:00:14. > :00:17.court. The actor was accused of preying on young girls, and he had a
:00:18. > :00:20.message after the verdict. In these situations there are no
:00:21. > :00:26.winners, and I think we should all be much kinder to ourselves. Now, if
:00:27. > :00:31.you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to work.
:00:32. > :00:33.We'll have all the reaction, including from his friends in the
:00:34. > :00:39.world of acting. Also tonight: One storm after
:00:40. > :00:43.another - severe weather on the way as the Government pledges more money
:00:44. > :00:46.for flood defences. A boost for the Midlands after
:00:47. > :00:50.Bombardier seals a billion-pound contract to build trains for
:00:51. > :00:53.London's new Crossrail. The police officer who lied about
:00:54. > :01:01.the Plebgate affair is jailed for a year.
:01:02. > :01:04.This is going to be the double backside double ten.
:01:05. > :01:08.And the jump of his life - Team GB are off to a flying start at the
:01:09. > :01:13.Winter Olympics. On BBC London: Day two of the Tube
:01:14. > :01:17.strike. No sign of an agreement, but more trains have been running.
:01:18. > :01:18.And eight years in jail for abusing boys. Nick Clegg's former
:01:19. > :01:44.headteacher is sentenced. Good evening and welcome to the BBC
:01:45. > :01:47.News at Six. William Roache, one of the stars of Coronation Street, has
:01:48. > :01:54.been found not guilty of historic sex offences. He was cleared of two
:01:55. > :01:57.counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault after a four-week
:01:58. > :02:03.trial at Preston Crown Court. As he walked free today he said "in these
:02:04. > :02:06.situations there are no winners". Our correspondent Judith Moritz has
:02:07. > :02:11.been covering the high-profile case for us.
:02:12. > :02:18.The stakes could not have been higher for William Roache. He could
:02:19. > :02:21.have been going to jail. Instead he walked out if caught with his
:02:22. > :02:27.freedom, career and reputation intact. I have just got one thing to
:02:28. > :02:32.say. In these situations, there are no winners. And I think we should
:02:33. > :02:39.all be much kinder to ourselves. So now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like
:02:40. > :02:43.to get back to work. Thank you. Just minutes before, the court room
:02:44. > :02:50.had fallen silent as the actor stood in the dock to hear his fate. As the
:02:51. > :02:56.not guilty verdicts were returned one by one, his children sobbed and
:02:57. > :03:01.sighed with relief. William Roache's career on Coronation Street
:03:02. > :03:07.is as old as the soap itself. He has appeared as Ken Barlow since the
:03:08. > :03:11.first episode in 1960. But it was alleged that in the 1960s, the actor
:03:12. > :03:15.had indecently assaulted teenage girls in the studios of Granada
:03:16. > :03:19.television. He always denied both that and separate charges of rape,
:03:20. > :03:24.saying such offences were against his nature, and he was a spiritual
:03:25. > :03:28.man. I was given exclusive access to film William Roache as he meditated
:03:29. > :03:34.with a group called the Circle of Love. It is the best way that I have
:03:35. > :03:39.available for you in this room at this time, and that word is love.
:03:40. > :03:44.Today, William Roache thanked this group for supporting him. We filmed
:03:45. > :03:47.the just for the trial began, at which point legally we couldn't
:03:48. > :03:55.interview the actor. And the glory shall manifest, and the glory is
:03:56. > :04:01.peace. However, the group's speaker, known only as James, gave him their
:04:02. > :04:05.support. We have always treated him as a friend. We don't need him to go
:04:06. > :04:11.through bad times to be treated any differently. We treat in the same
:04:12. > :04:13.day today as we have always treated him, as a friend, trial or no
:04:14. > :04:19.trial. This is also support for William
:04:20. > :04:22.Roache at the Coronation Street studios. Michael Le Vell was himself
:04:23. > :04:28.accused of sexual offences. Absolutely delighted. Other cast
:04:29. > :04:31.members were pleased, too. I think it is brilliant news. We're looking
:04:32. > :04:34.forward to seeing Bill back at work soon.
