after the lorry attack on christmas shoppers in berlin left 12 people dead. vigils to those who died, as officers are said to have found a tunisian identity document in the lorry. in london, extra security measures including for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace. million mare property developer peter morgan is found guilty of murdering his escort girlfriend georgina simons. murdering his escort girlfriend georgina simons. in mexico, at least 29 people are killed and many more injured after a huge explosion at a fireworks market. a european court ruling preventing the government retaining internet data, under a law critics describe as a "snoopers charter", is to be challenged by the home office. the number of victims of historical child sex abuse in football has grown — 155 suspects are being investigated after 400 people alleged they're victims. good afternoon and

welcome to bbc news. reports from germany say police investigating the attack on a christmas market in berlin on monday are now hunting for a tunisian man. officers are said to have found an identity document in the lorry that was driven into a crowd of shoppers. an operation is said to be underway in the north rhine—westphalia state. our crrespondent robert hall is in berlin. aire property developer peter morgan is found guilty of murdering his escort girlfriend georgina simons. yes, the scene here still sealed off by police, as investigations continue, but in this hour, we bring you news of a widening police operation, which has moved to north—west germany, to a town near the dutch border. what appears to

have led police there, and we need to treat this with caution because we are basing this on media reports, is the news that they are specifically hunting and you have touched on it, a tunisian man, 2a—year—old, known only as anis a. he is from a region called tataouine which is close to the libyan border in north africa. we believe, police press reports are suggesting, that this trail has started because documents relating to the tunisian man were found new the cab of the lorry which followed this road into the christmas market on monday night. documents which may well relate to asylum status, this man is said to have applied for asylum in germany earlier in year. —— this year. other press reports are suggesting he was known to police already, that he was wanted for an alleged assault charge, but that he disappeared before he could be detained. he is described as

extremely dangerous. so that is the developing situation both here and in north—west germany, let us turn now briefly, to other matters relate to the brutal attack on monday night. in particular, to those still injured in hospital. earlier, today, the german president visited the hospital and he spoke to journalists outside. translation: now, just before the christmas holidays, the fate of these victims is especially moving. this attack on innocent people, this attack on our way of life. we will a nswer attack on our way of life. we will answer this with a readiness to help, with human contact, with sympathy, by being there for others. so what of the condition of the patients still in hospital? the hospital spokesman a little later

gave what detail that he could. in the hospital there have been 13 patient, one is dismissed, eight of them are heavily injured, two of them are heavily injured, two of them died, and we have now, here in this hospital, four patients with severe trauma of the lower extremities. and the pelvis. in light of the potential danger to members of the public, security here at the christmas market in berlin, here and in the 50 or so other markets across the city has been tightened up, we are hearing of bag searches, in other towns of concrete blocks being put in place around festive events that might be a target. again, earlier this morning, another press conference, a spokesman for the berlin police said, gave us some idea of what

extra measures were being put in place to protect the public. translation: berlin police has checked security measures again, we are going to increase police security at christmas markets but also at other events, in addition to this, policemen are going to visibly wear machine guns and we are also going to set up technical measure, road block, in order to add more security to some places. there is a sense of sombreness here, there is a sense that people are coming together, to feeling a sense of solidarity in the face of what has happened. all round us here, in fa ct if has happened. all round us here, in fact if i could get the cameraman to pan across, you can see one fact if i could get the cameraman to pan across, you can see one of fact if i could get the cameraman to pan across, you can see one of the shrines that have been laid out round the site of the attack on monday. it is symbolic, it is way for the city to share its sympathy for the city to share its sympathy for those who suffered so much.

catriona renton has been looking at i events over night and into today. night and into today. this had been a place filled with festive joy. now, silence and sadness, as people come together to support each other. members of berlin's muslim community stood outside the nearby church, asking for peace. translation: we want to clearly distance ourselves from every person that attacks our society. germany is our home. we love germany, we want to live here. berlin is our city, and we won't allow our life to be threatened. it is still not known who crashed this lorry, or where they are. this was the immediate aftermath. 12 people were killed, dozens more injured, when the christmas market was attacked on monday evening. fabrizia di lorenzo's family in italy fear she may be one of those who died. in italy fear she may be the lorry itself is key to the investigation. it appears it was hijacked.

