:00:13. > :00:17.more storms batter the south coast. Rail engineers say it could take six
:00:18. > :00:24.weeks to repair, disrupting passenger and freight traffic.
:00:25. > :00:28.Ministers promise an extra ?100 million to tackle the aftermath of
:00:29. > :00:46.the storms. Winds hit 90 miles per hour last night. And we'll be live
:00:47. > :00:49.in Somerset where some villagers are being told to evacuate their homes.
:00:50. > :00:53.The Catholic Church and child abuse. The UN says it cares more about its
:00:54. > :00:57.reputation than the welfare of children. Two houses destroyed and
:00:58. > :01:02.ten people injured in Clacton. Fire fighters believe a gas fault caused
:01:03. > :01:07.an explosion. Strike misery for millions commuting in London.
:01:08. > :01:08.Ministers say they'll look at curbing the unions' power to take
:01:09. > :01:14.industrial action. He's got it all, from fashion to
:01:15. > :01:25.football. Now David Beckham says he's going to own his own team. On
:01:26. > :01:30.BBC London, one day down and three more to go as the first of the
:01:31. > :01:34.48-hour choo strikes takes hold. They will have the latest and look
:01:35. > :01:39.at how commuters will be commuting on the first day of disruption. --
:01:40. > :01:53.coping. Good evening and welcome to the BBC
:01:54. > :01:57.News at Six. The main railway linking Cornwall to the rest of the
:01:58. > :02:01.country is cut tonight - a casualty of the storms that have battered the
:02:02. > :02:04.south coast in the last 24 hours. Elsewhere, villagers in Somerset
:02:05. > :02:09.have been told to evacuate their homes and thousands of houses remain
:02:10. > :02:12.without power. With forecasters predicting yet more storms, David
:02:13. > :02:14.Cameron has said the Government will do whatever is required to help
:02:15. > :02:32.families and emergency services. Jon Kay is Dawlish where the rail
:02:33. > :02:40.was damaged. Built by the Victorians in the 1840s. Destroyed in 2014. The
:02:41. > :02:44.main route between Devon and Cornwall. This part of the line
:02:45. > :02:50.looks like a terrifying theme park ride. The waves have taken away the
:02:51. > :02:56.ground works, the ballast, that used to be under the track, leaving the
:02:57. > :03:03.railway track just hanging there, unsupported. For Robert and the
:03:04. > :03:09.other residents, time to evacuate their track-side homes, after a
:03:10. > :03:11.terrifying night. It was like an earthquake. I could not believe what
:03:12. > :03:29.was happening. We have retired now. Inland, on the saturated Somerset
:03:30. > :03:32.Levels, another evacuate on. Villagers who have already been
:03:33. > :03:38.through weeks of misery now being told for the first time they need to
:03:39. > :03:44.leave their homes. This should never, ever have happened, ever. The
:03:45. > :03:50.house of cards came tumbling down, unfortunately. This was the result.
:03:51. > :03:56.Today has been something else. As Britain 's most southerly port,
:03:57. > :04:03.Porthleven in Cornwall was ripped by the winds. Several boats sank in the
:04:04. > :04:09.harbour. Across the south-west, power lines have been brought down
:04:10. > :04:12.by violent gusts, leading Janice cooking in her camper van and tens
:04:13. > :04:24.of thousands of others having to cope without. In Dawlish tonight,
:04:25. > :04:29.and with the tide is now out, a closer look at this roller-coaster
:04:30. > :04:35.railway line. This spot has long been a favourite of train spotters.
