this is bbc news. the headlines: the former leader of the liberal democrats lord paddy ashdown has died at the ageof 77. he was the first to lead the party after the liberals merged with the social democrats in 1988, and remained in post until 1999. he also served as international high representative to bosnia after the war. police investigating the drones at gatwick search a house in west sussex, following the arrest of a man and a woman from crawley. meanwhile, the airport has so far run a full service today but passengers continue to suffer delays and cancellations. we don't have a very long holiday so it is frustrating to miss out on some of it. it is frustrating that this happened at all.

a row over the money for donald trump's border wall results in a partial shutdown of the us government. a dream start for ole gunnar solskjaer in charge at manchester united winning 5—1 against cardiff. and in half an hour, we look at how the social media giants came underfire in review 2018: the media year. it's just been announced that the former liberal democrat leader, lord paddy ashdown, has died at the age of 77. mr ashdown began his career in the military as a royal marine and then went on to lead the liberal democrats for 11 years from 1988. in november this year, lord ashdown revealed he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. we can speak

to the current leader of the liberal democrats, sir vince cable, who is on the phone now. thank you forjoining us. very sad day for the party and no doubt for yourself personally. yes, very sad and something of a surprise. only three months ago, he was buzzing with energy and ideas at our party conference. i think many of us knew him and remember him as a very fine leader and mr action man, he was the love energy, dry, commitment. he built the party up from a very low base when he took over as leader at the time of the merger. to a point where in the mid to late 90s, we we re where in the mid to late 90s, we were a very formidable force and it was his organisational dry and enthusiasm that got us there. and he

remained involved in the party until very recently. yes, indeed. and he was a good source of advice and idealism. he wasn'tjust involved in the party. after he retired from the leadership, he worked for the come true, i mean, he performed this important role in bosnia and it reflected his wider international outlook. before that, he campaigned on the rights of people in hong kong, in support of humanitarian monetary intervention, he was very strongly committed to the european project. he was an internationally minded figure, he was a real statesman, but he was also a formidable local campaigner at the same time. as a personality, describe him. he was larger—than—life, in many ways his

personality reflected his early background in the military. he was full of energy, and as i described earlier, mr action man. full of energy, and as i described earlier, mraction man. really leading from the front, leading by example. he started his career in yeovil with very little, and she really built up a campaign, an organisation from spat —— from scratch and used this as a model which he replicated on the international stage. he was full of life, full of ideas, and i knew him well, obviously, as an mp colleague and subsequently and he was a great inspiration. it was such a long career that it is hard to know at what point does start but remembering his time as liberal democrat leader, it was under his leadership that the party really went from a handful of mps to being a sizeable force. yes, where he took over, the party had just come out of

the merger between the liberals and the merger between the liberals and the social democrats, it was quite a traumatic episode and the party was very wea k traumatic episode and the party was very weak at that stage. but he thought it up through campaigning, through successful campaigning in 1992 election and in 1997, we doubled our number of mps, and we then increased our strength again before he handed over to charles kennedy. serb vince cable, leader of the liberal democrats, thank you very much indeed. —— certain vince cable. the news that has just come out that lord paddy ashdown has died after a short illness. let's take a look back now at lord ashdown‘s life and career with our chief political correspondent vicki young. this is how most people will remember paddy ashdown, the action man, the party leader with the least affection for westminster. long before he fired his first political salvos he was a military man,

a marine seeing active service in borneo and melayu, as documented at the time. and this post, 20 three rd 23—year—old marine tenant ashdown from somerset has local forces as well as marines under his command. he excelled as a member of the elite special boat squadron, and spoke fluent mandarin chinese. he spent time to northern ireland during the worst of the troubles. after a period as a diplomat and sometime on the dole, paddy ashdown got involved with the liberals, elected mp for yeovil in 1983. later in 1988, after the painful merger with the sdp that formed the liberal democrats, he became leader. i say to the millions out there who are concerned about poverty and about unemployment, come and join us. the party was at rock bottom the polls and financially crippled.

