Queen due at Christmas service

24 December 2012 Last updated at 20:58 ET

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In her Christmas message, the Queen praises the ''skill, dedication, training and teamwork'' of the Olympic athletes

The Queen is expected to attend church on Christmas morning, after recovering from a cold which prevented her from attending a service on Sunday.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are at the royal estate in Sandringham, Norfolk and will be present for the sermon at St Mary Magdalene Church.

Her Christmas speech, to be broadcast at 15:00 GMT, will pay tribute to the UK's Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

The address will, for the first time, be broadcast in 3D.

The Queen traditionally spends the festive period with her family at Sandringham, but this year has not been joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are with the duchess's family in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Prince William and Catherine are expecting their first child, after the duchess was admitted to hospital following an acute bout of morning sickness.

Prince Harry is absent from the celebrations, as he is currently serving as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps in Afghanistan.

'Excitement and drama'

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the Queen's self-penned Christmas speech, broadcast to the UK and Commonwealth, will focus on "service, achievement and the spirit of togetherness".

She will hail the "splendid summer of sport" in the pre-recorded address and will highlight how the sportsmen and women allowed spectators to feel part of the "excitement and drama".

The Queen will say: "As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes."

The Queen had her own starring role in the London Olympics, declaring them officially open after appearing to parachute into the stadium with James Bond - played by current 007 Daniel Craig.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the Christmas message, made on 7 December, has been released showing the Queen meeting senior staff from Sky News which produced the broadcast this year.

In other footage she wears 3D glasses as she watches part of the broadcast, which will be transmitted on both TV and radio at 15:00 GMT.

Her use of 3D technology comes 80 years after George V first broadcast a Christmas speech on the radio and started the 25 December tradition.

It has been an eventful year for the royal family, with the Queen celebrating her Diamond Jubilee in June, marked with celebrations in the UK and Commonwealth.

She also became the first British monarch to reach a 65th wedding anniversary.

But there were health scares, with Prince Philip, 91, forced to miss some key events during the Jubilee celebrations after being taken to hospital with a bladder infection.

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Man charged over street stabbing

24 December 2012 Last updated at 21:29 ET

A man is expected to appear in court on Boxing Day, charged with murder of a man found with multiple stab wounds in an east London street.

Fitzroy Anthony Daley, 36, from Bow, is expected to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Eric Paul, 50, of Burgess Street, Poplar, east London, was found with multiple stab wounds in Devons Road in Bow in the early hours of Saturday.

He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

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Christmas flood risk set to stay

24 December 2012 Last updated at 23:05 ET

Wet weather is set to continue until at least Friday, potentially bringing further flooding to parts of the UK, weather forecasters have predicted.

Heavy showers and gusty winds will move eastwards across England and Wales on Christmas Day, but parts of central and eastern Scotland should stay dry.

The Environment Agency (EA) said many places will stay on flood alert despite a slight easing of weather conditions.

More than 470 properties have been flooded since Wednesday, the EA said.

Water levels are still rising on some of Britain's longest rivers, such as the Thames and the Severn, the agency added.

At Ironbridge in Shropshire, temporary flood barriers have been put up along the Severn to keep householders dry on Christmas Day.

Dorset is the area most likely to experience more flooding on Christmas Day, due to rising groundwater levels, officials have warned.

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Travel and weather information

From the BBC:

Elsewhere:

The agency has issued more than 160 flood warnings and 260 flood alerts for England and Wales, with most concentrated in the Midlands and southern counties of England.

'Stay prepared'

In Scotland, which is expected to see some respite from the rain on Wednesday, there are 12 flood warnings and 7 flood alerts.

More than 18,000 calls have been made to the EA's Floodline service in the past six days.

David Jordan, director of operations at the agency, said: "Although the rain is set to ease a little in the coming days, the ground is still very wet and river levels remain high, so we would ask people to keep up to date with the latest warnings and stay prepared for flooding".

Most rail operators do not run services on Christmas Day, but disruption to train services caused by flooding and landslides is set to continue.

Trains will not run between Manchester Oxford Road and Liverpool Lime Street until Thursday due to a landslip at Glazebrook.

