It's eight o'clock on Friday the 15th of December.
The Liberal Democrats say it's scandalous that the fraud investigation into BAE Systems is being dropped.
British Gas is to cut its prices - and sack hundreds of staff.
Police investigating five murders in Suffolk have been handing out rape alarms to women.
BAE
Opposition MPs have criticised the announcement that the Serious Fraud Office is to wind up its inquiry into an arms deal between BAE Systems and the Saudi government. The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, announced the decision yesterday, after officers spent two years looking into corruption allegations. He said it wasn't taken for commercial reasons, but the end of the inquiry has been welcomed by union leaders who were concerned that new defence contracts with Saudi Arabia were under threat. From Westminster, Laura Kuenssberg reports:
KUENSSBERG: "Scandalous interference" - the Liberal Democrats' description of the government's involvement into the Serious Fraud Office's decision to wind up its inquiry into BAE Systems. The SFO has, for more than two years, been looking into claims that bribes were allegedly paid to officials from Saudi Arabia in the enormous Al Yamamah arms deal secured by the British firm in the 1980s. Conservative former minister, Peter Bottomley, questioned the timing of the statement announcing the decision by Lord Goldsmith, the government's top law officer, yesterday evening. Ministers say the investigation has been wound up for the sake of national security and diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia - not for commercial reasons. But just ten days ago, defence and manufacturing firms wrote to the Cabinet warning they could miss out on billions of pounds of orders if the SFO didn't make up its mind whether to bring prosecutions.
BLAIR
A senior Labour backbencher has said he can see little public benefit in Scotland Yard continuing its investigation into alleged abuses of the honours system. Police officers spent two hours questioning Tony Blair at Downing Street yesterday; the prime minister was asked about notes of conversations between Labour's chief fundraiser, Lord Levy, and a businessman who loaned one-million pounds to the party. Speaking on this programme, Tony Wright, who's the chairman of the Public Administration Committee, suggested that the investigation had served its purpose as a beneficial shock to the political system:
WRIGHT: I think the benefit from it has now been obtained. We know that we have to attend to the second chamber; we know we have to attend to party funding. These are both on the agenda. And I have always been doubtful about the possibility of bringing effective legal action - if that is the intention.
CENTRICA
Centrica - which owns British Gas - has said it will cut its gas and electricity prices in the spring. The company has also announced that it's shedding thirteen-hundred jobs. More details from Dominic Laurie of our business staff:
LAURIE: The job losses come from across the company - back office, corporate and its gas services divisions. The reputation of British Gas has been dragged through the mud in recent months. Surveys have shown it's more expensive and worse at customer service than its rivals. And this has come at a price: it says it's lost nine-hundred-and-seventy-eight-thousand customers since the start of the year - significantly more than recent estimates. Some good news for the company, though: its residential business has returned to profit recently. But now that wholesale gas prices have begun falling, it says it's been able to reduce household bills for both gas and electricity in spring next year. That's much earlier than had been expected.
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BANKS
An investigation by BBC News has concluded that many banks and building societies are passing on interest rate rises in full to borrowers -- but not to savers. The survey conducted with the company, Moneyfacts, also shows that they're putting up their mortgage rates faster than their savings rates. Angela Knight is chief executive of the British Bankers' Association. She told us that the banks are under no requirement to reflect base rates:
KNIGHT: If they weren't offering something out there that people wanted, then people wouldn't be using it. Have a look at the OXERA report, which compared exactly these issues with ten other countries. From that report - that in the UK, not only do we more or less come out best in every category, but, what's more, we're the only country where we make it as transparent as possible to borrowers and savers.
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IPSWICH
Police investigating the murders of five prostitutes in Suffolk have been trying to reassure women in the area concerned about their safety. They're handing out rape alarms and leaflets on how to stay safe. They'll give further details of their inquiry today. Michael Buchanan reports from Ipswich:
BUCHANAN: The investigation into the five deaths is growing bigger by the day. Almost three-hundred officers from nine different forces are now working the case, alongside the Suffolk Constabulary. Police are expected to reveal today how the fifth woman was murdered - as well as her identity. The expectation is that the body removed yesterday from a field near the village of Levington is that of missing prostitute, Annette Nicholls. Officers are also going through several items of clothing discovered over the past two days, as well as mobile phone data and CCTV images in their hunt for evidence. Police took the opportunity of a busy night's shopping on Thursday to hand out leaflets on personal safety, as well as rape alarms, to women in Ipswich - a very public attempt to try and reassure a jittery town.
