:00:18. > :00:22.Good afternoon. Three children have been killed and two women seriously
:00:22. > :00:24.injured in an accident on the M6 motorway today. It happened just
:00:24. > :00:34.before lunchtime, closing part of the route through Staffordshire in
:00:34. > :00:41.both directions. Judith Moritz reports. These photographs were
:00:41. > :00:47.taken a few minutes after the crash, which happened just before 11:30am.
:00:47. > :00:51.Two air ambulances landed and the car involved is surrounded by
:00:51. > :00:57.ambulances, as emergency workers try to help those inside. The crash
:00:57. > :01:03.happened on the M6 northbound in Staffordshire. The road was closed
:01:03. > :01:09.for nearly five hours, causing long tailbacks. Despite the best efforts
:01:09. > :01:14.of paramedics and a doctor at the roadside, the children - two boys
:01:14. > :01:20.and a girl - were pronounced dead at the scene. Two women were
:01:20. > :01:25.injured and taken to hospital nearby. The car was taken away on a
:01:25. > :01:29.low-loader for further examination. The road has now reopened here, and
:01:29. > :01:33.the police are appealing for information. They want to hear from
:01:33. > :01:36.anyone who saw the crash, which has claimed three young lives on
:01:36. > :01:40.Christmas Day. The Queen has used her Christmas
:01:40. > :01:43.message to reflect on a year of major events in the UK, saying she
:01:43. > :01:45.was humbled by the public's response to her Diamond Jubilee. In
:01:45. > :01:49.her annual broadcast, she's also touched on the Olympics and
:01:49. > :01:53.Paralympics, paying tribute to the athletes and the volunteers. For
:01:53. > :02:03.the first time this year, the speech has been broadcast in 3D.
:02:03. > :02:08.Here's our royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell. Morning service
:02:08. > :02:13.at Sandringham. The royal party, led by the Queen, who missed church
:02:13. > :02:17.on Sunday because of a cold, and the Duke of Edinburgh who missed
:02:17. > :02:21.festivities last year when he was in hospital, both looking fit and
:02:21. > :02:28.well today. Prince Harry is in Afghanistan and the Duke and
:02:28. > :02:33.Duchess of Cambridge were spending the day privately in Berkshire at
:02:33. > :02:37.the Middleton family home. In her Christmas message, the Queen spoke
:02:37. > :02:41.of the year of great celebration, saying the enthusiasm that greeted
:02:41. > :02:47.her Diamond Jubilee had been memorable. It was humbling that so
:02:47. > :02:52.many chose to mark the anniversary of the duty pass to me 60 years ago.
:02:52. > :03:02.She recalled the Thames river pageant, when she was struck by the
:03:02. > :03:02.
:03:02. > :03:08.Fellowship of those taking part. the barges and the bridges and the
:03:08. > :03:12.banks of the river, people on daunted by the rain. There was a
:03:12. > :03:20.tremendous sense of common determination to celebrate,
:03:20. > :03:23.triumphing over the elements. same determination have been
:03:23. > :03:28.evident again, the Queen said, when the Olympic flame had reached
:03:28. > :03:33.Britain. The Olympic flame drew hundreds of thousands of people on
:03:33. > :03:39.its journey around the British Isles. It was carried by it every
:03:39. > :03:44.kind of deserving individual. Queen paid tribute to the athletes
:03:44. > :03:47.who had inspired the nation with their achievements in the Olympics
:03:47. > :03:53.and the Paralympic Games, and a special tribute to the army of
:03:53. > :03:58.volunteers. Those public-spirited people came forward in the great
:03:58. > :04:02.tradition of all those who devote themselves to keeping other people
:04:02. > :04:06.safe and comforted. A as she reflect on this Christmas night,
:04:06. > :04:13.there is certainly a lot for the Queen to look back on with pleasure,
:04:13. > :04:18.and more to look forward to with the birth of a special great
:04:18. > :04:21.grandchild in prospect in 2013. In his Christmas address, the
:04:21. > :04:23.leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has attacked
:04:23. > :04:26.the Government's proposals to introduce gay marriage. The
:04:26. > :04:29.Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the process has been
:04:30. > :04:39.undemocratic and shambolic. Our religious affairs correspondent
:04:40. > :04:45.