Meanwhile the railway line between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway will not reopen until Friday at the earliest, while only a limited replacement bus service will operate.

On the motorways, the eastbound carriageway of the A27 is closed at Chichester in West Sussex and is not expected to reopen until Boxing Day.

Wettest years

In Wales, the A487 is closed in both directions between Machynlleth and Derwenlas due to flooding but should reopen later on Christmas morning.

Met Office figures suggest 2012 is set to be one of the wettest years since records began in 1910.

Before December, the average rainfall for the year so far was 1,202mm - placing it 13th in the list of wettest years.

Due to the deluge of rain in the run up to Christmas, forecasters say 2012 is now likely to finish with one of the highest rainfall totals on record.

The year 2000 remains the UK's wettest year, with an average rainfall of 1,337mm.

BBC forecaster Matt Taylor said: "The weather is lacking a little bit of festive cheer at the moment.

"On Boxing Day, more wet weather will push in from the south-west. While any rain is not welcome at the moment, at least the strong winds will push the rain away from the south-west quite smartly".

He concluded: "It really doesn't end."

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UK troops to enjoy festive lunch

24 December 2012 Last updated at 23:45 ET

All UK servicemen and women serving in Afghanistan are set to enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch after a major logistical effort.

Turkey, potatoes and mince pies were among the items flown into the country by the armed forces, to bring a little festive cheer to the troops.

Military chefs will travel to forward operating bases to ensure everyone gets a freshly-cooked meal.

About 9,000 UK service personnel are currently deployed in Afghanistan.

Carol services, pantomimes and sporting competitions are also being laid on at many military outposts.

At the main operating base in Lashkar Gah, troops are due to take part in the Lash Dash, a 5km Christmas Day fun run with prizes for the best costumes.

Major Mark Yates, who serves with 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, is among a group of personnel putting on a production of the panto Aladdin in Lashkar Gah.

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To ensure the troops get a festive lunch, food was flown in from the UK including:

• 2.5 tonnes of turkey
• 850kg of Brussels sprouts
• 350kg of Christmas pudding
• 23,500 mince pies
• 40,000 chocolate mints
• More than 1,000 packets of shortbread

The 40-year-old from Manchester said: "We're all away from our families but we want to make sure we remember Christmas as it is a link with home.

"Many of us have young children and would probably have gone to see a panto at this time of year.

"It's been a bit of fun between work but not at the cost of any of our operations," he added.

About 130 tonnes of Christmas post has been delivered to bases around the country from friends, family and well-wishers.

Senior-ranking officers in the British army will keep up the tradition of serving their soldiers tea and coffee on Christmas morning.

Task Force Helmand spokesman Major Laurence Roche said: "It's always tough being away from home at Christmas.

"We have a job to do here but we make sure that as many people as possible get to sit down and have a big Christmas lunch.

"Every effort is made to ensure the troops enjoy the day and in some small way bring a little bit of home to Afghanistan," he added.

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Archbishop attacks gay marriage

25 December 2012 Last updated at 03:27 ET

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has used his Christmas Eve sermon to attack the government's plans for gay marriage.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols called the plans a "shambles".

Speaking at Westminster Cathedral, he said the government had no mandate to push through same-sex marriage laws.

Two weeks ago, the government unveiled plans to allow gay marriage in England and Wales but said no organisation would be forced to carry out services.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury is to admit that the Church of England has been damaged by the recent vote against women bishops in his final Christmas sermon in the role.

Dr Rowan Williams is to retire from the post at the end of the month.

'Shambolic' process

During his midnight sermon, Archbishop Nichols said of the gay marriage plans: "There was no announcement in any party manifesto, no Green Paper, no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are on the verge of primary legislation.

"From a democratic point-of-view, it's a shambles. George Orwell would be proud of that manoeuvre, I think the process is shambolic."

He claims during a "period of listening", those who responded were "7-1 against same-sex marriage".

In the past, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has likened committed gay relationships to "profound friendships".

The government has previously announced that the Church of England and Church in Wales will be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages, with other religious organisations able to "opt in" to holding ceremonies.

