:00:00. > :00:00.Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:00. > :00:09.Half a month's rainfall fell overnight in County Down
:00:10. > :00:12.as Storm Frank brought the worst weather here so far this winter.
:00:13. > :00:15.At one stage more than 200 roads were blocked and around 20,000 homes
:00:16. > :00:16.and businesses were without electricity.
:00:17. > :00:40.High winds and high seas made it a dangerous night. This was along the
:00:41. > :00:46.east. Power cables came down. Hundreds of homes were affected as
:00:47. > :00:52.the storm raged. But that was not the only problem. Many roads were
:00:53. > :00:55.also flooded, including those on the main routes to Belfast International
:00:56. > :01:00.Airport. It happened so quickly that some drivers were caught out, and
:01:01. > :01:05.only realised when it was too late. Ruth McKee was in a cart that got
:01:06. > :01:09.stuck at 6am. She eventually made it to the airport, but the car did not.
:01:10. > :01:15.We were on it before we knew what it was. It was impossible to see it in
:01:16. > :01:19.that dark. It was unimaginable. High winds at the airport meant that more
:01:20. > :01:24.than 1000 passengers were stranded in planes when they arrived in
:01:25. > :01:29.Belfast last night. It was said to be to dangerous for them to walk
:01:30. > :01:36.down the steps. You actually thought that you were still in the air. It
:01:37. > :01:42.was bouncing about. When he went to the toilet is, it was bouncing
:01:43. > :01:50.everywhere. Even when you were on the tarmac?! Yes. This is usually a
:01:51. > :01:55.popular footpath for those walking their dogs. Not today. If you want
:01:56. > :02:00.some idea as to how much rain has been in recent days, just look
:02:01. > :02:07.around at the nearby fields and the nearby river. Most of the province
:02:08. > :02:14.suffered about one inch of rain. We had isolated spots that had two
:02:15. > :02:18.inches of rain, and that is about half of the normal December total.
:02:19. > :02:22.That fell in three hours. Across the border, Cork and Galway have also
:02:23. > :02:27.been badly hit. The Army have been called in to try and limit the
:02:28. > :02:32.damage. The good news is that the worst of the storm has now passed.
:02:33. > :02:40.But everyone using the roads is advised to drive with caution. To 17
:02:41. > :02:49.euros have been Newly released state papers
:02:50. > :02:52.from 1988 show that the Soviet Union asked the British government
:02:53. > :02:53.to investigate the cases More than 600 previously
:02:54. > :02:57.confidential files have been made available at the
:02:58. > :02:58.Public Record Office. Here's our political
:02:59. > :03:15.correspondent Chris Page. in the 1980s, you would have
:03:16. > :03:18.expected British- Soviet summits to focus on the Berlin wall rather than
:03:19. > :03:23.what was going on behind these balls. But 27 years ago, the
:03:24. > :03:27.troubles and the Cold War collided. At a meeting in Moscow, the Soviets
:03:28. > :03:31.claimed that there were more than 400 political prisoners in Northern
:03:32. > :03:36.Ireland. They asked Britain to investigate eight inmates in the
:03:37. > :03:43.maze. The Foreign Secretary was said to be astounded. People recalled
:03:44. > :03:52.Geoffrey Howe's shock and astonishment. It was different from
:03:53. > :03:57.usual human rights cases. It was unusual. The details are revealed in
:03:58. > :04:04.some of the 620 state documents released today. The main thing was
:04:05. > :04:08.how to deal with the dreadful cycle of violence. It was one of the
:04:09. > :04:16.bloodiest times in the conflict. The letter was written to the Foreign
:04:17. > :04:18.Secretary. He said that he would not advocate a British withdrawal from
:04:19. > :04:21.Northern Ireland because he was afraid of civil war. But eventually,
:04:22. > :04:39.the British are going to find ... Sir Alan speculated about Peter
:04:40. > :04:43.Robinson becoming the head of an Austin government that Ulster
:04:44. > :04:44.government. He was the first person to mention Peter Robinson in any
:04:45. > :04:57.context. The Northern Ireland Office policy
:04:58. > :05:01.was to bolster the SDLP. These files paint a picture of a bleak and
:05:02. > :05:05.violent time. Within a few years, the peace process was underweight.