it's owned by a polish man. he said his cousin, lukasz urban, should have been at the wheel. he was found shot dead in the passenger seat. police had arrested a man from pakistan who came to germany to seek asylum earlier this year. he was released without charge. the so—called islamic state group claimed the attack, but the person or people behind it are still at large. the director of the bnd, the german security service, warned only two or three weeks' ago that the christmas markets would be a likely target, and it was necessary to be vigilant, so it wasn't as if they hadn't thought this through. the area where this attack took place is not difficult to block off to traffic during a market. it is surprising to me that anyone could get a lorry that close, a big 25 tonne lorry. it looks as if the german police and security services were somewhat slow. last night, berlin's brandenburg gate was lit up

in the colours of the german flag. the city's mayor has urged residents to be vigilant, but not lock themselves in their homes while the search for whoever did this continues. catriona renton, bbc news. just to recap on the developing tory in the last couple of hours, this press reports of a major police operation taking place in a town called kleve, that is in north—west germany close to the dutch border. it is thought and it hasn't been confirmed by police to centre on the search for a tunisian man, known in the press as anis a. it is said that documents relating to him were found in the cab of the lorry that was involved in this attack. now, we wait for news from the police, some sort official confirmation of this development, and obviously, once we get that we

will bring it to you. thank you robert. we will be speaking to a security expert in germany shortly, just to tell you as well, that according to the federation of festival organisers the christmas market the scene of the christmas market the scene of the attack is going to re—open tomorrow, just three days after the attack, all other christmas markets in the capital did open again today, they were closed yesterday, as, out of respect for the victims, and across the country other christmas markets were kept open but there has been heightened security, but of course the market that was attacked has been closed. it is going to re—open tomorrow, we are hearing, the message from politicians has been that clearly people will be afraid, but it is important not to give into fear. afraid, but it is important not to give into fear. in london, scotland yard is bringing forward extra security measures for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace, because of the berlin attack. roads around the palace have now been closed for the ceremony. the restrictions are being introduced sooner than planned, but police say the change

is "a precautionary measure" for the next three months, and is not based on any specific intelligence. our correspondent, richard lister, is outside buckingham palace. tell us more about the change, richard? yes, the changing in the guard ceremony is still going on the other side of the case there outside buckingham palace, it starts between 11, 11.30. buckingham palace, it starts between 11,11.30. it will go on for about another 20 minutes or so. as you can see large crowds are here, there have been hundreds of people here for the last couple of hours or so, which isjust like for the last couple of hours or so, which is just like any other morning that the guard is changed. that happens every other day at this time of year. what is different this changing of the guard ceremony today, is that there is far less traffic than there would usually be. there are always some traffic restrictions at this time of day because of the ceremony, thousand it is being kept much further back,

down constitution hill, and at the other end by the mall and behind me, the road access to buckingham palace there. so does that make people safe ? there. so does that make people safe? that is what we asked people come together see the ceremony today. we were a bit iffy. we spoke about it, but you can't let them win, can you? so everybody‘s here today, i suppose, is in support of what's happened out there at the moment, but it's not going to stop us going anywhere. you should not be afraid of any terrorist at all, so we are going to do what we like to do. very safe. because the policemen are every where, so yes. does it put you off coming here today? no. we just arrived here today. not at all. we came from paris everything's fine. we are here from new zealand, so we were going to come regardless. you have to carry on life, don't you? so you can hear there, that people we re so you can hear there, that people were not really theed by what happened in berlin. at least the

people we spoke to today, they said they were going to come any way to see the ceremony, you can hear the band starting up again as the guard is changed. so the new security procedures are part of a three month trial that was supposed to start some time in the next few months but the metropolitan police brought it forward to today, in response to the events in berlin, and from now on, whenever the guard is changed, then the traffic will be kept back from 10.45 until 12.30. so a big disruption orfor this 10.45 until 12.30. so a big disruption or for this part of london. let's get more reaction on the police manhunt taking place in berlin. alexander ritzmann is the executive director at the european foundation for democracy and specialises in terrorism and radicalism in germany. hejoins me via webcam from husum, north of hamburg. noon thank you very much forjoining us. noon thank you very much forjoining us. the police are not confirming they are searching for a tunisian suspect but the reports are they have found identity documents that

have found identity documents that have made them focus their efforts ona have made them focus their efforts on a tunisian man between the aged of 21 and 23. it is being reported in one newspaper that he was classified as dangerous by authority, and had been under investigation and had links to an islamist preacher. what are you hearing there about the reports of this alleged suspect? well, that is pa rt this alleged suspect? well, that is part of the problem, we are hearing different things from different sources. the police is hesitant of course, in sharing all the information it has. it might conflict with their investigations, so we really have to take a breath, and slow down a bit and look at the fa cts and slow down a bit and look at the facts that are available. i am very confident the police is pursuing every angle, regarding this specific individual that supposedly tunisian individual. it would fit in the pattern of terrorist organisations, actually to leave behind documents. they are not supposed to hide the

identities of the attackers or to hide the organisation that commits the attack, terrorism is an extreme form of political communication, so they are supposed to explain what they are supposed to explain what they did, how they did and why they did it, and have some sort of agenda communicated with that, so i am confident that this person will be brought tojustice, confident that this person will be brought to justice, rather soon, confident that this person will be brought tojustice, rather soon, the police in germany is well established, has all the tools they need, and we will see whether things go. one name that is being mentioned in various reports is an islamist preacher abu waller. there is no confirmation from police as to i am saying that they are searching for the suspect described in the media, but just tell us the suspect described in the media, butjust tell us more about the suspect described in the media, but just tell us more about this islamist preacher who i think was arrested in november. absolutely.

