:00:00. > :00:08.The patients waiting more than a hundred days to be
:00:09. > :00:12.The BBC reveals the depth of the crisis.
:00:13. > :00:14.Hospitals in England under pressure, as councils struggle
:00:15. > :00:20.It is probably the most worrying time in social care
:00:21. > :00:23.that I've ever known in 20 years.
:00:24. > :00:29.Eileen Kirton was lucky to get a place in care.
:00:30. > :00:33.Otherwise she faced weeks more in hospital.
:00:34. > :00:37.I thought, I'm never going to come out of there, and I was getting
:00:38. > :00:44.A leaked text message that has Labour asking questions.
:00:45. > :00:47.Is this evidence of a sweetheart deal between ministers and a Tory
:00:48. > :00:55.Denise Brewster wins a legal battle on pensions that
:00:56. > :01:02.The socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is found dead in her flat.
:01:03. > :01:17.People like you caused the plague in London.
:01:18. > :01:19.Alan Simpson, the writer behind TV classic Steptoe and Son has died.
:01:20. > :01:33.In the sport on BBC News, the Tinker man returns. Claudio Ranieri makes
:01:34. > :01:46.changes for the game tonight. Good evening and welcome
:01:47. > :01:49.to the BBC News at Six. The BBC has uncovered fresh evidence
:01:50. > :01:52.of the length of time some patients remain in hospital waiting to be
:01:53. > :01:56.discharged, often because of a lack Half of the acute hospitals in
:01:57. > :02:03.England told us about their longest delays in discharging
:02:04. > :02:06.medically fit patients. Over the last three years,
:02:07. > :02:09.130 patients spent a hundred days The longest delay was in
:02:10. > :02:16.Mid-Yorkshire, where one patient And today a report by
:02:17. > :02:23.the Government's spending watchdog has warned that plans to ease
:02:24. > :02:26.pressure on the NHS by joining up health and social
:02:27. > :02:32.care, aren't working. Our Social Affairs Correspondent,
:02:33. > :02:34.Alison Holt, has been looking This is the road back to some sort
:02:35. > :02:39.of independence for 85-year-old She's just spent more
:02:40. > :02:46.than a month in hospital after I wasn't eating
:02:47. > :02:56.and it took me all my time to drink because
:02:57. > :02:58.I was frightened. The danger was she would be stuck
:02:59. > :03:00.in an expensive hospital bed waiting for the care
:03:01. > :03:03.she needed to cope at home. I was isolated in a little
:03:04. > :03:06.room all by myself. I thought I'm never going
:03:07. > :03:14.to come out of here. But she was moved
:03:15. > :03:16.to this special flat with care on hand, without it
:03:17. > :03:19.she could have been in hospital for council and the NHS locally are
:03:20. > :03:30.working together to ease pressures. I feel as if they are helping me
:03:31. > :03:33.to get my strength back. But North Yorkshire is a large rural
:03:34. > :03:45.county with an ageing population. Despite investing in new services
:03:46. > :03:47.like many authorities highlighted in today's
:03:48. > :03:50.National Audit Office report, the council is struggling
:03:51. > :03:54.with the sheer demand for care. And delays in getting people out
:03:55. > :04:03.of hospital have increased. At Harrogate Hospital it is social
:04:04. > :04:06.worker Carol Burdon who has to organise the community
:04:07. > :04:08.support needed. There is a drive to get them out
:04:09. > :04:13.as soon as possible, but then you have to do that
:04:14. > :04:19.liaising with families, any community nurses
:04:20. > :04:22.or anyone that needs to be it can be quite hard to coordinate
:04:23. > :04:31.that care and find the care. The ambitions of the council plan
:04:32. > :04:34.or all about better outcomes for all North Yorkshire residents
:04:35. > :04:36.despite reductions in local It is North Yorkshire
:04:37. > :04:41.councillors and officials who have to find the money to pay
:04:42. > :04:42.for a lot of that care. They are raising council tax,
:04:43. > :04:47.but this conservative and authority is adamant a long-term
:04:48. > :04:50.solution has to be found. I am too greatly
:04:51. > :04:52.disappointed that the government hasn't seen fit to
