:00:03. > :00:07.Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne
:00:07. > :00:10.Virdee. The headlines tonight. The West Midlands' top policeman
:00:10. > :00:20.denies officers could have done more to prevent the deaths in the
:00:20. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:25.riots. The evidence we received was that police were watching what was
:00:25. > :00:32.happening. By dispute that evidence. As police destroy DNA evidence, a
:00:32. > :00:36.rape victim says everyone's DNA should go on a national database.
:00:36. > :00:44.That would act as a real deterrent to people committing crime.
:00:44. > :00:47.How the debt crisis in the eurozone is hitting businesses hard. We were
:00:47. > :00:50.selling our higher-margin items in Europe and they have decreased
:00:50. > :00:54.significantly. And so near yet so far for
:00:54. > :01:02.Warwickshire, as they miss out on the title in the final hour of the
:01:02. > :01:06.season. Good evening and welcome to
:01:06. > :01:09.Thursday's Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight - the Chief Constable
:01:09. > :01:12.of West Midlands Police has denied his officers could have done more
:01:12. > :01:17.to prevent the deaths of three people during the Birmingham riots.
:01:17. > :01:19.Chris Sims was giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.
:01:19. > :01:23.In a tense exchange he also rejected criticism that his
:01:23. > :01:27.officers had been absent from many areas during the riots. Cath Mackie
:01:27. > :01:29.reports on how the police response to the rioting came under scrutiny
:01:29. > :01:33.today. He's already faced tough
:01:33. > :01:36.questioning from the public and the press. Today it was the turn of MPs
:01:36. > :01:45.to cross-examine the West Midlands Chief Constable, Chris Sims, about
:01:45. > :01:49.how his force dealt with the riots. And it was no easy ride. People
:01:49. > :01:53.died in Birmingham. There were individuals who would protect their
:01:53. > :01:56.own shores because the police were not there and the evidence we
:01:56. > :02:01.received was that police were watching what was happening.
:02:01. > :02:08.dispute that evidence of police watching. By the end of the first
:02:08. > :02:13.evening, we had arrested 130 people. By the end of the evening that had
:02:13. > :02:16.more than doubled. Those arrests do not happen by police watching.
:02:16. > :02:25.far, 622 arrests have been made, and with CCTV footage still being
:02:25. > :02:30.examined, he warned many, many more would follow. People who run
:02:30. > :02:34.faltered who have not been in court should not be petrified. They will
:02:34. > :02:38.have seen the media scapegoating that is going on, they will see
:02:38. > :02:44.people being sentenced to two years for stealing a �1 a bottle of water
:02:44. > :02:47.or a waste basket. A device and currency an organisation like us.
:02:47. > :02:54.At Westminster, much was made of the importance of neighbourhood
:02:54. > :02:58.policing and maintaining community relations. I have never, in all my
:02:58. > :03:04.30 years, had so many people physically stop me and say thank
:03:04. > :03:08.you. We have had outpourings of all sorts of caves and things. It has
:03:08. > :03:12.been humbling. This inquiry is hoping to learn the lessons of the
:03:12. > :03:15.summer riots. Clearly the role of the police is a key part of that.
:03:15. > :03:17.But so too it seems is the role of social networking sites.
:03:17. > :03:23.Representatives of Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry answered
:03:23. > :03:28.claims that social networking spread disorder. Do you accept part
:03:28. > :03:33.of the responsibility for what has happened? Now, the vast majority of
:03:34. > :03:38.people abide by the law and thews social media systems as a force for
:03:38. > :03:43.good. This huge array of information, much of which is
:03:43. > :03:48.obviously false, watching -- work but how you make good use of that
:03:48. > :03:51.is an issue for all forces in the country. The irony is these riots
:03:51. > :03:54.are the first in history where instant messaging gave police more
:03:54. > :03:57.information than ever before. The challenge now is sifting through
:03:57. > :04:01.that mass of data and adapting conventional policing to the
:04:01. > :04:06.internet age. We're joined now by Professor Craig
:04:06. > :04:10.Jackson, a criminal pyschologist from Birmingham City University.