there are a series of radical preachers in the context of salafism in germany. there are about 10,000 people, they are supposed to be salafists according to the indications of the security agencies, most are not violent but a group of up to 3 hundred and more is being considered potentially environment, some are under surveillance, the preachers are surely under some sort of surveillance, the investigation will highlight if it was the tunisian individual, first of all, if there was a connection to this preacher, and if so, in what way. it might be that the preacher played a role in the earlier stage of the radicalisation, it is more likely that there was some sort of communication with representatives of the so—called islamic state. the islamic state has been calling for attacks like this, there have been

attacks like this, there have been attacks like this in the past. christmas markets have been singled out as potential attacks for many year, it is not a new development. we have to look at the facts once they are available and in the meantime, we have to increase the security of the so—called soft targets like christmas markets or open air events, orshopping targets like christmas markets or open air events, or shopping malls. everything that is possible, and reasonable should be done right now. thank you very much. a tunisian suspect is being reported by police after a lorry was driven into christmas shoppers in berlin killing 12 people. in london, extra security measures including for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace have been brought into effect. and the multimillionaire property developer peter morgan has been found guilty of murdering his escort girlfriend georgina simons. the former england captain says

michael vaughan even 1% of self—doubt should lead alastair cook to commonwealth as skipper. vaughan believes he is close to stepping down. he is mentally very tough. he has been probably through this kind of speu been probably through this kind of spell two or three times in his captaincy reign and carried on. looking at his face and body language in particular, its has been one that looks like he might be thinking about calling it day. petra conservative a will miss the first grand slam of the year following surgery on grand slam of the year following surgery on her hand. she underwent an operation yesterday and believes she is lucky to be alive after a knife attack at her home in the czech republic. it is thought it was a random burglary and she wasn't

specifically targeted. northampton have escaped punishment for fielding northampton have escaped punishment forfielding an northampton have escaped punishment for fielding an a apparently understrength team against leinster, they have been warned clubs have an obligation to pick a full strength side at all times. meanwhile the clu b side at all times. meanwhile the club will find out the result of a concussion panel set up after george north was allowed to play on against leicester earlier this month. that is despite landing on his head. television replays appear to show him lying motionless after a midair tackle. he has been out of action ever since. england rugby head coach eddiejones appears determined to stick with his captain appears determined to stick with his ca pta i n dyla n appears determined to stick with his captain dylan hartley despite his sending off in a club match for northampton. he was suspended for six weeks after earning the third red card of his career and jones admitted the challenge was reckless, saying hartley elet down his country. he also said his skipper

should be allowed to pay the penalty and get on with it. the finnish driver valtteri bottas looks likely to become lewis hamilton's new team—mate. his current team have persuaded massa to stay on for another season. if bottas leaves. mercedes have had one offer turned down for bottas but a deal is expected in the new year. league one side peterborough united will travel to stamford bridge to face chelsea in the fa cup third round after they beat notts county. peterborough struck with two minutes gone, just five minutes later, paul taylor made his first fa goal a memorable one, hoping to earn his side a premier league tie against the leaders. a multimillionaire property

developer has been found guilty of murdering his escort girl. he admitted killing georgina simons. let us go to our wales reporter thomas morgan. he denied murder, he admitted killing her, he has been convicted of murder, so bring us up—to—date, thomas. convicted of murder, so bring us up-to-date, thomas. ajury of 11 have been deliberating for three—and—a—half days here, he denied murder on the ground of diminished responsibility and that was due to being diagnosed with asperger‘s syndrome. that is what thejury were asperger‘s syndrome. that is what the jury were deliberating. this happened earlier on this year, he made a shopping list after hearing ona made a shopping list after hearing on a phone conversation she was planning to leave him and blackmail him. that consisted —— consisted of the tools he used to kill her. georgina simon, a 25—year—old mother of one. murdered by the man who called himself her sugar daddy. she

