:00:16. > :00:21.fellow officers and Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell at the gates of
:00:22. > :00:24.Downing Street. Mr Mitchell says it is sad that a serving officer had
:00:25. > :00:29.behaved in this way, a comment echoed by his fellow MPs.
:00:30. > :00:32.For a serving police officer to admit to fabricating evidence to
:00:33. > :00:35.bring down a cabinet minister is about as serious as it gets.
:00:36. > :00:38.The head of the Metropolitan Police apologises to Mr Mitchell and admits
:00:39. > :00:40.trust in the police has been damaged.
:00:41. > :00:43.Also tonight, the care home in Lancaster where staff have been
:00:44. > :00:48.jailed for abusing and tormenting residents with dementia.
:00:49. > :00:52.The rain may have stopped for now but the flood waters are still
:00:53. > :00:55.rising. The French president threatens legal
:00:56. > :01:03.action after a magazine prints details about an alleged affair.
:01:04. > :01:09.Why Jessica Ennis-Hill won't be in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games.
:01:10. > :01:14.Four days of Tube strikes announced, as the row over ticket office
:01:15. > :01:17.closures escalates. And more people living near the
:01:18. > :01:38.Thames are told to prepare for flooding.
:01:39. > :01:43.Good evening and welcome to the BBC News At Six.
:01:44. > :01:45.A police officer has admitted lying about witnessing the row in the
:01:46. > :01:49.so-called plebgate affair, which led to the resignation of a cabinet
:01:50. > :01:52.minister. PC Keith Wallis originally said he had seen the argument
:01:53. > :01:55.between police officers at the gates of Downing street and the then
:01:56. > :02:00.Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell in September 2012. Today PC
:02:01. > :02:05.Wallis has pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and
:02:06. > :02:09.offered to resign. The head of the Metropolitan Police has apologised
:02:10. > :02:19.to Mr Mitchell. Tom Symonds has more.
:02:20. > :02:24.A minister, his bike, the police, the press and the expletive is.
:02:25. > :02:29.Today's guilty police still does not resolve the question of what was
:02:30. > :02:33.said on the 19th of September 2012 in Downing Street, but it is a
:02:34. > :02:37.significant development. PC Keith Wallis was not on duty and did not
:02:38. > :02:42.see what happened, but he e-mailed his MP with his account number less,
:02:43. > :02:46.and that landed him in court. His e-mail backed up the police log of
:02:47. > :02:49.the event, which had already been released -- Licht, and accused
:02:50. > :02:52.Andrew Mitchell of swearing and calling officers plebs. It helped
:02:53. > :02:57.pile the pressure on the Chief Whip and he later resigned, but this
:02:58. > :03:02.morning Keith Wallis has admitted he was lying. Keith Wallis has pleaded
:03:03. > :03:07.guilty to misconduct in public office. He could be jailed. This
:03:08. > :03:13.morning Andrew Mitchell described the admission as worrying in a
:03:14. > :03:15.statement. His friends went further. For a serving police officer to
:03:16. > :03:19.admit to fabricating evidence to bring down a Cabinet minister is
:03:20. > :03:23.about as serious as it gets, and it really does beg the question, if it
:03:24. > :03:28.can happen to a cabinet minister and politicians, it can happen to
:03:29. > :03:33.anybody. And backing Mr Mitchell's Sutton Coldfield constituency, this
:03:34. > :03:38.was the reaction. I actually think that is really, really shocking. I
:03:39. > :03:41.think most of the police officers in this country are quite outstanding
:03:42. > :03:46.and uphold the law for the rest of the country, so it is quite
:03:47. > :03:49.surprising that he told a lie. You are supposed to trust the police and
:03:50. > :03:55.that makes me think to myself, I cannot trust the police because they
:03:56. > :03:59.are lying. So more questions about police integrity for The Met Police
:04:00. > :04:02.Commissioner. His statement today, to lie about witnessing something
:04:03. > :04:06.and provide a false account falls way below the standard that I am PC
:04:07. > :04:11.Wallis's colleagues expect of police officers. His actions have also
:04:12. > :04:16.negatively impacted on public trust and confidence in the integrity of
:04:17. > :04:20.police officers. By and large, the public have more faith in police
:04:21. > :04:24.officers than they do in politicians, journalists or even
:04:25. > :04:28.doctors these days. But the real way to keep trust is for officers on the
:04:29. > :04:31.street on a day by day basis to deal properly with members of the public.