:04:53. > :04:55.provide genuinely new money when it Seven years ago this
:04:56. > :04:58.council spent about a third of its budget on providing
:04:59. > :05:01.care and support for people who are But now the cost of adult
:05:02. > :05:09.social care is heading towards half of its budget,
:05:10. > :05:11.with demand still increasing. And that is at the heart
:05:12. > :05:13.of the problems they We will continue to plan
:05:14. > :05:19.ahead for the future. We will continue to
:05:20. > :05:21.prioritise social care. Social care is a much
:05:22. > :05:29.bigger proportion of our budget. But it is probably the most worrying
:05:30. > :05:32.time in social care that I And at each stage the care system
:05:33. > :05:41.is showing signs of the pressure. And of course we have got this
:05:42. > :05:44.evening's handover at 7:15pm. At this Harrogate home
:05:45. > :05:45.care provider they are arranging support
:05:46. > :05:47.for new council funded clients. But on the wages they are
:05:48. > :05:50.able to pay it can be a struggle to compete
:05:51. > :05:52.with supermarkets for staff. You are driving from
:05:53. > :05:54.place to place, you're in your own vehicle,
:05:55. > :05:58.and it is easier to be in one place. Now, that might be
:05:59. > :06:01.a nursing home or it might And I think the only thing,
:06:02. > :06:15.you know, carers are not paid enough, you know,
:06:16. > :06:17.for the service that And people like 62-year-old Jenny
:06:18. > :06:27.Dent rely on those care workers. She is partially
:06:28. > :06:28.paralysed with other The four visits she gets each day
:06:29. > :06:32.means she can remain at home. Vital support which she says
:06:33. > :06:34.needs recognising. Value your carers,
:06:35. > :06:37.give them more money, give them more respect and provide
:06:38. > :06:40.more carers and adequate care for people who want to live
:06:41. > :06:44.in their own home. The Government insists people
:06:45. > :06:46.are benefiting from health and care services working together and that
:06:47. > :06:49.more money is being invested. But change takes time
:06:50. > :06:51.and for those on the front line in the
:06:52. > :06:54.pressure is here now. Alison Holt, BBC News,
:06:55. > :06:59.North Yorkshire. Well, social care was also the focus
:07:00. > :07:04.of Prime Minister's Questions today, with the Labour Leader,
:07:05. > :07:06.Jeremy Corbyn, confronting Theresa May with what he said
:07:07. > :07:09.were leaked text messages. He accused her government
:07:10. > :07:11.of offering Conservative-run Surrey Council what he called a "sweetheart
:07:12. > :07:15.deal" in exchange for dropping a planned council tax rise
:07:16. > :07:17.to cover social care bills. Here's our political
:07:18. > :07:32.editor, Laura Kuennsberg. The file under her arm, the Prime
:07:33. > :07:36.Minister always properly prepared with her red government folders and
:07:37. > :07:42.read government boxes. Maybe not this time. Theresa May on her way to
:07:43. > :07:48.weekly Prime Minister's Questions into this time a good old-fashioned
:07:49. > :07:55.ambush. The Tory's Surrey council called off a vote on increasing
:07:56. > :07:59.council tax just yesterday. Why? Can the Prime Minister tell the House
:08:00. > :08:03.whether or not a special deal was done for Surrey? The decision on
:08:04. > :08:08.whether or not to hold a referendum in Surrey is entirely a matter for
:08:09. > :08:15.the local authority in Surrey. Was it? He was armed with leaked text is
:08:16. > :08:20.where the council leader wrote of a government deal. Is the same
:08:21. > :08:24.sweetheart deal on offer to every council with social care crisis
:08:25. > :08:29.created by her government? He comes with all sorts of claims. What you
:08:30. > :08:35.get from Labour are alternative facts. Not quite what she was asked.
:08:36. > :08:39.It absolutely goes against the grain for us to impose an increase in
:08:40. > :08:42.taxation. The council leader seems to have thought he was having a
:08:43. > :08:52.conversation with a government adviser. He wrote...
