16/07/2013 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten: Major failings lead to 11 hospital trusts in England

being placed in special measures. A review mentions weak leadership,

poor care and overstretched staff, as relatives say their concerns

were ignored. He started to deteriorate medically because he

was not getting basic care - lack of care - no care. Special teams

will be sent in to improve standards, as government and

opposition blame each other for what has gone wrong. If founding

the NHS is considered the proudest achievement for Labour, today is

their darkest moment. You should not play politics with people's

lives and you should not play politics on the NHS on which all

people depend. We will be asking if this review is changing the terms

of the political debate on the NHS. Also tonight... The use of dead

children's names by undercover police at Scotland Yard was

authorised at the highest level. The missile parts discovered on a

North Korean ship about to enter the Panama Canal. A special report

on the American boom in shale gas and potential lessons for the UK.

Here in the heat of Texas, there is a shale gas gold rush. They have so

much they or even going to sell it to Britain. And, can Britain's

Chris Froome hold on to the yellow jersey in the Tour de France? In

the sport, Wayne Rooney is angry and confused about his position at

Good evening. 11 hospital trusts in England have been placed in special

measures because of major failings. A review led by NHS England's

medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh, cites examples of staffing problems,

poor care and weak leadership. The findings provoked bitter exchanges

Some of the 14 hospital trusts in England under the spotlight due to

their abnormally high death rates. 11 have been put into special

measures for fundamental breaches of care. It follows inspections by

the NHS medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh. One of those under scrutiny

is the trust that runs Basildon Hospital, where 90-year-old Fred

Harris, a war veteran, died. His granddaughter's told me after being

admitted he was moved to nine wards in just 12 days. It was as if he

gave up. Grandad was a fighter. To go through the war, going to

hospital, it was the saddest thing and heartbreaking to watch. He said

he went from a man to boy. Inspectors found Basildon Trust had

seven serious preventable incidents in three years and that

improvements were needed in staffing levels and infection

control. We are looking at every single patient who dies in hospital

to make sure that, if there are lessons to be learned, we learn

them. And what does learning points are. Today's review highlights a

number of concerns. At Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,

staff were put on rotas requiring them to work 12 days in a row. East

Lancashire NHS Trust had a high level of stillborn babies in March

this year. 10 side Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was criticised for

the poor management did -- deteriorating patience. Stafford

hospital sparked the review. This has been seen as a watershed moment

for the NHS which must never be repeated. Patients have been making

serious complaints about hospitals like this for more than 10 years.

Questions are being asked as to why it has taken so long for the NHS to

take it seriously. The Health Secretary accused Labour of turning

a blind eye to the problems in the NHS when they were in power.

sounding the NHS is considered Labour's proudest achievement,

today is their darkest moment, as a Labour government is exposed for

caring more about its own reputation than our most vulnerable

citizens in the NHS. Labour insisted the report highlighted the

coalition's own failings. I hope the Government itself will learn a

painful lesson from this. You should not play politics with

people's lives. You should not play politics with the NHS, on which all

people depend. Teams of experts are now being sent into the 11 trusts

in trouble and chief executives warned that heads could roll. The

NHS medical director said he hoped today would be a turning point for

hospitals and their patients. As well as sending in teams of experts

to the hospitals in special measures, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh

has set targets to improve patient care. But some are already

questioning how realistic that is, at a time when the NHS is trying to

How to replace mediocrity with excellence? That is the challenge

set by the Keogh report and the 14 hospital teams come seen him in

action, sent into the failing trusts. One recurrent problem,

inadequate numbers of doctors and especially nurses on many wards.

Staff in these organisations can be difficult. Many are geographically

isolated, they may be a multiple sites. Some are small hospitals

which have problems recruiting. Staffing is an issue. We have taken

immediate reaction when we have seen problems with staffing.

report sets out achievable ambitions for improvement. These

include attempting to reduce avoidable deaths. All trusts must

use an early warning system if rates rise. Managers must use the

wealth of data on outcomes to improve quality. There should be

real-time patient feedback with complaints welcomed. Nine out of 10

hospital deaths happen after emergency admissions. Like all the

14 trusts reviewed, East Lancashire had higher than expected mortality

in urgent care. This new resuscitation unit at the Royal

Blackburn hospital opens to patients next week. It is part of

the trusts solution to the serious failings uncovered. The NHS is

facing a difficult future. It needs to make huge efficiency savings.

