:00:00. > :00:00.MPs demand a right to vote on the strategy
:00:07. > :00:12.Both Labour and Conservative MPs call for parliamentary scrutiny
:00:13. > :00:19.We still have got no offer of a vote, and we need some
:00:20. > :00:21.clarity about the policy, the Government's going to pursue,
:00:22. > :00:25.because the Government is accountable to this House.
:00:26. > :00:28.The Government is resisting, saying only that MPs
:00:29. > :00:30.will have the chance to debate the deal.
:00:31. > :00:33.Russia attacks as russophobic hysteria calls by Boris Johnson
:00:34. > :00:40.for protests outside their London embassy.
:00:41. > :00:44.Exclusive access to a camp in Syria where so-called IS defectors
:00:45. > :00:53.Teenager Paige Doherty - her killer is jailed
:00:54. > :00:57.for what a judge calls "a frenzied murder".
:00:58. > :01:03.Let's ask a quick question about the delivery you took in June, 2011.
:01:04. > :01:06.And trying to get answers to the growing controversy
:01:07. > :01:09.And coming up in the sport on BBC News:
:01:10. > :01:11.England or Bangladesh - who'd win the one-day series decider?
:01:12. > :01:33.England have had a target of 278 to win.
:01:34. > :01:36.Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News at 6.
:01:37. > :01:39.MPs have called for the right to debate and vote
:01:40. > :01:41.on the Government's negotiating strategy for the UK's departure
:01:42. > :01:47.The demand was made repeatedly in the commons by both senior Labour
:01:48. > :01:51.and Conservative MPs this afternoon, who want
:01:52. > :01:53.parliamentary scrutiny of the Government's terms for Brexit.
:01:54. > :01:56.So far Theresa May is resisting and says only that parliament
:01:57. > :01:58.will have every opportunity to debate the issue.
:01:59. > :02:07.Our deputy political editor John Pienaar was watching.
:02:08. > :02:14.Should MPs have the final say, Prime Minister? Theresa May wasn't saying
:02:15. > :02:17.that she knew the answer. She's in charge and no one will block
:02:18. > :02:22.Britain's path out of the EU if she's got any say in it. That Prime
:02:23. > :02:25.Minister and her team are the one speaking for Britain, government and
:02:26. > :02:29.MPs don't always face the same way but MPs who say they except the EU
:02:30. > :02:34.referendum have been told in the Commons they have no choice by the
:02:35. > :02:41.most Eurosceptic Minister in the Cabinet. What I won't allow is any
:02:42. > :02:45.party the opportunity to have a veto to leave Europe. Opposition MPs and
:02:46. > :02:48.some Tories want a say in a vote in deciding Britain's negotiating
:02:49. > :02:53.position as it leads the EU. They were told ministers won't show their
:02:54. > :02:58.hand and they had their orders from the voters. Security terms and
:02:59. > :03:03.controls of our borders terms, in democratic terms and in terms of
:03:04. > :03:07.access to markets across the whole world, the European union and all
:03:08. > :03:12.the opportunities we have outside, and the British people did vote for
:03:13. > :03:15.that, 17.5 million of them. At question time to Prime Minister
:03:16. > :03:18.again made clear trading with Europe may mean give and take but EU
:03:19. > :03:24.migration would be controlled as part of an ambitious deal. That will
:03:25. > :03:27.include the maximum possible access to the European market for firms to
:03:28. > :03:32.trade with and operate within the European market, but I'm also clear
:03:33. > :03:37.that the vote of the British people said we should control the movement
:03:38. > :03:41.of people from the EU into the UK. The Labour leader mocked the absence
:03:42. > :03:46.of detail. This is a government leg drop no plans for Brexit, that now
:03:47. > :03:50.has no strategy for negotiating Brexit and offers no clarity or
:03:51. > :03:53.transparency and no chance of scrutiny of the process for
:03:54. > :03:57.developing a strategy. The government is to working out its
:03:58. > :04:00.negotiating position and ministers are still divided but most MPs never
:04:01. > :04:05.wanted Britain to leave and many feel Brexit could harm the economy.