:04:36. > :04:41.There will not be any role in stock passing anywhere nearby. It looks
:04:42. > :04:45.like a bomb site. Sympathy for the ones living up above. You think
:04:46. > :04:51.nobody will get through the second wall. It has got through. Engineers
:04:52. > :05:01.say it will take weeks, possibly months, to repair this crucial track
:05:02. > :05:04.and that is without any more storm damage. For now, this is the end of
:05:05. > :05:10.the line but it is not the end of the weather. The Somerset Levels are
:05:11. > :05:13.again bearing the brunt of some of the worst weather with some of the
:05:14. > :05:20.residents being told to evacuate their homes. Claire Marshall is in
:05:21. > :05:28.the village of Moorland. Clearly it is getting worse where you are. This
:05:29. > :05:32.is absolutely unprecedented. More pipes have been brought in in order
:05:33. > :05:37.to try to stop the village, just out of shot, from succumbing to the
:05:38. > :05:40.floodwaters. An extraordinary site earlier today with a police
:05:41. > :05:44.helicopter ever aired ordering people to leave. A queue of traffic
:05:45. > :05:53.formed, fighting force base, along with emergency vehicles. This has
:05:54. > :05:58.never happened before. People have been here for dozens of years and
:05:59. > :06:03.their homes have never been flooded. It is an extraordinary sight. They
:06:04. > :06:06.are trying to set up camp nearby in a village hall where they might get
:06:07. > :06:09.some shelter. This afternoon, David Cameron has taken personal charge of
:06:10. > :06:11.the Government's emergency committee, COBRA, which has been
:06:12. > :06:19.discussing the flood response. Our political editor is in Westminster
:06:20. > :06:24.for us. Nick, there is clearly a political angle to this, if I can
:06:25. > :06:29.put it that way. What message is David Cameron trying to send? That
:06:30. > :06:36.he, the Prime Minister, is now getting a grip. At is why he chaired
:06:37. > :06:40.the emergency committee. That is why he promised ?100 million more money.
:06:41. > :06:43.He told the House of Commons that whatever was necessary, the
:06:44. > :06:51.Government would do it. The impact of the weather has got worse and is
:06:52. > :06:55.due to get worse. We are no longer just talking about those terrible
:06:56. > :06:59.scenes in Somerset. We are talking of the cutting of the main rail
:07:00. > :07:04.artery that connects Cornwall to the rest of the country. There is worse
:07:05. > :07:10.weather forecast on Friday as well. There is another reason, quite
:07:11. > :07:14.simply this. Many people in the West Country have been angry with the
:07:15. > :07:19.reaction from Westminster and Whitehall. They do not like the
:07:20. > :07:23.Environment Secretary, who forgot to take his wellies on a visit to
:07:24. > :07:28.Somerset. David Cameron is determined he will not be
:07:29. > :07:33.portrayed, as his Own Minister is portrayed this week, on the front
:07:34. > :07:40.cover of private time magazine with a bubble saying, it is all under
:07:41. > :07:43.control! The Catholic Church has been heavily criticised by a UN
:07:44. > :07:46.committee, which says its policies allowed priests to rape and molest
:07:47. > :07:48.thousands of children. Following an inquiry, the committee accuses the
:07:49. > :07:52.Church of being more interested in its reputation than the well-being
:07:53. > :08:00.of children. Our religious affairs correspondent reports.
:08:01. > :08:08.In less than a year, Francis, the People's Pope, has transformed the
:08:09. > :08:14.image of his church. Now comes a hammer blow to its reputation. Storm
:08:15. > :08:18.clouds gathered over Rome today with the United Nations harshest
:08:19. > :08:23.criticism yet the Vatican. It stands accused of failing to stamp out the
:08:24. > :08:28.sexual abuse of children by priests. The committee on right of
:08:29. > :08:35.the child said the Vatican 's policies had allowed to continue. It
:08:36. > :08:39.is about the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the
:08:40. > :08:45.protection of the perpetrators but the best interests of children. This
:08:46. > :08:49.scandal has blighted the Roman Catholic Church. The UN committee
:08:50. > :08:55.accused the Church of failing to acknowledge the scale of abuse
:08:56. > :09:00.committed by priests. Among many official reports, one recorded more
:09:01. > :09:05.than 4000 priests accused of abuse in the United States over a 50 year
:09:06. > :09:10.period. Another said sexual and psychological abuse was endemic in
:09:11. > :09:15.Catholic run industrial schools and orphanages in Ireland for most of
:09:16. > :09:18.the 20th century. I am absolutely still very concerned about the
:09:19. > :09:24.safety of children around the world at the hands of Catholic clergy. We
:09:25. > :09:29.know a lot of information is held about them in the Vatican and in
:09:30. > :09:34.dioceses around the world. The author Daugherty 's must have that
:09:35. > :09:41.information. -- the authorities must have that information. Some
:09:42. > :09:50.Catholics insist the Vatican has imposed a duty on bishops to port
:09:51. > :09:58.all allegations of abuse. In Africa and Asia, some work needs to be
:09:59. > :10:07.done. The idea that in some cases it has been an obstacle is a myth. It
:10:08. > :10:10.does have a powerful, moral voice which even the Vatican cannot
:10:11. > :10:13.ignore. Ten people have been injured, two of them seriously, in
:10:14. > :10:16.what's thought to have been a gas explosion in a residential street at
:10:17. > :10:20.Clacton in Essex. Two houses have been flattened, and a third has been
:10:21. > :10:29.badly damaged. 19 homes had to be evacuated, as Robert Hall reports.