:04:35. > :04:38.William Roache hasn't appeared on Coronation Street since his arrest
:04:39. > :04:42.last year. ITV has said it is looking forward to working with him
:04:43. > :04:44.again. Now the way lies open for the street's most in during residents to
:04:45. > :04:49.return. And Judith is at the Coronation
:04:50. > :04:52.Street set in Manchester now. There have been some questions about
:04:53. > :04:58.whether this kind of celebrity case should have been brought to court in
:04:59. > :05:02.the first place. Yes. William Roache's barrister told
:05:03. > :05:07.the jury that this was a trial which was haunted by the spectre of Jimmy
:05:08. > :05:10.Savile, and the actor himself, when asked why these allegations may have
:05:11. > :05:17.been brought, speculated that I could have we motivated by the wish
:05:18. > :05:21.to sell a story, all for a moment of fame. But today, the Crown
:05:22. > :05:24.Prosecution Service has defended its decision to prosecute, saying this
:05:25. > :05:27.was a case treated like any other, and Lancashire police said they
:05:28. > :05:33.believed there had been enough evidence to secure a realistic
:05:34. > :05:37.proposition of conviction. It came down, though, to whether the jury
:05:38. > :05:40.believed William Roache or the women making the allegations. The judge
:05:41. > :05:46.described this as a head-on collision of evidence. In the end,
:05:47. > :05:49.the jury believed the actor. And tonight, he has his freedom as a
:05:50. > :05:53.result. Judith, thanks very much. The South
:05:54. > :05:55.West has barely had a chance to catch its breath after yesterday's
:05:56. > :05:57.storm damage and already it's preparing for another onslaught.
:05:58. > :06:05.Forecasters are predicting more heavy rain into the weekend. Today
:06:06. > :06:08.new figures indicate that over 5,000 properties remain flooded across
:06:09. > :06:11.England. An extra ?35 million has been pledged by the Government
:06:12. > :06:15.today. Two severe flood warnings, meaning danger to life, remain in
:06:16. > :06:24.place in the Somerset Levels. Jon Kay's there. He has spent the day
:06:25. > :06:29.with a farmer, and joins us now. Yes, a danger to human life and a
:06:30. > :06:32.danger to animal life, and today we have seen large numbers of livestock
:06:33. > :06:37.just taken away from this part of Somerset. When we got here this
:06:38. > :06:42.morning, there were 150 cattle in this barn. Tonight there are
:06:43. > :06:46.absolutely none at all. But getting all those animals away to places
:06:47. > :06:51.that are high and dry has proved quite a challenge.
:06:52. > :06:59.In flooded Somerset, a modern-day arc. Here to take the animals away.
:07:00. > :07:06.Farmers who have been up all night trying to save their terrified
:07:07. > :07:12.livestock, two x two. It has been a long morning. The water is rising
:07:13. > :07:18.and inch an hour, they tell me, so I reckon the whole farm will be
:07:19. > :07:24.underwater. There are 60 cows here, but only enough room to take six to
:07:25. > :07:31.safety. The rest will have to wait. All farmers are used to mark and
:07:32. > :07:37.water, but this is something else. The whole barn has been flooded. 100
:07:38. > :07:42.yards up the road, another mass evacuation of livestock. Calves,
:07:43. > :07:47.just a few weeks old, but now have to go. The family who farmed here
:07:48. > :07:53.for generations are racing to save what they can before they get
:07:54. > :07:58.flooded, too. I haven't washed, I haven't showered, I probably stink.
:07:59. > :08:01.Becky is desperately trying to get her goats taken the higher ground.
:08:02. > :08:08.The horses will have to go somewhere else. This entire farm is being
:08:09. > :08:16.broken up. I don't know what to do. I really don't know what to do. This
:08:17. > :08:24.community has been ripped to pieces. It is not on, and it's not right.