:04:06. > :04:08.There'll be many chances to vote before Brexit becomes reality but by
:04:09. > :04:12.ruling out any formal opportunity for parliament to approve or vetoed
:04:13. > :04:19.the deal, the government is taking just Britain's in Europe or by its
:04:20. > :04:23.own authority. Those that oppose Brexit via leave voters will regret
:04:24. > :04:28.their choice. Nobody voted on the 23rd of June to take an axe to the
:04:29. > :04:32.economy or destroy jobs and livelihood. Many people in the
:04:33. > :04:36.country don't think that there is a policy that puts national interest
:04:37. > :04:39.us, they think there is a policy to put people's ideological interest.
:04:40. > :04:43.You have to take the country on this new journey with you. This cannot be
:04:44. > :04:47.the political equivalent of the country being put to sleep for two
:04:48. > :04:52.years under anaesthetic and waking up in a new land. But the victorious
:04:53. > :04:56.Leave side insist it's time to have faith. The British people got it
:04:57. > :05:00.right and it's our job to respect it. Members op. Cit. Want to split
:05:01. > :05:05.us up by saying everything has to go wrong. If you wish to negotiate and
:05:06. > :05:10.successfully, show confidence, show optimism. MPs are still negotiating
:05:11. > :05:14.their role in Britain's future, they will have more chance to have their
:05:15. > :05:17.say and Brexit will take time but negotiation are for ministers and
:05:18. > :05:20.they will stand by the best deal they can get to take Britain out.
:05:21. > :05:22.So, the Government says that there won't be
:05:23. > :05:25.a vote in Parliament on the Government's Brexit strategy
:05:26. > :05:27.before the formal negotiations are started at the end of March.
:05:28. > :05:33.That's when Britain invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
:05:34. > :05:35.There will be a vote on the Great Repeal Bill,
:05:36. > :05:38.to be announced in the Queen's Speech.
:05:39. > :05:42.When MPs will vote on whether to end the supremacy of EU law in the UK.
:05:43. > :05:45.And it's expected that there will be a vote on the final
:05:46. > :05:47.outcome of the negotiations with the EU in 2019.
:05:48. > :05:51.That's the eventual take or leave it deal on Britain's exit.
:05:52. > :05:56.Our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg is at Westminster.
:05:57. > :06:04.Many MPs today calling for the right to vote on the Government's
:06:05. > :06:07.strategy for Brexit, like should we try to stay in or out
:06:08. > :06:11.Is the Government going to be able to resist the pressure
:06:12. > :06:19.They are pretty intent on not being pushed around by Parliament. They
:06:20. > :06:22.believe that they don't have to consult them before they push the
:06:23. > :06:27.button on negotiations and for now they are absolutely sticking to it.
:06:28. > :06:31.There is a limit to how much MPs can actually do. But what's become
:06:32. > :06:35.absolutely clear in the last 48 hours is that Parliament is not
:06:36. > :06:39.going to roll over like an obedient lap dog and have its belly tickled
:06:40. > :06:44.as the government makes its merry way taking us out of the European
:06:45. > :06:49.Union. What we've seen is the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the
:06:50. > :06:53.SNP and some conservatives with an element of collaboration, together
:06:54. > :06:56.to really ask some quest tough questions of the government with
:06:57. > :06:59.passion and conviction on to say to ministers, it's not good enough they
:07:00. > :07:04.have yet been so unclear about what they really want to do. That is, I
:07:05. > :07:06.think, a renewed sense of determination in Parliament as MPs
:07:07. > :07:10.have returned from the summer break and from some of the party
:07:11. > :07:15.conferences. It feels, right now, that this is a matter of huge
:07:16. > :07:26.political urgency. What I would say, and it's worth remembering, is that
:07:27. > :07:28.the really big power plays in all of this are not just months off but
:07:29. > :07:31.maybe years. The deadline for getting all of Distin is the end of
:07:32. > :07:33.March 2019 and the mood in the Commons, around the country and
:07:34. > :07:35.right around the continent might well be very different by then.
:07:36. > :07:38.Laura Kuenssberg at Westminster, thank you.
:07:39. > :07:43.Russia has condemned as 'russophobic hysteria' a call
:07:44. > :07:45.by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson for protests
:07:46. > :07:48.He said yesterday he would like to see "a protest
:07:49. > :07:51.against bombings of the Syrian city of Aleppo", which are being blamed
:07:52. > :07:53.by western governments on Vladimir Putin's forces.
:07:54. > :07:55.Our diplomatic correspondent James Robbins has more.
:07:56. > :08:02.Russian television has been full of the story.