:08:53. > :09:01.The numbers you indicated are the numbers I understand are acceptable
:09:02. > :09:06.for me to accept and call of the art, the referendum. Really want to
:09:07. > :09:12.kill this off. David Hodge. It is believed he sent them by mistake to
:09:13. > :09:19.a Labour leader will stop a lot more awkward than text message finger
:09:20. > :09:23.trouble. It is a Tory safe haven. Labour can claim central government
:09:24. > :09:26.has done favours for friends. Yesterday, when the leader called
:09:27. > :09:32.off the referendum, he hinted at a wider deal. Sometimes it is best to
:09:33. > :09:36.say nothing. Sometimes I cannot say too much but I am much more
:09:37. > :09:39.confident now about the future. I think the Government recognises that
:09:40. > :09:44.adult social care is a national issue and we need to look at all
:09:45. > :09:49.tentative ways of funding it. This meant to reason me was on the back
:09:50. > :09:53.foot in the House of Commons. One senior council leader said it
:09:54. > :09:57.smacked of the worst kind of political cronyism. It has turned
:09:58. > :10:01.minds again to the pressing question of how we pay to care for the
:10:02. > :10:05.elderly. Ministers say privately they are looking hard for a
:10:06. > :10:09.solution. In public there is not much evidence yet. Without an
:10:10. > :10:14.answer, the Government faces much more than a little local difficulty.
:10:15. > :10:28.Alison Khalili have told the story of one macro council. This is a
:10:29. > :10:31.national problem. The I saw in North Yorkshire and Surrey are ones you
:10:32. > :10:35.will find again and again in authorities around the country. What
:10:36. > :10:39.is interesting about these two authorities is they are Tory
:10:40. > :10:43.heartlands. North Yorkshire prides itself on keeping a good budget and
:10:44. > :10:47.investing for the future. They have an ageing population and they are
:10:48. > :10:51.feeling the pain and are worried about the future. Today we have at
:10:52. > :10:57.the National Audit Office saying the better care fund is not releasing
:10:58. > :11:01.the fans it expected. There are concerns about the pressures that.
:11:02. > :11:06.The Government says it is early days and it will work out. It also says
:11:07. > :11:11.it is not just about money because some authorities do better than
:11:12. > :11:14.others. We have looked at delayed discharges in England but different
:11:15. > :11:17.systems elsewhere in the UK have made it difficult for us to make
:11:18. > :11:19.direct comparisons with what is happening there. Thank you very
:11:20. > :11:31.much. With the kind of evidence we have
:11:32. > :11:35.broadcast today, is becoming more and more of a political problem? It
:11:36. > :11:39.has come up the rails very fast. Not just because of pressure from local
:11:40. > :11:43.government but more and more MPs are seeing direct evidence from their
:11:44. > :11:48.constituents, members of the public who are seeing these issues upfront
:11:49. > :11:52.and inside their own families and indifferent parts of the country.
:11:53. > :11:56.That means this is now extremely pressing. When you talk to ministers
:11:57. > :12:05.about it behind closed doors they say a lot of work is going on. There
:12:06. > :12:08.are -- is a long-term hunt for solutions within the Cabinet Office.
:12:09. > :12:11.I have heard the Prime Minister is prepared to be quite radical.