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MI5
The head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, has announced she's stepping down, after more than four years in the job. Dame Eliza, who is fifty-eight, said she decided when she would retire last year, before the terrorist attacks in London. The home secretary, John Reid, said the nation owed her a tremendous debt of gratitude.
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GNER
The government is to re-open the bidding to run the London to Edinburgh train service -- because the current owner of the franchise, GNER, has run into financial problems. Ministers have announced a deal which will continue to allow GNER to operate under a temporary contract until the franchise competition is decided. Here's our Transport Correspondent, Tom Symonds:
SYMONDS: The government has asked GNER to surrender its franchise after weeks of talks. The company has suffered from lower passenger numbers than expected since the London bombings, and is unable to continue with its current franchise, which involves paying hundreds of millions of pounds to the government. As a result, a new competition to run the London to Edinburgh service will begin, with a new contract to be signed within eighteen months. It's not clear yet whether GNER and its parent company, Sea Containers, will bid for the contract, though a spokesman for GNER suggested it was likely.
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JENKINS
The natural family of the murdered Sussex schoolgirl, Billie-Jo Jenkins, have told BBC News they want the law changed -- so they can bring a civil action against her foster father. After serving six years for murder, Sion Jenkins was freed on appeal, then acquitted after two re-trials. Billie-Jo's relatives say the current six-year limit on bringing civil proceedings prevents them from taking legal action.
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EUROPE
European Union leaders will end their summit meeting in Brussels, with a declaration that any countries wanting to join the EU will have to meet exacting standards. A communique has been drawn up during the night - as our correspondent, Tim Franks, reports:
FRANKS: The leaders of the EU are making tougher noises about the expansion of the union. Whatever the creaks and groans inside the club, there are still plenty of countries in the long, slow queue to join. A new draft of the final communique, worked on overnight, does not add new criteria for aspiring members, but it does issue stern warnings that the countries waiting to come in must come up to scratch, and that the EU itself should still be able to function effectively with these new member states inside the rope. That language is a little more sceptical than the British government - long a champion of EU enlargement - would like to see. But on one point British officials say progress has been made. They say the latest draft of the final communique waters down a call for the removal of the national veto over issues of security and migration - a call that had earlier been made in the proposed EU constitution.
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WILLIAM
Prince William will be commissioned as an army officer later today. Several senior members of the royal family, including the Queen, will attend his passing out parade at the royal military academy at Sandhurst. The ceremony comes the day after Lord concluded that his mother, Diana, died in a tragic accident. Our Royal Correspondent, Peter Hunt, has this report:
HUNT: This is another significant step for William - a king in waiting, and a future head of the armed services. The twenty-four-year-old prince is following in his younger brother's footsteps, and joining the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals - there, he'll train to be a troop leader in charge of soldiers carrying out reconnaissance work using armoured fighting vehicles. In the coming years, mindful of the destiny he'll one day fulfil, there are also plans for him to spend time with the navy and the airforce to learn more about constitutional matters, and to undertake public engagements. This morning, his grandparents, father and stepmother will be at the ceremony. His girlfriend, Kate Middleton, is also expected to be there.
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CRICKET
Cricket: England's batsmen have put in a disappointing performance on the second day of the third Ashes Test in Perth, but their bowlers have made an early breakthrough at the start of Australia's second innings. Peter Baxter has the latest from the WACA ground:
BAXTER: Yes, though a last wicket partnership of 40 at least kept that deficit on the first innings down to 29, after a disappointing day with Pietersen, the top scorer - he made 70, eventually playing his shots when the players round him tended to get out rather too quickly. Strauss, 42 - the second-highest scorer - he might have been a bit unlucky to be given out. Harmison, then, 23, and Panesar, 16 not out with the two who put on the runs for that last wicket. Stuart Clark taking 3 wickets, 2 apiece, for Lee, McGrath and Simons. So a deficit of 29 on first innings, but it looked a lot better when Langer was bowled by Hoggard - the first ball of the first ball of the second innings for a duck. Hayden and Ponting, however, have taken Australia on to 32 for 1. That lead, then, is 61.
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