :07:19.likely to be in the morning as well. But staff have been telling me it's
:07:20. > :07:23.not as bad as it could have been, because for them it is great when
:07:24. > :07:26.Christmas falls on Wednesday because people stagger their journey. They
:07:27. > :07:30.have begun their getaway from Friday, so the message here is that
:07:31. > :07:35.it's not as bad as it could have been with not so many people on the
:07:36. > :07:38.road. And Richard Westcott at Euston Station. Where, Richard, there have
:07:39. > :07:46.been problems due to a loss of power elsewhere? Yes, you heard how bad
:07:47. > :07:52.the roads were, I can tell you the railways are not a lot more fun. You
:07:53. > :07:55.probably can't see the big row of cancelled services there. Power
:07:56. > :08:00.problems further up the line. Engineers are physically talking the
:08:01. > :08:04.train through the broken signals. Funnily enough, they are not sure it
:08:05. > :08:08.is storm related, but there are problems across many rail networks
:08:09. > :08:12.at the moment. Lots of speed restrictions. It is a safety
:08:13. > :08:16.measure, and for obvious reasons, they have cleared 60 trees from the
:08:17. > :08:20.lines and they're also mudslides. The trains are running slower, and
:08:21. > :08:25.it takes longer to get there, but it's a lot safer. What we have seen
:08:26. > :08:29.today is the tactic, and we saw injuring the Olympics when it was
:08:30. > :08:34.successful, a pre-emptive strike. They know the problems are coming,
:08:35. > :08:38.so you get the highway agencies and network rail going on the television
:08:39. > :08:42.and the Internet saying to people that there will be disruption, so go
:08:43. > :08:48.earlier. It does seem to have got through, that message. Lots of train
:08:49. > :08:52.companies letting people use their tickets earlier. Some success there.
:08:53. > :08:54.But it does look like the storm will keep going through the night and
:08:55. > :09:00.possibly cause problems in the morning. Richard, thank you for
:09:01. > :09:06.joining us from Euston, and Sian, from Birmingham. For updates on the
:09:07. > :09:07.weather and the latest road and rail travel information, you can visit
:09:08. > :09:14.our website, bbc.co.uk/news. The former Labour MP and government
:09:15. > :09:16.minister, Denis MacShane, has been jailed for six months for fiddling
:09:17. > :09:23.his expenses. He'd used fake receipts to claim almost ?13,000.
:09:24. > :09:26.MacShane is the fifth MP, all from the Labour Party, to be jailed since
:09:27. > :09:29.the beginning of the scandal over their expenses. Two Conservative
:09:30. > :09:35.peers have also been sent to prison. Our Political Correspondent, Ben
:09:36. > :09:37.Wright reports. Just to warn you, there is flash photography in the
:09:38. > :09:45.report. With his solicitor carrying the
:09:46. > :09:49.suitcase, Demi -- Denis MacShane was prepared for prison. Last of the
:09:50. > :09:54.former Labour minister pleaded guilty to filing 19 bogus expense
:09:55. > :10:01.claims amounting to nearly ?13,000 between 2005 and 2008. He submitted
:10:02. > :10:06.fake invoices for research work and trips carried out for a think tank
:10:07. > :10:11.he ran. Mr MacShane was recouping the costs of genuine expenses, but
:10:12. > :10:15.doing so fraudulently. He stood, looking dejected in the dock, as
:10:16. > :10:31.Justice Sweeney delivered his sentence.
:10:32. > :10:37.It is hugely damaging. Three or four years on from the expenses scandal,
:10:38. > :10:40.we see yet another MP going to prison. Justice has been done, but
:10:41. > :10:48.the public will ask when it will end. Denis MacShane entered the
:10:49. > :10:52.Commons in 1994, a passionate pro-European, Tony Blair made him a
:10:53. > :10:55.minister, but he is the third MP to be imprisoned for fiddling expenses.