:08:03. > :08:05.News of Boris Johnson's verbal assault in the Commons on
:08:06. > :08:11.Russia's bombing, including the destruction
:08:12. > :08:14.of a UN aid convoy, as well as his call for demonstrations outside
:08:15. > :08:18.Moscow denounced his words as Russo-phobic hysteria and used
:08:19. > :08:26.images from the archive to ridicule the Foreign Secretary.
:08:27. > :08:31.Apart from a lone protester, there's no sign of demonstrators answering
:08:32. > :08:34.Boris Johnson's call and massing here outside any of Russia's embassy
:08:35. > :08:38.But behind the exchange of harsh words between London
:08:39. > :08:40.and Moscow, there lies a brutal, political reality.
:08:41. > :08:42.Western governments are all but impotent in
:08:43. > :08:47.the face of Russian military action in Syria.
:08:48. > :08:49.Humanitarian appeals to stop the bombing of Aleppo
:08:50. > :08:55.The UN predicts a rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city
:08:56. > :08:57.will be totally destroyed by the end of the year.
:08:58. > :09:00.But calls for a no-fly zone to prevent the bombing
:09:01. > :09:05.Critics stress that risks direct confrontation between Russia
:09:06. > :09:11.In Aleppo itself, these are some of the latest pictures,
:09:12. > :09:13.an estimated 250,000 civilians face death and starvation.
:09:14. > :09:24.He does not see how Nato forces can impose a no-fly zone.
:09:25. > :09:27.You cannot pursue humanitarian goals in Syria and in the process risk
:09:28. > :09:32.confrontation between the United States and Russia.
:09:33. > :09:35.That is just a gamble which we cannot afford to take.
:09:36. > :09:39.Which leaves President Putin calling the shots in Syria.
:09:40. > :09:45.Today he blamed President Obama for dictating terms to Russia.
:09:46. > :09:47.TRANSLATION: It is very difficult to engage
:09:48. > :09:50.in dialogue with the current American administration.
:09:51. > :09:53.The administration formulates its needs and insists that they be met.
:09:54. > :10:03.Tonight there is news that Russia and the United States will talk
:10:04. > :10:11.The first attempt to repair total breakdown,
:10:12. > :10:13.but their opposing positions look very hard to reconcile.
:10:14. > :10:19.The BBC has had exclusive access to a secret internment camp
:10:20. > :10:21.for former so-called Islamic State militants and their
:10:22. > :10:26.Some 300 defectors and captured fighters are being held at the camp
:10:27. > :10:32.operated by a rebel group, which claims it's trying
:10:33. > :10:34.to rehabilitate the former IS supporters and in some
:10:35. > :10:37.Among those captured are French, Dutch and Polish nationals.
:10:38. > :10:46.Our middle east correspondent Quentin Somerville reports.
:10:47. > :10:48.Where do jihadists go when their beloved Islamic State
:10:49. > :10:57.Some are being held here at a secret camp in northern Syria.
:10:58. > :11:06.The men are from Europe, across the Middle East and Central Asia.
:11:07. > :11:08.They're defectors and prisoners of war, so few want
:11:09. > :11:13.In retreat, many have brought their families with them.
:11:14. > :11:19.He joined the so-called Islamic State from Holland.
:11:20. > :11:23.Now a captive, he renounces the group.
:11:24. > :11:32.You give your life to them so they're going to start taking
:11:33. > :11:36.I know I will get in trouble, but this is what I choose
:11:37. > :11:41.I hope I can get out soon and live my life normally.
:11:42. > :11:44.These are Egyptians, Tunisians, Holland...
:11:45. > :11:50.The camp is run by the rebel group Jaysh al Tahrir.
:11:51. > :11:51.Its commander showedme the details of
:11:52. > :11:59.Some will be returned to Europe, if the authorities promise
:12:00. > :12:06.to jail them, but others will face Syrian justice.
:12:07. > :12:08.TRANSLATION: We refer them to courts and they roll according
:12:09. > :12:12.If they had committed murder then they might be executed.
:12:13. > :12:14.Some are jailed just because they still hold
:12:15. > :12:22.The Islamic State's court is collapsing.
:12:23. > :12:26.They're losing territory and an increasing number of people
:12:27. > :12:31.Joining IS was relatively easy, but leaving is difficult.