:04:32. > :04:37.That is where the trust comes from. That's where it needs to be. The
:04:38. > :04:40.truth about this incident remains elusive. Prosecutors say they cannot
:04:41. > :04:47.decide from these CCTV pictures if the word blurb was used. Mr Mitchell
:04:48. > :04:50.is suing the Sun newspaper which ran the original story. The officer he
:04:51. > :04:55.confronted is suing the MP for calling him a liar, and four other
:04:56. > :04:57.Metropolitan Police officers are facing disciplinary action.
:04:58. > :05:06.Our Home Editor, Mark Easton, joins me. This whole business is far from
:05:07. > :05:10.over. I think many people tonight will be deeply shocked, actually.
:05:11. > :05:13.This was a police officer who lied, and lied to try to damage a member
:05:14. > :05:18.of the British Cabinet. There is nothing more important in the public
:05:19. > :05:22.having trust that the police will use their powers with honesty and
:05:23. > :05:27.integrity, and as you say, this is far from over. It is a chronic
:05:28. > :05:31.problem for the commission of The Met Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
:05:32. > :05:34.He is ready under intense pressure. Some politicians are even suggesting
:05:35. > :05:37.that at some point his whole position may be in jeopardy.
:05:38. > :05:41.Actually, I think what this whole affair does is it which is
:05:42. > :05:45.politicians against police. There are many who suggest this episode
:05:46. > :05:53.has its roots in the fierce argument is over police reform in England and
:05:54. > :05:58.Wales, changes to job and the police contract, which have gone down
:05:59. > :06:01.really, really badly. So you have here a situation, an encounter that
:06:02. > :06:05.lasted less than a minute which has cost the taxpayer hundreds of
:06:06. > :06:08.thousands of pounds, a Cabinet minister his post, a police officer
:06:09. > :06:12.his career and quite probably his liberty, too. This, I think, has
:06:13. > :06:15.been another dark day for the Metropolitan in.
:06:16. > :06:18.Three care workers who abused elderly residents at a nursing home
:06:19. > :06:21.in Lancaster have been sentenced to between four and eight months in
:06:22. > :06:24.jail. A fourth member of staff has been ordered to do community
:06:25. > :06:26.service. The victims, who suffered from dementia, were bullied and
:06:27. > :06:30.assaulted at Hillcroft nursing home during a period lasting over a year.
:06:31. > :06:33.Their tormentors told fellow staff they were bored and doing it for
:06:34. > :06:41.their own entertainment. From Preston Crown Court, Judith Moritz
:06:42. > :06:46.reports. Would you like to say sorry to the
:06:47. > :06:51.family? She did not do anything, why say sorry? Gemma Pearson was
:06:52. > :06:55.supposed to care for elderly dementia patients. Instead, she
:06:56. > :06:58.tried to push one out of his chair. Given a community order, she left
:06:59. > :07:01.court without comment. She was one of four care workers who abused
:07:02. > :07:06.vulnerable residents at this care home near Lancashire. Eight
:07:07. > :07:08.pensioners were abused, some were slapped and stamped on and others
:07:09. > :07:14.had balls and beanbags thrown at their heads. Carole Moore, on the
:07:15. > :07:17.left, was sentenced to four months in prison for slapping a resident.
:07:18. > :07:22.Katie Cairns on the right has been jailed for five months for physical
:07:23. > :07:27.abuse. Darren Smith through beanbags at eight pensioners. He was given an
:07:28. > :07:31.eight-month sentence. These people could not speak out or defend
:07:32. > :07:36.themselves. Their behaviour was utterly contemptible, and I can only
:07:37. > :07:41.hope that when they reflect on their actions they see how cowardly their
:07:42. > :07:46.conduct has actually been. I think we are very happy with the custodial
:07:47. > :07:50.sentences. Michael Rowlinson's father was one of those abused. He
:07:51. > :07:53.spoke inside court, asking how they could have treated the residents
:07:54. > :07:59.with such disrespect. How important was that for you? Extremely
:08:00. > :08:03.important because I think it is part of the process of justice, really.