Announcing the plans, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said: "European law already puts religious freedoms beyond doubt, and we will go even further by bringing in an additional 'quadruple legal lock'.

"But it is also a key aspect of religious freedom that those bodies who want to opt in should be able to do so."

Referendum call

Although the Church of England has opposed gay marriage and is expected to oppose the government's bill, it has also said it was not consulted on a plan for the bill to include a specific ban on it conducting gay marriages. And the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said he thought the ban was a "step too far".

But Muslim leaders have called for the same legal exemptions as the Church of England in gay marriage legislation, with the Muslim Council of Britain saying it was "appalled" by the government's "utterly discriminatory" proposals.

The Scottish government has also published its proposed legislation to introduce gay marriage and a draft bill is now being compiled to be put to the Scottish Parliament.

Under the plans, religious and belief bodies would need to "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages.

Scottish ministers have insisted that, as in England and Wales, no part of the religious community would be forced to hold same-sex weddings in churches but both the Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic Church are opposed to the gay marriage proposals.

Earlier this year Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, urged the Scottish government to hold a referendum on proposals to legalise same-sex marriage.

And in a newspaper article, he wrote that the proposal for same-sex marriage represented a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right".

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'Acceptable' festive sales predicted

23 December 2012 Last updated at 17:40 ET

Christmas sales figures are likely to be "acceptable" rather than "exceptional", the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has predicted.

It has estimated that £5bn will have been spent in Britain's shops over the weekend, as millions of people stocked up on food, drink and presents.

The BRC says many shoppers waited until the last minute to pick up a bargain.

Meanwhile, several retailers are reportedly bringing their online sales forward to Christmas Eve.

High streets, shopping centres and supermarkets were reportedly packed with shoppers on the last few trading days before Christmas.

Many retailers have already started discounting products in advance of the traditional "Boxing Day" sales.

Saturday was expected to have been the busiest day of the year on the high street, with credit card company Visa Europe predicting more than 31 million transactions.

52 million sprouts

Richard Dodd, head of media and campaigns at the BRC, said: "People have left it very late this year because of their reluctance to spend. They are holding out for bargains.

"It's been a very busy weekend which will be crucial to delivering a Christmas that is acceptable, rather than exceptional," he added.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's said the hour between 12:00 and 13:00 GMT on Sunday was its busiest hour ever in terms of the number of customers served.

The company said it expected to sell 225,000 bottles of champagne, 56 million mince pies, 52 million Brussels sprouts and 6,500 tonnes of potatoes over the festive period.

Traders in London's West End had predicted that one million people would shop in the area during the three days leading to Christmas Eve, spending an estimated £100m.

'Bumper weekend'

At Brent Cross shopping centre in north London, centre manager Tom Nathan said the weekend would be their busiest period because schools had broken up late and Christmas Day was on a Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Bluewater shopping centre in Kent expected more than 275,000 shoppers to pass through in the days before Christmas Eve, while Birmingham's Bullring centre predicted it would welcome about 340,000 consumers.

Bullring general manager Tim Walley said: "This Christmas we essentially have an extra weekend of trading in comparison to December 2011, so we're expecting a bumper weekend."

But despite optimism in some quarters, the Local Government Association (LGA) said confidence on the high street remained low.

Its annual Christmas survey found that 84% of town centre managers said confidence among shoppers had either not improved or worsened compared to Christmas 2011.

A cold and wet start to the winter could also be taking its toll on the number of shoppers visiting town centres, the LGA concluded.

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Queen's message hails Olympic stars

23 December 2012 Last updated at 19:01 ET

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In her Christmas message, the Queen praises the ''skill, dedication, training and teamwork'' of the Olympic athletes

The Queen is to pay tribute to the nation's Olympic and Paralympic athletes in her Christmas broadcast.

She will hail the "splendid summer of sport" and highlight how the sportsmen and women allowed spectators to feel part of the "excitement and drama".

For the first time the address will be broadcast in 3D.