:12:32. > :12:33."It was hard, really hard," says this defector who was
:12:34. > :12:46.We've also learned that European intelligence agencies
:12:47. > :12:48.are on a mission in northern Syria to find, capture
:12:49. > :12:54.They're working alongside some rebel groups to create a kind
:12:55. > :12:57.of underground railroad, which will bring IS group supporters
:12:58. > :13:03.For now they're held in Syria, but these European jihadists
:13:04. > :13:12.Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Istanbul.
:13:13. > :13:15.Three West Midlands Police officers have been charged with perjury
:13:16. > :13:17.and perverting the course of justice following an investigation
:13:18. > :13:23.into the death of a man in custody in 2011.
:13:24. > :13:25.Kingsley Burrell, who was 29, died four days after being
:13:26. > :13:32.detained by officers under the Mental Health Act.
:13:33. > :13:35.A sandwich shop owner has been jailed for at least 27 years
:13:36. > :13:38.for what the judge called the savage and frenzied murder of a teenage
:13:39. > :13:43.John Leathem stabbed 15-year-old Paige Doherty after she stopped
:13:44. > :13:46.at his shop in Clydebank, on the way to her Saturday job
:13:47. > :13:49.Paige's mother said outside court that a monster had now
:13:50. > :13:56.Arriving to open his sandwich shop in March this year,
:13:57. > :14:01.just over an hour later John Leathem would become a brutal killer.
:14:02. > :14:02.His victim, 15-year-old Paige Doherty.
:14:03. > :14:07.When she called into the shop he launched a savage
:14:08. > :14:09.and frenzied knife attack, inflicting more than 140 injuries.
:14:10. > :14:16.There is a huge piece missing in our family that can
:14:17. > :14:21.I am thankful for the 15 years we had with Paige,
:14:22. > :14:24.from the kind and generous wee soul she was, to the mature young
:14:25. > :14:29.She may not be with us any more, but she will live on through her
:14:30. > :14:31.brothers and sister, and all the memories that we share.
:14:32. > :14:34.Trying to cover his tracks, Leathem ran to buy bleach and drove
:14:35. > :14:41.The judge ordered that he serve at least 27 years behind bars.
:14:42. > :14:45.What you did was truly reprehensible.
:14:46. > :14:55.It is impossible to comprehend how an apparently happily married man,
:14:56. > :14:57.with a young child, who's running a successful business,
:14:58. > :15:00.is capable of such an horrific level of violence.
:15:01. > :15:04.But what turned the shopkeeper into a violent killer?
:15:05. > :15:08.He claimed Paige had asked him for a job,
:15:09. > :15:10.and when he said no, she said she'd tell
:15:11. > :15:17.John Leathem was, said his lawyer, an unexceptional individual.
:15:18. > :15:19.Psychiatric reports found no evidence of a personality disorder
:15:20. > :15:27.In short, he said, this murder was so out of character it defied
:15:28. > :15:32.A member of her family tearfully asked Leathem as he was led
:15:33. > :15:36.It's a question he now has 27 years to consider.
:15:37. > :15:50.MPs demand a right to vote on the strategy
:15:51. > :15:54.Northern Ireland, fabled land of the giants -
:15:55. > :16:00.could there be some truth in the legend?
:16:01. > :16:04.He's already picked up one title in China this week -
:16:05. > :16:06.now Andy Murray has cruised through to the third
:16:07. > :16:23.For the first time in over 30 years, Britain is to host cycling's
:16:24. > :16:26.prestigious Road World Championships.
:16:27. > :16:29.They'll be held in 2019 in Yorkshire which - two years ago -
:16:30. > :16:32.hosted the start of the Tour de France to widespread acclaim.
:16:33. > :16:34.But it coincides with growing controversy over the use
:16:35. > :16:37.of prescription drugs by Britain's most famous road cyclist
:16:38. > :16:47.Our sports editor Dan Roan is in Leeds, good news story
:16:48. > :16:50.for British cycling but in danger of being overshadowed by questions
:16:51. > :16:58.That's right, Fiona. Now we know Britain's great decade of hosting
:16:59. > :17:03.global sports events will be completed here in Yorkshire in 2019
:17:04. > :17:08.when it hosts Road cycling's World Championships. It's about more than
:17:09. > :17:12.just prestige, also this bid including a ?50 million package of
:17:13. > :17:16.investment into grassroots cycling facilities. Britain's cycling
:17:17. > :17:19.revolution though is also about the performance of Team Sky, who have
:17:20. > :17:22.become a global force in the professional sport. They have always
:17:23. > :17:30.claimed that they can help cycling to move on and recover from its
:17:31. > :17:32.doping past, but suddenly they find themselves, along with the governing
:17:33. > :17:33.body British Cycling, amid unprecedented scrutiny.
