Mr Ross arranged for the two women to speak to their families over the phone and discussed details of legal representation with them. The access to the women came after 48 hours of intense diplomatic pressure following their arrest after Foreign Office efforts failed to secure their release. Two British nurses accused of murdering an Australian colleague in Saudi Arabia have told a British embassy official they are tired but are being treated well. The British consul Lawson Ross visited Deborah Parry, 41, from the Midlands, and Lucille McLauchlan, 31, from Scotland, for the first time on Christmas Eve. "It must resound beyond walls where the clash of arms is still heard, shattering the spell of peace brought by this holy day."The Pope, celebrating his 19th Christmas season as leader of the world's 960 million Roman Catholics, said that while the past year had brought peace to Bosnia, Guatemala and elsewhere, it was elusive in many other places.The pontiff, who has suffered from a series of health problems, celebrated a solemn midnight Mass in St Peter's Basilica, 12 hours before his address.But, heeding medical advice to conserve his strength, he skipped the Christmas Day Mass in the basilica.. "But to look back in that way is to look down a blind alley." In his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Dr George Carey, urged people to face up to their spiritual needs as well as material ones."In our society, that feels at times so adrift from its moral, historical and institutional roots, I detect an increasing desire in people to find a spiritual home," he said."We have seen it expressed this year, in the response to the killings at Dunblane and to the murder of Philip Lawrence [the headmaster stabbed while trying to protect a pupil].

And during it some have suffered bereavement of a tragic and shocking kind," she added, in an apparent reference to the Dunblane massacre in March.The Queen appeared to skirt around controversy sparked by Prince Philip last week, when he said British laws banning most handguns, introduced since the massacre, were an over-reaction and guns were no more dangerous than cricket bats."At such times, it is tempting for all of us, especially those who suffer, to look back and say `If only'," she said. In her traditional Christmas message, broadcast from Sandringham, Her Majesty hailed President Nelson Mandela of South Africa as an example of "how to accept the facts of the past without bitterness". "His example is a continuing inspiration to the whole Commonwealth and to all those everywhere who work for peace and reconciliation," she said.The address came at the end of another troubled year for the royals, as the Queen headed a family gathering minus her sons' ex-wives and warned against recriminations over personal or political problems."Each year brings its share of difficulties for many families," the Queen noted "This year has, I know, been no exception. And if this is done by giving way to the demands of countries wanting the lowest possible interest rate, then the euro will be a weak currency." Mr George also warned against massaging national accounts to meet single-currency qualifying conditions.. Britain will know by spring 1998 whether it will participate in the single currency. Mr George insisted EMU must ensure price stability to establish its credibility."The whole question is whether or not the single interest rate, which is at the heart of the system, suits the macro-economic situation in each member country without creating tension.

If this be the case, then the euro will be a `strong currency' but, if for domestic reasons a member- state wants to have a high interest rate, and another wants a low interest rate, then tensions will appear."A compromise will therefore have to be found. In November the Bank's quarterly inflation report said more rises would be necessary but Mr Clarke's Budget staved off rises before Christmas.The City and the Confederation of British Industry agree rates must rise before the election. And his warning about inflation is likely to irritate the Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke.The basic rate for bank borrowing was raised in October by 0.25per cent to 6 per cent as the Bank and the Chancellor sought to slow the economy to keep the Government on target for an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent. But the British economy was showing solid growth, with unemployment falling and inflation at its lowest for a generation. In an interview with Le Figaro he also spoke of worries about the single European currency, saying conflict among member states over interest rates could cause tension which would weaken the euro. South Wales Police last night confirmed that the officer, based in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, was one of seven arrested in connection with allegations of gross indecency at Aberdare Leisure Centre in Glamorgan The men have been bailed until 15 January.. The officer has been freed on police bail, and is suspended from duty.

The inspector, a father-of-two in his early 50s, is one of seven men arrested as part of the inquiry into teenage prostitution. A senior police officer is at the centre of an investigation into a paedophile ring at a council-run leisure centre, it emerged last night. Jazz fans across the world are mourning the death of Ronnie Scott, Britain's best-known jazz impresario. Jimmy Parsons, who has worked at Ronnie Scott's club in Frith Street, London, for 20 years, said yesterday that "hundreds" of telephone calls and faxes from friends and fans had arrived Scott, 69, died suddenly on Monday..