the charity samaritans is being criticised for entering into a year long partnership with a gambling company. staff at paddy power betfair, chose samaritans as their charity of the year and are supporting it through fundraising, corporate donations and volunteering. critics say samaritans shouldn t work with the gambling industry. dan whitworth, from radio 4 s money box programme, has more. if you are sat in the pub, you can tell a guy who is an alcoholic. let s be honest, you can tell if a guy is on drugs. the man sat in the corner on his phone is gambling his life away and nobody knows because it is such a hidden thing. critics, including relatives of people with gambling problems who took their own lives, say samaritans is risking its well earned reputation by working with paddy power betfair, adding it should stop taking the compa ny‘s money. the mp, carolyn harris, who chairs the all party parliamentary group on gambling related harm, says she is shocked by the deal. s
at the vatican this morning that he d been stuck in an elevator for 25 minutes and had to freed by firefighters. apparently there had been a power outage as he was making his way up in the lift. now it s time for a look at the weather with ben. hello. it is the first day of september. the first day of autumn as far as meteorologists are concerned and so it seems apt that there is quite a cool fail that there is quite a cool feel to our weather today. sunshine at times, but also some showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery. the showers most plentiful across scotland, northern ireland, the north of england, in fact, a band of cloud will bring more general showery rain into northern ireland later in the afternoon. further south, not as many showers, more dry weather as well, some sunshine with highs of 13 20d. through this evening and tonight we see the showers crossing northern ireland, passing into scotland on the north of england. showers elsewhere tending to fade a
is the process of becoming a british citizen too complicated and costly? that s the question a cross party group of mps is asking, as the government reviews how the process works. currently, people hoping to become uk nationals have to pass a test about life in the uk, but is it too difficult? our home editor mark easton has been to wakefield to find out. # god save our gracious queen. around 150,000 foreigners are turned into british citizens every year, often at a ceremonies like this one in wakefield. but becoming british takes at least six years and, typically, can cost between £5,000 and £10,000, making it among the most laborious and expensive in the world. i will be faithful and bear true allegiance. the home office even charges an extra fiver to take the oath! ..to her majesty the queen, elizabeth ii. .. the government is reviewing parts of the citizenship process so a good time to ask, how difficult should it be to become british? what does a good british citizen l
on any other day, wednesday s spending plan would have been the big story at westminster. the chancellor, sajid javid said he s turning the page on austerity as he promised to raise public spending by more than £13 billion next year. extra funding has been announced for schools, defence, and preparing for britain s exit from the european union. our economics correspondent andy verity has been looking at the numbers. the last time spending rose this fast, by more than 4%, was back here in 2004, and the government was in a lot less debt back then. these red bars here show the spending reviews since the financial crisis, when the government s debt shot up. sajid javid argues the interest rates are cheap now, so he can afford to borrow more for extra spending. every single government department has had its budget for day to day spending increased at least in line with inflation. that s what i mean by the end of austerity, mr speaker britain s hard work paying off, a country li
i think my views are well understood. the relationship is fantastic with the prime minister. a trial date is set for khalid sheikh mohammad, who is accused of playing a leading role in plotting the 9/11 attacks in 2001. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. the first of eight premier league games today is just about to get under way at southampton take on manchester united. southampton looking to make it back to back wins after beating brighton while united are aim to bounce back from their shocked last minute defeat to crystal palace. arsenal defender nacho monreal hasjoined crystal palace. arsenal defender nacho monreal has joined the league at site real sociedad on a two year deal. la liga side. new signing kiran ntini, who joined deal. la liga side. new signing kiran ntini, whojoined in the summer, is seen kiran ntini, whojoined in the summer, is seen as kiran ntini, whojoined in the summer, is seen as his long term replacement kieran tierney.