:17:34. > :17:45.It's a sight that's becoming more familiar, just some of Otley's
:17:46. > :17:48.cycling club's 500 members out on their daily ride this morning.
:17:49. > :17:50.The club has doubled in size in the last two
:17:51. > :17:52.years, evidence that Britain's now a cycling nation.
:17:53. > :17:55.And today more good news, as the country was chosen to
:17:56. > :17:57.host the sport's flagship event, the World Championships, for the first
:17:58. > :18:00.I'm absolutely delighted that we've been
:18:01. > :18:04.I think it's a huge coup for Yorkshire, but also
:18:05. > :18:08.And I think it will go on and provide a long-lasting legacy
:18:09. > :18:11.Having successfully hosted the start of the
:18:12. > :18:14.Tour de France in 2014, Yorkshire will now be the centre of the
:18:15. > :18:16.cycling world again in three years' time.
:18:17. > :18:19.But today's announcement comes amid a sense of crisis in the sport.
:18:20. > :18:22.First came scrutiny over Sir Bradley Wiggins and his
:18:23. > :18:24.therapeutic use exemptions for a banned steroid
:18:25. > :18:26.shortly before races to treat his asthma.
:18:27. > :18:29.Then came claims from former rider Jonathan Tiernan-Locke that a
:18:30. > :18:31.powerful painkiller was freely offered when he competed for Britain
:18:32. > :18:36.And finally it emerged a mystery medical package had been delivered
:18:37. > :18:40.to Team Sky in June 2011 in France on the day Wiggins won a race.
:18:41. > :18:43.Team Sky, Wiggins and governing body British Cycling all say that no
:18:44. > :18:46.But a UK anti-doping investigation has now
:18:47. > :18:51.been launched into allegations of wrongdoing.
:18:52. > :19:03.The man at the centre of the controversy
:19:04. > :19:05.cycling doctor, Richard Freeman, formerly at Team Sky.
:19:06. > :19:07.At the weekend he was withdrawn from travelling to this
:19:08. > :19:10.year's World Championships but I caught up with him in Manchester.
:19:11. > :19:13.Can I just ask a quick question about the delivery you took in 2011,
:19:14. > :19:18.Can I ask you about Jonathan Tiernan-Locke's claims that
:19:19. > :19:23.questions but I'm on the phone.
:19:24. > :19:26.I know, but can I just quickly ask you about that delivery.
:19:27. > :19:28.The use of tramadol that Jonathan Tiernan-Locke says
:19:29. > :19:35.Another medal haul in Rio this summer reinforced cycling
:19:36. > :19:37.status as Britain's most successful Olympic sport.
:19:38. > :19:38.But some senior figures now want change.
:19:39. > :19:41.It's out of control how it's been handled.
:19:42. > :19:43.Sir Dave Brailsford and British Cycling,
:19:44. > :19:45.I don't think they've handled it as well as they could.
:19:46. > :19:48.I mean, this year we've had one saga after another.
:19:49. > :19:51.So you've got to look at the governance,
:19:52. > :19:53.and hopefully it's all going to get itself sorted out.
:19:54. > :19:56.But it's going to take some time and it's going to leave some
:19:57. > :20:00.After a turbulent few weeks Britain's cyclists tonight
:20:01. > :20:03.have something to celebrate but for those at the top
:20:04. > :20:05.of the sport the questions are set to continue.
:20:06. > :20:13.One of Britain's most senior police officers has said he believes
:20:14. > :20:17.at least 100,000 men in the UK regularly look at obscene
:20:18. > :20:20.images of children online - and that's a conservative estimate.
:20:21. > :20:25.to be accesssing such images three years ago.
:20:26. > :20:28.The Chief Constable of Norfolk says the police alone can
:20:29. > :20:33.His comments come on the day a paedophile exposed by a BBC News
:20:34. > :20:36.This report from our correspondent Angus Crawford.
:20:37. > :20:39.We're going to go to his address and arrest him...