:04:10. > :04:20.2,000 DNA samples taken during the hunt for the killer of a Birmingham
:04:20. > :04:22.
:04:22. > :04:27.What is Yorkshire won the role of social media? The evidence I have
:04:27. > :04:32.seen is that most social media activity at the time was either
:04:32. > :04:37.people condemning the riots or, on a more proactive powerful, the
:04:37. > :04:42.social media into Birmingham would use it to tell people where to
:04:42. > :04:47.avoid a way not to go. But there were some people putting on silly
:04:47. > :04:51.messages about letters have arrived here. Absolutely. There were a
:04:51. > :04:55.small number of people make it difficult for police and they were
:04:55. > :05:01.joined it in the fund. I did in many of them had a genuine
:05:01. > :05:04.intention to ride. We have to remember that the police and
:05:04. > :05:09.intelligence services will have been wandering activity right from
:05:09. > :05:14.the death a few days before in London. It would not have come
:05:14. > :05:19.surprised to them. They were not taken unawares. How do people clamp
:05:19. > :05:25.down on this? Do we shut down the networks? Are they not to blame at
:05:25. > :05:31.all? I think that is incredibly tricky. We saw from the amount of
:05:31. > :05:41.good work done, particularly with Twitter. Kid you closer then down,
:05:41. > :05:42.
:05:42. > :05:47.the good work will be undone as well so it is a delicate balance.
:05:47. > :05:52.20021000 DNA samples taken during a hunt for a killer of a Birmingham
:05:52. > :05:55.taxi driver have gone up in smoke. Police were fulfilling a promise to
:05:55. > :05:58.destroy samples given voluntarily during a murder inquiry. But the
:05:58. > :06:01.victim in an infamous rape case said today she's disappointed the
:06:02. > :06:04.DNA was destroyed. Jill Saward says everyone should be on a national
:06:04. > :06:08.database, as Joanne Writtle reports. They were incinerated following a
:06:08. > :06:18.pledge to men in Kings Heath who gave DNA voluntarily that their
:06:18. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:29.samples would be destroyed when someone was convicted.
:06:30. > :06:33.In line with the promises that we gave him 2009, today it is to
:06:33. > :06:38.insure that all those samples that people gave voluntarily are
:06:38. > :06:41.destroyed safely and do not monitored on any databases or
:06:41. > :06:44.stored anywhere else. Six million people are currently on a national
:06:44. > :06:47.DNA database, largely those arrested and detained at a police
:06:47. > :06:51.station. But the victim of the horrific Ealing vicarage rape in
:06:51. > :06:55.London 25 years ago, who waived her right to anonymity, says it should
:06:55. > :07:03.go further. Jill Saward, who now lives in Cannock, believes everyone
:07:03. > :07:07.should be on a national DNA database from birth. But I think it
:07:07. > :07:11.is very sad that the police have got to destroy it. I understand
:07:11. > :07:15.that having made the promise they have to stick by it but I think it
:07:15. > :07:21.is sad because it is a waste of time and money and I think it works
:07:21. > :07:24.against justice. It is a good day for offenders. What we need is a
:07:24. > :07:29.national database and then everyone is on it irrespective of who they
:07:29. > :07:33.are what they have done. That takes away all these oddments that people
:07:33. > :07:36.have got and the fear they have. But an expert who advises the
:07:36. > :07:43.government on the national DNA database disagrees. He has other
:07:43. > :07:46.concerns about DNA destruction too. I think it looks good for the TV
:07:46. > :07:51.but there are still major concerns about what they really mean when
:07:51. > :07:56.they say they destroyed a sample. There are a number of databases,
:07:56. > :08:00.the physical sample and the paper trail, so we need to be clear about
:08:00. > :08:07.what exactly it is they have done and how will impact on the way the
:08:07. > :08:12.police handled DNA. The samples were burned at a secure location.
:08:12. > :08:17.The debate over a National DNA Database is a controversial one but
:08:17. > :08:22.today police said they were fulfilling an assurance given to
:08:22. > :08:32.people who provided DNA during a murder investigation that the
:08:32. > :08:32.