:08:04. > :08:06.My father could not be here and I stood on his behalf in court and
:08:07. > :08:11.said what, hopefully, he would have wanted me to say, and addressed that
:08:12. > :08:17.direct me to the people who carried out these crimes. The vulnerable
:08:18. > :08:21.residents of Hillcroft were in such an advanced stages of dementia they
:08:22. > :08:24.were unable to come forward themselves and described the abuse.
:08:25. > :08:28.If it had not been for other staff members at the home acting as
:08:29. > :08:33.whistle-blowers, this case would never have come to court.
:08:34. > :08:35.Even though there is to be a brief respite from the recent rain,
:08:36. > :08:38.floodwaters are expected to continue rising. The Environment Agency is
:08:39. > :08:41.warning communities in southern England in particular of the risk of
:08:42. > :08:44.further flooding from swollen rivers. The River Thames, for
:08:45. > :08:47.example, is carrying 400 tonnes of water through Surrey every second,
:08:48. > :08:51.ten times more than normal for the time of year. There are currently
:08:52. > :09:00.over 90 flood warnings across England and Wales. Duncan Kennedy
:09:01. > :09:05.has more. From this height, it is hard to see
:09:06. > :09:12.where the Thames ends and land begins. A watery blurb for mile
:09:13. > :09:15.after mile, and it is still rising. At Marlow in Buckinghamshire, the
:09:16. > :09:19.river spilled over, whilst at war grave in Berkshire, the flooded
:09:20. > :09:25.house on the right belongs to magician Paul Daniels. He treated he
:09:26. > :09:30.was OK. There is a bridge from here to the house. At Ray Berry, we met
:09:31. > :09:36.market has flown in from Belgium to resupply his stranded mother. He
:09:37. > :09:41.inched forward into her submerged guard and knowing that the water is
:09:42. > :09:45.going up. Do you think you will still stay? Yes, of course. I mean,
:09:46. > :09:51.we have a basement and I have to keep hunting the water out of that.
:09:52. > :09:58.If I don't, we'll be inundated. So I have to stay. Residence here say the
:09:59. > :10:04.next 48 hours will make the difference between inundation and
:10:05. > :10:07.salvation. What everybody along the Thames is telling us is that they
:10:08. > :10:12.want up-to-date information with all this water continuing to rise. What
:10:13. > :10:18.they are being advised to do is to go to the Environment Agency website
:10:19. > :10:21.and a tap in their location. If I put in Wraysbury, where we are, you
:10:22. > :10:27.can see that a lot of the map is deep blue, which means a very high
:10:28. > :10:30.risk of flooding. The Prime Minister was in Oxfordshire today, meeting
:10:31. > :10:36.people whose homes are ready under water, but defended his record on
:10:37. > :10:40.flood protection. We are spending ?2.3 billion on flood defences. That
:10:41. > :10:44.is an increase on the 2.1 billion spent in the previous period, so
:10:45. > :10:50.spending on flood defences is going up. The row about building new
:10:51. > :10:53.houses in flood prone areas surfaced again today. Government and
:10:54. > :10:56.developers simply can't agree on whether drainage gardens like this
:10:57. > :10:59.one in Sheffield are the answer. Yellow mac wrote capturing water on
:11:00. > :11:04.the surfaced from this housing development, the pollution is
:11:05. > :11:06.removed because it goes through vegetation, providing for
:11:07. > :11:09.biodiversity and landscape benefits for the community, but also
:11:10. > :11:15.providing flood prevention by controlling the flow into the stream
:11:16. > :11:18.locally. Many more gardens might disappear on the Thames this
:11:19. > :11:21.weekend. There is not much rain, just bucketloads of worry.
:11:22. > :11:24.And there's a special programme later this evening on BBC One
:11:25. > :11:28.looking at the cost of more than a month of bad weather. Sophie Raworth
:11:29. > :11:40.presents Battered Britain: Storms, Tides and Floods, at 7.30pm here on
:11:41. > :11:42.BBC One. The French President, Francois
:11:43. > :11:45.Hollande, is threatening legal action against a magazine after it
:11:46. > :11:47.published details of an alleged affair. Closer magazine printed
:11:48. > :11:50.seven pages of pictures of the president with a French actress. Mr
:11:51. > :11:53.Hollande has not denied the story but called it a deplorable invasion
:11:54. > :11:56.of privacy. Tonight the publication says it will remove the story from
:11:57. > :12:03.its website. Our Europe Editor, Gavin Hewitt, reports from Paris.
