Today - 12/12/2008

Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. Andy Gallacher explains why a 14 billion pound emergency bailout for US carmakers has collapsed in the Senate. Environment correspondent Roger Harrabin reports from a UN conference in Poland on what the latest climate change deal hopes to achieve. Two solicitors who made millions of pounds from miners' compensation claims have been struck off for professional misconduct. Journalist Andrew Norfolk and Lord Lofthouse discuss who is to blame. Paul Armorgie, newly elected to parliament in Sark, explains the effects of business closures. Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, explains how credit card companies should help consumers and consumer affairs minister Gareth Thomas discusses how the government will give more help to struggling customers. Archaeologists have found the oldest surviving brain in Britain, which dates back to the Iron Age. Dr Richard Hall of the York Archaeological Trust explains its significance. Political editor Nick Robinson discusses the possibility of a mass influx of Zimbabwean refugees to the UK. Thought for the Day with Sir Jonathan Sacks. A 14-year-old girl talks to reporter Zubeida Malik about her ordeal of being raped by a gang of schoolboys. A second German politician has broken with diplomatic convention and criticised the UK government's response to the economic downturn. Foreign Secretary David Milliband discusses the government's response. Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire discusses how fast people walk in different places in the world. Authorities in Glasgow have begun a series of face-to-face meetings with street gangs to urge them to put down their weapons. Nicola Stanbridge meets the Canadian singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara. Dr Rob Atkinson of the RSPCA and Miranda Stevenson, from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, discuss whether animals should be kept in captivity.