:10:30. > :10:34.In a suburban housing estate on the outskirts of Clacton, a gap has been
:10:35. > :10:38.torn in the neat row of houses. Two properties have been destroyed,
:10:39. > :10:43.damage and debris stretching over 100 metres. It sounded like a bomb
:10:44. > :10:50.going off, an earthquake underneath you. Windows shook, doors came open
:10:51. > :10:55.and debris came in. I have never seen anything like that before. The
:10:56. > :11:02.man who took this photo joint rescue struggling to those trapped. I was
:11:03. > :11:09.trying to clear the rubble. Another gentleman helped to get a lady out.
:11:10. > :11:17.I don't know, it's just... It's just chaos. We have done what we had to
:11:18. > :11:21.do. Emergency services declared a major incident. The first cruise to
:11:22. > :11:30.arrive found buyers still burning and casualties inside and outside
:11:31. > :11:33.the houses. There were a number of people inside the building and we
:11:34. > :11:38.helped to get them out. There was nothing dangerous about that but the
:11:39. > :11:44.structure is unsafe and we needed to get people out of it as quickly as
:11:45. > :11:49.possible. The two most is he heard were rescued from damaged homes and
:11:50. > :11:53.taken to a serious burns unit. 19 families were evacuated from
:11:54. > :11:57.neighbouring properties. Gas and electricity was shut off as
:11:58. > :12:02.investigators continued with their work. Early indications are that
:12:03. > :12:06.this was some form of gas leak. Police say, had the explosion
:12:07. > :12:10.happened ten minutes later, as children were passing by on their
:12:11. > :12:15.way to school, the consequences would have been even more serious.
:12:16. > :12:18.There's travel chaos in London tonight because of a strike by
:12:19. > :12:21.London Underground workers. The 48-hour walk-out, which began last
:12:22. > :12:26.night, is in protest at the closure of ticket offices and the loss of
:12:27. > :12:37.hundreds of jobs. Managers say the cuts will be made through voluntary
:12:38. > :12:45.redundancies. What a lovely way to start your day. On the buses, it was
:12:46. > :12:51.a case of breed in and hope. For others, at least it was a chance to
:12:52. > :12:57.keep fit, cycling or walking. Travelling has a difficult for most
:12:58. > :13:05.across London. I have missed two buses so far. On a good day, the
:13:06. > :13:10.London Underground carries three times the population of Birmingham.
:13:11. > :13:15.The strike stopped two thirds of the trains today. The Prime Minister has
:13:16. > :13:19.condemned the strike, much to the annoyance of Bob Crow. These are
:13:20. > :13:26.real people that are on strike today. The same people who were
:13:27. > :13:29.commended when there were terrorist attacks in London. He should
:13:30. > :13:36.recognise the fact these people have real fears. The London mayor, Boris
:13:37. > :13:42.Johnson, was not backing down either. It is vital to reform our
:13:43. > :13:47.ticket offices, upgrade our systems and use the investment to modernise
:13:48. > :13:51.the tube. What are they arguing about? The mayor wants to close
:13:52. > :13:57.every ticket office on the entire underground, saving ?50 million a
:13:58. > :14:02.year. 950 jobs will go although there is a policy of no compulsory
:14:03. > :14:06.redundancies. There is a pledge to keep staff at every station. It
:14:07. > :14:12.might be in London strike but it affects everybody. One estimate says
:14:13. > :14:15.it will affect the UK economy by ?200 million for the nearly as many
:14:16. > :14:23.people travel on the cheap everyday as the rest of written 's trains put
:14:24. > :14:29.together. It is the way people get around in London. If it is not
:14:30. > :14:34.reliable, if you think they might all be out on strike, strikes are
:14:35. > :14:40.quite rare in this country, it has two damage London and Britain as a
:14:41. > :14:43.place to do business. People are realising how much London depends on
:14:44. > :14:50.the Underground. There is a long history of cheap strikes in London.