met peter morgan four years ago working as an escort. the court heard the 54—year—old became infatuated with her. during the trial he admitted strangling georgina simmons with bailing twine but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. this was peter morgan before he met georgina similar monday, the footage of his restoring an old windmill was shown in court. it was one of the places that the pair would later meet. the married father of two paid her £10,000 a month, took her on helicopter flights and bought expensive gifts, she later moved into a bungalow in the ground of a ruined tudor mansion morgan owned. police investigated the property. this records morgan claiming she doesn't know where she has gone. where do we think she was going at 12.00? didn't say. she didn't say. she just wanted me gone by 12. i

don't know whether she was off out or whether somebody was coming here. but she was already dead. peter morgan had hidden her body in the barn next to his home some 20 miles away. he told the court he heard her threaten to blackmail him and leave him. he had been using a bugging device, similar to this one, it is disguised as a plug and he was using it to listen in to her conversation, inside there is a similar card and a microphone. the property developer could activate it from his own mobile phone. over a two month period he called it 514 times and spent hours on end listening in. this is the moment when he told police officers what he had done. the trouble was, once i had sort of attempted to murder her, i would be ina attempted to murder her, i would be in a hell of a lot of trouble for that, she could is have still gone

on and blackmailed me, couldn't she. he told psychiatrists he was having a midlife crisis, the court was told he had asperger‘s syndrome but that was not a defence, the murder of georgina simmons had been carefully planned. so as we heard there, in that report peter morgan became infatuated with georgina simmons as well as gifting her a house and given her an allowance he bought her lavish gifts, and it was because of this infatiation he grew into a controlling situation where he bugged her home, and as sian said he began listening into her conversation, when he heard she was going to leave him, he knew he wa nted going to leave him, he knew he wanted to do something about that. the court heard and the jury heard here he originally wanted to provoke

georgina simmons, however that provocation went too far and he did kill her, now the jury sat through this, and they listened to all the evidence, and they had to make a decision as to grort it was in fact manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility or murder, asi diminished responsibility or murder, as i said the defence was based round this illness that peter morgan was diagnosed with, at the beginning of the trial. however the jury of 11 deliberated for three—and—a—half day, found him guilty of murder and he will be sentenced later in newport crown court. thank you. the government has been told it shouldn't keep computer data under laws which critics have called the "snoopers' charter". the european court ofjustice has ruled that communications information can only be retained if it's used to fight serious crime. the home office says it'll try to get the decision overturned. let's cross over to westminster and get more on this from our chief political correspondent, vicki young. the home office said it is disappointed with this ruling, the

government has made the case that this is, these are very important powers which are needed to fight crime, terrorism, organised crime and the like, but as it went through parliament it was incredibly controversial, it was fought thought by this it was the government overstepping the mark. est us speak to brian paddick, what do you make of the ruling? we had an indication earlier on in the year as to what the result was likely to be. the significance we think of this judgment is that the government are not allowed to collect people's communications data for the purposes of surveillance. now they would say that they need to have these power, that they need to have these power, that they need to have these power, that the police and counter—terrorism expects need the powers because they need to fight crime. if criminals are using this means of communication, they need to be able to see what they are up to. the real significance is the new

investigatory powers act which would require internet service providers to collect information about every website everybody in the uk visits, that sort of data. interestingly the security servicings responsible for counter—terrorism said they don't need that, so the government cannot fall back on we need this for the purpose of national security because the security agencies say they don't need that randomly collected data. but they say they need it in case they have to look back on it. they wa nt they have to look back on it. they want providers to keep it for 12 months, what do you think happens now? do you think they will be slightly confused about the status now of this law? there are two things, mobile phones have to keep a record of who is calling how who and where they are and what time of day, they need to bill them appropriately. it is different when it comes to looking for things on the internet. if the company for commercial purposes stores

information, there is no reason the police shouldn't be able to access that, if they suspect somebody, but they shouldn't be requiring internet service providers to keep everybody‘s date tax, however innocent they are, just in case. if they suspect somebody from that moment on, sure, collect their data, but it has to be targeted. that is what the european court is saying. the government would say it would be targeted. there is some kind of oversight in this, aren't you concerns there are many who think these are people trying to do their job to stop criminals, why are you blocking them and impeding them? this is a massive intrusion into people's privacy, i don't know how many people watching are a bit concerned their partner or somebody else in the family sees their web history, and deletes it. well, internet service providers are going to be required to keep everybody‘s web history in case the police want to look at it. we think that is a step too far. thank you very much indeed. so the government saying it