:12:12. > :12:17.Successive governments have struggled with this. With the cash
:12:18. > :12:22.crunch for local authorities and the Democrat big crunch coming as well,
:12:23. > :12:25.perhaps this government will have no choice but to confront it. --
:12:26. > :12:27.demographic crunch. And for more in-depth analysis
:12:28. > :12:30.on the pressures facing the NHS, go A woman, whose long-term partner
:12:31. > :12:38.died without signing a form nominating her to receive his public
:12:39. > :12:40.sector pension, has won a legal battle that could affect millions
:12:41. > :12:44.of other unmarried couples. Denise Brewster argued
:12:45. > :12:46.at the Supreme Court that she was the victim
:12:47. > :12:49.of "serious discrimination". Our Ireland Correspodent,
:12:50. > :12:53.Chris Buckler, reports. Denise Brewster had lived
:12:54. > :12:56.with her fiance, Lenny, for ten years and they were making
:12:57. > :12:59.plans for their future. When I look at this picture,
:13:00. > :13:06.I think that's just how we were. He was a fun loving guy,
:13:07. > :13:09.he had lots of friends. But in 2009, just days after
:13:10. > :13:16.they got engaged, he died suddenly. It was such a difficult time and it
:13:17. > :13:23.will always remain difficult for me. But I feel Lenny has
:13:24. > :13:26.given me strength at For 15 years, Lenny worked
:13:27. > :13:33.for Translink, which provides public transport in Northern Ireland and,
:13:34. > :13:38.during that time, like many workers, he paid into a local
:13:39. > :13:41.government pension scheme, which he thought would provide
:13:42. > :13:43.some security for him But when he died, Denise
:13:44. > :13:51.was informed she wouldn't benefit. Because Denise wasn't married,
:13:52. > :13:53.she was told that she wasn't Her partner would have had to have
:13:54. > :14:00.filled out this, a nomination form. She argued that that was a lawful
:14:01. > :14:03.discrimination and today the Supreme Court ruled
:14:04. > :14:06.in her favour. We say that she is entitled
:14:07. > :14:08.to receive a pension and that the nomination requirement
:14:09. > :14:13.should no longer be applied. It's a ruling that could benefit
:14:14. > :14:17.the partners of some other public sector workers like nurses,
:14:18. > :14:19.teachers and civil servants although that could depend
:14:20. > :14:22.on the rules of each There are over 6 million
:14:23. > :14:33.people across the country Many of them are in company
:14:34. > :14:37.pension schemes, public sector pension schemes,
:14:38. > :14:39.and they should be treated equally So I hope all pension schemes
:14:40. > :14:42.will review their rules And the woman who fought this case
:14:43. > :14:46.hopes it will provide greater At least I just had to defend
:14:47. > :14:50.for myself and I had to take my hardships but,
:14:51. > :14:55.when you have other families that have a young daughter or son
:14:56. > :14:58.who are losing their daddy or their mummy, and then
:14:59. > :15:00.they have the financial burden on top of that,
:15:01. > :15:03.the inequality and the injustice And this is a judgment which perhaps
:15:04. > :15:07.reflects changes to what the word Tara Palmer-Tomkinson,
:15:08. > :15:20.the socialite and god-daughter of the Prince of Wales,
:15:21. > :15:22.has been found dead The 45-year-old celebrity,
:15:23. > :15:31.who rose to fame in the '90s, The 45-year-old celebrity,
:15:32. > :15:32.was diagnosed with a brain Prince Charles said he was deeply
:15:33. > :15:35.saddened by the news. Rebecca Jones looks
:15:36. > :15:46.back at her life. Tara Palmer Tompkinson seemed to
:15:47. > :15:50.have it all. Money, looks, and friends in high places. Here she is
:15:51. > :15:53.at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The
:15:54. > :15:59.goddaughter of Prince Charles, she went on holiday with the Royal
:16:00. > :16:05.Family. Today he said he was deeply saddened by the news of her death.
:16:06. > :16:08.She became a regular fixture on catwalks, red carpets come in gossip
:16:09. > :16:16.columns and on magazine front covers. Known as an it girl, in 2002
:16:17. > :16:19.she appeared on the reality television show I'm A Celebrity Get
:16:20. > :16:25.Me Out Of Here. Where she played up her party image. Who is taking me to
:16:26. > :16:29.dinner? But fame had a darker side. Tara Palmer Tompkinson had been
:16:30. > :16:32.addicted to cocaine and at one point she spent ?400 a day on the drug. On
:16:33. > :16:39.the same programme she spoke about her habit. In the last weeks of my
:16:40. > :16:46.using it literally was over the toilet, you know. To the most sordid
:16:47. > :16:51.you can have as a junkie. She finished second on the show and went
:16:52. > :16:56.on to appear on other programmes including celebrity mastermind. Do
:16:57. > :17:01.you remain an it girl when you have become one? Certainly not. After
:17:02. > :17:05.being diagnosed last January with a brain tumour at public appearances
:17:06. > :17:12.by this became less frequent. I'm not the person I was, she said. The
:17:13. > :17:14.party world scares me. Tara Palmer Tomkinson who died at the age of 45.