:08:32. > :08:35.samples would be turned to ash. The debt crisis in Europe is having a
:08:35. > :08:38.profound effect on businesses in the West Midlands. Europe is one of
:08:38. > :08:40.this region's biggest export markets. But business leaders say
:08:40. > :08:43.many firms are already seeing reductions in demand from the
:08:43. > :08:50.eurozone and shrinking order books. Here's our business correspondent,
:08:50. > :08:54.Peter Plisner. It is a crisis like no other and
:08:54. > :08:57.the impact of the meltdown in Europe is being felt here. At world
:08:57. > :09:06.famous ACME Whistles, exports to Europe were going really well, and
:09:06. > :09:11.then. Suddenly, in June, when the first murmurings came along, we had
:09:11. > :09:18.a 25% fall in this thing with Europe, just Europe, and that trend
:09:18. > :09:21.has continued through July and August. We were selling a lot of
:09:21. > :09:24.power higher margin by Tintin Europe and sales of those have
:09:24. > :09:27.decreased significantly. And ACME aren't alone. According to the
:09:27. > :09:34.Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, more and more of its members are
:09:34. > :09:38.seeing a downturn. The most immediate impact is a lack of
:09:38. > :09:43.confidence which then leads to a lack of sales. It can affect the
:09:43. > :09:46.ability to do business, the ability to fulfil orders in the future.
:09:46. > :09:50.Europe's one of the region's biggest export markets. Last year
:09:50. > :09:52.worth more than �8 billion. And some of that money's coming to this
:09:53. > :09:56.Worcester firm that makes latches and hinges. Despite the crisis,
:09:56. > :10:05.management are reporting continue growth in Europe and they are still
:10:05. > :10:09.recruiting staff. We focus grow much on the premium products. We
:10:09. > :10:13.focus on any she's such a growing and it is a focus of our business
:10:13. > :10:17.to make sure we are working with companies who was still growing.
:10:17. > :10:21.Some of the product made him go into some of the most expensive
:10:21. > :10:25.luxury cars, just the sort of things that people stop buying
:10:26. > :10:30.during a recession. But this company has survived and the
:10:30. > :10:35.lessons learnt are being applied to have a deal with issues relating to
:10:35. > :10:38.the crisis in the eurozone. We make cuts in the business had to a lot
:10:38. > :10:43.of tight cost control and we got better at that and have had to
:10:43. > :10:46.maintain it. It does make us stronger. But not all companies are
:10:46. > :10:50.so lucky. After such a severe recession, many had hoped the worst
:10:50. > :10:52.was over - but for those who trade with Europe it's still a worrying
:10:52. > :10:55.time. Staying with the economy, a study
:10:55. > :10:58.from the University of Birmingham has shown fewer than half its
:10:58. > :11:01.engineering students end up in engineering jobs. That's despite
:11:01. > :11:04.repeated complaints from employers about the shortage of skilled
:11:04. > :11:07.workers. Bob Hockenhull's been investigating.
:11:07. > :11:11.The Midlands has long been heralded as the country's manufacturing
:11:11. > :11:14.heart. But research by the University of Birmingham found 53%
:11:14. > :11:24.of engineering students get jobs in unrelated industries when they
:11:24. > :11:26.
:11:26. > :11:30.graduate. The study suggests it is not automatic that qualified
:11:30. > :11:34.engineers from universities will get a job in engineering and that
:11:34. > :11:37.is despite the perceived shortage. Take Greg White, he graduated in
:11:37. > :11:43.computer and electrical engineering. But his job is running a property
:11:43. > :11:47.letting company. The business started in 2007, has a turnover of
:11:47. > :11:53.�300,000, but has nothing to do with engineering. But what of those
:11:53. > :11:59.who stay in the field that they've studied? Completely unrelated.
:11:59. > :12:03.Although there are things like logic that took come useful, it was
:12:03. > :12:06.purely an opportunity at the time. What of those who stay in the field
:12:06. > :12:09.they studied? Muhammad Eesa did a chemical engineering degree and is
:12:09. > :12:16.now a design engineer in Telford. He believes some engineering
:12:16. > :12:21.courses don't adequately prepare students for high-skilled jobs.
