THE HEADLINES AT 0800 ON TUESDAY 19TH DECEMBER

It's eight o'clock on Tuesday the 19th of December.

A leading foreign policy think-tank says Tony Blair has had no significant influence on the Bush Administration and the Iraq war as a terrible mistake.

Police have been given more time to question a man in connection with the murder of five women near Ipswich.

The Bishop of Southwark says he can't remember how he was injured after a party in London -- but he said it would be "entirely out of character" if he'd been drunk.

The animator, Joe Barbera -- who helped create Tom & Jerry and The Flintstones -- has died.

CHATHAM

A report on Tony Blair's foreign policy says he's paying the price for putting too much store on his relationship with President Bush. The study -- by the foreign affairs think tank, Chatham House - says Mr Blair has not had any significant influence on the White House, despite Britain's military, political and financial sacrifices. The war in Iraq is condemned as a terrible mistake which will shape his legacy for years to come. The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, dismissed the findings as "plain wrong." Here's our World Affairs Correspondent, Mike Wooldridge:

WOOLDRIDGE: The outgoing director of Chatham House Victor Bulmer-Thomas assesses ten years of foreign policy under Tony Blair. And his report says, the prime minister has learned the hard way, that loyalty in international politics counts for very little and his successor will have to forge closer relations with the European Union and accept a distancing of Britain from the US. The report argues that the post nine-eleven decision to invade Iraq was terrible mistake and that the current debacle, as it puts it, has undermined British influence internationally. It is "unforgivable" the report says that Mr Blair saw the consquences of Taliban resurgents in Afganistan too late. The foreign secretaries response, "threadbare, insubstantial and just plain wrong". Government officials say the idea that Britain has no influence with the US is laughable. The report does give credit in pushing climate change up the international agenda.

SUFFOLK

Police have been given more time to question a man arrested in Suffolk in connection with the murders of five prostitutes. Tom Stephens -- a former special constable -- was arrested at his home yesterday morning. This report from Stephen Chittenden:

CHITTENDEN: Tom Stephens was arrested at his home in the village of Trimley St Martin more than twenty four hours ago. It's understood that officers began to question the thirty-seven-year-old supermarket worker in the afternoon. In order to continue holding Mr Stephens, detectives have been granted an extension of twelve hours by a police superintendent. Further extensions can be granted by magistrates, up to a maximum of ninety-six hours, which gives police a deadline of Friday morning to charge or release him. A police cordon now blocks Jubilee Close, where Mr Stephens lives in a two-storey house on a modern estate. Scenes of crime officers wearing white overalls have been removing items sealed in brown evidence bags. The huge investigation into the murders continues with police still piecing together the final movements of the five women.

BISHOP

The Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler, has said it would be entirely "out of character" if he was drunk on the night that he told police he'd been mugged close to his home in South London. The bishop said he'd suffered a head injury and had lost personal items after a reception at the Irish embassy. But on this programme, he challenged eyewitness reports that he'd been seen in the back of a car throwing toys around:

BUTLER: There are elements in that story that I find extremely difficult. How I could have broken into a locked car and set off the alarm? Sometimes the reports say it is the Bishop of Southwark; sometimes they say it was the Bishop of Woolwich. I certainly, around that car, got a very bad head wound on the back of my head.

The Bishop said he was very careful with alcohol.that he still couldn't remember what happened. and was currently having medical tests:

BUTLER: Normally, at a reception I will have a glass or two of wine and I enjoy talking with people. As I say, I have been doing this for over twenty years I am very careful.

DOMESTIC

The government will announce new measures today to help victims of domestic violence. What's known as the "Sanctuary scheme" will provide money to create so-called "safe rooms" -- secure spaces for women within their own homes, from where they can call the police. The rooms will be equipped with alarms, reinforced doors and security cameras -- providing the abusive partner is no longer living at the property. The minister for women and equality, Meg Munn, told us that safe-rooms were important because abusive partners could not always be prosecuted:

MUNN: Taking somebody to court is enormously important but, women get very frightened, they perhaps have been threatened. It may well be that there is insufficient evidence at some point for somebody to be taken to court, they may actually be in prison but be due to be released it could be all sorts of situations. This will work for some women but, not for all women. It has been tested in some areas and ninety per cent of women are satisfied with that.