paddy ashdown built it up again, but at some cost to his home life. he admitted an affair with his former secretary, tricia howard. what he said stands, he's made his statement already and i'm perfectly well aware of what he was going to say. fears that his party's poll rating would suffer were unfounded and in 1997 he guided it to its greatest election achievement since the 20s, doubling the number of lib dems mps. by this stage he'd already been contemplating the prospect of coalition government with labour. a joint cabinet committee was established and liberal democrats invited to talks at number ten. according to ashdown the plan to bring the lib dems into government founded amid opposition from senior labour ministers and the thorny problem of electoral reform. in the liberal democrat leader, tony blair had a candid friend.

your government, i believe, could become potentially an historic one, but only if it lets go a little, if it relaxes a little, if it tolerates descent a little, if it welcomes diversity a little and if it interferes a little less. charles kennedy is duly elected leader. paddy ashdown resigned the leadership in 1999, handing the baton onto charles kennedy and retiring from the house of commons two years later. he spent time in bosnia, at some personal risk, at the height of the war there. and in 2002 he became the high representative in bosnia and herzegovina. myjob is to create, to help to create the structures of modern european democratic state and then to repatriate the powers the international community has held here back to the bosnians. but he wasn't done with westminster politics. in 2015 after lib dems had spent five years in coalition with

the conservatives, lord ashdown returned to chair the party's general election campaign. and we are saying the conservatives are the largest party. famously, disputing the exit poll prediction of a dire result. if this exit poll is right, andrew, i will publicly eat my hat on your programme. this is a hat! you are so predictable, aren't you? i knew you'd do that. i wanted to get a bigger one! paddy ashdown‘s energy sometimes his colleagues and he was mocked his action man image, reinforced by a clipped military tones and narrowed eyes staring towards the horizon. but the inspired respect for his constant ideas and enthusiasm, and his efforts to build the liberal democrats into a force in national politics. paddy ashdown, lord ashdown, who has

died it hasjust been announced, at the age of 77. our political correspondent jonathan blake is here with me now. jonathan, very sad news for the biblical world and for the party, what are the liberal democrats saying? yes, the party has confirmed the news within the last half hour or so. the news within the last half hour or so. the statement reflects on the sadness of the occasion. i'll read you what the lib dem spokesperson says. it is with great news that —— sadness that we announce the news that paddy ashdown has passed away following a short illness. he will be desperately missed as a dear friend and colleague and remembered as someone friend and colleague and remembered as someone who made a contribution to furthering the cause of liberalism, and it ends with saying their thoughts are with his family and all theirfriends their thoughts are with his family and all their friends at this difficult time and they ask that their privacy is respected. you heard vince cable speaking on bbc news the short time ago, reflecting

with his thoughts as saying that this was sad and had come as something of a surprise. we knew paddy ashdown was ill, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer weeks ago but it seems he had taken a turn for the worse and deteriorating quite rapidly. he spoke about his illness when he was diagnosed, saying that as for the timing and his rock masses, he said we'll have to see what happens, i've faced many battles in my life, that is what he said at the time of his diagnosis. the hacks with characteristic stoicism and a note of optimism there. nick clegg, anotherformer leader of the liberal democrats, of course, saying that his heart goes out to jane and paddy's whole family. he says he was the reason i entered politics, the reason i became a liberal, and he became a lifelong mental, friend, and guide. and also saying what many people are saying this evening about paddy

ashdown, that he had the most rarest of gifts. nick clegg says a politician without an ounce of cynicism, he was the most heartfelt person i have known, loyal and generous to a fault. they have been tributes from other parts of the visible spectrum as well, he was a very well liked and respected man. in the last few minutes, people are responding to the news. the conservative home secretary says it isa conservative home secretary says it is a very sad news and he describes him as one of the most friendly and most compassionate people that he has ever met in politics. alistair campbell, former director of communications to tony blair as prime minister describes him as a man of phenomenal energy and drive, someone man of phenomenal energy and drive, someone who had very deeply held beliefs but always kept respect for others. and they are reflecting what many people are saying about paddy ashdown this evening, that he is recognised as a giant of british politics, somebody took the party at a very low ebb when it had just