Some doubt whether that is possible whilst also improving standards.

cannot put my hand on my heart and say the NHS will balance its budget

and provide the best possible standards of NHS care. We need to

find �30 billion of efficiency savings and improved quality. That

has never been done before. Death rates in NHS hospitals have fallen

by nearly a third in the past decade. That improvement includes

the trust put under review. The challenge is to eliminate pockets

of inadequate care, which threatened to undermine the

excellence bound insomuch of the NHS. -- found in so much of the NHS.

Our deputy political editor, James Landale, is at Westminster. Is

there a sense this review is changing the terms of political

debate? In the past, no one could criticise the NHS. Events in

Stafford Hospital and today's report have changed that. Criticism

is possible. The Conservatives can stop talking about reforming the

NHS but can place themselves on the side of patience. It allows them to

accuse Labour of covering up the problems when they were in office.

For years, Labour has been treated by the British people as the party

that can be trusted to look after the NHS. That reputation is under

attack. That is why today's exchanges were so venomous and so

partisan. They are accused of smearing Andy Burnham and

exaggerating the numbers of people who have died at a hospital. --

hospitals. He too said that Labour has got are wedded to match and

Andy Burnham should resign. -- it is said that Labour has got away

with too much. The general election may be just under two years away

but campaigning is well under way. And a reminder that we have a

question and answer page on the inquiry into hospital death rates.

Just go to the website. The link is there. The use of dead children's

names by undercover police at Scotland Yard was authorised at the

highest level, according to an official inquiry. It concludes that

the identities of 42 children were taken and that families deserved an

apology. But the children's names have not been published because of

a potential risk to the officers Scotland Yard has acknowledged that

a tactic it used for nearly 30 years has shocked and offended

people. Undercover officers used the identities of dead children. A

report says they did not break the law. It was used extensively over

several decades. The tactic was seen right at the time and has

authorised. The people who used the tactic did it as part of their

training. Back in the days when his building used to house the

registers of births and deaths, undercover police officers used to

come here before their deployments began. They would look for a child

that was borne about the same time as them and use that identity to

create a legend - a false identity that stood up to scrutiny.

Fortitude children had identities used. It is highly likely there

were more. -- 42 children. It was sanctioned at the highest level.

The Metropolitan Police has apologised for any offence caused

but not for the tactic itself. apologise for the shock and defence

that has been caused by this particular tactic. It has caused

concern to the public and, for that, we apologise. The Met were not

confirm the names of the children because it could be risky for

operatives. A former officer has already admitted using the identity

of this boy, who died at seven. The child's parents died before finding

out. The solicitor of another mother said families of dead

children could have been put at risk of mistaken recreation.

officers had their own real identities that would protect them

from being discovered. The families who appear on the birth certificate

would have no protection. We have seen in one case a political

activist turning up at a house of the family of the dead child, whose

identity was used. More investigation is to follow after a

series of claims that police officers fathered children and

tried to smear innocent people as part of their undercover work. A

North Korean ship has been seized by you authorities in Panama. It

was stopped at the entrance to the Panama Canal as it was suspected it

was carrying tracks. It was seen as an attempt by North Korea to break

resolutions on arms trafficking. It has the ingredients of a thriller.

A North Korean freighter is seized with what appears to be a plan

Destine cargo of banned missile parts. The ship is still being

searched after reportedly arriving from Cuba last week, hidden between

thousands of sacks of cane sugar. Officials say they have found this

- suspected components to missiles strictly banned by UN sanctions.

The President came aboard for a personal inspection.

TRANSLATION: This is extremely sophisticated. These are aerial

defence missiles. We do not know what is inside the other containers.