:12:04. > :12:08.This is a story about the French president, scooter rides and an
:12:09. > :12:11.actress. This was the president today and his entourage, crossing
:12:12. > :12:16.the street near the early say Palace. But a French magazine
:12:17. > :12:21.alleges that President wand made similar short journeys to this
:12:22. > :12:26.apartment, just 200 metres from his office mother on the back of a
:12:27. > :12:32.scooter and disguised by a helmet. President Hollande. He was said to
:12:33. > :12:36.be meeting Julie Gayet, a film actress and one of his prominent
:12:37. > :12:39.supporters. During his election campaign she described him as humble
:12:40. > :12:44.and a good listener. The magazine says this was the secret love of the
:12:45. > :12:50.president. Over the revelations of this apartment, the early say Palace
:12:51. > :12:53.said Francois Hollande greatly deplores the invasion of his
:12:54. > :13:01.privacy, to which he has a right, along with any other French citizen.
:13:02. > :13:05.They did not deny the story. I think politicians have a right to have a
:13:06. > :13:09.private life. The president is just a hoot -- human being, like
:13:10. > :13:15.everyone, and he has the right to a private life, including a sexual
:13:16. > :13:20.life. The president's partner lives at the early say Palace. These
:13:21. > :13:24.revelations come at a difficult time for president on armed. He has the
:13:25. > :13:30.lowest approval rating of any modern French president. There have been
:13:31. > :13:32.recent protests against taxes, and employment remains stubbornly high
:13:33. > :13:39.and the colour me hovers near recession. It is probably not very
:13:40. > :13:41.good for the president to be seen as gallivanting and frolicking in the
:13:42. > :13:48.streets of Paris when the economic situation is so dire. Next week, the
:13:49. > :13:53.president hosts his first news conference of the year. Many saw it
:13:54. > :13:55.as an opportunity to relaunch a troubled presidency. Now he is
:13:56. > :14:00.involved in a scandal. The French might respect the sea, but on most
:14:01. > :14:05.news stands today, Closer was sold out.
:14:06. > :14:08.Bitter sectarian violence is continuing in the Central African
:14:09. > :14:12.Republic which has left over 1000 people dead since last month alone.
:14:13. > :14:15.The president resigned today less than a year after he seized power,
:14:16. > :14:19.leaving the country with a dangerous power vacuum. While some are
:14:20. > :14:22.celebrating in the streets, there are also fears of revenge attacks
:14:23. > :14:32.and more bloodshed. Paul Wood and cameraman Fred Scott report from the
:14:33. > :14:35.capital, Bangui. There was joy in Christian areas,
:14:36. > :14:41.even before the President's resignation was confirmed. Go, just
:14:42. > :14:48.go, he screams, what happened to us will happen to you. They are
:14:49. > :14:52.singing, today we kill Muslims. French troops watched as more and
:14:53. > :14:58.more Christians came out. Muslims stayed at home. This was the moment
:14:59. > :15:09.the Christians heard the president had stepped town. -- down. The bow
:15:10. > :15:12.and arrow belong to a fighter with the Christian militia. Their arms
:15:13. > :15:20.are crude, the rifles home-made. Magic amulets stop bullets from the
:15:21. > :15:24.enemy's machine guns. My amulets made it easy to kill Muslims
:15:25. > :15:28.soldiers, he says. They helped force a president to resign. Today's
:15:29. > :15:33.events are their victory, they believe. There is quite a mood of
:15:34. > :15:37.triumphalism among the Christian vigilantes. The question now is
:15:38. > :15:45.whether the President's resignation will spur them on to try to seek
:15:46. > :15:48.revenge. The Seleka slaughtered our people like animals, says the
:15:49. > :15:52.commander. We had to kill them to make them afraid of us. But, he goes
:15:53. > :15:58.on, there has been enough killing, it should stop now. Christian
:15:59. > :16:04.civilians in the main hospital in Bangui. They were attacked by the
:16:05. > :16:12.Seleka militia, or just by their Muslim neighbours. This man had gone
:16:13. > :16:15.to a local market and was kidnapped off the street. His hands were
:16:16. > :16:25.tied, his brother tells me, then they cut his throat. The hysteria on
:16:26. > :16:29.display today is a toxic mix with a simmering anger among some
:16:30. > :16:33.Christians. The President's resignation might just take the
:16:34. > :16:34.steam out of this conflict but it is too soon to say the bloodshed here
:16:35. > :16:46.is at an end. A police officer admits he lied in
:16:47. > :16:50.the plebgate affair which led to the resignation of a Cabinet minister.