will challenge all of this, it will go back to the court of appeal, and that will happen some time next year. thank you very much. is wind is causing the issues with the weather and it is all happening further north with gale, severe gales and we have a cluster of showers being driven in from the west, some have been heavy with hail, northumberland earn, even snow falling on the hills. further south it is quieter, not as windy, there isa it is quieter, not as windy, there is a pulse of wet weather moving into the midlands and the south—west through the day, to the suet it should stay dry during daylight but it's a short day, the winter solstice and that cloud and rain will continue to push south and east through the night. it clears away, temperatures fall away, but the showers just keep temperatures fall away, but the showersjust keep on temperatures fall away, but the showers just keep on coming further north and west. icy stretches could be an issue towards dawn across rural parts of scotland. the showers not going very far very fast for thursday, plenty of them and again

some wintriness to the higher ground. further south decent drier sunnier conditions likely, a chillier day, 4—10 degree, travelling on friday, stay abreast of the forecast. amber weather warnings still remain in force for damaging gusts of winds to the far north and west. this is bbc news — the headlines: police investigating the burning lorry attack reportedly hunting a 24—year—old tunisian man. translation: police are visibly going to wear machine guns and we will set up technical measures and roadblocks in order to add more security to some places. in the wake of the attack in germany, roads have been closed around buckingham palace at the changing of the guard ceremony. multi—millionaire property developer peter morgan has been found guilty at newport crown court of murdering his escort girlfriend georgina symonds. a european court ruling preventing the government

retaining internet data, in what critics called the "snoopers charter", is to be challenged by the home office. more now on our top story today, the hunt for an attacker who killed 12 people when he ploughed an apparently stolen lorry into crowds at a christmas market in berlin. a little earlier i spoke to thomas kielinger, london correspondent for the german newspaper die welt. he said the driver of the lorry had tried to stop the attacker. to begin with, we have to thank this heroic polish guy who seems to have struggled with the jihadist in his cabin. even while the attack was happening, it seems he was still alive. it may have caused the perpetrator to lose his identity ca rd perpetrator to lose his identity card in the course of that struggle. when it came to a halt, the lorry, he had to leave in a hurry and merge

with the crowd, not be able to take up with the crowd, not be able to take up what he had left in the. it will still be difficult to trace him. he's still a man in a country of 82 million people. but they have a strong lead, which hopefully, hopefully will lead to his arrest. that is something germany needs now, to have this dark cloud of anxiety and fear removed from their mind. as long as he is still at large, they cannot have a peaceful and enjoyable christmas. they all read, where will he strike next. and that fear and anxiety not helped by the fact somebody was arrested quickly but the police had to say there seems to be no link. this original arrest, the guy they got old odds seemed to have been running away from the scene. he made himself suspicious by that act, he was running away. why run away if he was innocent? there are run away if he was innocent? there a re lots of run away if he was innocent? there are lots of mysteries to be

resolved, i am sure. the basic thing is, this is not a totally unexpected event, dare i say. we have known that is was planning to use lorries as the weapon of choice. we don't have to be involved in bomb—making, which is complicated. you just grab the wheel of a lorry and smash yourself into congregations of people. we knew this might happen although nobody thinks it will happen in his neighbourhood. you a lwa ys happen in his neighbourhood. you always assume it will happen somewhere else. there are too many vulnerable places that cannot be protected. we are defenceless, in a sense, towards this new strategy, if it is won, that is is pronouncing of using this kind of method of assassination. angela merkel said yesterday it would be truly awful if the person who carried out this attack was somebody who had gone to

germany seeking asylum. the reports are on the person that police are now hunting is that he was tunisian. one newspaper saying he had received permission to stay in germany in april but had been classified as dangerous by the authorities. that newspaper reporting and we have not heard it anywhere else, he was under investigation and had links to an islamic ujah. he had eight different identities, one of which he used to apply for asylum. —— preacher. these are independent reports, there has been a clarification. when you mention angela merkel saying desperately, almost yesterday, she hopes it wasn't one of the refugees that came to germany. if it were so, it would undermine, even more dramatically, her policy of opening the welcome mat to close to a million people arriving last year. which is still contentious to this

day. we are doing our best to accommodate them and germany still has a great degree of goodwill shown towards them. but any such incident would reduce that goodwill to closer to zero, which considering angela merkel has an election in september, will of course cast a big doubt over her chances of winning it. it is quite enough for her coalition party not winning enough votes for the alternative germany entering parliament to take votes away from the cdu to make a return and power for angela merkel impossible. we are ona for angela merkel impossible. we are on a ten to hope about future political fate. let's show you the live pictures coming through from the market. the investigation continuing and the debris remaining as it was as a result of the attack. but we are hearing according to the federation of festival organisers in berlin,