:04:45. > :04:49.Robert Piggott reports. With Christmas carols, candles and Holy
:04:49. > :04:55.Communion, Roman Catholics at Westminster Cathedral proclaimed
:04:55. > :04:58.the joy of Christmas. The Archbishop of Westminster used the
:04:58. > :05:04.occasion to criticise the Government's plans for gay marriage.
:05:04. > :05:10.Ministers say no church will have to provide same-sex weddings, the
:05:10. > :05:16.archbishop accused them of behaving in an Orwellian fashion to create a
:05:16. > :05:20.sham version of marriage. There process is shambolic. There was no
:05:20. > :05:25.announcement, no green paper, no statement in the Queen's Speech,
:05:25. > :05:34.and yet here we are on the verge of primary legislation from a
:05:34. > :05:41.democratic point of view it is a shambles. In Rome, Pope Benedict
:05:41. > :05:46.exchanged Christmas greetings with the crowd of thousands. He called
:05:46. > :05:51.for an end to bloodshed in Syria, which he said had not spared the
:05:51. > :05:55.innocent. In his last sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
:05:55. > :05:59.Williams acknowledged that recent census results showed a decline in
:05:59. > :06:04.the proportion of people who identified themselves as Christians.
:06:04. > :06:08.He also conceded the Church had lost credibility by voting not to
:06:08. > :06:13.create women bishops. Rowan Williams have a bearing and
:06:13. > :06:17.presence of a holy man, widely revered by Anglicans, often
:06:17. > :06:20.misunderstood by others. His extraordinary intellect was largely
:06:20. > :06:25.wasted by a church preoccupied by disputes about sexuality. The
:06:25. > :06:29.Church will now look to Justin Welby for hard-nosed leadership to
:06:29. > :06:34.overcome its own divisions and win the respect of an increasingly
:06:34. > :06:39.sceptical society. In his Christmas message, Justin Welby said it was
:06:39. > :06:42.easy to be despondent about the church, but he insisted its work
:06:42. > :06:45.for the poor and depressed revealed its true value.
:06:45. > :06:48.As you heard a moment ago, Prince Harry is not with the royal family
:06:48. > :06:50.this Christmas - instead he's one of the thousands of soldiers
:06:50. > :06:53.celebrating in Afghanistan. Our defence correspondent Jonathan
:06:53. > :07:02.Beale reports now on their Christmas, far from family and
:07:03. > :07:07.loved ones. In Afghanistan, Santa makes his deliveries by military
:07:07. > :07:13.helicopter. Loaded with male and presents for loved ones serving on
:07:13. > :07:17.the front line in remote bases writer cross Helmand. As well as
:07:18. > :07:22.getting on with their everyday tasks, there has been time to make
:07:22. > :07:27.camps feel more like home, making decorations is one way of getting
:07:27. > :07:33.into the Christmas spirit. It is not quite the same. I am a home
:07:33. > :07:38.bird, I like being at home with my mum and my family. What will you
:07:38. > :07:48.miss most about Christmas? Probably sitting on the sofa, eating and
:07:48. > :07:49.
:07:49. > :07:53.opening my present back home. you been good this Christmas?
:07:53. > :07:57.has parcels have reached the front line thousands of miles away from
:07:57. > :08:05.home and it is a boost to morale, as is the traditional Christmas
:08:05. > :08:11.dinner. In Lashkar Gah it was accompanied by a choir. Out here,
:08:11. > :08:15.comrades have become their immediate family. Outside, there is
:08:16. > :08:19.the reason why they are still here, to bring some semblance of
:08:19. > :08:24.stability to Afghanistan and the threat has not gone away. 46
:08:24. > :08:33.British troops have lost their lives this year. We are always very
:08:33. > :08:36.aware of the cost along the way, friends we have lost. Behind the
:08:36. > :08:40.smiles, there is the remembrance and a twinge of sadness that for a
:08:40. > :08:45.lot of people Christmas will not be good this year. Be it might be
:08:45. > :08:50.Christmas, but for many people here it is like any other day, with this
:08:51. > :08:54.patrol going off to train Afghan police. It will beat soon left to
:08:54. > :08:58.them. There is just one more Christmas away from home for