:17:15. > :17:26.Patients waiting more than 100 days to be discharged from hospital in
:17:27. > :17:33.England as consul struggle to provide social care. And still to
:17:34. > :17:40.come... How much do you want? Have you gone raving mad? We look back at
:17:41. > :17:42.the life of the man behind the comedy classic Hancock 's half hour,
:17:43. > :17:43.Alan Simpson, who has died. The funeral of Baroness Rachel
:17:44. > :17:48.Heyhoe Flint has taken place today. The former England Women's cricket
:17:49. > :17:50.captain and Wolves vice president MPs are set to approve a bill
:17:51. > :18:05.in the next few hours giving the Prime Minister the power
:18:06. > :18:09.to start Brexit negotiations in a major step towards the UK
:18:10. > :18:14.leaving the European Union. The final vote is expected to be
:18:15. > :18:17.at 8pm tonight as our Chief Political Correspondent Vicki Young
:18:18. > :18:24.reports. It wasn't the government's
:18:25. > :18:25.plan for Parliament to have a say on kick-starting
:18:26. > :18:28.Brexit negotiations. Threatened rebellions have
:18:29. > :18:31.melted away, but today there were still concerns
:18:32. > :18:33.about the fate of EU I wonder if today she could reassure
:18:34. > :18:39.all our constituents that those who were born elsewhere
:18:40. > :18:41.in the European Union but settled here in the UK,
:18:42. > :18:45.married or in partnerships with British citizens,
:18:46. > :18:47.could be reassured that they will Theresa May is sympathetic,
:18:48. > :18:57.but wants guarantees for UK I intend to make it clear that
:18:58. > :19:01.I want this to be a priority for an early stage of negotiations
:19:02. > :19:04.so we can address this issue and give reassurance
:19:05. > :19:06.to people concerned. MPs have fallen into line on crucial
:19:07. > :19:10.votes, but in five hours of debates so far today,
:19:11. > :19:13.it is clear that many are deeply It just strikes me as bizarre
:19:14. > :19:26.that we have given up extraordinary influence over a market
:19:27. > :19:28.of 500 million people to sail off to negotiate free-trade
:19:29. > :19:30.deals which will not be But to others Brexit
:19:31. > :19:33.is a liberation. Courtesy of us leaving the EU,
:19:34. > :19:35.sterling has fallen and manufacturing in this country
:19:36. > :19:38.is having a field day as we can see And indeed the factory
:19:39. > :19:44.output orders. But divisions among
:19:45. > :19:46.Conservatives have been dwarfed Many of its MPs are struggling
:19:47. > :19:51.to obey Jeremy Corbyn's order not It is my intention to do what's
:19:52. > :20:05.right by my constituents and by my conscience
:20:06. > :20:06.and whatever that takes. Also I have to think
:20:07. > :20:09.about the Labour Party. The Labour leader could be facing
:20:10. > :20:12.more resignations from his team tonight while Theresa May Seems
:20:13. > :20:31.to have dodged trouble. MPs are about to vote on that issue.
:20:32. > :20:36.Tonight the government is about to clear a massive hurdle, letting the
:20:37. > :20:39.Brexit bill passed with the common unchanged which means when the
:20:40. > :20:43.action moves to the House of Lords and a couple of weeks it will be
:20:44. > :20:47.much harder for them to justify taking it all apart.
:20:48. > :20:49.The government is to close a legal route for unaccompanied child
:20:50. > :20:52.refugees to come to the UK from Europe - after 350
:20:53. > :20:56.Ministers agreed to what's known as the Dubs amendment last year,
:20:57. > :20:58.amid mounting political and public pressure, but didn't set a cap
:20:59. > :21:06.The former entertainer Rolf Harris has been found not guilty
:21:07. > :21:08.of three counts of indecent and sexual assault.