Panama is a peaceful country, not one of war. Here is a breakdown of

the route taken by that North Korean ship. On 17th April, it left

the Russian port and crossed the Pacific Ocean. Analysts say the

ship's transponder was switched off, arousing suspicions. On 1st June,

it passed through the Panama Canal, stated destination Havana. Then it

disappeared. On July 11th, it arrived back in Panama and was

ordered back to port. A day later, the ship was searched. Noss career

has fruit -- North Korea has few friends internationally. There is a

long-standing diplomatic and military co-operation. The chief of

staff of the North Korean Army visited Havana earlier this month.

This seizure - this shipment - might be seen within the wider

context of renewed military co- operation. Panama says the North

Korean crew of 35 put up a fight and broke the cranes to make it

harder to unload. It will take days to find the answers they are

The American boom in energy supplies is not just limited to oil. The

latest boom is underway extracting gas from shale rock, deep

underground, from a process known as fracking. The trade has boosted

sales of US gas by 600% over 12 years. The US. Selling gas to

Britain by 2015. David Shukman has sent this report from Texas.

A glimpse of the underworld, a 3-D view revealing the geology beneath

our feet. This is the latest way to discover shale, a type of rock

holding so much gas it is transforming the future of fuel.

has changed the face of the energy picture in the US. In 2007 we were

looking at import in gas to the US. In 2015 we are looking at exporting

gas. Southern Texas is one shale gas frontier. America now produces more

gas than Russia, and the key is fracking, breaking up the shale.

Fracking has been around for years but new techniques keep making it

easier all the time to get hold of the gas which lies deep underground.

The first stage is to drill straight down, maybe for a mile or more. Then

to turn the drill horizontally and run it right through the layer of

shale rock. The aim, to get at tiny fissures of rock. Some are less than

a millimetre across. Inside them are molecules of gas trapped down

inside. What is called slip of water and chemicals are pumped in at high

pressure. This is to widen those fissures. Tiny grains, a bit like

sand are added to the mix and they are designed to hold the cracks

open. What this does is release the gas. It is then flushed along

through the drill pipe and then back up to the surface. New research is

enhancing how this process happens all the time. What this means is

there is a shale gas boom underway. A mass of machinery. One risk of

fracking is Tremor is, but they are very rare. Another risk is polluting

the water. If the work is not done carefully. In open country there are

few objections but it is controversial close to homes. This

man had fracking right on his doorstep, just beside his house in

California. The company involved would not comment. The fracking was

for oil and not gas but the process was the same. It was a major

inconvenience because of the activity around the lock, the

smells, the dust on the road from the amount of trucks, the noise.

fracking is worth billions. This terminal in Louisiana, built to

import gas is now being converted to export it. American shale gas will

be sent from here to Britain, Spain and other countries, potentially

huge business. So fracking operations are speeding up, with

more than a million in America so far. There is a lot of opposition.

One state has banned it but with huge demand for the fuel, a gold

rush is on. A review led by the Liberal

Democrats exploring alternatives to Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent

has highlighted divisions within the coalition government. The report

proposes cutting the number of missile carrying submarines which

the Lib Dems insist will not want demise national-security but the

defence secretary Philip Hammond says the decision is either naive or

reckless. For more than 40 years, the UK's

nuclear armed submarines have stormed the seas, with at least one

on patrol at any given time. That is seen by supporters as the ultimate

guarantee of the UK's security. Its ability to launch long range

missiles at a moment notice, deterring a potential attack. But

the Trident system will reach the end of its current life at the end

of the decade, renewing it could cost �20 billion. The Liberal

Democrats insisted on a review as to whether there was a cheaper option.

We can adapt our deterrent in the 21st century by ending 24-hour

patrols when we do not need them and buying fewer submarines. That way we

can take a big step down the ladder of disarmament and keep our country

safe. At the moment, the UK has four Vanguard submarines armed with

nuclear weapons. But the review says it could end 24-hour patrols and go

down to three submarines, although it has ruled out other ideas such as

using cruise missiles and, aircraft. All this has highlighted the

coalition's differences. If you reduce from four boats to three

boats, that is not at all the same level of deterrence. It would not be

credible as a deterrent on the same scale. For a small saving in money,

it is making a big reduction in Britain's nationals at it if.

decision on replacing the Vanguard submarines does not have to be made

until after the next election, allowing plenty more time for debate

over what having the deterrent means for the UK and its allies abroad.