:08:25. > :08:27.It's not right at all. For Becky's partner, James, it's time to hand
:08:28. > :08:33.over the paperwork before the cards are taken away. This is a business,
:08:34. > :08:37.but it is also a way of life, and he can't imagine a time when it will
:08:38. > :08:42.return to normal. It has taken me quite a long time to build up to
:08:43. > :08:48.this level, and it's almost gone within moments. I don't know if I
:08:49. > :08:56.will be able to bounce back from this. The farrier is here to take
:08:57. > :09:02.Becky's horses. She doesn't know when or if they will return. This
:09:03. > :09:07.will soon be a farm without animals. We have just ripped the heart and
:09:08. > :09:09.soul out of this farm with the livestock that we have. Without
:09:10. > :09:18.them, it's nothing. What's the point? Do we go under? That's it.
:09:19. > :09:25.When you say go under, you talking about water or business? Both. I'm
:09:26. > :09:30.talking about both. It's taken just over an hour, but that's it. Gone.
:09:31. > :09:36.The animals should be safe now, but with the river still rising, James
:09:37. > :09:41.feels anything but. Jon Kay, BBC News, on the Somerset Levels.
:09:42. > :09:46.Well, today, engineers in Devon have been assessing the damage to the
:09:47. > :09:50.train truck Dawlish which was ripped apart by the storms. Experts say the
:09:51. > :09:58.risks were well-known, and there have been warning about the threat
:09:59. > :10:03.from bad weather. Our science editor J Vince Shipman reports on
:10:04. > :10:10.Britain's coastal defences. A machine cuts through the first
:10:11. > :10:14.twisted rail lines at Dawlish, the start of at least six weeks of work.
:10:15. > :10:19.It is huge in terms of the engineering scale, and in response
:10:20. > :10:21.to other things we have done in the last five or ten years, it is up
:10:22. > :10:27.there with the biggest challenges we have had. This is the scale of the
:10:28. > :10:32.task ahead. The huge waves yesterday tore through the defence is the role
:10:33. > :10:35.where relies on. This is a key link between Cornwall and the rest of
:10:36. > :10:41.Britain. There have been repeated warnings that it is vulnerable, even
:10:42. > :10:46.before the line opened back in 1847. Now a massive repair operation is
:10:47. > :10:50.needed. What striving all this is the jet stream flowing high above
:10:51. > :10:54.the Atlantic. It has been stuck on a route that forces endless bad
:10:55. > :10:58.weather our way. Here is the system hitting the country right now, but
:10:59. > :11:02.it is just one of many. The next one will reach is tomorrow night. But
:11:03. > :11:06.the conditions have created a kind of conveyor belt out in the ocean,
:11:07. > :11:12.the mean yet more storms to Britain in the coming days.
:11:13. > :11:17.As huge waves batter the coastline, this was Cornwall yesterday,
:11:18. > :11:21.engineers who work on flood defence say the country needs to wake up to
:11:22. > :11:27.the dangers. We are an island nation, and we have a lot of exposed
:11:28. > :11:32.coastline. Much of it is of Victorian era, and it is
:11:33. > :11:35.deteriorating. On top of that, we have got rising sea levels, adding
:11:36. > :11:40.pressure. More people living along the coast. So yes, we are very
:11:41. > :11:46.vulnerable nation. A bus on the Cornish coast caught in
:11:47. > :11:52.a weird swirl of foam. No real danger, but the storms are causing
:11:53. > :11:58.some very strange effects. At Lyme Regis yesterday, proof that flowing
:11:59. > :12:01.water really is dangerous. The country's resilience, its ability to
:12:02. > :12:07.cope, are being tested like never before. David Shukman, BBC News.
:12:08. > :12:10.A Metropolitan Police officer who lied about witnessing a row in
:12:11. > :12:13.Downing Street that led to the resignation of a former cabinet
:12:14. > :12:17.minister has been jailed for a year. PC Keith Wallis admitted committing
:12:18. > :12:19.misconduct in public office. He had sent an email to a senior
:12:20. > :12:22.Conservative official falsely claiming to have witnessed Andrew
:12:23. > :12:31.Mitchell insulting policemen at the gates to Downing Street in 2012.