:21:09. > :21:11.A jury at Southwark Crown court was unable to reach verdicts on four
:21:12. > :21:19.The allegations in this trial spanned a 40 year period
:21:20. > :21:36.What happens to him now? The prosecution has already asked for
:21:37. > :21:40.seven days to go and consider whether or not it wants to ask the
:21:41. > :21:43.court whether it can have a retrial on those cars that you just
:21:44. > :21:47.mentioned. Whether juries simply could not reach a verdict. In the
:21:48. > :21:52.meantime Rolf Harris issued a statement in which she thanked the
:21:53. > :21:56.jury for the care and consideration and deliberations and for clearing
:21:57. > :21:59.him of three counts of indecent assault today. Rolf Harris has
:22:00. > :22:07.protested his innocence throughout the trial but he did not walk out of
:22:08. > :22:12.court today a free man. Instead he is heading back to prison because it
:22:13. > :22:14.is there that he is already serving a sentence for indecently assaulting
:22:15. > :22:15.four other women and girls and remember that trial was back in
:22:16. > :22:19.2014. The Tunisian inquest has heard
:22:20. > :22:22.that the gunman who killed 30 Britons could have been stopped
:22:23. > :22:25.but for the negligence of the local Seiffedine Rezgui, an Islamic
:22:26. > :22:28.extremist, was high on drugs and his phone contained instructions
:22:29. > :22:31.on how to maximise casualties during Sarah Campbell reports
:22:32. > :22:37.from Royal Courts of Justice. When he started shooting,
:22:38. > :22:40.armed police were minutes away Holiday-makers stood no chance
:22:41. > :22:47.against the gunman who had both Unchecked, he managed to cover
:22:48. > :22:55.a distance of more than a mile. Walking from the beach,
:22:56. > :23:00.through the hotel, and back again. According to evidence gathered
:23:01. > :23:02.by the Tunisian judge and read out in court today,
:23:03. > :23:05.one of the two Marine guards first on the scene did follow
:23:06. > :23:08.Rezgui to the pool area. The guard had a gun but terrified,
:23:09. > :23:11.he fainted and then hid A police officer said his quad bike
:23:12. > :23:17.was slow and incapable That is why a five-minute journey
:23:18. > :23:22.took over half an hour. And then the inquest heard
:23:23. > :23:25.today there was the head of the tourist police in Sousse,
:23:26. > :23:28.he was in a patrol car with three officers, armour and weapons,
:23:29. > :23:31.just minutes away from the hotel when the call came that
:23:32. > :23:35.the attack had started. But instead of going straight there,
:23:36. > :23:38.he went back to the police headquarters, he said to pick
:23:39. > :23:41.up more weapons. By the time he did get to the hotel,
:23:42. > :23:44.the attack had finished, Every minute been vital -
:23:45. > :23:52.one Tunisian security to intervene amounted
:23:53. > :23:55.to simple cowardice. A Brigadier from the National Guard
:23:56. > :23:58.said the death toll could be traced back to the negligence
:23:59. > :24:00.of first responders. For the families and survivors,
:24:01. > :24:03.today has provided a more detailed picture of the ways
:24:04. > :24:05.in which they and their Sarah Campbell, BBC News,
:24:06. > :24:15.at the Royal Courts of Justice. The comedy scripter Alan Simpson -
:24:16. > :24:18.responsible for co-writing the hits Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe
:24:19. > :24:21.and Sons - has died The Bafta award winner
:24:22. > :24:24.was famous for his writing The pair developed ground breaking
:24:25. > :24:27.sitcoms in the '60s, and wrote for the likes
:24:28. > :24:30.of Frankie Howerd and Peter Sellers. Rebecca Jones looks
:24:31. > :24:35.back at his life. I thought you came here to give
:24:36. > :24:38.us some of your blood! It may be just a smear to you, mate,