:20:40. > :20:41.A specialist police team have identified a target,
:20:42. > :20:48.He's continued to look at indecent images of children, with some really
:20:49. > :20:49.concerning search terms on his Internet search history.
:20:50. > :20:57.He's taken to a police station in Northamptonshire for questioning.
:20:58. > :20:59.Other detectives seize his mobile phones and memory cards.
:21:00. > :21:06.On them, hundreds of indecent images of children.
:21:07. > :21:08.We've arrested you to protect children and vulnerable people...
:21:09. > :21:12.Farey was arrested as a result of an investigation by BBC News.
:21:13. > :21:14.We discovered paedophiles were using secret groups on Facebook
:21:15. > :21:24.Farey had set up one called Schoolgirls.
:21:25. > :21:27.It's clear he's taken the picture from his own jacket,
:21:28. > :21:33.After his previous conviction, he wasn't even meant to have
:21:34. > :21:38.Today, Farey was given a four year extended sentence.
:21:39. > :21:41.The judge said he was a dangerous man, but the truth is there
:21:42. > :21:45.are tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands,
:21:46. > :21:47.of other men just like him across the UK, who view images
:21:48. > :21:50.of child abuse online and the police say they're overwhelmed
:21:51. > :21:57.It's significantly in excess of the 50,000 figure that
:21:58. > :21:59.I believe was probably accurately assessed in 2013.
:22:00. > :22:03.I think it now goes significantly beyond that.
:22:04. > :22:06.So is it possible that are as many as 100,000 men in the UK,
:22:07. > :22:09.regularly viewing obscene images of children?
:22:10. > :22:11.Yes, I think that's a conservative estimate.
:22:12. > :22:18.So how can society best protect children from this kind of threat?
:22:19. > :22:23.Recent figures suggest one in five new obscene images found
:22:24. > :22:27.online have been made by young people themselves.
:22:28. > :22:29.Anybody can take your photographs, anybody can find out
:22:30. > :22:34.That's why at this school in West Yorkshire,
:22:35. > :22:40.safety lessons from the age of eight and nine - driving home the message
:22:41. > :22:42.that what they do online, can have serious consequences
:22:43. > :22:49.Nigel Farey, convicted for a second time of downloading obscene images,
:22:50. > :22:56.A symptom of a problem threatening to overwhelm a system
:22:57. > :23:06.A film production company has been fined ?1.6 million for an accident
:23:07. > :23:09.in which the Hollywood star Harrison Ford was crushed by a metal
:23:10. > :23:13.door on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
:23:14. > :23:16.The incident happened two years ago during rehearsals at
:23:17. > :23:21.Live now to Aylesbury Crown Court and our correspondent
:23:22. > :23:33.This is a massive fine. Absolutely, the accident happened at Pinewood
:23:34. > :23:36.Studios but responsibility for safety onset was down to the
:23:37. > :23:44.production company making Star Wars: The Force Awakens whose ultimate
:23:45. > :23:49.parent company is Disney. Due to a miscommunication onset Harrison Ford
:23:50. > :23:52.was not expecting this steel edged hydraulically powered door to be
:23:53. > :23:59.activated while he was rehearsing a scene on this set of the Lenny
:24:00. > :24:03.falcon set and pinned him to the ground above his pubic bone causing
:24:04. > :24:07.serious injuries. The court heard it was only an emergency stop operated
:24:08. > :24:11.by the crew that prevented worse damage happening. In fact, the court
:24:12. > :24:15.heard the force of the door was stronger than the strength of
:24:16. > :24:19.Harrison Ford's body. Judge Francis Sheridan at Aylesbury Crown Court
:24:20. > :24:23.described what had happened as staggering and lamentable. The
:24:24. > :24:25.company has 28 days to pay the ?1.6 million fine. Thank you for joining
:24:26. > :24:27.us. Those tall tales of giants
:24:28. > :24:30.in Irish mythology may have Scientists have discovered that
:24:31. > :24:35.what they call the giant gene is more commonly carried by people
:24:36. > :24:37.in a particular area The gene can cause people to grow
:24:38. > :24:44.much taller and larger than normal - but it can also cause
:24:45. > :24:45.serious health problems. Our Ireland correspondent
:24:46. > :24:48.Chris Buckler has more. These stone circles aren't the only