:10:56. > :11:00.The old system has been scrapped, but the scandal stunned voters and
:11:01. > :11:04.battered their trust in politics. The judge said the case of Denis
:11:05. > :11:07.MacShane was different to other former MPs convicted of fraud
:11:08. > :11:11.because he was not motivated by greed. He did not seek to make a
:11:12. > :11:15.profit and line his own pockets. However, the judge said he had
:11:16. > :11:20.damaged parliament and democracy. As he was led from the dock, the former
:11:21. > :11:32.European minister was heard to mutter, wearily, Quelle Surprise. He
:11:33. > :11:36.will be released after three months of his six-month sentence, but it is
:11:37. > :11:39.the latest political career to be cut down because of expenses claims.
:11:40. > :11:42.The entertainer Rolf Harris has been charged with three more counts of
:11:43. > :11:45.sexual assault, including one allegation against a girl aged seven
:11:46. > :11:48.or eight. Harris, who's 83, has already been charged with 13
:11:49. > :11:50.offences. The Crown Prosecution Service said the allegations related
:11:51. > :11:57.to one existing complainant and two new ones. He's due to face trial in
:11:58. > :11:59.April. South Africa's Civil Aviation
:12:00. > :12:02.Authority says a British Airways plane which struck an office
:12:03. > :12:11.building at Johannesburg Airport had taken the wrong taxiway. Four people
:12:12. > :12:14.in the building were hurt when the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, en route for
:12:15. > :12:17.Heathrow, apparently took a runway that was too narrow for the
:12:18. > :12:21.aircraft. The 185 passengers and crew on the plane were unhurt.
:12:22. > :12:25.Talks to resolve some of the most contentious issues in Northern
:12:26. > :12:28.Ireland are due to take place this evening. The former US diplomat
:12:29. > :12:31.Richard Haas has been trying to help political parties there reach a deal
:12:32. > :12:35.about flags, parades and other issues. Let's go now to our Ireland
:12:36. > :12:41.Correspondent, Chris Buckler, who is in Belfast.
:12:42. > :12:49.Richard Haass has now delivered his fourth draft proposals to try to
:12:50. > :12:52.deal with these huge issues. However the politicians have not started to
:12:53. > :12:55.discuss them yet. The talks were scheduled for this morning but have
:12:56. > :13:00.been delayed, delayed again and are now not due to begin until 8:30pm.
:13:01. > :13:04.Each of the subject, flags, parades, the past, are incredibly
:13:05. > :13:10.important in terms of and politics in Northern Ireland. Images of
:13:11. > :13:16.instability resulting from decades of division. They are the pictures
:13:17. > :13:18.all too often associated with Northern Ireland. Trouble blamed on
:13:19. > :13:23.problems linked to flags, parades and the past. And issues like
:13:24. > :13:32.contentious parades and protests often stir strong emotions. At a
:13:33. > :13:36.Loyalist rally at the weekend, the American diplomat leading the talks,
:13:37. > :13:42.Richard Haass, was told in one -- by one politician to go away in no
:13:43. > :13:49.uncertain terms. I really think you should go home. Michael Copeland of
:13:50. > :13:52.the Ulster Unionist party has since apologised, but it's in areas like
:13:53. > :13:59.this part of north Belfast that need to find a better way of Dalian with
:14:00. > :14:03.parades -- dealing with. I think it could be resolved, but there needs
:14:04. > :14:08.to be a wheel from the Republicans and loyalists to sit down and talk
:14:09. > :14:13.to each other. -- a will. All of these are rooted in the past. There
:14:14. > :14:18.are families who hope that any agreement will in some way benefit
:14:19. > :14:22.victims. This exhibition he is their stories. It was funded by European
:14:23. > :14:28.peace money and put together by a former IRA hunger striker. It is
:14:29. > :14:34.amazing what we did come out of, so if we are talking about these
:14:35. > :14:41.issues, I think it means we are moving forward. But so far the
:14:42. > :14:45.politicians cannot agree any deal on the issue of flags. It is a year
:14:46. > :14:49.since violence followed a decision to only fly the union flag above
:14:50. > :14:53.Belfast City Hall on designated days, rather than everyday. It
:14:54. > :15:00.prompted a huge amount of division and debate. Amongst those attending
:15:01. > :15:02.a public discussion at the Queens University in the city was the
:15:03. > :15:08.Northern Ireland Secretary. The process does provide an opportunity
:15:09. > :15:13.to make progress on the most divisive issues in our society, and
:15:14. > :15:18.I hope that that opportunity will be grasped by the participants. In
:15:19. > :15:22.Northern Ireland they still talk of two communities. Bringing people
:15:23. > :15:29.together means overcoming old animosities. A deal was never going
:15:30. > :15:31.to be easy. Richard Haass has set a strict deadline of Christmas Day in
:15:32. > :15:36.trying to work out whether this process will work. It is now late on
:15:37. > :15:40.the 23rd of December, and still the politicians have not got around the
:15:41. > :15:43.table. Everyone in this process is making clear that they believe that
:15:44. > :15:53.this evening 's talks will be crucial in working out whether the
:15:54. > :15:59.talks are a success or failure. our main story this evening: Gale
:16:00. > :16:02.force winds and heavy rain cause cancellations on the row ways and
:16:03. > :16:09.threaten the Christmas getaway on the roads. -- the railways. England
:16:10. > :16:16.try to revive the Ashes fortunes for the fourth test.