:16:51. > :16:55.Also, still to come: It will be a dull and wet start to the day. Some
:16:56. > :17:00.things never change - even though it is 60 years since the first TV
:17:01. > :17:04.weather forecast. Later on BBC London - three bodies are found in a
:17:05. > :17:08.house in brent. It seems a mother killed her children before taking
:17:09. > :17:13.her own life. And we hear from the new man at Spurs. Spurs on his
:17:14. > :17:27.ambitions for White Hart Lane. It is an award that has brought
:17:28. > :17:33.about some of the biggest rewards - the annual BBC sound Sound of 2014
:17:34. > :17:38.competition. This year's winner is hoping to be as big as Adele, who
:17:39. > :17:43.scoped the prize back in 2008. She has sold over 30 million albums
:17:44. > :17:49.worldwide, has nine Grammys and just to complete the set an Oscar on her
:17:50. > :17:51.mantelpiece. Who has won this year's competition. Our entertainment
:17:52. > :18:04.correspondent reports. # Lay me down tonight
:18:05. > :18:10.A singer with an extraordinarinarily soulful voice. Sam Smith says he has
:18:11. > :18:14.been influenced by some of the biggest names of recent years as
:18:15. > :18:18.well as other artists on this year's list - a list which he is now the
:18:19. > :18:21.winner of. It is just insane. I didn't expect it because some of the
:18:22. > :18:25.people on that list were unbelievable. I am so inspired by
:18:26. > :18:30.current music. I rarely actually go back and listen to music from the
:18:31. > :18:37.past. I love the charts. I live in the charts and you know, being
:18:38. > :18:44.amongst names like Ellie, Jessie J, is wonderful. He's referred to three
:18:45. > :18:52.winners, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Adele.
:18:53. > :18:57.# We could have had it all Although a few winners like Little
:18:58. > :19:01.Boots have not gone on to fullful their initial promise.
:19:02. > :19:05.It is no guarantee of success. There are artists who have won in the past
:19:06. > :19:14.that have fallen by the wayside. The fact it is chosen by 170 die-hard
:19:15. > :19:21.music fans, critics, blogger, journalists you would hope they
:19:22. > :19:28.choose the most talented. Sam Smith has featured on Naughty Boy's
:19:29. > :19:34.single, La-la-la. One of the year's best selling songs, it reached
:19:35. > :19:41.number one last May. # I live by your side
:19:42. > :19:51.Expectation will now be high that Sam Smith will enjoy success as an
:19:52. > :19:55.artist in his own right. Plans for a referendum on Britain's
:19:56. > :20:00.membership of the EU have cleared the first hurdle in the Lords today.
:20:01. > :20:04.If the bill becomes law there'll be a vote in 2017. Our political
:20:05. > :20:07.correspondent, Carole Walker, has been watching the debate. Britain's
:20:08. > :20:12.relationship with the European Union is at a critical phase with heated
:20:13. > :20:16.debate over the powers of the EU, the rights of its citizens and
:20:17. > :20:19.whether we should remain a member at all.
:20:20. > :20:23.The Lords have been debating a bill which would ensure a referendum on
:20:24. > :20:26.our membership of the EU by the end of 2017.
:20:27. > :20:33.We politicians have made a regular mess of it. Over decades.
:20:34. > :20:37.That's why we need to get the people to decide.
:20:38. > :20:41.Labour have not ruled out a referendum, but say this bill could
:20:42. > :20:48.cause uncertainty, which would damage our economy. The bill is not
:20:49. > :20:55.about changing or improving the EU. It is in indeed stage one in raising
:20:56. > :20:59.impossible demands of the European Union in order to create the pretext
:21:00. > :21:02.for leaving it. The Lords will demand changes to the
:21:03. > :21:06.bill, which will require further consideration and there's a real
:21:07. > :21:09.danger the bill will run out of time to become law.