:14:51. > :14:55.Today commuters were not quite so eccentric. The prospect of scenes
:14:56. > :14:59.like this again tomorrow and next week means ministers are looking at
:15:00. > :15:09.a range of ways to curb strikes in the future. Our top story: More
:15:10. > :15:12.storms batter Britain. The rail line to Cornwall is destroyed and there's
:15:13. > :15:21.more bad weather to come. And still to come... Could we soon be seeing
:15:22. > :15:24.more money in our pay packets? Later on BBC London, Crush hour. Views
:15:25. > :15:32.from the queues as thousands of Londoners turn to the buses to beat
:15:33. > :15:37.the cheap strikes. We will have the latest travel information.
:15:38. > :15:41.The Labour Leader Ed Miliband has accused the Prime Minister of
:15:42. > :15:46.running the government "like an old boys' network" - pointing to the
:15:47. > :15:56.lack of women on his front bench. His comments were made at Prime
:15:57. > :15:59.Minister's Questions. Currently there are four women in the cabinet,
:16:00. > :16:02.compared to 11 women in the shadow cabinet. The Prime Minister said he
:16:03. > :16:05.had a "good record" of helping women but was determined to do more.
:16:06. > :16:11.Here's our political correspondent Carole Walker.
:16:12. > :16:17.He leads a government dominated by men. This was a bad day for David
:16:18. > :16:22.Cameron to discover that none of his four senior women ministers had made
:16:23. > :16:29.it to Prime Minister's Questions. A picture tells a thousand words. Look
:16:30. > :16:32.at the all-male front bench before us. He says he wants to represent
:16:33. > :16:37.the whole country. Mr Speaker, I guess they did not let women into
:16:38. > :16:42.the Burlington club either. David Cameron said it was important to get
:16:43. > :16:47.more women into politics. I am proud of the fact that as leader of the
:16:48. > :16:53.Conservative Party benumbed of women MPs has gone from 17 to 48 but we
:16:54. > :16:58.need to do much more. Some of the women MPs admits there is a problem.
:16:59. > :17:05.It does not look good if all of the front bench are men. It is important
:17:06. > :17:09.we change our perception. The clash came after Anne McIntosh, a
:17:10. > :17:13.long-standing MP, was deselected by her local party in Thirsk and
:17:14. > :17:18.Malton. But one of a handful of women who have served in David
:17:19. > :17:23.Cameron's Cabinet denies he has a problem with women. We need more
:17:24. > :17:32.women in this Parliament making a contribution, civilising this place,
:17:33. > :17:34.if you like, and bringing a female perception. All the parties have
:17:35. > :17:37.struggled with getting more women into top positions but it is a
:17:38. > :17:41.problem for David Cameron as he fends off accusations that he and
:17:42. > :17:45.his team are out of touch with ordinary voters. David Cameron has
:17:46. > :17:50.as many female Cabinet ministers as Gordon Brown did in the last Labour
:17:51. > :17:54.government and some feel the baying row in the Commons today will do
:17:55. > :17:57.little to encourage all women to go into politics.
:17:58. > :18:00.The Olympic torch has arrived in the Russian resort of Sochi ahead of
:18:01. > :18:03.Friday's opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Gay rights
:18:04. > :18:05.activists have chosen the day to hold protests around the world,
:18:06. > :18:08.accusing the Russian government of being homophobic. But the Russian
:18:09. > :18:12.president, Vladimir Putin, has insisted gay athletes and spectators
:18:13. > :18:22.have nothing to fear. Daniel Sandford is in Sochi.