:12:21. > :12:25.chemical engineering graduate end up with very little knowledge of
:12:25. > :12:30.deep chemistry. What I think is needed is more focused on science
:12:30. > :12:33.as well as engineering. Muhammed is working on a project that could
:12:33. > :12:39.double the turnover of this business. His boss says he
:12:39. > :12:43.struggled to find someone with the right aptitude. I think it is a
:12:43. > :12:49.crying shame. We have a lot of talent in this country and it goes
:12:49. > :12:52.to waste. Un for Italy, Engineering is not a sexy subject any more.
:12:52. > :12:54.what can we do about it? Richard Halstead is an electrical
:12:54. > :12:56.engineering graduate who is now director of the region's
:12:56. > :13:05.Engineering Employers Federation. He believes the profession needs
:13:05. > :13:09.more respect. If we look at Germany, for example, engineers over there
:13:09. > :13:13.are proud to put it next to their name and the profession is seen as
:13:13. > :13:16.a profession. Here, though, many feel there's a way to go before
:13:16. > :13:17.engineering is treated with the esteem they believe the profession
:13:17. > :13:20.deserves. Well yesterday's unemployment
:13:20. > :13:23.figures were pretty grim and research shows a quarter of
:13:23. > :13:27.graduates in the West Midlands still haven't found a full-time job
:13:27. > :13:30.3.5 years after finishing university. We're joined by Hannah
:13:30. > :13:39.Moran from Birmingham, who's still looking for a job, since gaining a
:13:39. > :13:48.business studies degree in 2009. You've applied for at least 80
:13:48. > :13:54.posts but no luck, what sort of jobs are you trying to get? When I
:13:54. > :13:59.do get responses, it tends to be automated e-mail responses which
:13:59. > :14:04.sake if you're not contacted within this time frame police consider
:14:04. > :14:07.yourself as unsuccessful. It must be really demoralising. It can
:14:07. > :14:11.become too motivating but as soon as you have the breakthrough when
:14:11. > :14:18.you have a telephone interview or a face-to-face interview you get the
:14:18. > :14:22.spirit back. Do you Know What You Want to do? I'm not 100% sure.
:14:22. > :14:27.Business Studies was quite put so I have applied to both marketing and
:14:27. > :14:30.finance job. If someone was watching now I am thinking that
:14:30. > :14:34.Hannah is a bright cookie and we might imply, or would you say?
:14:34. > :14:41.would say that I am a bright cookie and that I work very hard and I am
:14:41. > :14:44.passionate. Why do think it has taken so long? I have been going
:14:44. > :14:50.through job size at everyone else goes through, and recruitment
:14:50. > :14:54.agencies, I should be targeting companies individually. We wish to
:14:54. > :14:58.the very best of luck. Cadbury's new owners, Kraft, have announced
:14:58. > :15:01.they're creating 100 new jobs in the UK. Just over half the jobs
:15:01. > :15:05.will be in Birmingham. 54 new research and development staff will
:15:05. > :15:08.be based at Bournville as part of a plan to introduce new products and
:15:08. > :15:12.develop existing ones. A soldier from Shropshire has been
:15:12. > :15:15.killed at a military firing range in Kent. 21-year-old Fusilier Dean
:15:15. > :15:19.Griffiths from the First Batallion the Royal Welsh was from Market
:15:19. > :15:23.Drayton. An investigation has been launched into the circumstances
:15:23. > :15:26.surrounding his death. The owner of one of Birmingham's
:15:26. > :15:29.most iconic buildings has won a legal battle with an investor who
:15:29. > :15:34.bought an apartment but then refused to complete after it lost
:15:34. > :15:37.value in the economic downturn. Noel Hand was one of 26 investors
:15:37. > :15:41.out of a total of 130 who bought apartments off-plan at The Cube in
:15:41. > :15:44.2006. They claimed the value of the apartments had fallen so much they
:15:44. > :15:48.were no longer able to secure finance and blamed developers for
:15:48. > :15:51.finishing them later than expected. But a High Court judge found in
:15:51. > :15:52.favour of the developers, saying the flats were only a few months
:15:52. > :15:55.late. Scientists in Birmingham have
:15:56. > :15:59.developed a new test to identify a cancer that is notoriously
:15:59. > :16:02.difficult to diagnose. It's cancer of the adrenal gland which produces
:16:02. > :16:04.adrenalin. There are now hopes the test can be marketed around the
:16:04. > :16:08.world. Our health correspondent, Michele Paduano, reports.
