Tuition Fees Coverage: BBC News Channel/BBCWorld/SkyNews/CNN

Both channels giving good coverage but 2 questions.

Why is there no pooled Helicopter camera coverage - both the BBC News channel and Sky News have independent helicopters up, seems a bit of a waste because surely they'll need refuling at some point.

Also, why is there no live camera footage from the ground - its all 'recorded earlier'? Its outside Millbank, the BBC and Sky both have live broadcast studios from here... surely they can produce some live footage from the ground?

Sky News's helicopter has only just gone live again after refuelling according to Twitter posts.

BBC News channels helicopter seems to have dissappeared so I take it they're refuling.

How come there doesn't seem to be an arrangement for pooled coverage at the moment?

The Sky & BBC studios are at 4 Millbank. Millbank Tower is 21-24 Millbank

Sky News reporting M15 has been closed.

The students have made it onto the roof at Millbank now.

Although MI5 isn't, as Kay Burley said, 'across the river' - it's next door


Not the roof of the big Millbank Tower of course, it's a smaller block

It's quite possible to stick a Gigawave D-Cam on the back of the camera to beam the pictures live, but that requires a ground receiver to be able to pick them up or a SNG vehicle near by. The Sky Copter could have a receiver on them, but with teh camera in the building, it's going to be hard to get the signal out. Indoor radio cameras is something that isn't reliable unless the receiver is inside.

Could just be the building is a 'black hole' for getting pictures out given it's construction and having thousands of people in the area certainly would drain the signal.

So how are they sending the recorded footage.

Does anyone know within the buiding in question, where the BBC and Skys Millbank studios are?

They aren't. Sky & BBC are in a completely different building, down the road - much closer to Parliament.

The building that they have invaded, is this Conservative HQ or a different building?

Yes, the BBC had/have a terrestrial link receive point on top of the tower, that obviously can't be used this afternoon as they're too near

I suspect that lack of live pictures is more a logistical/safety thing regarding getting a sat truck near enough to the action to do a live. The fact it's on the bank of the river does limit possible positions