:00:11. > :00:15.Good evening. As we've been hearing, Tony Benn
:00:16. > :00:19.died today at the age of 88. For 33 years he was an MP in Bristol making
:00:20. > :00:23.an indelible mark on politics and on the city. Today, a book of
:00:24. > :00:27.condolence was opened at City Hall and tributes came from across the
:00:28. > :00:31.West's political spectrum. Tony imprinted on this city and on
:00:32. > :00:41.politics that, actually, it is about people.
:00:42. > :00:44.His compassion and his humanity deeply touched me. He was a
:00:45. > :00:46.political motivator for me `nd what inspired me was his capacitx to
:00:47. > :00:50.organise. He was a wonderful human behng and
:00:51. > :00:55.that is what I will remember him most for.
:00:56. > :00:59.As a politician, you will not get everyone to agree with you, but you
:01:00. > :01:02.can get everyone to respect you I have been out on the doorstdps in
:01:03. > :01:06.Bristol, and even Conservathve supporters have said how proud they
:01:07. > :01:16.are of Tony Benn and his connection to the city. That is the ephtome of
:01:17. > :01:20.an excellent politician. Mr Benn forged his career as an MP
:01:21. > :01:23.in Bristol, where he kept Concorde flying and safeguarded thousands of
:01:24. > :01:26.jobs. As a minister in Labotr governments in the '60s and '70s, he
:01:27. > :01:30.was famous as a passionate socialist who championed workers' rights. Last
:01:31. > :01:36.year, David Garmston met hil for what turned out to be one hhs final
:01:37. > :01:44.interviews. A left wing firebrand. Once his
:01:45. > :01:49.enemies caught him the most dangerous man in Britain. A smoker
:01:50. > :02:00.and tea drinker, old age mellowed him. But Tony Benn was at pdace with
:02:01. > :02:03.himself. A lot of people talk about the left
:02:04. > :02:11.and the right, I have done ht the other way round.
:02:12. > :02:17.He was a very controversial. I represented the city and tr`de union
:02:18. > :02:24.influences. Public school and deeply
:02:25. > :02:29.privileged, he was elected `nd dedicated himself to the working
:02:30. > :02:36.class. But, when his father died, he became a Lord and was free time
:02:37. > :02:40.disbarred from the House of Commons where he campaigned to rid himself
:02:41. > :02:49.of his title. He championed Concorde, because it meant jobs But
:02:50. > :02:57.his attempts to lead Labour tore the party apart. In 1983, he helped
:02:58. > :03:05.draft a radical manifesto, nicknamed the longest suicide note in history,
:03:06. > :03:09.and that ended the Bristol part of his career. I met him last `utumn.
:03:10. > :03:17.He had just finished his final diaries.
:03:18. > :03:23.I do think I am coming to the end of my life. I don't think I am ill I
:03:24. > :03:29.am just winding down. I havd not lost my interest in life, btt my
:03:30. > :03:34.body is wearing itself out. He said that he loved life `nd that
:03:35. > :03:39.he wanted to live to 100, btt we both knew that he probably would
:03:40. > :03:46.not. Dismissed as naive by his critics, he remained hopeful that
:03:47. > :03:52.his values would live on. I would like to be remembered for what I
:03:53. > :03:59.have done and the key thing is to encourage people. If, when H died,
:04:00. > :04:10.people would say that Tony Benn encouraged us, I would think that is
:04:11. > :04:12.the greatest tribute. Patients with serious and tdrminal
:04:13. > :04:15.illnesses could have access to ground`breaking drugs beford they're
:04:16. > :04:18.fully licensed, thanks in p`rt to a campaign by a Gloucestershire man.
:04:19. > :04:22.Les Halpin died from motor neurone disease last year. But he'd fought
:04:23. > :04:25.for the right for patients to have early access to new medicathon and
:04:26. > :04:37.today the Government agreed to change the rules.
:04:38. > :04:40.It was the final day of the Cheltenham Festival today, `n event
:04:41. > :04:42.which has brought around ?50 million into the Gloucestershire economy.
:04:43. > :04:46.There weren't any local winners but one rider from Somerset trahner Paul
:04:47. > :04:50.Nicholls' stables was involved in a bizarre accident. Alistair Durden
:04:51. > :04:54.has been there for us all wdek. It was one of the greatest Gold Cup
:04:55. > :04:57.finishes and, for a long tile, it looked as if Silviniaco Conti would
:04:58. > :05:00.give trainer Paul Nicholls his fourth success in the big r`ce. Back
:05:01. > :05:03.home in Somerset, they were watching nervously.
:05:04. > :05:10.Nervous faces at the Ditche`t stables, could their horse hold on?
:05:11. > :05:19.He was almost there, heading up the famous hill to the winning post
:05:20. > :05:23.Silviniaco Conti was in front. But, with the line in sight, he ran
:05:24. > :05:32.out of steam, having to settle for fourth.
:05:33. > :05:35.It proved to be a tricky dax for the Paul Nicholls camp. Earlier, his top
:05:36. > :05:42.jockey, Daryl Jacob, was injured in a freak accident.
:05:43. > :05:45.I have spoken to him, he has broken his leg, knee and elbow. He will be
:05:46. > :05:49.operated on tomorrow. How sdvere the injuries are, I don't know. He was
:05:50. > :05:53.in fairly good spirits, considering. But talk about a fellow who has been
:05:54. > :06:00.unlucky this week. At least he rode a winner. Unbelievable.
:06:01. > :06:03.But the day belonged to an tnderdog, Lord Windermere. After years of
:06:04. > :06:06.favourites dominating the r`ce, this brought some romance back to the
:06:07. > :06:10.Gold Cup. Some good news for the Irish, but
:06:11. > :06:21.over the week, the English came out on top, down in no small part to
:06:22. > :06:25.West Country trained winners. You can see the full intervhew with
:06:26. > :06:28.Tony Benn on our Facebook p`ge. There's more news on your BBC local
:06:29. > :06:32.radio stations and online. Points West is back with bulletins all over
:06:33. > :06:39.the weekend. But for now here's the weekend weather forecast with Ian.
:06:40. > :06:47.It's looks like a pleasant weekend. They will be some sunshine `round on
:06:48. > :06:53.Saturday. On Sunday, there will be some cloud around. It was that be a
:06:54. > :06:58.mild day, it will be drive through Saturday and Sunday. Another cold
:06:59. > :07:03.night, getting down to five or six Celsius. There will be some cloud
:07:04. > :07:07.around through the first part of Saturday, but equally, therd will be
:07:08. > :07:12.some areas with some sunshine. We will have this mixture throtghout
:07:13. > :07:16.the day, and moderately bredzy day, especially at the coast, but that
:07:17. > :07:23.should take the temperatures of We should get temperatures up to 1
:07:24. > :07:29.Celsius Inland, possibly higher So it will be a similar pattern for
:07:30. > :07:31.Sunday, but there will be more cloud eventually and into next wedk, the
:07:32. > :07:33.high`pressure holds on.