On Sunday, the Queen missed church as she was recovering from a cold, Buckingham Palace said. But she is expected to attend on Christmas Day.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the speech, which will be broadcast in full on Christmas Day, would focus on "service, achievement and the spirit of togetherness".

During the address the Queen will say: "As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes.

"In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama."

The Queen had her own starring role in the London Olympics, declaring them officially open after appearing to parachute into the stadium with James Bond.

It has been an eventful year for the royal family, with the Queen celebrating her Diamond Jubilee in June, marked with UK-wide celebrations.

She also became the first British monarch to reach a 65th wedding anniversary.

But there were health scares, with Prince Philip, 91, forced to miss some key events during the Jubilee celebrations after being taken to hospital with a bladder infection.

'Absolutely lovely'

Earlier this month, her grandson Prince William announced that his wife the Duchess of Cambridge was expecting a baby.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the Christmas message, made on 7 December, has been released, showing the Queen meeting senior staff from Sky News which produced the broadcast this year.

In other footage she wears 3D glasses as she watches part of the broadcast.

The message was recorded in Buckingham Palace's white drawing room with the Queen wearing a fine silk tulle gown by Angela Kelly.

The Christmas address is written by the Queen and usually has a strong religious framework, reflects current issues and draws on her own experiences over the past year.

Her use of 3D technology comes 80 years after George V first broadcast a Christmas speech on the radio and started the 25 December tradition.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the monarch thought the broadcast was "absolutely lovely".

She added: "We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology-wise, to do."

The message will be transmitted on both television and radio at 15:00 GMT on Christmas Day.

It will be available on the Royal Channel on the YouTube website and will also be shown in Commonwealth countries.

The broadcast will also be screened in standard and high definition.

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Adoption overhaul plan announced

23 December 2012 Last updated at 19:04 ET By Judith Burns BBC News education reporter

The adoption system in England will be overhauled to make it swifter and more robust, the government has announced.

Ministers want to give would-be adoptive parents more encouragement to come forward to help increase the number and speed of adoptions.

The plan would also let people approved as adopters see the register of children waiting to be adopted.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering said it "warmly welcomed" the announcement.

Government figures show the number of children approved for adoption rose from 3,000 in 2010 to more than 4,000 in 2012 but there are still around 4,000 in care who are waiting to be matched with prospective parents.

New legislation

Ministers want to encourage hundreds more people to come forward and consider adoption but stress that the assessment process for would-be adopters will remain rigorous.

The biggest change is that for the first time people who have been approved as adopters will be able to consult a version of the official adoption register for information on children and young people waiting for adoption.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said that this change will need primary legislation.

The plan will also give prospective adopters a new legal right to take time off work to meet children they are due to adopt, while parents of two-year-old adopted children will be given 15 hours a week free nursery care.

Ministers also plan to pilot personal support budgets for adoptive parents. They say this would allow families to decide exactly what support they need - for example, parenting classes. A two-year trial will begin in some areas in April 2013.

'More support'

Children's minister Edward Timpson told BBC News: "This is a package of support to all those who are looking to adopt, to make sure that if they do want to pursue an interest in adopting, they will be welcomed with open arms.

"They will be far more involved and active in the matching process and once they do go through the process of adoption they will have far greater levels of support and involvement than they currently have."

Mr Timpson said up to 25,000 people enquired about adopting each year, but thousands ended up being deterred by the process and the delays.

It could take years just to get approved as a prospective adopter while children remained in care, waiting for adoption, he said.

The government says it also wants to give financial support to "adoption activity days" - where prospective adoptive parents can meet children waiting for adoption.

The charity BAAF has already run three activity days which resulted in one in five of the children present being successfully matched, according to Mr Timpson.

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Everyone should be mindful of the damage that is done the longer a child is without the love and stability of a permanent family. "

End Quote Janet Grauberg Barnardo's

David Holmes of BAAF particularly welcomed support for the activity days.

He said: "Now, more than ever, we need more people to consider if adoption could be right for them. We must find families for the thousands of children who are waiting, whilst ensuring that adoption support is available to meet the needs of all."

He added that the plan to improve support for adoptive families was vital to ensure adoptions had the best chance of succeeding long term.