Whether we like it or not, people still admire and respect brute

force. We have not gone beyond that. The possession of nuclear

weapons and an effective deterrent are extremely important to

Britain's face in the world. Without a like-for-like replacement for

Trident, some fear the UK's permanent seat on the UN Security

Council could be at risk. But antinuclear campaigners, CMD, say

the government's review should have looked at not replacing Trident at

all. The BBC has revealed that the cost

of investigating the Jimmy Savile scandal and other related issues has

reached more than �5 million. The figure was published as part of the

corporation's accounts and annual report, which also includes details

of some of the BBC's most successful programme exports. We can talk to

David Sillitoe outside New Broadcasting House. The BBC says

there are extreme highs and extreme lows in this. Desperate lows was the

phrase used and the most desperate was the saddle scandal. That is what

lies behind these three enquiries -- the Jimmy Savile scandal. They look

at what happened in the 60s and 70s, contemporary BBC culture and why did

Newsnight not report on the Jimmy Savile scandal? Lord Patten, the BBC

chairman said, yes, it is expensive but levels of BBC Trust are

beginning to recover. It was not all bad news. For instance, we found out

the programme Top Gear is now the most successful programme and the

BBC commercial arm will be making even more out of it. That deal has

shareholders and they paid those shareholders, one of them, the top

gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson stands to make around �30 million.

Thank you. The Prime Minister of Italy has arrived in London for

talks with David Cameron and says the United Kingdom poses a big risk

to the European Union. Enrico Letta was talking about David Cameron's

proposed referendum on the EU. This is the Italian prime

Minister's office in Rome. The 46-year-old prime minister is Enrico

Letta. As he arrives for his first official visit to Britain, he warns

the UK poses a risk to the future of the European Union. The big risk is

the exit of the United Kingdom. In my view it would be a disaster for

Europe. It would be a very negative step for the UK and for our common

future. Do you think Britain can win back significant powers? Do you

think that is a realisable goal? think it can be possible and it can

be useful for us as well. At home, Italy is in its worst recession for

20 years. Take this carpentry business, a victim of the

construction industry in deep crisis. Half the staff here have

been laid off and youth unemployment nationally is at 40%. TRANSLATION:

There is no future. We are living day to day, hand to mouth, fighting

with the banks every day. Is there a risk here of losing an entire

generation which might conclude that Europe cannot deliver? I think it is

the main risk and my view is really the nightmare of my job. In the

midst of this crisis, there are questions about the stability of the

government. Enrico Letta is in coalition with the party of Silvio

Berlusconi and some of his allies are warning that if the country's

highest court rejects his appeal against a corruption charge, it

could ring down the coalition. course, it is their choice, they can

decide what to do. But I am completely convinced that there is a

big separation between what the government can do and what the

destiny of Mr Berlusconi will be. For all of that, Enrico Letta

insists his coalition is strong but Italy is still seen as a risk to the

euro zone. As for the British government, it will want to explore

what the Italian leader means when he proposes a more flexible Europe.

Britain's Chris Froome has reinforced his position as leader in

the Tour de France with five stages to go. He is ahead of his nearest

rival by over four minutes. Froome is not just contending with the

challenge of the race, he is also having to deal with persistent

questions about doping. Last year, he was the servant, now

he is the master. In the absence of Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome

has assumed the lead in his team and the Tour de France. With success,

comes the inevitable cynicism. He has two answer speculation that he

is doping. I can understand why people are asking, given the history

of the sport and they have been let down similar times before. But I

have also been let down. I have believed in people who have turned

out to be cheats and liars but I can assure you I am not. Froome began

Tuesday's stage with a lead of four minutes. He has the lead's yellow

jersey. He has team-mates in black to take the headwind and watch out

for opponents. Accidents can happen and one did, very nearly. There was

little margin for error. One of his big rivals, Alberto Contador, was in

a rush. Trying to avoid that fall almost cost Froome. He was off the

road and briefly off his bike. He resumed unscathed and accused his

rider of being careless. It was a timely reminder that nothing is

straightforward. One little accident and that can be the end of your

tour. I'm trying to take the least this cover can but stay at the front

of the race. He is still four minutes and 14 seconds ahead