:05:06. > :05:10.The documents provide a valuable insight into the thinking of the
:05:11. > :05:14.time. It also provides a few unsold stories, such as Moscow and the
:05:15. > :05:16.Maze. The Secretary of State will meet
:05:17. > :05:19.Sinn Fein early next month to try to break the deadlock over
:05:20. > :05:22.how to deal with the legacy Theresa Villiers will also meet
:05:23. > :05:25.other political parties Our Home Affairs Correspondent
:05:26. > :05:34.Vincent Kearney reports. History continues to cast a long
:05:35. > :05:37.shadow over politics here. How best to deal with the legacy of the
:05:38. > :05:45.troubles remains highly controversial. The agreement in
:05:46. > :05:49.November did not contain an agreement on the issue, the past was
:05:50. > :05:58.part of something to be dealt with in the future. As a result,
:05:59. > :06:05.per unit was put on hold. The police remain responsible for those
:06:06. > :06:09.investigations. The chief Cartmell has made it clear that he is not
:06:10. > :06:16.happy. The one area of real disappointment for us as the police
:06:17. > :06:20.service, and for many grieving families, is the lack of agreement
:06:21. > :06:25.on dealing with the past. Agreement on legacy issues remain impossible
:06:26. > :06:30.because of disagreements over how much information about the possible
:06:31. > :06:34.be made public. The government wants to retain a veto on some
:06:35. > :06:38.information, because of concerns about national security. Sinn Fein
:06:39. > :06:49.has accused the government of using that as an excuse. The secretary of
:06:50. > :06:55.State plans to meet Sinn Fein next month to aim to break the deadlock.
:06:56. > :07:00.She will also meet victims groups. All involved say they want to deal
:07:01. > :07:03.with the past. But they cannot agree how.
:07:04. > :07:16.After all of the destruction -- disruption with storm Frank, today
:07:17. > :07:22.will be calmer, if a little cooler. We state right until the small
:07:23. > :07:27.hours. That makes it more difficult to treat any icy roads. There's the
:07:28. > :07:30.chance of the odd icy patch by dawn tomorrow. As we had into New Year's
:07:31. > :07:34.Eve, we will start to see some wintry showers as we go through the
:07:35. > :07:38.day. It is going to be a little bit colder than it has been today. Those
:07:39. > :07:45.showers working their way in from the West. The high ground, it will
:07:46. > :07:49.stick -- it will fall as sleet and snow. If we take the wider view, you
:07:50. > :07:55.can see the difference in temperatures. We still have a warm
:07:56. > :08:00.zone. High temperature is of ten to 12 degrees. Some warm air behind it.
:08:01. > :08:05.Across Ireland, as we go through New Year's Eve, and head towards
:08:06. > :08:11.midnight, the showers are continuing for a time. It is going to be a
:08:12. > :08:16.chilly night. Wrap up if you are heading out and about. It is going
:08:17. > :08:21.to be a cold start to the New Year. At least January is going to feel
:08:22. > :08:24.like January, with a frosty start the day, before the rain arrives
:08:25. > :08:29.later. This is the picture you will be waiting up to on Friday morning.
:08:30. > :08:34.Bright and frosty to begin with. Some sunshine through the early part
:08:35. > :08:40.of the day, before the skies start cloud over. We are expecting a few
:08:41. > :08:43.weather systems heading in our direction before the weekend. The
:08:44. > :08:48.weather is going to be pretty unsettled as we had through the next
:08:49. > :08:51.few days, but because the jet stream has shifted, we are drawing some
:08:52. > :08:56.colder air out of the North. The rain will continue over the next few
:08:57. > :08:59.days, which will mean lesser volumes and we have seen of late.