:24:39. > :24:44.but it's life and some poor wretch! The work of Alan Simpson
:24:45. > :24:56.and Ray Galton. I don't mind giving a reasonable
:24:57. > :24:58.amount, but a pint! And it had all begun
:24:59. > :25:04.in Milford Chest Hospital. Alan Simpson had met Ray Galton
:25:05. > :25:09.while recovering from TB. They started to write
:25:10. > :25:11.for hospital radio and then sent Eventually they got
:25:12. > :25:16.the attention of a comic. We decided what we would like to do
:25:17. > :25:23.with Tony would be a half-hour. You know, a half-hour,
:25:24. > :25:25.what is now called sitcom but in those days, you know,
:25:26. > :25:27.that was an American We just call them, you know,
:25:28. > :25:32.the half-hour, you know, storyline. Look, you can see it
:25:33. > :25:36.going round in there. After Hancock came a one-off comedy
:25:37. > :25:43.playhouse, The Offer, In the 60s it was so popular the BBC
:25:44. > :25:52.were contacted by the then Labour He was worried the voters
:25:53. > :25:57.wouldn't turn out if it was Harold thought that we wouldn't get
:25:58. > :26:03.a turnout of the Labour voters. He wanted the BBC to put it
:26:04. > :26:08.out after nine o'clock There was a time when their scripts
:26:09. > :26:14.might have lasted a music hall Or as the right wing word
:26:15. > :26:18.jugglers prefer to call it when they are in power,
:26:19. > :26:20.a petty trade recession. Thus avoiding any
:26:21. > :26:23.unpleasant memories... The partnership, apart
:26:24. > :26:25.from one venture in the 90s, was essentially over
:26:26. > :26:28.by the late 70s. It can't be much good if you've
:26:29. > :26:30.done it that quickly! But their brand of comedy, rooted
:26:31. > :26:33.in class and thwarted ambition, I'll be 110 by the time
:26:34. > :26:41.you've finished! Alan Simpson, a pioneer
:26:42. > :26:45.of the British sitcom. The scriptwriter Alan Simpson -
:26:46. > :26:51.who's died at the age of 87. Time for a look at the weather,
:26:52. > :27:06.here's Louise Lear. We're not done with yet. Add to the
:27:07. > :27:11.west we had glorious sunshine today and double digit temperatures but
:27:12. > :27:15.further eased a lot of cloud and nagging easterly wind making you
:27:16. > :27:21.feel really cold. And that wind will win out over the next few days. Cold
:27:22. > :27:25.air driving in some cloud and actually feel. So any showers across
:27:26. > :27:30.the east coast through the night tonight could lead to stop icy
:27:31. > :27:37.patches first thing in the morning. Elsewhere a cold night with a frost
:27:38. > :27:42.brightly as well. We might just see a little glimpse of sunshine further
:27:43. > :27:48.west in the morning but that is not going to last as more cloud moves
:27:49. > :27:53.in. Western fringes clinging onto some sunshine but further eased it
:27:54. > :27:58.is a different story. The wind driving in showers, Jenny wintry
:27:59. > :28:03.across higher ground. It will fall as rain and sleet to the coast but
:28:04. > :28:10.also some wintry flurries to the east of the Pennines and maybe even
:28:11. > :28:14.towards the Home Counties as well. So a cold day across the east, two
:28:15. > :28:22.or three degrees at best. Further west around four, 7 degrees. And it
:28:23. > :28:27.is going to continue to stay cold with some sleet and snow showers
:28:28. > :28:32.pushing further inland Thursday into Friday. Primarily on higher ground
:28:33. > :28:38.but some even perhaps that lower level. Friday is a cold day with the
:28:39. > :28:49.wind really digging in. A lot of cloud and a scattering of showers.
:28:50. > :28:51.So we could see a few centimetres across higher ground but perhaps
:28:52. > :28:52.even at lower levels of light dusting to come as well. Winter not
:28:53. > :28:52.over yet. That's all from the BBC News at Six
:28:53. > :28:54.- so it's goodbye from me -