:24:49. > :24:53.link to history here in Mid Ulster This is a land of giants,
:24:54. > :24:57.and that's a title that comes not just from myths and legends -
:24:58. > :25:02.in this area it's in the blood. That's me when I was seven,
:25:03. > :25:05.eight years old. At his height Brendan Holland
:25:06. > :25:09.stood almost 6'11" tall, and it's likely he would
:25:10. > :25:12.have grown to well over seven feet tall if he hadn't been
:25:13. > :25:15.treated for a genetic disorder that Do you object to
:25:16. > :25:24.being called a giant? No, not at all, people
:25:25. > :25:26.can call me what they It would have bothered me
:25:27. > :25:30.when I was a teenager, because no one wants to stand out
:25:31. > :25:33.from the crowd. The cause of that
:25:34. > :25:34.gigantism which can affect health as well as
:25:35. > :25:37.height is in the genes. to me and she never knew
:25:38. > :25:40.that. And many people still to this day
:25:41. > :25:43.are passing the gene on without DNA evidence has shown that Brendan
:25:44. > :25:49.is a descendant of Charles Byrne, In the 1700s he became
:25:50. > :25:59.famous as the Irish giant and his
:26:00. > :26:06.seven-and-a-half-foot-tall skeleton
:26:07. > :26:17.is still part of a medical museum. There are, of course,
:26:18. > :26:20.many tales of giants in Irish folklore, not least Finn MacCool,
:26:21. > :26:22.who was said to have built But it's away from the coast
:26:23. > :26:26.in the centre of Northern Ireland that the giant gene
:26:27. > :26:29.is still present within some of the For some that gene can lead
:26:30. > :26:33.to headaches, eyesight or more serious problems and that's why
:26:34. > :26:35.scientists have been working to identify people
:26:36. > :26:37.with it in their DNA. It's OK being may be 6-foot
:26:38. > :26:41.but you don't want to be It's a miserable life
:26:42. > :26:46.for a giant, actually. And most giants just wish
:26:47. > :26:48.that they were normal. There was probably at least some
:26:49. > :26:50.truth in the centuries of But it's likely that
:26:51. > :26:53.at their heart was a gene that caused considerable
:26:54. > :27:01.pain and problems. That's why many want the idea
:27:02. > :27:25.of generations of giants to My great grandparents come from near
:27:26. > :27:29.there but I didn't get the gene. High pressure has dominated weather
:27:30. > :27:33.so far this month and for some there has been barely a drop of rain. Look
:27:34. > :27:37.at the weather charts, high pressure across Scandinavia but muscling into
:27:38. > :27:43.the scene, this low pressure bringing something wetter by the end
:27:44. > :27:48.of the week but also a little less chilly. You will notice the blue
:27:49. > :27:51.colours, the colder air pushing to the north-west, southerly winds by
:27:52. > :27:54.the weekend and some sunshine between the showers will feel that
:27:55. > :27:57.bit more pleasant. Easterly winds still dominate, one or two showers
:27:58. > :28:00.in the west this evening, most will fade, like recent nights with
:28:01. > :28:03.occasional rain, down eastern parts of Scotland and eastern England,
:28:04. > :28:07.temperatures will stay around this area but with a touch of mist there
:28:08. > :28:11.could be some frost in some areas. Into Thursday in eastern areas they
:28:12. > :28:14.will start with the risk of rain, the Western areas driest and
:28:15. > :28:18.brightest, a few more showers tomorrow drifting into the Midlands,
:28:19. > :28:22.North west England, North west Scotland and Northern Ireland in the
:28:23. > :28:26.afternoon but East Anglia will dry out and the southernmost counties of
:28:27. > :28:30.England and Wales will stay driest. 14 Celsius is the high, low for the
:28:31. > :28:35.time of year, further north colder still, the wind will add to the
:28:36. > :28:39.chill, more in northern areas. The stronger twins in northern Scotland,
:28:40. > :28:43.touching gale force at times and in the north and east of Scotland
:28:44. > :28:46.persistent rain to take us through Friday particularly Aberdeenshire.
:28:47. > :28:51.Lots of dry weather around on Friday, glimpses of sunshine but a
:28:52. > :28:54.few showers will develop later. On Saturday we will see heavy bursts of
:28:55. > :29:00.rain working northwards. Throughout the weekend while between those
:29:01. > :29:03.heavy bursts of rain it should feel warmer.