:16:17. > :16:17.Coming up in Sportsday: Chelsea look to continue their winning record
:16:18. > :16:38.against Arsenal this evening. A trial has begun of a vaccine to
:16:39. > :16:42.treat brain cancer. The first patient in Europe has received the
:16:43. > :16:48.treatment at Kings College Hospital in London. The vaccine is designed
:16:49. > :16:53.to train the body's immune system to recognise and destroy tumour cells.
:16:54. > :16:59.Each year, 9000 people are diagnosed with some form of a brain tumour.
:17:00. > :17:10.Almost 5000 people a year die from the condition.
:17:11. > :17:17.Robert is a veteran stage and screen actor but six months ago, he started
:17:18. > :17:19.having seizures. He was part of the acclaimed National Theatre
:17:20. > :17:24.production of Othello and was worried in case he collapsed on
:17:25. > :17:33.stage. I had an understudy and I said to him, if I get ill on stage,
:17:34. > :17:39.just take over the lines, but it never happened. His career, which
:17:40. > :17:48.included TV shows like Doctor who came to an abrupt halt when a brain
:17:49. > :17:52.tumour was diagnosed. Then he was offered the chance to be the first
:17:53. > :18:00.patient in Europe to have a personalised vaccine created to
:18:01. > :18:06.treat their brain cancer. First, soldier surgeons removed and
:18:07. > :18:15.destroyed his June. They took specialist cells. The aim is to
:18:16. > :18:23.teach the cells to recognise, seek out and destroy the cancer.
:18:24. > :18:28.Immunotherapy is emerging as an increasingly important area of
:18:29. > :18:33.cancer research. This is a trial involving personalised cancer
:18:34. > :18:37.vaccines, training the person's own immune system to fight the disease.
:18:38. > :18:42.This was the moment when Robert received one of the course of
:18:43. > :18:46.injections of his own tailor-made vaccine. London's Kings College
:18:47. > :18:51.Hospital is one of more than 50 centres, the rest are in the US,
:18:52. > :18:55.which are part of a landmark trial which will decide whether this
:18:56. > :19:04.personalised medicine gets approval. Even if a tumour seems the same in
:19:05. > :19:08.two patients, the genetics of it are very varied. One size fits all
:19:09. > :19:13.treatment is probably not optimal. There is a need to base the
:19:14. > :19:19.treatment on a patient's own cancer type. Early trials in the US were
:19:20. > :19:23.promising, Dublin life expectancy from 18 months to three years.
:19:24. > :19:28.Robert, whose tumour was near the part of the brain dealing with
:19:29. > :19:34.language, is having speech therapy and hopes to eventually return to
:19:35. > :19:38.the stage. The remaining jailed members of the
:19:39. > :19:42.Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been released. They have been freed
:19:43. > :19:47.as part of amnesty which they described as a public relations
:19:48. > :19:51.stunt ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February. The three
:19:52. > :19:56.women group were jailed for performing a protest song in the
:19:57. > :20:02.Cathedral 18 months ago. This report contains flash photography.