:21:10. > :21:14.David Cameron wants to reclaim a raft of powers from the EU before we
:21:15. > :21:19.get to the referendum which has been debated here today. To achieve this,
:21:20. > :21:25.he needs the support of our European partners, but he has angered some
:21:26. > :21:30.potential allies by suggesting curbs on the freedom of movement of EU
:21:31. > :21:34.citizens and their rights to claim benefits here. That has prompted a
:21:35. > :21:39.senior member to accuse British politicians of pedalling myths about
:21:40. > :21:43.an invasion of foreigners. I am mostly frustrated about the
:21:44. > :21:50.political leaders, because what is a leadership if you are just a tribe
:21:51. > :21:53.with pop lis tick movements and speech to gain votes? You are
:21:54. > :21:59.destroying the future of your people, actually. A UKIP peer said
:22:00. > :22:03.he was grateful for such comments. For remaining us how damaging and
:22:04. > :22:07.humiliating our membership of this club is. So, whatever happens to the
:22:08. > :22:12.Referendum Bill, there'll be no let up in the wrangling over our
:22:13. > :22:19.relationship with Europe from now until the election.
:22:20. > :22:22.Jessica Ennis-Hill won't compete in this summer's Commonwealth Games in
:22:23. > :22:26.Glasgow because she is expecting her first child. She said she was
:22:27. > :22:33.excited and overwhelmed by the news and she planned to bid for a second
:22:34. > :22:37.gold in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Natalie?
:22:38. > :22:41.Well, she is a big-named ambassador for the Games here. She admitted
:22:42. > :22:44.2014 will be very different to the one she had planned. She made it
:22:45. > :22:47.clear she's not about to give up the sport she loves. A warning my report
:22:48. > :22:59.does contain some flash photography. Sense Ennis-Hill is the Olympic
:23:00. > :23:06.champion. It is a perfect day for Jessica... Ennis-Hill might well
:23:07. > :23:11.have been describing her golden Olympic moment, but was instead
:23:12. > :23:15.talking about her biggest challenge yet, pregnancy. The 27-year-old, who
:23:16. > :23:20.married last year, said her plans for 2014 have been completely turned
:23:21. > :23:24.upside down. She is 100% set on trying to retain her Olympic title
:23:25. > :23:30.in Rio once her baby is born. I think now taking this period of time
:23:31. > :23:33.might actually lengthen her career with the World Championships in
:23:34. > :23:39.London, in 2017. The games in 2018. There is always a
:23:40. > :23:45.championship year. Even by Ennis-Hill's ferociously high
:23:46. > :23:53.standards that will be tough according to Louise -- Denise Lewis.
:23:54. > :23:57.Not only are you dealing new emotional, the new emotional
:23:58. > :24:00.relationship you have with your baby, but with the goals that you
:24:01. > :24:06.have set for yourself. Yes, I want to be back competing at the
:24:07. > :24:11.Olympics. Here at Hampden Park, preparations are well under way for
:24:12. > :24:15.the Games this summer. Congratulations have been sent to
:24:16. > :24:19.Jessica Ennis-Hill. Ticket sells have been excellent. The question
:24:20. > :24:24.now is - just which of those box office names will they actually get
:24:25. > :24:30.to see? Sir Chris Hoy, who has hadded a stadium named after him
:24:31. > :24:35.here has retired. He'll remain an am boss dor. Mo Farah may -- ambassador
:24:36. > :24:41.for the names. Mo Farah may not compete. Bolt may run the 200
:24:42. > :24:48.metres, but is undecided. Ennis-Hill has missed out on her second
:24:49. > :24:53.consecutive Commonwealth Games. The one medal miss from a glittering CV.
:24:54. > :24:58.Another title will be added this summer - that of mother.
:24:59. > :25:03.Now, I have always fancied a go at this, and now the weather... There
:25:04. > :25:08.will be more rain. No surprise there! I expect you knew that of
:25:09. > :25:14.already. I am standing here because tomorrow marks the anniversary of
:25:15. > :25:19.the first ever TV weather man. It is 60 years since it was predicted to
:25:20. > :25:23.be dry weather for -- perfect weather for drying clothes. Nick
:25:24. > :25:27.Higham has looked at how the technology of the daily forecast has
:25:28. > :25:33.changed. It will be a dull and wet start... 60 years ago and the map
:25:34. > :25:39.from the Met Office auditions for television weather man. Jack
:25:40. > :25:42.Armstrong became a familiar face. It was his colleague, George Cowling
:25:43. > :25:46.who actually delivered the first forecast. We had been briefed to be
:25:47. > :25:50.a bit human. I mentioned tomorrow was going to be a good day for
:25:51. > :25:52.hanging out the washing. This was something which had never been said
:25:53. > :25:58.before and the press really took this up and thought that was a jolly
:25:59. > :26:01.good thing. The forecasters became familiar personalities. You swine!
