Newsnight, followed by Weather

Newsnight marked the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster with a special programme in which three survivors from the same primary-school class described the morning of 21 October 1966, when a spoil tip collapsed and sent coal waste onto Pantglas Junior School and nearby houses. The broadcast said 144 people were killed, including 116 children, 109 of them at the school and most aged seven to ten. The survivors recalled Aberfan's close-knit mining community, warnings about the growing tip, the sudden sound before the waste hit, being buried and rescued, and the lasting effects including survivor guilt and family trauma.

The programme examined the aftermath, reporting that the National Coal Board initially denied responsibility and that the tribunal found a 'terrifying tale of bungling ineptitude', failure to heed warnings and a lack of direction from above. It noted that no one lost a job or was fined, that the tips were removed using money donated to the Aberfan fund, and that the survivors linked their experience to later scandals including Hillsborough, Grenfell, infected blood and the Post Office. They visited the memorial garden on the school site and discussed campaigns such as the Hillsborough Law, which would place a legal duty on public authorities to tell the truth and cooperate with investigations.

In the weather forecast, the broadcast said rain would push north across Scotland overnight, with further fronts bringing cloud and rain on Wednesday. It reported that the Met Office had named Storm Austin, expected to affect the south of the UK on Friday, and that another deep low could bring severe gales to northern areas on Saturday.