:12:32. > :12:40.Let's talk to Nick Robinson, our political editor. Is that it? Do we
:12:41. > :12:45.finally know who was telling the truth? We don't know it all. What we
:12:46. > :12:48.do know is this. A police officer is in jail tonight for conduct which
:12:49. > :12:54.according to the judge in the case was devious misconduct, and I quote,
:12:55. > :12:58.which fell far below the standards expected of a police officer. Let me
:12:59. > :13:03.simplify. He said he was here on the fateful night. He wasn't. He said he
:13:04. > :13:08.heard Andrew Mitchell use a swear word and the word pleb. He didn't.
:13:09. > :13:13.He said he was a member of the public who was just passing. Of
:13:14. > :13:16.course he wasn't. He lied. We also know that five other police officers
:13:17. > :13:19.now face gross misconduct charges for their role in spreading this
:13:20. > :13:24.story and putting it into the press and into the media. Now the police
:13:25. > :13:30.watchdog, the IPCC, said that this was evidence of collusion, but not
:13:31. > :13:34.of a conspiracy designed to bring a cabinet officer down. That's the
:13:35. > :13:39.seriousness, that is why the case matters. What we do know, though, is
:13:40. > :13:44.that what actually happened behind those gates, what actually was said.
:13:45. > :13:51.Was the word pleb used is still a matter of debate, and may never be
:13:52. > :13:54.settled. Only two men know, the Cabinet Minister at the time, Mr
:13:55. > :13:57.Mitchell, and the police officer, and they are both sticking to their
:13:58. > :14:01.side of the story. Whatever happened, the police watchdog said
:14:02. > :14:06.tonight that the conduct of police officers, plural, not just one, had
:14:07. > :14:10.brought shame on the police service. Those of us who go in and out of
:14:11. > :14:18.these gates almost every day know that there are decent, honourable,
:14:19. > :14:24.hard-working people, but others have let them down and let down badly.
:14:25. > :14:27.Nick, thank you very much. A new report into the NHS in England
:14:28. > :14:30.says the problems that contributed to the scandal at Stafford Hospital
:14:31. > :14:33.have not gone away. The report, published on the anniversary of the
:14:34. > :14:36.Francis Inquiry into Stafford, says there are profound tensions between
:14:37. > :14:37.financial constraints and the aim to provide high-quality care. Our
:14:38. > :14:47.health correspondent Branwen Jeffreys reports.
:14:48. > :14:51.This busy cancer unit is being reorganised. Ahmed is having a quick
:14:52. > :14:57.blood test. But they also give rapid, urgent care to other cancer
:14:58. > :15:01.patients. It has freed up beds, so it has saved money. Every hospital
:15:02. > :15:07.is trying to think like this, but it is getting harder. We have probably
:15:08. > :15:10.got a couple of years where we can keep finding savings and changing
:15:11. > :15:13.the way we do our internal practices. The real opportunity now
:15:14. > :15:18.is to disrupt the way we think, to work right across the whole system.
:15:19. > :15:23.They call it the Stafford effect, the crossing and hospitals have been
:15:24. > :15:27.hiring nurses. But only of say they won't be busting their budget this
:15:28. > :15:30.year. Every single hospital in England has
:15:31. > :15:34.felt the impact of what happened at Stafford. The NHS has been through
:15:35. > :15:40.an intense period of soul-searching. But it still faces many of the same
:15:41. > :15:42.challenges. Trying to meet its financial targets without
:15:43. > :15:51.compromising the quality of care for patients. Stafford Hospital has
:15:52. > :15:54.tried to move on. It is not so easy for those whose relatives died here.
:15:55. > :15:59.Julie says money should never be an excuse for poor care. Mistakes cost
:16:00. > :16:08.the NHS more money than getting it right. We spend a fortune on harming
:16:09. > :16:13.patients. It is also unnecessary. There is no need to harm patients in
:16:14. > :16:18.the NHS. Today but my research suggests managers are still under
:16:19. > :16:20.pressure to meet targets. -- today's research. The man who led
:16:21. > :16:25.the standard enquiries says it worries him. We can't continue to
:16:26. > :16:30.have stories of patients left in their own faeces. If we really can't
:16:31. > :16:34.afford to provide care at that level, we need to have a frank
:16:35. > :16:38.conversation about what the NHS can do. There is also evidence of
:16:39. > :16:46.managers listening more to patients and staff. One of the big lessons
:16:47. > :16:49.from Stafford. Hospitals are taking on the lessons. 80% are saying they
:16:50. > :16:56.have taken on new actions and they have started. It is encouraging.