:18:23. > :18:27.At the end of its journey around Russia, and even into space, the
:18:28. > :18:34.Olympic torch arrived in Sochi today, for one of the most
:18:35. > :18:39.controversial gains of recent years. So did the athletes, including
:18:40. > :18:44.Britain's leading skier, Chemmy Alcott, who is trying to set aside
:18:45. > :18:49.concerns about terrorism and gay rights. I'm here to get out of that
:18:50. > :18:53.start gate as fast as I can. I cannot get involved in it. I am a
:18:54. > :18:59.passionate person and I have not got the energy for that. I am here to
:19:00. > :19:04.race and represent my country. The stadiums and ice rings are ready, if
:19:05. > :19:19.some of the hotels are not. Today saw a worldwide day of action for
:19:20. > :19:21.gay rights activists, like these injuries in. They are trying to
:19:22. > :19:23.encourage sponsors like Coca-Cola to speak out against a new Russian law,
:19:24. > :19:25.which bans telling under 18 's of what it calls nontraditional
:19:26. > :19:29.activities. None of the protesters will be in Sochi itself. The only
:19:30. > :19:35.place where people will be allowed to protest is here, in a park and a
:19:36. > :19:41.motorway flyover, next to a railway line and ten miles from the Olympic
:19:42. > :19:48.venues. In Sochi's main gay club, they were not protesting either. One
:19:49. > :19:54.of the owners told me his country is not comfortable with Gay Pride
:19:55. > :19:59.demonstrations. TRANSLATION: Russian society is not ready to accept
:20:00. > :20:04.people who are openly gay. The main problem is gay people in Russia are
:20:05. > :20:08.not prepared to come out. President Putin wanted these Olympics to
:20:09. > :20:11.showcase modern Russia but they also highlighting the country's dark
:20:12. > :20:15.side. An unmanned drone, said to be the
:20:16. > :20:18.most advanced aircraft ever built in Britain, has carried out its first
:20:19. > :20:22.successful test flights. Taranis, named after the Celtic god of
:20:23. > :20:28.thunder, is the size of a fighter jet. Unlike existing drone aircraft
:20:29. > :20:33.used by the RAF it will be able to operate in airspace that is
:20:34. > :20:35.controlled by the enemy. One of the country's most
:20:36. > :20:39.influential economic forecasters says families will see the squeeze
:20:40. > :20:43.on their standard of living ease by the middle of the year. The
:20:44. > :20:46.Institute of Fiscal Studies predicts that wages will start to rise faster
:20:47. > :20:53.than inflation. Our chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym joins me now.
:20:54. > :21:00.They have talked about wages but they have also taken a broader look
:21:01. > :21:07.at the economy, haven't they? Yes, George. They are looking at how the
:21:08. > :21:11.economy is doing and the deficit-reduction programme. They
:21:12. > :21:15.are looking at the cuts programme. We are only 40% of the way through
:21:16. > :21:21.the spending cuts so there will be more to come over the next few years
:21:22. > :21:25.beyond the election. It looks at the NHS budget which is ring-fenced,
:21:26. > :21:29.protected from any cuts and that is the case, but if you actually look
:21:30. > :21:34.at how much spending there will be per person, it will be down 9%
:21:35. > :21:39.because the population is growing and there are more demands on the
:21:40. > :21:42.health service. In other words, the budget can be protected but it has
:21:43. > :21:49.to go round more people. The better news is on wages. Real wages, in
:21:50. > :21:55.other words above inflation, will be up little bit, 0.2%. That does not
:21:56. > :21:58.look a lot but it is the first time that have happened for quite a
:21:59. > :22:04.while. The squeeze, if they are right, looks set to come to an end.
:22:05. > :22:08.Thank you. A Conservative MP at the centre of a
:22:09. > :22:13.row over a Nazi themed stag do will stand down at the next election.