FUNDING

A group of MPs is to call for a cap on the spending of political parties during election campaigns. It's understood the proposal will be among a series of reforms put forward by the Constitutional Affairs Committee in response to the the cash for honours affair. Here's our Political Correspondent, Laura Kuennsberg:

KUENSSBERG: MPs will offer some solutions to the problems caused by the toxic mix of money and politics. Despite being from different parties, after lively discussions, they have been able to agree. The BBC understands that as part of a wide set of measures the committee will recommend capping the amount that can be spent on elections and suggests limits on donations that are given. More state funding could be made available if the other restrictions were accepted. The labour party have already been angered by the idea of limiting donations it would endanger their funding from the unions. But the MPs finding will be seized on by those who say the culture of big donations from any source has to change.

GAZA

More fighting has broken out in Gaza between militias of the rival Palestinian groups -- Hamas and Fatah. The heaviest exchanges of gunfire were around the main hospital in Gaza City. One person was killed -- and at least eight others were wounded. A truce is supposed to be in place. Our correspondent, Nick Thorpe, witnessed the attack from a hotel next to the hospital:

THORPE: Heavy shooting broke out at the Al Shifa Hospital at around five-thirty local time. The target appears to be have been a Hamas position inside the hospital. A Hamas spokesman accused what he said were intelligence officers from President Abbas' Fatah party, of launching the attack. The Hamas spokesman confirmed that, one member of the executive force, a uniformed Hamas militia established six months ago and under the control of the interior minister was killed and several injured. Al Shifa Hospital has come under attack before but, observers say, this was the most serious incident.

FISH

EU ministers are meeting in Brussels to set new restrictions on the amount of fish which European trawler crews are allowed to catch. The Commission is considering recommending further cuts to cod-fishing in the North Sea. Some scientists insist there should be a complete ban on fishing cod around Britain.

BIRD FLU

Veterinary officials in north-east France are investigating whether the deaths of four thousand chickens on a farm on Saturday were caused by bird flu. The results of tests on the dead poultry are expected later this morning. From Paris, Caroline Wyatt:

WYATT: The French agriculture ministry says the farm is being sealed off as a precaution until it's is clear exactly what the birds died of. The farmer says his flock appeared healthy on Saturday morning, but that, by the evening, four-thousand chickens were dead. Tests are being carried out samples taken from the dead birds. The French authority said that bird flu can't be ruled out, although they are keeping an open mind about the cause. The samples are being analysed at France's main testing laboratory in Ploufrangon and are expected to be announced later this morning. France is Western Europe biggest poultry producer and farmers fear their Christmas sale could be badly affected.

LIB DEMS

The Liberal Democrats are setting out plans for sweeping changes to the benefits system. In a speech today, the party's leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, will accuse the accuse the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, of creating a dependency culture through an obsession with means testing.

POLES

Police are investigating a widespread fraud, targeting migrants from Poland -- who respond to adverts offering jobs and accommodation in England. When they arrive, they hand over hundreds of pounds to fraudsters, who then disappear -- often leaving them stranded on the streets. The scam first came to light at Slough, in Berkshire -- where police and council chiefs say it's putting pressure on their resources.

BARBERA

The animator, Joe Barbera -- who helped create some of the world's most famous cartoon characters -- has died in the United States, aged ninety-five. He and his long-time partner, Bill Hanna, who died five years ago, were behind a series of favourites ranging from Tom and Jerry to the space-age Jetsons. David Willis reports from Arizona:

WILLIS: Whilst rival animator Walt Disney captured the big screen, Joe Barbera and his partner Bill Hanna cornered the television cartoon market. They teamed up whilst working at MGM in the nineteen-thirties and went on to create such legendary animated characters as Yogi Bear, Scoobie Doo, Huckleberry Hound and of course The Flintstones. Joe Barbera's first cartoon with Bill Hanna was Puss Gets the Boot a short film featuring a feuding cat and mouse team which earned them a nomination for an Academy Award. MGM allowed them to continue experimenting until eventually Tom and Jerry were born. When MGM closed its animation department in the mid-nineteen-fifties, Hanna and Barbera which was later bought by Turner Broadcasting for its Cartoon Network.