:16:57. > :17:00.Hospitals are getting busier. They are seen more elderly patients. It
:17:01. > :17:09.is going to get harder, not easier, to do that well within their
:17:10. > :17:11.budgets. Our top story this evening: The
:17:12. > :17:14.Coronation Street actor William Roache is cleared of rape and
:17:15. > :17:19.indecent assault after a four-week trial in Preston.
:17:20. > :17:23.And still to come: On the eve of opening ceremony, how no expense was
:17:24. > :17:25.spared to bring the Winter Olympics to Sochi.
:17:26. > :17:29.Later on BBC London: We analyse what's at stake for Boris Johnson
:17:30. > :17:30.and Bob Crow as the tube strike continues.
:17:31. > :17:33.And unregulated and bad for your health - why the authorities are
:17:34. > :17:51.cracking down on the use of shisha in the capital.
:17:52. > :17:54.It's a big boost for the East Midlands and one of the biggest
:17:55. > :17:57.manufacturing deals of the year. The Derby train builders Bombardier have
:17:58. > :17:59.won the contract to make trains for London's new Crossrail. It's ?1
:18:00. > :18:02.billion worth of business, and it will see the Canadian-owned company
:18:03. > :18:06.build 65 trains for the service set to open in 2018. It's thought the
:18:07. > :18:12.contract will secure 500 manufacturing jobs and the project
:18:13. > :18:14.will create over 550 more. Our transport correspondent, Richard
:18:15. > :18:26.Westcott, is in Derby with the latest for us tonight.
:18:27. > :18:29.They have been building trains in this workshop for around 100 and
:18:30. > :18:35.years. That ironwork in the roof if the original Victorian ironwork.
:18:36. > :18:39.This is the last train building factory in Britain. A few years ago
:18:40. > :18:49.there was talk of it closing down. Today, its future has been secured.
:18:50. > :18:53.You can feel the relief. After a tense few years, the future of
:18:54. > :18:59.Britain's last train building factory and the people who work
:19:00. > :19:02.there is safe. I was sat in the office at the time the announcement
:19:03. > :19:06.came. It was a joyous moment for us all. All of the guys who work here
:19:07. > :19:11.will be looking forward to hear the news. It is great. I have been here
:19:12. > :19:17.since was an apprentice, about five years. It has secured my future
:19:18. > :19:24.work. Eventually, the new trains will end
:19:25. > :19:28.up down here, on Crossrail, the multi-billion line to dissect
:19:29. > :19:32.London. Contracts like this don't just benefit all the people working
:19:33. > :19:37.around me now in the factory. They benefit tens of thousands of people
:19:38. > :19:43.all around the country. The money, the business, ripples out across the
:19:44. > :19:46.region. A couple of miles down the road, the
:19:47. > :19:51.company that makes, among other things, toilets the trains. The boss
:19:52. > :19:59.says this could mean taking on new staff. This announcement means we
:20:00. > :20:04.can replace staff that were lost, we can grow and train more young people
:20:05. > :20:10.and bring them into engineering. It is a far cry from 2.5 years ago.
:20:11. > :20:13.This march stopped traffic in Derby for four hours after another huge
:20:14. > :20:24.contract went to a German train maker. Bombardier shared 1400 jobs.
:20:25. > :20:27.-- cut 1400 jobs. The company blamed European rules. The rules are the
:20:28. > :20:31.same but different factors are taken into account these days.