:22:14. > :22:16.Aidan Burley announced his decision earlier. He was sacked as
:22:17. > :22:21.ministerial aide after it was announced he had bought the Nazi
:22:22. > :22:25.themed outfit for the groom on the stag do in France.
:22:26. > :22:28.The former England football captain, David Beckham, is setting up a new
:22:29. > :22:31.football club in Miami. It's understood the team could start
:22:32. > :22:35.playing in the American Major Soccer League 2016. At a news conference
:22:36. > :22:39.Beckham said he had dreamed of owning his own team since he was a
:22:40. > :22:47.child. Nick Bryant reports from Miami.
:22:48. > :22:54.The fans and their chance are ready to go. All that has been lacking is
:22:55. > :22:59.a team to follow. Something David Beckham now intends to rectify.
:23:00. > :23:05.Miami is a vibrant city. It is a city with a lot of passion and I
:23:06. > :23:10.know this city is ready for football, soccer, this time around.
:23:11. > :23:15.I know this will be successful. David Beckham, it sounds like you
:23:16. > :23:20.are fulfilling a British and an American dream? I really am. As a
:23:21. > :23:23.player over the years, is to sit back now and see my career that I
:23:24. > :23:26.have done and the teams I have played for and the players I have
:23:27. > :23:31.played with, and also the countries I have played in, now to be standing
:23:32. > :23:39.here and being the owner of the team is a dream. The majority of the
:23:40. > :23:44.population here is Spanish-speaking. Football is
:23:45. > :23:47.imprinted in the city's DNA. So there is great excitement that David
:23:48. > :23:53.Beckham is returning to Major League Soccer, not as a team star player
:23:54. > :23:58.but as its owner. I am excited and happy and ready to impress them. The
:23:59. > :24:02.challenge for David Beckham is not selling the game to Miami, it is
:24:03. > :24:06.preaching to the converted, it is coming up with a product that people
:24:07. > :24:14.here will think is good enough. The last professional team folded a
:24:15. > :24:18.decade ago and reportedly lost over $250 million. Getting people here to
:24:19. > :24:21.play football has never been a problem. Attracting Americans to
:24:22. > :24:23.watch it may test even the Beckham brand.
:24:24. > :24:28.Time for a look at the weather, here's Matt Taylor. I gather there
:24:29. > :24:41.are more storms on the way? There certainly are. A trip to Miami
:24:42. > :24:44.would be very appealing. Some clearer conditions are following on
:24:45. > :24:49.but there is more waiting in the wings. There are still 60 or 70 mile
:24:50. > :24:57.an hour gusts across southern England for a time. The gusty
:24:58. > :25:01.westerly winds are easing is a bit. Some clearer skies and a bit of a
:25:02. > :25:09.chill in the air as we go into Thursday morning. Persistent rain in
:25:10. > :25:13.the far north-east of Scotland. Wind is not as much of a feature but
:25:14. > :25:22.while we start date dry across many southern areas, that comes our way
:25:23. > :25:27.producing more in the way of rain. Winds are not much of a feature.
:25:28. > :25:31.Into tomorrow evening's rush hour, more heavy rain spreading our way
:25:32. > :25:37.northwards. Some intense showers following on behind. The Met Office
:25:38. > :25:42.are still very concerned about the situation. An amber warning has been
:25:43. > :25:46.issued. Be prepared for further disruption and flooding. The rain
:25:47. > :25:51.that arrives through Thursday, hangs around through England and Wales
:25:52. > :25:55.during the night. Some snow in the Pennines and Welsh hills. Scotland
:25:56. > :26:03.and Northern Ireland, only one or two showers but the risk of ice on
:26:04. > :26:15.Friday morning. We could see some very gusty winds before it eases off
:26:16. > :26:23.to something drier and brighter. I wish you would stop! Thank you. A
:26:24. > :26:28.reminder of our main story: Wind and rain battered Britain. The rail line
:26:29. > :26:33.to Cornwall is destroyed. It could take six weeks to fix. And in
:26:34. > :26:39.Somerset, more people are told to leave their homes as the floodwaters
:26:40. > :26:40.rise. That is all from the BBC News at
:26:41. > :26:41.Six.