:16:08. > :16:12.Richard Owen is coming back to see the test he helped develop. The 50-
:16:12. > :16:15.year-old from Solihull woke up one day and noticed a lump. He hadn't
:16:15. > :16:19.been ill. Doctors removed the tumour, but it wasn't until it
:16:19. > :16:27.spread to his lungs that he was told that it was cancer. That
:16:27. > :16:31.should change. The work is also of great Philae to me because for me
:16:31. > :16:37.in the future it will mean fewer scans, less radiation, less machine
:16:37. > :16:41.time taken up by me. A simple test like this will be invaluable.
:16:41. > :16:44.Scanning has been the normal way of finding adrenal tumours because
:16:45. > :16:48.they lie deep in the body and there are no symptoms. But doctors need
:16:48. > :16:51.to know which ones are safe to leave and which ones aren't. With a
:16:51. > :16:54.�1 million grant from the Medical Research Council, scientists
:16:54. > :17:01.analysed the urine of patients with adrenal cancer and found steroid
:17:01. > :17:05.markers that were in common. The test can now be done in minutes.
:17:06. > :17:09.When the tumour is taken out we need to be sure that it is Miliband
:17:09. > :17:15.because if we know it is cancer became given special treatment to
:17:15. > :17:20.try to prevent it from coming back -- predicament. There is an
:17:20. > :17:24.economic benefit. Birmingham University has formed a joint
:17:25. > :17:29.venture company so that they can develop the test. This is a prime
:17:29. > :17:33.example of scientific development bringing money and Employment to
:17:33. > :17:37.the region. Richard Owen is about to run a half marathon. He is happy
:17:37. > :17:39.in the knowledge that if his cancer comes back, they should detect it
:17:39. > :17:42.early. Still ahead for you tonight, what
:17:42. > :17:46.effect will 12 months of extreme weather have on harvest yields for
:17:46. > :17:50.farmers and on food prices? And no extremes this week but after today,
:17:50. > :17:56.if you're hankering after a bit of rain, you never know - you might be
:17:56. > :18:00.Cricket now and there's been huge disappointment for Warwickshire
:18:00. > :18:03.today after they failed to win the County Championship title. The
:18:03. > :18:06.Bears needed to beat Hampshire at the Rose Bowl to be crowned
:18:06. > :18:10.champions and went into the final day needing to take just seven
:18:10. > :18:13.Hampshire wickets. But the home side - who were relegated from the
:18:13. > :18:17.first division yesterday - had other ideas. Nadine Towell reports
:18:17. > :18:19.on a tense and ultimately frustrating day for the Bears.
:18:19. > :18:22.As play got under way in Southampton today, the overwhelming
:18:22. > :18:26.feeling was that the County Championship title was in
:18:26. > :18:29.Warwickshire's hands. The Bear's director of cricket, Ashley Giles,
:18:29. > :18:34.must surely have been expecting his cup would later be filled with
:18:34. > :18:39.champagne. But Hampshire spoiled Warwickshire's party with a
:18:39. > :18:42.tremendous batting display. By lunchtime the vultures - or would
:18:42. > :18:45.that be hawks - were circling. In Somerset, the other title
:18:45. > :18:52.contenders, Lancashire, were left with an afternoon run chase while
:18:52. > :18:55.Warwickshire could only watch and wait. The Bears called an early
:18:55. > :18:59.halt to their match - an honourable draw from a Hampshire perspective.