merged and brought it to national prominence and i think politicians of all colours this evening will be reflected on the way he conducted himself as an addition, in paying their tributes, we have already seen that expressed. more from you as more reviews come in. the bbc‘s special correspondent, allan little, spent three years in bosnia reporting for the bbc from 1992 to 1995 and got to know lord ashdown, and has stayed in touch since. we should be able to join him on the phone. you stayed in touch with lord ashdown, tell some your memories of him. i first met him in bosnia. i was struck by his impatience and determination to get things done. after that, his physical courage, too. he came at a time when the war was at its height, there was

shelling and sniping in sarajevo every day, he wasn't heart of a government delegation, he was there under his own steam so his protection was very limited. what struck me was his ability to listen. he understood straightaway, at a time when most other, most western european governments and certainly picked him up was very about that. i picked him up once on something he said in a radio interview, i told once on something he said in a radio interview, itold him i once on something he said in a radio interview, i told him i disagreed with him fundamentally, and i expected him to push me away and defend his position, and instead, he saidi defend his position, and instead, he said i will come back later and we can explore that. and later that night, he came to my office and we

sat there for an hour or so and he grilled me and questioned me and he was interested in my take, and that struck me as very unusual for a politician of that stature and calibre. the quality of his listening was very, very impressive. very unusual. how did lord ashdown, how was he received by the various parties while he was there? well, i think it was very well liked in bosnia at that time for simply coming, for having the courage to come and share the danger with the people there. he was not much liked by the serb side, he saw very clearly that the war was coming from that direction but he was, i think, welcomed by, when he became high representative in 2002, he certainly got a lot and, he managed to help knit the country back together again, to close the divisions. it was under his readership that bosnia

got a single multinational army again, it having obviously divided along ethnic lines during the war, and he managed to knit together unified police authority so he's a lot to rebuild the country after the war. i got an e—mailfrom lot to rebuild the country after the war. i gotan e—mailfrom him lot to rebuild the country after the war. i got an e—mailfrom him a few weeks ago, he was very worried that a lot of what he had achieved at that time was put into reverse and he was sounding the alarm constantly about the threat of return to violence and the general destabilising with the rise again of nationalist parties. he was agitating right to the end on that question that was so close to his heart. and you and he, although meeting many years ago, stayed in touch, specifically over bosnia or as friends? over bosnia. i wouldn't claim him as a friend. he got very angry with me a few times and said though when i said things on the television and radio about the

balkans that he disagreed with. we had great discussions about it and he wouldn't hold back, he would be very clear about what he thought. but he every patch it very quickly. he would contact me from time to time and say what can we do about this? this is troubling me, have you heard about the latest development, can “— heard about the latest development, can —— what can we do about it? i stayed in touch with him in that discussion. and that was a place that was very, very close to his heart, for 25 or more years, and stayed close to his heart until a few weeks ago. and the words we have heard this evening, alan, tributes from people who knew him, words like sincerity, integrity, honesty, these are words that you would use to sum him up, too? absolutely. i was very struck by that. you didn'tjoin the liberal democrats when paddy did to have career in government, he was

driven by conviction, but visible, and he was one of the most principled people i have ever known. _by principled people i have ever known. —— by conviction, by principle. allen, in his last few weeks, you say you were in touch with him fairly recently, and he speak to you about his health? no, not at all. we had an e—mail exchange before he was ill. he was worried about the deteriorating medical situation in bosnia, that is really what we stayed in touch about, we did a few public event together over the years in which i would interview him on stage for a radio programme and our conversation was broadly always about the same thing, about the balkans, and that was the context in which i knew him. but i was very struck by his tenacity, he was a patient man and wanted to get ings done quickly but he had the long view, he kept on at this the 25 yea rs, very