the christmas market will reopen tomorrow, just three days after the attack. all other christmas markets in berlin opened today. all the markets were closed in berlin in remembrance of the victims. but it seems the market that was attacked is going to reopen tomorrow. there has been heightened security at christmas markets across the country, as you would expect. concrete blocks are being put in front of entrances and there is a much higher presence of armed police. resulting from what has happened in berlin, security being stepped up elsewhere as well, including here at the changing of the guard at buckingham palace. that is the scene where the forensic investigation continues amid those reports that a 24—year—old tunisian man is being hunted by police after identity documents belonging to him we re identity documents belonging to him were found in the truck. that hasn't

been confirmed by police, we are hoping to hear a news conference with the latest developments soon from berlin. government borrowing fell in november. it stood at £12.6 billion, down £600 million on the same month last year. the fall wasn't as steep as analysts expected, but ministers say they're on target to meet their latest deficit forecasts. our economics correspondent andy verity gave me more details a short while ago. if your income is £1,000 and you spend £1,100, you have a deficit, you are overspending your income by £100. it is similar with the government, if they are outspending their income, the amount of overspend, they have to borrow. it is about half a billion more than most economists were expecting. only a bit down on what it was in the same month last year. in march, the government projected that the deficit was going to come down very sharply, by something like 20 billion.

more recently, in the autumn statement, the government accepted it would not happen, and it would only go down by a couple of billion. on these figures, there is a risk we may end up borrowing more than we did last year. this is all because they are projecting that the economy will grow more slowly. so, fewer transactions, fewer people employed, less income tax and vat, and so the government's economy does not grow as fast, so it has to borrow more. it feels like a long time since the plan was outlined by george osborne to cut the deficit and get into surplus. looking ahead at the path that these figures indicate, what are the predictions? in the autumn statement, the obr said that even by five years from now, 2021/22, we would still have a deficit, we would still be outspending our income. a lot more pessimistic than it was six months before the budget, when george osborne said

that by 2020 his austerity measures would mean that we are in surplus. the goal of getting the budget into surplus is now a remote prospect. you are talking about the day—to—day spending. when you look at the total level of debt, what is that? if you look at the debt in the year to date, you have an overspend of £60 billion. added to the accumulated debt that we have built up over the years, you are talking about £1.6 trillion. that is about 84% of the value of the economy, so everything we produce, every car, every haircut, every cup of coffee we buy, add that up, we are borrowing 84% of that, which is serious. the hope had been it would start coming down soon. it has been coming down as a proportion of the economy, but it keeps going up as a pounds—and—pence value. judgements are due to be handed down

in one of the largest compensation claims against the roman catholic church. a total of 249 men have lodged abuse claims against the diocese of middlesbrough and the de la salle order, which ran the st william's children's home in market weighton, east yorkshire. caroline, tell us more about this case? it has taken 12 years to get this civil case to the high court in leeds. due to legal wranglings over who should be liable to pay this compensation. the case surrounds the same williams approved school in east yorkshire. many boys from across the north of england were sent there and some 249 men are now suing the catholic church, the

dioceses of middlesbrough for historical abuse that took place at this home in the 70s and 80s. there have been three successful criminal prosecutions in relation to abuse that took place in the home. the formal principle, jamie carragher is firming billy mcclure serving time for the third time in prison and the former chaplain and tilly mccullen was jailed in january. former chaplain and tilly mccullen was jailed injanuary. we had the judgments in five test cases relating to compensation. today, the judge ruled in favour of only one of the cases. three were thrown out and onejudgment still the cases. three were thrown out and one judgment still remains. we will hear that in january. one judgment still remains. we will hear that injanuary. the solicitor acting on behalf of of some of the victims told me today this is just one step along the way. he said he is confident they will achieve justice. they do plan to appeal against these three they have lost

today. i have spoken to victims who we re today. i have spoken to victims who were in court to hear thisjudgment being handed down. they say they feel incredibly disappointed. they we re feel incredibly disappointed. they were hoping for a win in all five cases. we are still waiting for the judgment for that final case in january. that may have some impact on whether or not we continue to hear all the other cases in this civil litigation for compensation. briefly, what were the reasons for the decisions that were made, one women, three losing and one is still reserved? one of the biggest problems here was how much time has passed since this abuse took place. the solicitor acting on behalf of of some of the victims told me he believes there needs to be a change in the law. obviously, there is

nothing they can do about that. this happened in the 70s and the 80s and the defence did pick holes in the evidence is still around to be used as part of this case and that did go against the victims here. but it happened so long ago, there is little evidence still around and thatis little evidence still around and that is what made the judge make his decision in this case here today. thank you very much, caroline. at least twenty—nine people have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks market in mexico. emergency services said dozens of others were injured, and they expect the death toll to rise. it's the third major explosion at the site since 2005. will grant reports. the moment the san pablito fireworks market was engulfed in flames. within minutes, the entire site destroyed in a blaze of smoke, noise and deadly explosions. once the smoke cleared, the scale of the damage became clear.