:18:59. > :19:02.But Lancashire held their nerve and scored their winning runs with time
:19:02. > :19:05.to spare. Once the dust settles, Warwickshire may well conclude they
:19:05. > :19:11.have had an excellent season. But this evening their dreams of
:19:11. > :19:15.Championship glory have been crushed.
:19:15. > :19:24.With us now is the former Warwickshire batsman David Hemp. So
:19:24. > :19:29.near, yet so far, players must feel pretty low? It will be
:19:29. > :19:33.disappointing. Having lost finals myself, the changing room will be
:19:34. > :19:40.dejected at the moment. People realise it is the Convent of seven
:19:40. > :19:43.to eight months of hard work. It start back in November. They have
:19:43. > :19:49.done really well though. The emphasis was more Durham and
:19:49. > :19:51.Lancashire and they have crept back. It was. I think they had
:19:51. > :19:55.disappointment in the one-day cricket as well so they have done
:19:55. > :19:59.well to progress in the four-day competition. Having gone in this
:19:59. > :20:04.morning haven't got the three was his last night they will be very
:20:04. > :20:13.optimistic. What to put their success down to? The bowling has
:20:13. > :20:19.been terrific,. I think it is a combination of things. Wickets Wise,
:20:19. > :20:24.three players have got over 50 wickets, which is important. They
:20:24. > :20:29.have not just relied on one or two batsmen. Players have chipped in
:20:29. > :20:33.with 700 or 800 runs, and it makes a difference. They will be really
:20:33. > :20:38.disappointed but a thing when they sit back and analyse it, go back a
:20:39. > :20:44.year, they won at hunter to stay in Division One. The briefly, can they
:20:44. > :20:53.do it next time? They will be looking to put things right that
:20:53. > :20:59.did not go so well this year but they should be up to it. It is
:20:59. > :21:06.goalless at half-time in Stoke City's match in the group stages of
:21:06. > :21:16.the Europa League. They were under pressure early on
:21:16. > :21:20.
:21:20. > :21:24.against five Alex. -- Dynamo Kiev. Birmingham City are also involved
:21:24. > :21:27.in the Europa League and they kick off in just over an hour in their
:21:27. > :21:30.first group match. Their reward for beating Nacional in the qualifying
:21:30. > :21:33.round is a home game this evening against another Portuguese side, SC
:21:33. > :21:40.Braga. The visitors were last season's beaten Europa League
:21:40. > :21:44.finalists. They did very well last season so we have no illusions
:21:44. > :21:51.about how difficult it will be. But we have great players as well and
:21:51. > :21:56.have we can play the game to our strengths, moving the ball and pass
:21:56. > :21:59.me quickly, we feel we can achieve a result. And you can hear
:21:59. > :22:04.commentary of the second half between Dynamo Kiev and Stoke City
:22:04. > :22:07.over on BBC Radio Stoke. And from seven o'clock, there will be live
:22:07. > :22:10.commentary on BBC WM of Birmingham City's home game against Braga.