:26:02. > :26:08.Hello! So, that is the picture this
:26:09. > :26:13.morning. Watch out for ice around... Some forecasts become notorious.
:26:14. > :26:17.Earlier today a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a
:26:18. > :26:22.hurricane on the -- hurricane on the way. If you are watching, don't
:26:23. > :26:26.worry. There was a terrible storm that night. It is not as easy as it
:26:27. > :26:32.looks when the amateurs sometimes have a go. In the west, rain light
:26:33. > :26:37.and patchy. A few interludes over Dumfries
:26:38. > :26:41.house, in Ayrshire. Actually he was not bad. This is one of the studios
:26:42. > :26:44.at broadcasting house. One of the things which has not changed is
:26:45. > :26:48.forecasters have to be able to talk for up to four minutes, precisely to
:26:49. > :26:53.time, without any kind of script and in this studio, at any rate, without
:26:54. > :26:56.a map or chart on the wall behind them, although they do see a chart
:26:57. > :27:00.if they look at themselves in the screen. The thing which has changed
:27:01. > :27:06.completely is the technology involved. Hand-drawn charts gave way
:27:07. > :27:11.to magnetic symbols which stuck to the charts, or sometimes didn't...
:27:12. > :27:17.Let's do it again! Computer graphics arrived in the 1980s. Today's
:27:18. > :27:24.forecasts are more detailed and they claim more accurate than ever. Now
:27:25. > :27:30.there are 18 forecasters in the studio. Just now they are not short
:27:31. > :27:36.of work. Now a time for a look at the
:27:37. > :27:41.weather, with a real presenter. At least we are not short of work at
:27:42. > :27:45.the moment - it has been turbulent weather. This weekend looks quieter.
:27:46. > :27:48.Still some showers to come for Scotland and Northern Ireland and
:27:49. > :27:51.clearing skies after that. Temperatures will come down
:27:52. > :27:55.markedly. There'll be a risk of isolator on tonight and on to
:27:56. > :28:00.tomorrow morning. Eastern England spared the frost, here because the
:28:01. > :28:03.rain and cloud will linger on. Clearing skies set us up nicely for
:28:04. > :28:08.Saturday morning for lots of sunshine. A reminder there could be
:28:09. > :28:15.icy stretches on the roads across the south-west of England and Wales.
:28:16. > :28:18.By 9am I am hopeful we'll see some sunshine. Beautiful blue skies to
:28:19. > :28:22.get the day under way. For Northern Ireland and Scotland, a risk of ice
:28:23. > :28:26.as well. Perhaps some showers close to the north coast of Northern
:28:27. > :28:32.Ireland and some fog here. Wintry showers over the higher grounds of
:28:33. > :28:36.the Highlands and showers across the Northern Isles. For Saturday, a much
:28:37. > :28:41.quieter day. Light winds, plenty of sunshine. Temperatures down on
:28:42. > :28:44.recent days because it has been exceptionally mild. Back to closer
:28:45. > :28:49.values for the time of year. Five to six in the north and eight to nine
:28:50. > :28:54.further north. Temperatures will fall away over the British Isles. A
:28:55. > :28:58.wide-spread frost developing. By the end of the night temperatures will
:28:59. > :29:04.come up in the West. Cloud will return. Eastern areas start off on a
:29:05. > :29:06.chilly note. Stubborn mist and fog around here.
:29:07. > :29:10.The wind and rain will move in quickly through the morning and then
:29:11. > :29:16.it will transfer further eastwards as the day goes on. Saturday, the
:29:17. > :29:20.brighter -- brightest and the drier of the two days. Sunday, the wet
:29:21. > :29:25.weather will make its way back in from the Atlantic. Thank you very
:29:26. > :29:26.much. That's it from us. On BBC One we can