view, he kept on at this the 25 years, very unfashionable cause, there were no votes in it for him, wasn't going to be more popular as a result of devoting so much time to a problem that few people understood in the balkans. he was driven by compassion, principal, and a belief that things could get better. alan, very good to talk to you with your assessment of lord ashdown. many thanks alan little, our special correspondent. there have been tributes coming in, as you would expect. some of them on twitter. this from tim farren. paddy ashdown was a hero to me... and this tweet from the home secretary. very sad to hear that paddy ashdown has passed away, the and that is the breaking news this

evening, that the former leader of the liberal democrats, paddy ashdown, has died at the age of 77. he had assured illness, it was revealed he was suffering from blood count the just a few weeks ago. —— bladder cancerjust a count the just a few weeks ago. —— bladder cancer just a few weeks count the just a few weeks ago. —— bladder cancerjust a few weeks ago. the headlines on bbc news: the former leader of the liberal democrats lord paddy died at the age of 77. he led the liberal democrats for over a decade and was the first leader after the party merged with the social democrats in 1988. police investigating

the drones at gatwick search a house in west sussex, following the arrest of a man and a woman from crawley. a man and a woman are being questioned by detectives in connection with the criminal use of drones, near gatwick airport. the suspects are from crawley in west sussex and police are searching a house in the town. sitings of drones over the last three days led to the cancellation or delay of a thousand flights, affecting more than 140,000 passengers. today, the airport has remained open but a backlog of flights has meant continuing problems for travellers. jenny kumar reports. tonight, police activity at a house near gatwick airport. officers have searched inside the property and examined vehicles parked on the drive. this comes after sussex police confirmed last night that a man and a woman had been arrested in connection with illegal drone activity. at gatwick today, flights have been getting back to normal after three days of disruption, but there is a backlog to clear and frustration amongst passengers.

we fly off to france today, skiing in the alps. the kids, taking them away properly for a first white christmas, and yeah, it's been really anxious times for us. i only had a couple of weeks at home so it's cut my trip short by a day, which is really upsetting when you don't get to see your family and friends that often. so i was really sad, i've been really sad about it, but i'm excited to be on the ground and back home. it's not ideal, we're not happy with that, we don't have a very long holiday, so it's frustrating to miss out on some of it. it seems rather stupid that this incident had to happen at all. the disruption caused widespread chaos, affecting 1,000 flights and 150,000 passengers. today, six flights have been cancelled, but the airport hopes to run the majority of services. one estimate is that the disruption is costing airlines around £15 million as they refund customers and make arrangements for others to get to their destination in time for christmas. it's been a year of heavy

discounting for retailers, and christmas shoppers have been out and about looking for last minute deals on what's become known as super saturday. footfall on the high street is down again this year with figures showing trading this festive season may have already peaked. sarah corker reports from leeds. # joy to the world, the lord has come # with three days to go until christmas, millions of us are hitting the high street to bag those last few presents. in leeds today, shoppers were certainly getting into the festive mood. so we tried to get things online, but then you can't feel it and touch it, so we've come into leeds because you get the atmosphere, and to me the two days before christmas, where everyone is running around getting shopping, are kind of like a nice atmosphere, it's quite nice to come out and see everybody. it's actually quite stressful, i'm in such a bad mood. i can't find anything i want, i should have prepared, but it happens every year. why have you left it

until the last minute then? i always do, every year. it's not last minute — christmas eve is last minute. i have seven grandchildren, ranging from nine months to 23, so... so you've got all the food to feed the family. oh yeah, definitely. shoppers are expected to spend more than £1 billion today, which has been nicknamed super saturday, and many retailers are banking on that last—minute rush to boost sales after a difficult run—up to christmas on the high street. prices are being slashed to boost sales and shift stock. 2018 has been one of the toughest years on record for retailers, who are being squeezed by rising costs and online competition. today is normally the busiest day for christmas shoppers in the lead up to christmas but this year the situation is different and consumers are feeling less confident around the future so they have been reining back their spending, so footfall, the volume of activity, the people going to retail destinations, is lower than last year. even for internet retailers, sales this season have been