:22:10. > :22:14.With autumn around the corner, farmers are now starting to plough
:22:14. > :22:18.their fields ready to plant next year's crops. We're also starting
:22:18. > :22:22.to get an idea of what impact the last 12 months of extreme weather
:22:22. > :22:28.has had on yields and on the price of food we buy. Our environment
:22:28. > :22:34.correspondent, David Gregory, joins us now from Warwickshire. But the
:22:34. > :22:39.good or bad year for farmers? Well, good and bad. We are here in
:22:39. > :22:43.Sherborne, guests of the Forest of Arden agricultural society who have
:22:43. > :22:48.been hosting the applying competition. We have had to borrow
:22:48. > :22:50.the generator can there be a tend to keep our satellite going! They
:22:51. > :22:55.plying match is a really good chance for farmers to gather and
:22:55. > :22:59.take stock and look back and see how harvest has gone and see what
:22:59. > :23:03.lessons can be learned. People want to know what effect 12 months of
:23:03. > :23:06.extreme weather has had a on something as vital as our wheat
:23:06. > :23:12.harvest. This is the 63rd annual plying
:23:12. > :23:16.match held by the society. Classes range from shire horses up to the
:23:16. > :23:23.modern tractor. For a group of farmers, the talk of harvest is
:23:23. > :23:30.upbeat. In this area, farmers are satisfied. Good quality and average
:23:30. > :23:35.yields, I think. Satisfied, that is the closest I have heard a farmer
:23:35. > :23:40.come to being excited! For definite figures, we need go a few miles
:23:40. > :23:44.down the road. The headquarters of the National for Ms union, near
:23:44. > :23:50.Coventry, enter the experts who have been tracking how well crops
:23:50. > :23:53.up performed after what has been quite a jerk. From the start of the
:23:53. > :23:56.autumn last year with quite wet conditions in the planting season
:23:56. > :24:02.which was then followed by a horrendous snow which lasted far
:24:02. > :24:05.longer than farmers here I'd used to. Then it did not win very much
:24:05. > :24:09.Tring has been so they were nervous and whirring they would not have
:24:09. > :24:14.much cropper. By the time the summer came around, it cool down so
:24:14. > :24:18.the crop development slowed down which improved the yield but it
:24:18. > :24:23.made harvesting more challenging. At all this, how have things turned
:24:23. > :24:29.out? It has been a year off fluctuations both in the market and
:24:29. > :24:34.in the weather. They were very nervous back in early June. But
:24:34. > :24:39.they tend dead have an excellent harvest. But, as ever, it is swings
:24:39. > :24:43.and roundabouts in farming. At the end of all that, what does
:24:43. > :24:48.this mean for the price of food that we are going to be buying?
:24:48. > :24:53.It is swings and roundabouts, so although the wheat prices good for
:24:53. > :25:00.farmers, Thomas you have, for example, they have pigs, they feed
:25:00. > :25:02.it to the pigs, said the prize of cure say chicken Berger or pork in
:25:02. > :25:09.at that may be going up the next few months.
:25:09. > :25:12.But it is good news for farmers? It is. The NFU says yields here in
:25:12. > :25:17.the Midlands are better in the Midlands and elsewhere in the
:25:17. > :25:21.country. With global we price is quite high that is good. Farmers
:25:21. > :25:25.say that to protect next year's crop they will take the money and
:25:25. > :25:33.invest it in the farm, so perhaps better irrigation and better
:25:33. > :25:38.drainage to cope with all these extreme weather events.
:25:38. > :25:44.It looked like a balmy summer evening there. Is that bit
:25:44. > :25:49.High pressure definitely evident today - pleasantly warm and sunny
:25:49. > :25:52.this afternoon after a very cold start. Temperatures last night fell
:25:52. > :26:02.as low as around 2 Celsius in Pershore - the south and southwest
:26:02. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:06.of the region fairing the worst as far as cold went.. You can see from
:26:06. > :26:10.tonight, the early stages, the formation of a large area of low
:26:10. > :26:13.pressure to the North towards the weekend. I've seen worse, but it's
:26:13. > :26:17.enough to whip up the winds to a heightened state through Saturday
:26:17. > :26:21.and Sunday. And as it comes complete with a front, the result
:26:21. > :26:24.will be a few blustery showers Now tonight - any clear spells are
:26:24. > :26:34.quickly going to give way to incoming cloud from the West and so
:26:34. > :26:45.
:26:45. > :26:51.that'll stop it getting too cold Temperatures of nine and ten in
:26:51. > :26:54.rural parts. More like 12 or 13 in built-up areas. A bit of drizzle
:26:54. > :27:04.then towards the end of the night but becoming more widespread
:27:04. > :27:06.
:27:06. > :27:09.through the weekend with gusts of upto 40 mph. There will be some
:27:09. > :27:13.bright intervals in between and although we have the cloud,
:27:13. > :27:19.temperatures rise to 19 Celsius tomorrow so slightly warmer than
:27:19. > :27:22.A look at tonight's main headlines: Jubilant scenes in Libya as David
:27:22. > :27:30.Cameron and France's President Sarkozy become the first western
:27:30. > :27:33.leaders to visit since Gaddafi was ousted. And the West Midlands' top