:20:32. > :20:36.Is British jobs one of those factors? It is one of the factors I
:20:37. > :20:41.would take into account and it is one we have to take into account
:20:42. > :20:45.when we have to award the contract. They have to be one within the rules
:20:46. > :20:52.but we have to apply across all countries -- companies. Derby is a
:20:53. > :20:57.rail city. It is in the DNA. They built trains on this site alone for
:20:58. > :21:01.nearly 150 years. It had its own iron afford to make every nut and
:21:02. > :21:10.bolt. It employed five times the number of workers. Today's news
:21:11. > :21:13.keeps the tradition alive. In a week's time political parties
:21:14. > :21:16.will face their first electoral Test of the year when voters go to the
:21:17. > :21:19.polls in the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election. The safe Labour
:21:20. > :21:23.seat became vacant following the death of former minister Paul
:21:24. > :21:31.Goggins. Here's our deputy political editor, James Landale.
:21:32. > :21:36.Damp streets, a few posters, bit of light canvassing. A typical
:21:37. > :21:41.by-election in a safe Labour seat. Of interest, you might think, only
:21:42. > :21:45.to those who live in this corner of Southern Manchester. Archie would be
:21:46. > :21:51.long -- wrong. It matters because it is a Test of UKIP's ability to take
:21:52. > :21:55.votes of Labour in seats like this. If it can do this, the consequences
:21:56. > :21:59.for the general election are huge. Within a short is classic Labour
:22:00. > :22:02.territory, a sprawling suburb just north of Manchester airport
:22:03. > :22:08.containing one of the larger housing estates in Europe. It is here that
:22:09. > :22:12.UKIP is hunting for votes. They came fifth at the last election. Now they
:22:13. > :22:16.are hoping to come second. To do that, they are deliberately pitching
:22:17. > :22:22.for disillusioned Labour supporters. Just listen to this. The Labour
:22:23. > :22:25.Party has betrayed the working class in this country, consistently
:22:26. > :22:28.betrayed their interests. Everybody can see that now with the mass
:22:29. > :22:33.uncontrolled immigration that is driven wages and living standards
:22:34. > :22:37.down. But our poll today has put a smile
:22:38. > :22:41.on Labour's faces, suggesting they have a firm grip on the campaign.
:22:42. > :22:47.This might be the first electoral cost of then -- Test of the cost of
:22:48. > :22:54.living campaign but they don't sound worried. There have been other safe
:22:55. > :22:57.seats for other parties that haven't gone that way. We're not taking any
:22:58. > :23:03.vote for granted. We are working incredibly hard. The Tories have
:23:04. > :23:08.some support in the leafy suburbs of Sale but they need to stop their
:23:09. > :23:12.voters staying at home. All lending UKIP their vote as a
:23:13. > :23:19.temporary protest. If people want to see Ed Miliband in Downing Street,
:23:20. > :23:23.they will vote for UKIP. It takes away support from David Cameron.
:23:24. > :23:26.Support for the Lib Dems has fallen here lately.
:23:27. > :23:31.Their candidate is working hard to buck the trend. As for her party...
:23:32. > :23:37.Well, we had to find a spokesman in London. Labour hold the seat with a
:23:38. > :23:40.big majority, and nobody would be surprised if they continue to do
:23:41. > :23:46.that. It doesn't mean we are not going to have a jolly good try. Next
:23:47. > :23:49.Wednesday, voters have a choice over which road to take.
:23:50. > :23:52.There are few signs there will be any change in direction.
:23:53. > :23:54.If you want more information on the candidates running in the
:23:55. > :23:57.Wythenshawe and Sale-east by-election, details of all seven of
:23:58. > :24:08.them can be found on the BBC website.
:24:09. > :24:10.Russia says the Winter Olympics at Sochi are as safe as anywhere in the
:24:11. > :24:13.West, despite warnings from Washington about potential militant
:24:14. > :24:16.attacks. The Games saw their first action today - qualification for one
:24:17. > :24:18.of the snowboarding events. But as our sports editor, David Bond,
:24:19. > :24:27.reports, security concerns still dominate.