:20:03. > :20:10.The best-known face of the famous Russian protest group Pussy Riot.
:20:11. > :20:16.Nadezhda Tolokonnikova walked free long after nightfall in Siberia.
:20:17. > :20:20.After one year nine months and 20 days behind bars, she claimed she
:20:21. > :20:29.had only been released because of the Winter Olympics. I am calling
:20:30. > :20:34.for a boycott of the Olympics because the amnesty is not enough.
:20:35. > :20:40.It is just cosmetic. To release us just before the end of our sentence
:20:41. > :20:56.is just ridiculous. Far more people should be freed. 2000 miles to the
:20:57. > :21:01.west, her fellow band member Maria Alyokhina had been released earlier.
:21:02. > :21:04.TRANSLATION: We will be more organised in the future but we are
:21:05. > :21:14.going to use the same sort of methods. It was this dance routine
:21:15. > :21:20.in balaclavas and bright tights in Moscow's main cathedral which landed
:21:21. > :21:25.them in prison. The song is a prior to the Virgin Mary to rid Russia
:21:26. > :21:32.Vladimir Putin. They were jailed the two years, as part of a crackdown on
:21:33. > :21:36.opposition activists. Russia's most famous and long serving political
:21:37. > :21:42.listener, Mikhail Khordokovsky, was also freed three days ago, but today
:21:43. > :21:48.he told the BBC that he didn't think President Putin had changed.
:21:49. > :21:54.TRANSLATION: I am convinced that Putin is making these decisions
:21:55. > :21:59.about political prisoners now for purely cosmetic reasons. It is not a
:22:00. > :22:04.sign of a change in his politics but change is possible. In a matter of
:22:05. > :22:08.weeks, Russia's jails have been emptied of all the most
:22:09. > :22:14.controversial prisoners, Pussy Riot, Mikhail Khordokovsky and the 30
:22:15. > :22:17.Greenpeace activists. The only rational explanation is February
:22:18. > :22:21.that Sochi Winter Olympics but it shows how much power in Russia rests
:22:22. > :22:28.in the hands of just one man, Vladimir Putin.
:22:29. > :22:33.Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the world's most widely used assault
:22:34. > :22:37.rifle, the AK-47, has died in Russia and the AK-47, has died in Russia
:22:38. > :22:41.added of 94. He started to design weapons while serving in the Red
:22:42. > :22:46.Army in World War II and came up with the iconic AK-47 in 1947. His
:22:47. > :22:53.pride in his invention was mixed with the pain of seeing it used by
:22:54. > :22:56.criminals and child soldiers. Graeme Swann has denied taking a
:22:57. > :22:58.swipe at his former England team-mates. He's attempted to
:22:59. > :23:00.clarify comments he made about certain players, saying he wasn't
:23:01. > :23:04.referring to the current England squad. The former spin bowler, whose
:23:05. > :23:07.shock retirement yesterday, just days before the fourth test, has
:23:08. > :23:11.come in the middle of what's been called England's worst Ashes tour in
:23:12. > :23:17.memory. Our chief sports correspondent Dan Roan reports from
:23:18. > :23:22.Melbourne. Having shocked England by calling
:23:23. > :23:26.time on his international career mid-tour, Graeme Swann continues to
:23:27. > :23:31.make headlines. He is now making an impact with his words rather than
:23:32. > :23:34.wickets. A day after seeing him quit, his former team-mates were
:23:35. > :23:39.trying to put a brave face on things in Melbourne, but it was what had
:23:40. > :23:43.been written about them back home which was causing a stir. Graeme
:23:44. > :23:46.Swann had accused certain players of arrogant saying some had no idea how
:23:47. > :23:51.far they are up their own backsides. That is being interpreted as a swipe
:23:52. > :23:59.against England, something he denies. The man who is replacing him
:24:00. > :24:04.says there is no rift. He knows who he is referring to. We are right
:24:05. > :24:08.behind him. We loved him to bits. When he played with us, he had great
:24:09. > :24:18.character, his sense of humour was good. We all back him. But when
:24:19. > :24:21.Swann's shock retirement has forced England to call on two more
:24:22. > :24:25.spinners. With three days to go until the fourth test match here in
:24:26. > :24:29.Melbourne, these England players are trying their best to be good
:24:30. > :24:34.tourists, but the reality is that this is a tour gone bad. No such
:24:35. > :24:41.problems for Australia, basking in the glory that is having regained
:24:42. > :24:46.the Ashes. The hosts are taking it in their stride and are refusing to
:24:47. > :24:52.get drawn in the chaos. All I can speak for resource. We are all good
:24:53. > :24:58.mates in our rooms. We are happy with the way things are going.
:24:59. > :25:03.Australia, you sense, are enjoying this, as they target a whitewash.
:25:04. > :25:07.The gulf between them and their opponents is growing wider by the
:25:08. > :25:10.day. Let's return to our main story, the severe weather affecting much of
:25:11. > :25:14.the country. Gale force winds and heavy rain has
:25:15. > :25:18.caused widespread disruption across the UK. Robert Hall is in
:25:19. > :25:27.Southampton. What is the latest from there? This is the port control.
:25:28. > :25:32.They look after 100 square miles of busy waterway. But it is not so busy
:25:33. > :25:38.today. These are some pictures we filmed before it got dark. Heavy
:25:39. > :25:41.rain and waves. Flights at Southampton airport have been
:25:42. > :25:47.disrupted. Ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight as well. When
:25:48. > :25:50.you look at the pictures in the control rooms, you can see the
:25:51. > :25:55.problems ships have. They have to navigate down this channel. We have
:25:56. > :25:59.ships at anchor unable to come into port. The other issues getting
:26:00. > :26:06.pilots on and off ships. I spoke to one earlier who had taken a cruise
:26:07. > :26:11.liner out. He said he was taking his passport in case he could not get
:26:12. > :26:14.off the ship. And one of the pilot launches, they said the waves down
:26:15. > :26:21.here, just as you get into the English Channel were up to 30 feet
:26:22. > :26:26.high. They said they had not seen conditions as bad as that for 16
:26:27. > :26:36.years. The weather is still forecast to worsen as we go towards midnight.
:26:37. > :26:38.Let's look at a forecast for all of us. How is it looking for the next
:26:39. > :26:50.24 hours? Not good. Across the south coast of
:26:51. > :26:56.England, we have seen reports of waves as high as 30 feet. It is very
:26:57. > :27:02.rough out there. On land it is a combination of very heavy rain and
:27:03. > :27:08.wind. A windy evening everywhere. The rain has eased off for a time
:27:09. > :27:11.now. It is set to return. It will push in quite quickly through this
:27:12. > :27:17.evening. Another spell of what weather to come. We will see rivers
:27:18. > :27:21.rising further, lots of water on the roads. At the same time as the heavy
:27:22. > :27:30.rain pushes in, the totals are rising now. Gusts up to 80 mph
:27:31. > :27:34.potentially across the south-east coast of England and even inland
:27:35. > :27:40.through the early hours of the morning. That is enough to cause
:27:41. > :27:47.some damage and further disruption. Elsewhere across the UK, a windy
:27:48. > :27:49.night as well. It is across Northern Ireland and western Scotland
:27:50. > :27:55.tomorrow that we see the worst of the weather. Heavy snow pushing
:27:56. > :27:59.through as well across the higher ground of Scotland. England and
:28:00. > :28:08.Wales, at least it gets drier and brighter. Another windy day. As we
:28:09. > :28:15.head into Christmas, things will finally begin to quieten down. The
:28:16. > :28:21.isobars are opening up on the chart. That means the winds will start to
:28:22. > :28:29.ease. There is someone treeless as we go into Christmas day. I would
:28:30. > :28:34.not rule out the odd flake of snow. That continues into Boxing Day as
:28:35. > :28:39.well. Boxing Day is the day to get out and about. It is also a little
:28:40. > :28:45.on the chilly side. It does not last. More rain starting to head Ian
:28:46. > :28:51.and that is another storm for the end of the week. It looks like it
:28:52. > :28:55.could be just as intense. The potential for further disruptions.
:28:56. > :29:02.It is quieter across Christmas itself. Thank you.
:29:03. > :29:03.That is all from the