lower than expected. it's christmas, should be organised! one thing people are splashing out on is turkey and trimmings. it has been nonstop since 6:30am. we were busier than a normal saturday and we have the staff to cope. it may be one of the busiest shopping days but this year more than ever, the high street has lost some of its sparkle. sarah corker, bbc news, in leeds. for viewers just joining for viewersjustjoining us, the sad news this evening is the death of the former leader of the liberal democrats paddy ashdown. tributes have been flooding in, this one from anotherformer leader of have been flooding in, this one from another former leader of the party, david steel. he said it is a huge shock to learn of the death of my

successor. paddy ashdown was always action man which makes the passing all the more cruel. he was an indefatigable standard—bearer for liberal values and will be missed by all, especially those he served so brilliantly in his constituency yeovil. that was from david steel. church attendance in the uk has been in steady decline in recent years but not in cathedrals. they're actually bucking that trend with a 13% rise in attendance in the last decade. ten million of us visited a cathedral last year. our religious affairs editor, martin bashir, has been to lichfield in staffordshire, to find out why 20,000 people have made the trip in the run up to christmas. choral singing if wise men followed a star, then what would they make of this? a laser light show at lichfield cathedral in the run—up to christmas. £6 for adults, £4 for children,

and it's a sell—out. inside this medieval cathedral, 22,000 doves float above the nave. modern technology telling the ancient story of peace on earth. you could see for miles as we walked in and it draws you in. absolutely brilliant. i think it's really good to come and see something like this locally. the spectacular light show is also having an impact here. that's £8.80 altogether. a recent study found that cathedrals give a £200 million boost to their local high streets. with all the light shows and all their events, basically it's bringing in a lot more people into lichfield which is great for the bars, the restaurants and shops. attendance at lichfield is up 25% and while they are reluctant to attribute this to any single cause, the dean says that cathedrals have worked hard at improving their product,

combining the tranquillity of a sacred space with the stimulus of modern media. what has any of this to do with the message of a saviour who is christ the lord, born at christmas? well, the message of the angels wasjoy. "i bring you news of great joy." when you look in the face of a newborn child, you experience joy, and it's that spirit of non—anxiety, of joyful freedom, that we want to put people in touch with. the light of the world has certainly come to the midlands. martin bashir, bbc news at lichfield cathedral. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. more tributes coming in for lord paddy ashdown, this one from the former prime ministerjohn major, he

said in government paddy ashdown was my opponent, in life he was a much valued friend, his loss will be not deeply by many not least myself. he was a true patriot whose overriding wish was to serve his country, first in the marines and then in both houses of armament. i can attest to the fact that even when he was gravely ill, his concern for the future of our country continued to dominate his winking. i was not surprised, the paddy his country a lwa ys surprised, the paddy his country always came before and had to call personal advantage. i heart goes out to jane, his children and grandchildren and he can be in august —— they can be enormously proud of everything he achieved. devoted to the country he loved right up to the very end. that warm and heartfelt tribute to paddy ashdown from the former prime ministerjohn major. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. the day has been dry and bright for

many. some showers around which will continue to fade but ahead of us for the day on sunday, looming masses of cloud, weather fronts the day on sunday, looming masses of cloud, weatherfronts bringing a different day for many. already as we approach midnight the cloud and rain is gathering in the south—west, towards northern ireland as well. little wind to drive it in, so we will have some fog in scotland and also some frost. temperatures above freezing with the onset of more cloud which will sit on hilltops tomorrow. some heavy rain for a time in the south and across northern areas, may be southern scotland before later clearing northern ireland and southern scotland but leaving cloud. the best sunshine in central and northern scotland. much milder under the gloomy skies and more rain further south. the outlook is more rain