a fire at this market was always likely to have devastating consequences. most big celebrations in mexico involve fireworks, so in the run—up to christmas it was full of shoppers. the local authorities have confirmed 30 deaths and many others injured. once nearby residents got over the initial shock of the blast, they did what they could to assist the emergency services. translation: a series of blasts came one after the other, people started to fall down a lot. they started running and pieces of concrete and bricks started falling all over the street. translation: there were several explosions and we saw the smoke.

we thought it was the gas station, and then we saw it was the fireworks. we heard several strong explosions and then the smoke came up. for the time being, the authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the tragedy, but whatever is behind it, this isn't the first explosion at san pablito. in 2005, just before mexican independence day, the market caught light, injuring more than 120 people. at the time, the mexican government vowed to impose strict regulations on the fireworks industry, but many mexicans are angry that the rules are often never applied or never enforced, and that mexico state's market traders and shoppers lost their lives through a potentially—avoidable accident. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news: tunisian suspect is reportedly being

hunted by german police after a truck was driven into the christmas market killing 12 people. extra security measures in london have been introduced. and billionaire property developer peter morgan has been found guilty of murdering his escort girlfriend, georgina symons. an update on the markets... there are a number of ongoing investigations and inquiries into historical child abuse allegations across the uk, the number of victims of historical child sex abuse

in football has grown, according to new figures released by the national police chiefs' council. the figures show that 429 victims have now been identified by police. 155 potential suspects have also been identified. and 148 football clubs, spanning the breadth of the game, are said to have been impacted by abuse inquiries. our sports news correspondent, richard conway, explained how these figures show the scale of the issue facing british football. we've got over 20 police forces across the country with operation hydra nts across the country with operation hydrants collating information and the potential amount of suspect they are dealing with. it isn't going away any time soon. the national police chief counsel saying they encourage anyone with information anyone else who feels they were a victim to come forward. they say they are acting swiftly upon these allegations. how are clubs responding, is there a unified response in the way they are handling it? some clubs have been criticised for not reacting properly to what has been going on? has been a piecemeal approach across the clu bs. a piecemeal approach across the clubs. the football association is where we are seeing a coordinated effort. they are conducting an

internal review into what it knew and when. they are also looking into what the clubs knew and when. also, dario grady has been suspended pending that investigation. we await an update from them. we perhaps might hearfrom an update from them. we perhaps might hear from them later this week, the fa. we will have to wait and see. but on a football level, the fa are conscious not to hinder the fa are conscious not to hinder the police investigation, they said they are taking a secondary role and they are taking a secondary role and the police can get on in trying to support them as much as they can but theirjob at the moment is to be in theirjob at the moment is to be in the background and help with those investigations. people who buy drones could have to register it and take a test to prove they can fly it safely, under new rules proposed fifty—nine near misses involving drones and airliners have been reported in the uk over the past 12 months. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones has this report.

earlier this month, amazon made its first delivery by drone. just one potential use of an exciting new technology. but after a number of reports from pilots of near misses with drones, there is mounting concern about safety. if people don't use drones responsibly and follow the rules and regulations that are in place, obviously, that is a safety issue first of all, but could also affect the long—term future of drones as well. there are already plenty of regulations. for example, i cannot fly here because we are too close to buildings and people. while professional users of drones have to register with the civil aviation authority, anyone else can just buy one and start flying. the government is consulting on regulations which would mean new drones would have to be registered, users would have to pass a theory test, like that for drivers, and there would be tougher penalties for using drones in no—fly zones. peter, an experienced drone owner, believes it is already too complex. if you put in too—complicated rules, you will scare people off and deny the future industry this pool

of talent that we need. there will be thousands of new drone owners this christmas. whenever new rules come in, they are being told they will be safer if they follow the drone code. there are an estimated 23 million sheepin there are an estimated 23 million sheep in the uk, now there are two more. they have developed in north wales to see how she'd respond to the weather. what they tell us could lead to a change in the landscape of the countryside. everything isn't quite what it appears. the sheep seemed to sense it. look closely, you might as well. it is an experiment at bangor university designed to find out what sheep can tell us about the weather and how it

affects them. he may have noticed this isn't a real sheep. neither is this isn't a real sheep. neither is this one. thankfully, pipjones from bangor university is a real human. why have we got fake sheep? they tell us about real sheep and the environment they experience on a farm. how? we have our sheep and we have met station. the station is measuring radiation, wind and temperature and those things together tell us how the sheep is feeling. on a windy day like this it must have an impact on how the sheep feels, but how can you tell? it is so feels, but how can you tell? it is so much colder when the wind blows. that is wind—chill. and for animals like this, maintaining the core body temperature is hard as the wind blows. what we are doing here is, we are maintaining them at 39 degrees with... this are maintaining them at 39 degrees with. .. this array are maintaining them at 39 degrees with... this array of heaters just here. we have a microcomputer and