:24:28. > :24:32.Everything about Russia's first Winter games is designed to
:24:33. > :24:39.impress. Sochi's Olympic Park has been built from scratch at no
:24:40. > :24:44.expense. The wow factor of the brand-new venues is impossible to
:24:45. > :24:51.ignore. The centrepiece is the ?500 million stadium which will host to
:24:52. > :24:54.my's opening ceremony. But is it all going to be an extravagant waste of
:24:55. > :25:03.money? The man in charge says it's worth every ruble. This is the
:25:04. > :25:06.greatest ever catalyst. It is exhilarating. What we have built
:25:07. > :25:16.here in seven years, they have said it would take years to develop the
:25:17. > :25:20.region. Up in the mountains, the first action has already been taking
:25:21. > :25:25.place. Here, too, there have been a remarkable transformation, and yes,
:25:26. > :25:29.there's even a bit of snow. With a price tag of more than ?30 billion,
:25:30. > :25:35.the Sochi politics are the most expensive in history. For Russia,
:25:36. > :25:41.it's a big gamble. Now, on the eve of the games, the question is, can
:25:42. > :25:43.they pull it off? Central to the question is security. No modern
:25:44. > :25:50.Olympics is free from the threat of terrorism. Sochi is a target for
:25:51. > :25:54.Islamic extremists. Today, the US warned that planes bound for Russia
:25:55. > :26:03.could be at risk from bombs smuggled inside tubes of toothpaste.
:26:04. > :26:07.All the athletes can do is focus on competing. Today, Team GB's
:26:08. > :26:13.snowboarders took to the slopes in spectacular style. Those leading
:26:14. > :26:19.Briton's delegation are confident everything is being done to keep
:26:20. > :26:22.people safe. One of the big psychological cushions that an
:26:23. > :26:26.athlete needs to know is that everything has been done to make
:26:27. > :26:29.sure they really don't have to think about anything else other than
:26:30. > :26:35.performance. I am satisfied that the arrangements here are in good shape
:26:36. > :26:40.and the arrangements that we have made for the team, both in travel
:26:41. > :26:46.and while they are here, are in good order, too. These Olympics are a
:26:47. > :26:50.showcase for modern Russia. The challenge for Sochi is to insure
:26:51. > :26:56.that all of these anxieties don't spoil their moment in the sun.
:26:57. > :27:05.Let's get the latest now on the weather. Only one question, is there
:27:06. > :27:09.any end in sight? In a word, no. It is relentless. We have severe
:27:10. > :27:13.warnings at the moment, amber warnings, for heavy rain in south
:27:14. > :27:17.Wales and much of southern England. They are in force right through to
:27:18. > :27:21.Saturday. We have got more storm system is heading in. It is not just
:27:22. > :27:25.rain but some strong winds picking up, too. Through this evening, we
:27:26. > :27:33.have already seen some heavy showers in England and Wales. More heavy
:27:34. > :27:37.rain will push back in here as the evening wears on. The rain is
:27:38. > :27:42.heading northwards all the while, turning to a bit of snow on the high
:27:43. > :27:45.ground of the Pennines. It is a bit colder as he gave further north.
:27:46. > :27:49.Strong winds in the English Channel. Lighter winds, though, in
:27:50. > :27:54.Scotland and Northern Ireland. Here, it is going to be a chilly starting
:27:55. > :27:58.tomorrow. There could be some ice around. That is unlikely in northern
:27:59. > :28:01.England. Much in the way of cloud here. Not much rain further south,
:28:02. > :28:05.just the remnants across the south-east corner of England, where
:28:06. > :28:10.there will be gusty winds, too. Head west and we have got more problems
:28:11. > :28:13.with the flooding. Then a dry start at least tomorrow with some sunny
:28:14. > :28:17.spells coming through. The brighter weather spreads across the UK as the
:28:18. > :28:21.day wears on. One window of fine weather, but it is not going to
:28:22. > :28:25.last. Even the wind is easing down tomorrow. Temperatures eventually
:28:26. > :28:29.are around five or six degrees in the North. Up to ten in the south.
:28:30. > :28:35.You might convince yourself spring is on the way until Friday evening,
:28:36. > :28:39.because there is the next storm. Gales are coming in from the south.
:28:40. > :28:46.It is a bad direction for places in Cornwall. A stormy start a weekend
:28:47. > :28:50.with to come. Peter, thank you.
:28:51. > :28:51.That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye