this is bbc news. the headlines at lipm. german officials confirmed that firm evidence including fingerprints connect the main suspect in the berlin market attack to the lorry that was used as a deadly weapon. a reward of 100,000 euros is offered for information leading to the arrest of tunisian and is amri who has used multiple identities. german chancellor angela merkel is "an arrest soon. the investigations and the insight that we have now into the offence and into the offender that will lead to a success. two men are convicted of manslaughter, after a tipper truck crashed in bath, killing four people including a four—year—old girl. the driver was acquitted, and said his thoughts are with the families. they have never not be in my thoughts, they are constantly in my thoughts. i just hope... thoughts, they are constantly in my thoughts. ijust hope... ijust hope they can carry on now. also, storm barbara is on course to batter britain tomorrow. doctors involved in trials of a new multiple sclerosis drug say

stormy weather in the run—up to christmas, storm ba ba stormy weather in the run—up to christmas, storm baba is set to hit on friday with scotland getting the worst of the wins. —— barbara. doctors involved in trials of a new multiple sclerosis drug say it's a landmark development in treatment of the disease. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. that get straight to berlin for the latest on the attack on the market there. the mood is sombre here at there. the mood is sombre here at the christmas market in berlin. normally there would be christmas music playing but that is silent. people have been coming to lay flyover —— lay flowers and light

candles and also buy food and drink ina sign candles and also buy food and drink in a sign that life goes on. in the last hour we have been hearing from chancellor merkel who said she was proud of the way that germans have reacted to this attack and she stressed what she said was the importance of unity and solidarity at this time. translation: nikki we have to underpin the values and principles of democracy and freedom and we have those principles and values on our side. i'm very confident that we will be able to continue leading our free and democratic life and i must say that over the last few days i have been very proud of the calmness and composure shown by the number of people, also the officers who have been at work here, and i were thoughts go out to everybody has been effected by this attack.

a europe—wide arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect, anis amri, and his brother had urged him to give himself up. richard galpin looks back at the events of the last 21: looks back at the events of the last 2a hours. the prime suspect, 24—year—old anis amri, is being hunted across europe. but he uses many different names and nationalities, making it easierfor him to slip away. this video which is just him to slip away. this video which isjust emerged, shows him to slip away. this video which is just emerged, shows amri was in berlin in september and early this morning, police commanders trying to track him down, raided apartments here in the kreutzberg area of the city, thinking they might find him, but to no avail. they are playing catch—up, they only named him as a suspect yesterday, three days after

the attack. a second rate this money at this mike wood centre in north—western germany also revealed later —— second raid at this migrant centre. he stayed here last year but is now long gone. while he remained elusive, much more is now being revealed about him since he left tunisia at least six years ago. he moved to italy where it, in 2011, he was jailed for arson at a school. and last year he entered germany where his claim for a silent was rejected. the authorities could not deport him because they did not have the right paperwork. and yet the german intelligence agencies knew he had links to a islamist network. they monitored his phone calls for months, suspecting he was planning an attack. but they stop the surveillance in september. back in his hometown in tunisia, his family are now the centre of attention.

they are horrified that he is accused of involvement in the berlin attack. translation: i'm shocked like every tunisian citizen who heard about it. when the police came to the house to take my mum, we knew it was my brother. anis amri also had a criminal record in tunisia. he was convicted in absentia for aggravated theft with violence. this morning the market in berlin which was attacked reopened, despite amri still being on the run. a move designed to show that the christmas festivities will continue despite what has happened. but not without extra security being put in place. we are still kind of very scared because the other markets in berlin, we never know what happens next or what could happen here again. we never know what happens next or what could happen here againlj we never know what happens next or what could happen here again. i feel it is good that we start again, that the devil has no power for it i

think and also for the world to say that we go on. we are not afraid and we go on. although people here are determined to put on a brave face, it will be hard for anybody to really relax until amri and any other suspects are found. richard galpin, bbc news. the german interior ministry has confirmed that the fingerprints of the suspect were in fact found in the suspect were in fact found in the cab of the lorry that crashed into this market. the pressure is growing on the authorities to try to find this man as as soon as possible. we heard from angela merkel saying that she hoped there would be an arrest soon. people are asking, why was it that the authorities stopped following this man even though they suspected he may have had connections with islamist networks and there is a

debate going on, whether this is incompetence by the authorities or whether they are simply overburdened and cannot keep up with the level of surveillance that is needed for suspects like this. meanwhile, here at the market, people are remembering the dead but also saying strongly that they will continue to celebrate christmas and will not let their way of life be disturbed. back to the studio. we will keep you up—to—date with any developments as that manhunt continues in germany. but now look at the main story here this afternoon. the owner of a haulage firm, and one of his mechanics, have been found guilty of manslaughter, after one of their tipper trucks crashed last year, killing four people, including a four—year—old girl. the court had heard that the brakes had failed on the 32—tonne lorry, and it careered along a village road near bath, causing what the prosecution described as "absolute devastation".

mathew gordon and peter wood will be sentenced next month. the driver of the lorry, phillip potter, was cleared of all charges. police described it as carnage. this 32—tonne truck had careered down a steep hill, its brakes failing. it was school pick—up time and mitzi steady was crossing the road with her grandma when she was hit. she was just four years old. then the truck crushed this car, killing the men inside. robert parker and philip allen were heading back to south wales from a business trip. their driver, stephen vaughan, was 3a years old and newly married. a spark has definitely gone out in my heart, even though he is always in there. it has just been a horrendous time, i wouldn't wish it on anybody. sian vaughan told me that being widowed so soon after her wedding day had left her heartbroken. all the plans, the future that we had together, it has all been taken away.

we were only married for six months. especially having to spend your first wedding anniversary alone was just so far removed from the one we had planned. itjust been absolutely horrendous. the tipper truck was carrying tonnes of aggregate down this steep and winding hill towards the city of bath that afternoon when it suffered catastrophic brake failure. the prosecution claimed it was not simply bad luck but an accident waiting to happen. experts who examined the brakes said some of the parts were so rusty and worn that the 11—year—old lorry should not have been on the road. philipp potter was at the wheel of the tipper truck. he told the court he was not aware of the state of the vehicle and he denied causing death by dangerous or careless driving. today he has been cleared. philip potter told the trial that, as he sat here that afternoon,

trying to take in what had just happened, his boss, matthew gordon, came over to him, grabbed him and said, "don't tell the police about the brake warning light." that boss, matthew gordon, has now been convicted of manslaughter. the prosecution claimed his business, grittenham haulage, was a shambles. a mechanic, peter wood, who was employed to inspect the compa ny‘s trucks, has also been found guilty on four counts of manslaughter. the fact of the matter is that both men failed in their duty of care to the public. maggie gordon had no transport manager and flouted every revelation lay down to ensure safety. peter wood signed off their god is safe when clearly they were not. men if the folks at the time of the crash were long—standing. —— domenico defaults. —— many of the

faults. sian vaughan says she has been horrified to hear about the state the company kept the trucks in, especially as her chauffeur husband took safety so seriously. the word he would have used to describe them would have been cowboys. because there's no way that steve would have ever put anybody‘s life in danger, let alone his own. as he left court, having been found not guilty on all counts, driver philip potter sent his sympathies to the grieving families. just that they have never not been in my thoughts, they are constantly in my thoughts. ijust hope... i hope they can carry on now. his former boss, matthew gordon, and mechanic peter wood will be sentenced in the new year. and jon is outside bristol crown court for us now. so many details of this case are so distressing. they are, distressing on the personal side, those families talking in statements tonight about

those they have lost the little girl who the family will not see grow up. use or sian gordon talking about her husband who he —— you saw sharm vaughan talking about her husband. all of those families said in their statements, that they hoped that this case is notjust punishment for those responsible in this case but a reminder to anybody involved in the haulage industry that there are strict rules which must be stuck to. mitzi steady‘s family said they could be no lies or short cuts and rules are could be no lies or short cuts and rules a re rules could be no lies or short cuts and rules are rules if lives are not be lost in the future. philip potter was the young man the wheel of the truck only 90 at the time, yet only passed his hgv test a few days

before —— 19. he told the trial that it was not his driving that was the problem, it was the vehicle and the brakes. thejury problem, it was the vehicle and the brakes. the jury accepted that and acquitted him of causing death by dangerous or careless driving and accepted that it was the vehicle that was the problem and that the responsibility of the boss and the mechanic. before the trial, philip potter gave an exclusive interview to my colleague fiona lambton from bbc points west. or i had was a scratch 0n bbc points west. or i had was a scratch on my back. i thought i should be more injured or killed. walking free from court, the driver of the tipper truck, philip potter, broke down in tears after being cleared of killing four people. it was just cleared of killing four people. it wasjust under two cleared of killing four people. it was just under two years ago that his life was to change for ever. the 19—year—old worked on his family's

farm, and to earn extra money he had taken an apprenticeship with his distant cousin, matthew gordon, at his haulage firm. he was only days into thejob when his haulage firm. he was only days into the job when he climbed into the truck and followed his new boss out of the yard. i was doing about 25, it has come into a 20 so i applied the brakes a bit more and there was nothing. it was holding but i couldn't. .. there was nothing. it was holding but i couldn't... it wouldn't slow down any more. i slammed it into a lower gear but nothing, i locked my arms solid. i didn't know what else i could possibly try to do. i wanted to warn people to know there was a lorry that couldn't stop. by the time he managed to stop the truck, four people were dead. do you blame yourself? yes, in oatway, just thinking of those four people, all the time, thinking how horrible it must be for families —— in a way. and how hard it would be to lose

someone you love so and how hard it would be to lose someone you love so much. he knows he can never rewind the clock but after the verdict, clearing him of any crime, he can now begin to move on. hearing from philip potter who was acquitted on all counts, the driver of that truck in february last year. as for the men who were found guilty of manslaughter, four counts each, they have been sent to prison and are spending christmas in custody, beginning theirjail sentences. the judge told them that both matthew gordon and peter wood face lengthy jail terms but will not decide on those terms until the new year when they come back for sentencing. the message was that they might as well start serving those sentences right now because they will be in prison for a long time. thank you. the headlines on bbc news...

the search for berlin lorry attack suspect anis amri continues as the german interior minister says the police are doing ‘miraculous‘ work. two men are convicted of manslaughter over the tipper truck crash in bath that killed four people including a four—year—old girl. the queen and prince philip arrive at sandringham in norfolk for their christmas break after delaying their travel because of illness. in sport, alan pardew has been sacked. the crystal palace manager had just one win from his last 11 and leaves the club one point above the relegation zone. george north will not play in northampton's match against sale tomorrow. he has not played since sustaining a head injury in their defeat to leicester this month. and the grand national winning jockeyjohn buckingham has died at the age of 76. his most famous victory came on the 100—1 no—hoper foinavon in 1967. i will be

back with more including that alan pa rd ew back with more including that alan pardew sacking in the next 15 minutes. syrian rebel groups say bad weather is slowing the final part of the operation to evacuate eastern aleppo. more fighters and civilians left rebel—held areas throughout the day, along a safe corridor, through government—held territory. thousands more are still thought to be inside the city, waiting to leave. the un humanitarian chief, jan egeland, says concern is now turning to the welfare of those, who've already left the city. it's a race against the clock and against the winter to provide shelter, warmth and relief to people who are sick, exhausted and malnourished from five years of war. there are 15 besieged areas beyond east aleppo and it has not got better the areas because all eyes

we re better the areas because all eyes were on aleppo. the young syrian girl who drew worldwide attention with her tweets from aleppo before being evacuated to turkey, says she hopes to go back to her hometown one day and fulfil a dream. seven—year—old ba na alabed and her family were led to safety from the rebel—held part of aleppo. earlier this week, the family met president erdogan at his palace in ankara. with the help of her mother, who manages the twitter account, bana has shared pictures and videos of life during the syrian war, attracting more than 360,000 followers sincejoining the site in september. the youngster spoke to our correspondent 0rla guerin from turkey. tell me about the night your house was bombed and you were caught in the rubble. the queen and prince philip have arrived at sandringham a day later than planned. they were taken to norfolk by by helicopter after putting their christmas break back because they both had heavy colds. they usually travel to norfolk by train. meanwhile, prince charles has

warned against intolerance towards minority religious groups, saying such intolerance is reminiscent of what he called the "dark days" of the 1930s. the prince of wales was speaking on ‘thought for the day‘ on radio 4's today programme. he spoke about violence against christians, jewish people, yazidis and ahmadis. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. he's spoken up for many causes and been a champion for people of different faiths. charles is a christian. his religious convictions matter to him. he's been appalled by the persecution of people of faith and particularly of christians in countries in the middle east. it was something he raised on a visit tojordan in the early part of last year. normally, at christmas we think... now, in his starkest warning so far, in a pre—recorded broadcast on the bbc‘s thought for the day, charles has likened the persecution

of christians, particularly in iraq, to what happened to thejews in nazi germany. we are now seeing the rise of many populist groups across the world that are increasingly aggressive towards those who adhere to a minority faith. all of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s. i was born in 19118, just after the end of world war ii, in which my parents‘ generation had fought and died in a battle against intolerance, monstrous extremism and an inhuman attempt to exterminate the jewish population of europe. that nearly 70 years later we should still be seeing such evil persecution is to me beyond all belief. we owe it to those who suffered and died so horribly not to repeat the horrors of the past. the prince concluded his broadcast with a plea for religious tolerance.

whichever religious path we follow the destination is the same. to value and respect the other person, accepting their right to live out their peaceful response to the love of god. it was an appeal from a prince who takes his own faith seriously and who believes tolerance of others is one of its defining principles. nicholas witchell, bbc news. you're watching bbc news. a woman and a child have died in a fire at a house in braintree in essex. two other women managed to get out of the house before emergency services arrived. they were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. essex police say the victims were trapped inside the property. firefighters are warning about the risks of carrying e—cigarette batteries, after one caught fire in somebody‘s pocket. the man suffered minor injuries when the device caught fire while he was out shopping in leeds. investigators say he was keeping batteries in his pocket unprotected, and that people should avoid storing them alongside other metal objects such as keys and coins.

the funeral has taken place in moscow of the russian ambassador to turkey, andrei karlov. the ambassador was shot dead three days ago, while he was giving a speech in ankara. from moscow steve rosenberg reports. the farewell began at the foreign ministry. flanked by a guard of honour, ambassador karlov lay in state. three days after he was assassinated in turkey. vladimir putin came to pay his respects. he has awarded andrei karlov his country's highest honour, posthumously, hero of russia. from the president to the widow, words of comfort. then the coffin was brought here, to the cathedral of christ the saviour. the orthodox priests chanted prayers and blessings.

they sang hymns for the soul of the deceased. it's very rare for an ambassador to be killed on duty, said the head of the russian church. andrei karlov will go down in russian history as a hero. this is the man who killed him, an off—duty turkish police officer. god is greatest, he had shouted. don't forget about aleppo, about syria. they were in mourning today in ankara at the russian embassy. but heavy security here meant it took some time to deliver the wreaths. as russia mauled the murder of one of its ambassadors, the country's leadership remains determined not to

allow this assassination to harm relations with turkey or two we can muster‘s resolve to fight terror. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. donald trump has named a strong critic of china to head a new white house national trade council. the economist peter navarro will also direct trade and industrial policy in the new trump administration. mr navarro has written several books on china including "the coming china wars" and "death by china". mr trump's transition team said the appointment showed his "determination to make american manufacturing great again". doctors involved in trials for a new treatment for multiple sclerosis have described it as a landmark development. the disease, which affects the brain, can cause progressive difficulties with mobility and vision. one hundred thousand people in the uk are affected by ms and it's hoped the drug 0crelizumab will offer hope to patients. james galligan explained more about

how it works. —— gallaher. james galligan explained more about how it works. -- gallaher. the immune system in ms, the immune system starts hacking —— attacking the brain. the drug selectively destroys part of the immune system to help to preserve the brain essentially. it slows the progression of multiple sclerosis. this is really important for one group of patients, those with progressive ms, who just gets worse and worse unlike a rat ‘s form where people get better and then worse. there are no drugs that treat progressive ms and that is why people are so excited about this breakthrough. it is certainly big news four people with primary progressive ms. this drug has been shown to reduce the risk of disability progression by about 24% which is really exciting because we do not have currently any treatment available for this type of ms in the

uk. and what we always want to know is how quickly this could develop and how many people we could be talking about helping, the next stages. this drug is only in clinical trials so the next stage is for it to get a licence. the european medicines agency is considering it. we expect it to be about autumn 2017, that is the point at which bodies like the nhs decide whether to give it to patients. there is a big question over this, how much it'll cost, and it will be the important step in finding out who will benefit from it. they could be about 15,000 people in the uk who could benefit from this. can they all get it if it is incredibly expensive? i don't think so and that is what some doctors were telling me. it is probably only going to be a select few, maybe only in the early stages of ms who might get it in that first wave the people. the headlines are coming up and all

of the sports news but first a look at the weather running up to christmas. it is scotland that will bear the brunt of the worst of the weather in the run—up to christmas. today was a case of snow across the country, particularly in higher levels and some poor weather in the mountains but some of it will melt tomorrow and overnight we will start to see the showers becoming lest wintry in the showers becoming lest wintry in the north. for much of england and wales it will be dry with clear skies and quite chilly before the winds picked up and we get the approach of storm barbara. the winds really pick up in the north—west, scotla nd really pick up in the north—west, scotland and northern ireland, along with some heavy rain in the morning as it pushes into england and wales through western areas. in the south—east and east anglia, cloudy and windy, probably quite mild but colder in scotland and northern ireland with showers later on and it is late in the day that the winds really start to pick up in the far

north and north—west of scotland. 80, possibly 90 mph which is why we have this amber wind warning from the met office and probably some more windy weather on christmas day as well but i will have more details in halfan as well but i will have more details in half an hour. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: a manhunt is continuing across germany for the tunisian suspected of carrying out monday's lorry attack in berlin. angela merkel has had an update from the prosecutor and says she is proud of the way the country has responded. two men are found guilty of manslaughter over the tipper truck crash in bath that killed four people, including a four—year—old girl. the queen and prince philip have just arrived at the sandringham estate in norfolk for christmas. they'd delayed their travel plans yesterday when both fell ill with colds. doctors involved in trials of a new multiple sclerosis drug say it's a landmark development

in treatment of the disease. now it's time for the sport. not the christmas sack alan pardew was hoping for? alan pardew has been sacked. the crystal palace manager has seen his team win just once in their past 11 matches and he leaves the club just one point above the relegation zone. 0ur reporter david 0rnstein is with me. easy decision this for the hierarchy, crystal palace's record has been poor? yes, the run included a sequence of six defeats in a row between the 15th of october and 26th of november. he did win some support from the palace fan base when he beat southampton 3—0 on the 3rd of

december. you remember him gesticulating to the stands in celebration, but it hasn't worked out for him. he has gone. he was a popular man among the fans because he played for palace is the four yea rs, he played for palace is the four yea rs , over he played for palace is the four years, over 100 appearances and helped them win the fa cup. but this isa helped them win the fa cup. but this is a results business and that is what steve parish and the chair and co—owner made clear shortly after this news was announced. they cannot afford to be relegated. they currently sit 17th, one place above the relegation zone. have we heard from either camp, either steve parish or alan pardew himself? steve parish or alan pardew himself? steve parish but a statement as saying he wa nted parish but a statement as saying he wanted to put out his sincere gratitude for the tremendous service alan pardew gratitude for the tremendous service alan pa rdew has gratitude for the tremendous service alan pardew has given to the club, both in his time as a manager and as a player. pointing to the fa cup final performance against manchester united in may when they narrowly lost out. alan pardew said he is sad

by this decision in a statement. he thanked both the fans, the players and also steve parish and the board. no mention of the american co—owners. he thanked them for their support. also the conversation i have had with steve parish, he said it wasn't an easy decision. he said he hoped the special bond with the clu b he hoped the special bond with the club isn't affected. we will have to see about that. which manager out there fancies a relegation scrap between now and the end of the season? the bookies favourite is sam alla rdyce. season? the bookies favourite is sam allardyce. he is available after leaving as england manager. there are ports talks have already been lined up with sam allardyce between himself and crystal palace. i am told it is premature, but certainly he will be in the frame. when i spoke to steve parish, he told me the expansive style of football that crystal palace everybody agreed would be played when alan pardew

caiman, has not worked. therefore they will wind the dial back the other way, in his words, suggesting the football for the rest of the season will be more conservative. that would point to somebody like sam alla rdyce and that would point to somebody like sam allardyce and some fans are already speculating thatjuergen klinsmann could be a name in the frame. we will see. more good news for spurs fans. the captain hugo lloris has signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2022. he's the latest of their first team stars to commit to a long term future to the club. harry kane, delle alli and christian eriksen have all signed new deals recently. george north won't play for northampton against sale tomorrow. saints say he'll continue with a full training schedule to ensure he's fully prepared for first team action. north hasn't played since a head injury in the game against leicester earlier this month. northampton were criticised for allowing north to play on despite appearing to be knocked out. the club escaped punishment after an investigation into the incident.

grand national winning formerjockey john buckingham has died. he was 76. he was best known for riding the 100—1 no—hoper foinavon to victory at aintree in 1967. his was the only horse to escape a mass fall at the 23rd fence becasue he was trailing so far behind and that fence still bears the winning horse's name. iam sure i am sure aintree will do something to mark his passing as well. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. more now on the latest from germany, where chancellor angela merkel has been meeting the federal prosecutor to discuss progress in the international manhunt for the man suspected of the deadly berlin lorry attack. the authorities have said new evidence makes them more certain the perpetrator is the tunisian man previously identified as the main

suspect. angela merkel said she is proud at the way germans have responded to the attack. we have to underpin the values and principles of democracy and freedom and we have those principles and values on our side and i am very confident that we will be able to continue leading ourfree and democratic lives and i must say over that last few days i have been very proud of the calmness and the composure shown by the people, also of course by the officers who have been at work here and our thoughts go out everybody who has been affected by this attack. her interior minister, thomas de maiziere, confirmed that amri's fingerprints were found in the cab of the lorry driven into the market. translation: i can tell you that we have had additional indications today that indeed the strong suspect is by all likelihood also the

offender. we have found in the driver's, fingerprints and we also have other indications pointing towards that likelihood. it is in that light, even more important the investigation and the manhunt is successful. earlier i spoke to dr henning riecke, a security expert from the the german council on foreign relations, who said he was surprised that the authorities took so long to find the suspects id in the lorry. bit surprised it took so long for them to find the wallet in the car that linked the act to the terrorist. 0bviously they removed the car from the crime site before they searched it down to find it. they now have fingerprints, so that is at least a very strong lead. what

was the wrong lead was the man from pakistan they worth following earlier which led to a lot of debate about the migration crisis and angela merkel‘s responsibility. this has died down a little bit. it shows how dangerous those risky persons are who have links to islamic militants, who are well versed in petty crime and have a record like this anis amri, who has been now connected to the act. 0ne this anis amri, who has been now connected to the act. one might wonder what was so difficult to actually control him, to have a closer look at what he was doing. 0f course, we have a state where the rule of law is important. that is why there are certain limitations to be eavesdropping on a person all the while. 0ne wishes in the aftermath, this had been done more thoroughly.

this is one of the disturbing elements to the public, the idea this man had been on the radar of the intelligence services. is it reg retta bly, the intelligence services. is it regrettably, just a brutal reality that there aren't enough resources in the world to follow everyone all the time and the security services had to make a judgment call as to whether they are putting their effo rts whether they are putting their efforts in the right place? 0bviously, efforts in the right place? obviously, you would need to have much more resources, people with a knowledge in languages and technology on such a suspect. 0f course, as long as he doesn't do anything that is leading into a direction of the preparation of a crime or to terrorist networks, as long as he is doing only minor stuff that might indicate a bias in that direction, it is difficult for a law

enforcement agency to simply crack down on him and say, we will put you in jail. winds of up to 90mph are forecast to batter parts of the country, when storm barbara hits on friday. scotland is expected to be worst affected and swathes of the north and west of the country are also braced for some wild weather in the run up to christmas. i have given the game away with the detail. but how bad is it going to be? in terms of storm barbara, the worst will be tomorrow evening across the north of scotland. it is already wintry ahead of that. the lump of cloud across scotland producing snow showers right now. but in the atlantic, there is barbara. it is driven along by a strong jet stream. we haven't had such a strong jet stream for several

weeks. he is barbara. we will all see some heavy rain and feel the effects of strong winds. a lot of people on the move of course so i think the disruption will be more thanit think the disruption will be more than it might otherwise be. this is not the storm of the century, it is not the storm of the century, it is not top of the mark in terms of disruptive storms. but nevertheless, across northern parts of the uk tomorrow evening and primarily the far north—west of scotland, gusts of 80, 90 miles far north—west of scotland, gusts of 80,90 miles an hour. far north—west of scotland, gusts of 80, 90 miles an hour. that is enough to cause disruption to ferries, road travel and rail travel. there could be some power outages with that strength of wind. when you say not the storm of the century, it is remarkable here because we are in the run—up to christmas, people are on the move and they have the christmas turkey in the oven. the one thing you don't want to hear about is possible power cuts? no, but you want to hear about snow. there has been talk about the wind

and rain and people are assuming there will not be a white christmas. for the vast majority, there won't be. but the next feature comes in from the atlantic. almost identical in terms of its track, not as intense but another dose of wet and windy weather as we go through christmas day. this is the temperature graphic to give a hint of how mild it is going to be on christmas day. t—shirt weather on christmas day. t—shirt weather on christmas afternoon, simon. but there is a sting in the tail. a cold front is working southeast, and temperatures will drop and in no strong winds across scotland, you will see some white. there will be a white christmas for some others, primarily across scotland. but for most, no, it will be green and sodden. john, as ever it is a pleasure. violent crime committed by people aged over 65 in england and wales has increased by almost 80% since 2012.

the figures, obtained by a freedom of information request by the bbc, relate to offences ranging from minor assault to murder. the rise in the number of crimes recorded is, in part, being put down to police changing how they log crimes. graham satchell has more. you said it was a long sentence? he was a lifer. he killed his wife. stuart, in his 70s, is talking to nick, who is 60. both are convicted fraudsters. nick is still on probation. i don't feel old at all, and because people are fitter and healthier and more active, they are going to carry on doing stuff and stuff leads to problems. problems like crime. the over 60s now the fastest growing age group in the prison population. figures obtained by this programme show a dramatic rise in police recorded crime for people over the age of 65. violent crime in the pension age group, for example, is up 79% since 2012. the numbers are relatively small, up from just under 4,000 in 2012

to 7,000 incidents recorded last year, but almost half of all crime police recorded in this age group was violent. i think we have romanticised older people. we think that just because they're getting older they'll be the sweet old lady. but they're not. they're frustrated, lonely and angry. this criminologist says some older people getting more violent is easily explained. the frustration of being an old person with not enough to do, with social services being cut, there's a sort of failure of the social contract with the elderly that leads to anger and resentment. so are britain's pensioners really becoming saga louts? there are some other things going on. for years and years police recorded crime figures were massaged to meet certain targets. today, the way police record crime has completely changed. police forces are now looking

to make sure we record things accurately, ethically and that's shown by the number of crimes that have gone up over the past two or three years. i think officers might have gone through an incident five years ago and used their professionaljudgement. two people in their late 60s or 70s having an argument, that might qualify now as violent crime, which they would then record. i don't think they would have done that five years ago. so this is the property, graham. we have four bedrooms here, one is an emergency room. this is the first refuge in the country specifically for older women. we filmed it when it opened last year. the charity that runs it, eva, has seen women in their 60s, 70s and even 80s come here for help. many, many times he went for me. blacked eyes, just a variation of beatings over the years. this woman, who we are calling sarah, was abused by her husband for almost 20 years.

i'm now 63. how old is he? 65, coming up, ithink. he hasjust got older and nastier. when you were younger, did you feel as though if you had reported what was happening that the police would have taken you seriously? no, no. but now it's a different world. they do take it seriously. and that is a significant change. police are now investigating domestic violence and historic sex abuse cases much more assiduously and that's one reason for the rise in today's figures. whether it's growing anger and resentment, or that justice is finally catching up with offenders, more and more older people are ending up on the wrong side of the law. in a moment a look at how the financial markets but first the headlines:

the search for the berlin suspect, anis amri is continuing. two men are convicted of manslaughter over the tipper truck crash in bath which killed four people, including a four—year—old girl. the queen and prince philip have travelled by helicopter to sandringham for the christmas break after delaying their travel yesterday because of illness. hello. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. it's been a mixed day for the ftse100 in london, it started off a bit slow but has ended the day in the green. mining stocks were down throughout the day. elsewhere... donald trump's appointments to is team in the white house continues to attract headlines. this time attention

is focussing on peter navarro — he's going to be the new white house national trade council, and serve as director of trade and industrial policy. he's known to be a fierce critic of china. italy's third largest bank is looking increasingly likely to be bailed out by the government. the italian parliament has authorised the government to use more than £16 billion to intervene. the number of 25 year—olds that own homes has fallen by more than half in 20 years. a new survey by estate agents savills shows that just 20% of those under 25 own their own property, compared with 46% two decades ago. that's all from me, there is a roundup of all the other top business stories on our website. that was quick. gives us plenty of time to talk about, you know it, the christmas yet away. as millions of travellers begin the annual christmas getaway, there are fears journeys could be disrupted by threatened industrial action on the railways

and at british airways, as well as the closure of some major train stations for engineering works. 0ur correspondent paul clifton is at reading train station. if this was a pantomime production and you ask if it would be worse than usual, i would get you to shout back, oh, yes it will. you have been born. at least on the railways, it is predictable. 0n the great western here, there will be no trains into london paddington for several days. this is from tomorrow night because ofa this is from tomorrow night because of a large amount of engineering work. great western railway is advising people to go into marylebone or to waterloo. but that has its own problems. waterloo, the busiest station will also close from 8pm on christmas eve and not reopen for a few days and not have a full

service again until well after the new year. the vast majority of railway lines will stay open, but journey times will be longer than usual and routes may change. dan is with me from great western railways. why are you closing paddington? this is part of the crossrail project which will extend some of the services that run through this part of the world quite significantly. network rail do a lot of this work at normal times, overnight. network rail do a lot of this work at normaltimes, overnight. but network rail do a lot of this work at normal times, overnight. but we don't notice it, but simply they need to do it big. two years ago, this engineering work overran at paddington. the contract is didn't tell network rail and network rail didn't tell you. you couldn't tell the passengers and the result was thousands of people stranded with nowhere to go. what are the chances of that happening again? you cannot dismiss that entirely but everyone is working much more closely. we have learnt lessons. we have not

seena have learnt lessons. we have not seen a significant overrun since then and we hope that will continue for this christmas period. this happens every christmas, white christmas in particular, why not in the summer holidays? we do do this at the times of the year but this is an opportunity for network rail to get on the ground with its people and do the work for three or four straight days. they don't have to pack up and go home then have to come back again. the image of the railway has taken a battering lately, especially on southern railway with industrial action and elsewhere with lots of delays. will this add to its repair the reputation? this is about getting a 21st—century reputation? this is about getting a 21st—ce ntury railway. at reputation? this is about getting a 21st—century railway. at great western railway we are seeing the biggest upgrade of our fleet in a generation. to do that properly, network rail has got to do this work. on the roads, people who monitor trafficjams work. on the roads, people who monitor traffic jams cannot make work. on the roads, people who monitor trafficjams cannot make up their minds, whether tomorrow will

be the worst day of the entire year of the worst day will be christmas eve. car—mageddon, one of the authorities called it. paul clifton, thank you very much. more rural homes in the uk are to get superfast broadband, after the government said it was expanding its scheme to areas of the countryside that suffer from poor internet access. it's spending nearly half a billion pounds to do so — a move which should benefit more than half a million homes, as our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, now explains. connecting rural homes across the uk to fast broadband has meant an investment of £1.7 billion of public money. and nearly all of that has gone to bt. the compa ny‘s contracts with councils and local authorities mean it has to return some of that money if more than 20% of homeowners sign up

when the fast broadband arrives. now, the government says that this cash clawback, coupled with efficiency savings, means another £1140 million can be reinvested in the programme. there's a target of reaching 95% of homes with superfast broadband by the end of 2017. ministers believe that's within reach, and that up to 600,000 more homes and businesses could be hooked up with the new programme. we will have connected 4.5 million premises to superfast broadband, of which 1.5 million have taken up the option of superfast, and that take—up has led to more money being put back into the system, which means we can connect those harder to reach premises and make sure they have superfast broadband too. the woman running bt‘s broadband programme says she sympathises with those still waiting to be connected. there's still more to be done. if you're one of the have—nots, it really hurts today, and i understand that.

we are really determined to have a look at how we go further and faster. but critics say bt has been using the wrong technology, hooking up homeowners via a copper wire to a cabinet, rather than laying fibre—optic cables direct into their homes. it's one of the more controversial aspects of it. bt, they went for the we can roll it out very fast if we go for the partial fibre solution, that uses fibre to the green street cabinets, and then copper from there to your home. that allows them to sort of do 50,000—70,000 homes per month. rivalfirms, including sky and talktalk, are now promising they can deliver faster fibre connections than bt, and without needing public money. welljust how frustrating is it for people living in rural areas with painstakingly slow internet speeds? we've spoken to residents in the village of reeth in the yorkshire dales, where superfast broadband couldn't come quick enough. it works sundays and then you'll

just get times when it is buffering. if it gets to peak time, like evening, tea—time, it slows right down and it is still not getting any better. if i want to get a picture sent through or if i want to send a picture to someone else, the chances arei picture to someone else, the chances are i cannot do it. it makes it almost impossible to run a small business. so much is internet—based, if you cannot access it or use it to run your business, then you will struggle. more on all of that after 5pm and more on berlin as well. time to look at the weather, let's join darren bett for the forecast. a lot of people will be travelling in the run—up to christmas. there is some wet weather on the way. it is more like the northern half of the country who will see some disruption because of the weather. this is our

second named storm of the season, storm barbara heading towards scotland. it is different weather across the uk. scotland, quite a bit of snow over the hills. contrast that with the winter sunshine and a bit of a chill through the midlands, but a lovely day and. showers will become fewer overnight and less wintry across the north. clear skies for a while and it will turn chilly. notice how the winds will pick up later on. the cloud around the liam—macro arrives and this is the first sign of storm barbara first thing in the morning. thejet stream is steering it just thing in the morning. thejet stream is steering itjust to the north of scotland. the closer you are to that area of low pressure, the stronger the winds. the winds will pick up across scotland and northern ireland as the rain moves in during the morning. across england and wales, squally wind and rain in the afternoon. across angrier and the

south—east, it might be fine, but globally. heavier showers coming into scotland and northern ireland later in the afternoon. it is into friday evening the winds will start to ramp up across the far north of scotland, gusts of 80, possibly 90 miles an hour. because of that rehab this amber be prepared winds warning from the met office the chance of disruption and some damage as well. as barbara moves away tomorrow night, we see the strongest of the wind moving. still some gales for while across northern scotland. as we head into christmas eve, there will be wintry showers and blustery winds across the northern half of the uk. across the south, bright and breezy with increasing amounts of cloud and rain in the north—west later on. that is our next area of low pressure. the winds are not as strong or intense, but nonetheless, it will be a windy day. in between

these two weather fronts, we are drawing in some mild air. possibly the mid—teens and gusty winds and a speu the mid—teens and gusty winds and a spell of rain coming down from the north—west. as that tends to push southeast later in the day, cold air coming into scotland. possibly in scotland, over the hills, coming into scotland. possibly in scotland, overthe hills, it coming into scotland. possibly in scotland, over the hills, it could bea scotland, over the hills, it could be a white christmas later on in the day. after this excitement, after the strong winds and the snow, after christmas it will be drier with lighter winds. today at 5.00pm. police in germany report some progress in their hunt for the main suspect in the berlin market attack earlier this week. new images of the man being sought, tunisian anis amri, whose fingerprints have been found on the door of the truck which was used in the attack. 0vernight, police raided properties in different parts of germany. the main suspect has not been seen since monday. in berlin, as the christmas market reopened, the chancellor, angela merkel, commended the public

for their response to the attack. translation: i must say, over the last few days, i have been very proud of the calmness and composure shown by people and also of course the officers that have been at work here. we'll have the latest from berlin and we'll be speaking to an expert on counter—terrorism. the other main stories on the bbc news at five.