Janet Grauberg of the charity Barnardo's said: "Everyone should be mindful of the damage that is done the longer a child is without the love and stability of a permanent family.

"The government's changes will help to empower adopters by increasing support and reducing the barriers that have been putting off potential parents for far too long."

The plans follow other measures to improve the adoption process already in the pipeline, such as allowing adoptive parents as much maternity and paternity leave as biological parents plus a telephone helpline and website.

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PM quotes Bible in Christmas message

24 December 2012 Last updated at 00:00 ET

David Cameron has quoted a verse from the Bible while paying tribute to Britain's armed forces and emergency services in his Christmas message.

The prime minister said that Christmas was a time to "pause and reflect on what is important".

In an "extraordinary year" for the UK, the Prime Minister praised Team GB and the organisers of the London Olympics.

In the past, Mr Cameron had admitted he was a "vaguely practising" Christian, "full of doubts" on theological issues.

But his message makes reference to the New Testament Gospel of John while urging the public to remember the sacrifices of UK troops and emergency services.

'Prince of Peace'

"The Gospel of John tells us that [Jesus] was life, and that his life was the light of all mankind, and that he came with grace, truth and love," the prime minister says.

"Indeed, God's word reminds us that Jesus was the Prince of Peace.

"With that in mind, I would like to pay particular tribute to our brave servicemen and women who are overseas helping bring safety and security to all of us at home - their families who cannot be with them over the holidays; and to all the dedicated men and women in the emergency services who are working hard to support those in need."

The PM - who went to Afghanistan to visit British troops last week - added that the armed forces "deserve our thoughts and appreciation".

He also said that Britain "showed the world what we're made of" by staging what he described as " the most spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games ever".

He praised the sporting achievements of Team GB and Paralympics GB, who he said "punched way above [their] weight in the medals table".

Mr Cameron also made reference to the celebrations surrounding the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, in which he said the country cheered the monarch "to the rafters".

He concluded: "However you celebrate this time of year, it is my hope and prayer that you have a happy and peaceful Christmas."

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Fresh rain raises UK flood fears

24 December 2012 Last updated at 02:14 ET

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Scotland and the West Country are likely to bear to burnt of the Christmas Eve rain

Rain has returned to south-west England, bringing a renewed flood risk to areas already saturated by heavy downpours.

Forecasters predict the rain will sweep across England and Wales to Scotland, where it could be heavy and prolonged.

No trains are running between Bristol Parkway and Swindon due to flooding.

First Great Western services between London Paddington and Swansea will be diverted, extending journey times by up to 45 minutes.

Elsewhere, trains will not run between Exeter St Davids and Taunton until at least 28 December after earlier flooding, and flooding at Long Eaton is causing disruption to services between Derby and Nottingham.

A severe flood warning - posing a "danger to life" - remains in place for the River Cober at Helston in Cornwall.

The Environment Agency has issued about 140 flood warnings and more than 260 flood alerts for all regions in England and in Wales, with most in place across the Midlands and south-west England.

'Not welcome news'

In Scotland, 23 flood warnings are in place affecting Aberdeenshire, Caithness and Sutherland, Dundee and Angus, Tayside and the Borders.

BBC forecaster Laura Gilchrist said the fresh band of rain was not "welcome news" for flood-hit areas of the UK.

"The ground in many places is already saturated, and any rain will not help situations of flooding," she said.

On Sunday, houses were flooded and evacuated in Stoke Canon, near Exeter, and Stonehaven, near Aberdeen.

Up to 100 homes were evacuated in Stonehaven after the River Carron burst its banks and affected a number of streets in the centre of the town. Residents said water levels were waist-high.

In Stoke Canon, 30 properties have flooded, with at least 20 residents being moved to safety, after the River Exe burst its banks.

UK flooding minister Richard Benyon said on Sunday: "It's terrible to have your home or business flooded at any time of year, but for the families affected it's especially distressing for it to happen during the Christmas season.

"It's crucial people continue to be vigilant by keeping a close eye on the Environment Agency's flood warnings and allowing the emergency services to do their work."

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