what the computer is recording is how much energy do sheep is using to keep that temperature in the prevailing conditions. the energy that sheep are using to stay warm has been diverted away from them putting on weight. and the longer it ta kes to putting on weight. and the longer it takes to reach the required wait to go to market, the more expensive they are to produce. if you are talking money as a farmer and a businessman, i am talking money as a farmer and a businessman, iam interested. what cani businessman, iam interested. what can i do to get my sheep getting so cold in the first place? one idea is to plant trees about 40 years ago and it makes a difference. they put this in front of groups of trees here and it works. and that is why this research is funded by the woodland trust, to show that pasture and woodland in our countryside don't have to be mutually exclusive. what is the big picture here? one of the big questions is how do we value the big questions is how do we value the ecosystem services we get from

the ecosystem services we get from the landscape? it is easy to look at the landscape? it is easy to look at the contribution of sheep farming to the contribution of sheep farming to the economy or timber production. what about the flood mitigation, climate regulation, what about biodiversity? how do we put numbers on those? these are providing the numbers that show it is in farmers' interest to give up a bit of their pastoral production over to growing trees because the sheep production is better. everyone is a winner. the eventual aim of this research is to produce a practical toolkit for farmers to show them the best place to plan for effective shelter. then these fake sheep can be put out to pasture, knowing they have helped create a warmer world for the real one. the chinese capital beijing is one of at least 24 cities which have been blanketed in thick smog for the last five days. near—record levels of toxic air pollution have led the authorities to ground planes, shut factories and close schools. stephen mcdonnell reports from beijing.

despite this oppressive blanket of smog, life must go on in beijing. it is especially tough on those who work outside, breathing in the pollution all day. in years gone by, people weren't that worried, but now there is a high level of public awareness and a fair bit of concern. yet, there are those who aren't as worried as everyone else. you don't have to be completely outdoors to face major impacts from this pollution. there are lots of shops like this with an open front giving customers easy access. for those who have existing

respiratory illnesses, it can make the situation much worse. the weather reports have been promising, the wind will come along and blow all this pollution away. but as you can see, it hasn't arrived yet. ina

in a moment we will have the news at one, but first let's get the weather with louise lear. so far it has been a miserable day and it is set to stay for the afternoon as well. strong, gusty winds, gales unexposed coasts, some heavy with hail and thunder and even some snow falling and settling to the tops of the hills. further south it isa the tops of the hills. further south it is a different story. we have a band of rain which will pep up as we move through the afternoon. a further north, heavy showers merging together for longer spells of rain and some of the showers will be pretty intense. it will feel cold. factor in the strength of the wind, disappointing. northern england should see a window of fine weather. wet weather through the midlands and into the south west where some of the rain by the middle of the afternoon, could turn heavy. it

sta rts afternoon, could turn heavy. it starts to gather and power pop as it pushes its way across the evening and overnight. behind it, clearer skies soto bridges falling away, but showers keep coming into the far north and west. there could be icy stretches on the roads first thing in the morning on thursday. another blustery showery day into the extreme north—west with gales unexposed coasts. further south, the winds are lighter and there will be more sunshine coming through and not a bad day by contrast across england and wales. temperatures peaking at four to 9 degrees. on thursday, he is barbara, the second named storm of the winter season. it is the winds that are cause for concern, so an amber weather warning, be prepared for some disruption, has been issued particularly for the northern half of the uk where we will see widespread wind gusts in excess of 70 malls now. as the load clears away because he gusts in

excess of 90 to the extreme north—west. the wet weather is rattling through and further south the rain never getting into the south east corner. here it stays mild and largely drive. but many people of dizzy friends and family over the next few days. you need to keep tuned in for the forecast. if you are travelling on christmas eve it looks like there will be a brief lull in proceedings. a breezy day with a scattering of showers before the system arrives in time perhaps for christmas. behind the lorry attack in berlin. the man — said to be in his early 20s — is understood to have arrived in germany last year — documents belonging to him were found hidden in the lorry. following the attack in berlin, new security measures are put in place around buckingham palace. we'll have the latest on the manhunt in germany. also this lunchtime: a married multi—millionaire property developer is found guilty of murdering his escort girlfriend after she threatened to blackmail him. huge explosions at mexico's most popular fireworks market — at least 30 people are killed

and many more injured. president obama bans offshore oil drilling in the arctic, in one of his final acts before leaving the white house. and after dozens of near misses with planes this year —