26/02/2014 BBC News at One


26/02/2014

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15 farms and 750 pharmacies could be sold off to help cover the expected

:00:10.:00:17.

?2 billion shortfall. Also this lunchtime... The troubled Mid

:00:18.:00:20.

Staffordshire NHS Trust seems set to be abolished, with services taken

:00:21.:00:23.

over by other trusts and some units closed. The Prime Minister says the

:00:24.:00:30.

actions that led to the collapse of the case against Hyde Park bombing

:00:31.:00:33.

suspect John Downey were a "dreadful mistake".

:00:34.:00:37.

A serious case review has concluded that the death of a baby girl at the

:00:38.:00:42.

hands of her father - a former soldier suffering from

:00:43.:00:44.

post-traumatic stress disorder - could have been prevented.

:00:45.:00:54.

Scientists have hailed one of the most astonishing force of

:00:55.:01:05.

discoveries of recent years, a graveyard of whales in Chile. In BBC

:01:06.:01:12.

London News, fears over the impact of HS2, as a consultation draws to a

:01:13.:01:13.

close. Good afternoon and welcome to the

:01:14.:01:32.

BBC News at One. The Co-op Group is expected to

:01:33.:01:35.

announce the biggest loss in its history next month, of around ?2

:01:36.:01:38.

billion. Much of the shortfall will come from the group's bank, which

:01:39.:01:42.

had to be bailed out by investors last year. It also says it is

:01:43.:01:45.

planning to sell its farming business, which includes 15 farms,

:01:46.:01:48.

and is considering off-loading its 750 pharmacies. Our business

:01:49.:01:50.

correspondent Emma Simpson reports. The Co-op has long been a familiar

:01:51.:02:06.

face on the high street, a business which goes back 150 years. But the

:02:07.:02:11.

group is set to report its worst results ever next month, with

:02:12.:02:19.

expected losses of more Co-op had a terrible 2013, which turned into a

:02:20.:02:23.

nightmare. The main thing which went wrong was that they found a black

:02:24.:02:27.

hole of ?1.5 billion in their bank. Sorting that out, as all of the

:02:28.:02:32.

other things wrong with the group, means they might end up making even

:02:33.:02:37.

more than ?2 billion of losses this year. You may not know it, but the

:02:38.:02:40.

Co-op is one of the biggest farmers in Britain. It has got 15 farms,

:02:41.:02:46.

like this one in Aberdeenshire. They mostly produced cereal, but the

:02:47.:02:49.

Co-op says they are no longer a core part of the business, and it wants

:02:50.:02:53.

to sell them. The Co-op may also sell its pharmacies. It has the

:02:54.:02:57.

third biggest chain, with more than 750 stores, and thousands of staff.

:02:58.:03:03.

It is exploring options as it reviews its business across the

:03:04.:03:08.

group. Britain's biggest mutual is best known for its presence here on

:03:09.:03:12.

the high street, from supermarkets to funeral parlours. It is a

:03:13.:03:16.

sprawling collection of businesses. The group has been in turmoil,

:03:17.:03:19.

thanks to the near collapse of its bank. The new management team is

:03:20.:03:24.

trying to put things right, but it will mean big changes. The boss

:03:25.:03:29.

recently gave his view on the group's troubles and on its future.

:03:30.:03:35.

Over the last five or six years, the business kind of lost its way. As a

:03:36.:03:40.

management team, we all joined last summer, and we are committed to

:03:41.:03:44.

return the Co-op to that point of difference in every local community.

:03:45.:03:48.

The trouble is here in its banking arm. It has cost the Co-op dear. A

:03:49.:03:53.

radical shake-up could eventually lead to many job losses, as this

:03:54.:03:58.

battered group tries to get back on its feet. Well, our business editor,

:03:59.:04:04.

Robert Peston, is with me. What do you think are the real reasons for

:04:05.:04:08.

these eye watering losses, if they are confirmed? Well, my

:04:09.:04:12.

understanding is that the losses will be more than ?2 billion. It was

:04:13.:04:17.

inevitable that there were going to be big losses, given the troubles of

:04:18.:04:24.

the Co-operative Bank. It was rescued at the end of last year, but

:04:25.:04:28.

in the course of being rescued, Co-op Group had to recognise that

:04:29.:04:32.

its investment in the bank had collapsed to zero. So, that is one

:04:33.:04:37.

cause of the loss. Then, the bank had to recognise that lots of the

:04:38.:04:40.

loans it had made in the past had gone bad, that is another source.

:04:41.:04:44.

And then there is something else. This was a group which was very

:04:45.:04:48.

ambitious a few years ago. Apart from the expansion of the bank,

:04:49.:04:53.

buying Britannia, it also bought the Somerfield group of supermarkets,

:04:54.:04:57.

which have also not performed quite as well as Co-op would've liked.

:04:58.:05:00.

They are going to have to write down the value of some of those stores

:05:01.:05:07.

how much will it need to change to turn this around? The new management

:05:08.:05:10.

is looking at really fundamental change. We learned today, farms, a

:05:11.:05:16.

historic business, Co-op has been in farming for more than 100 years,

:05:17.:05:21.

they are going. It is very likely that the third biggest pharmacy

:05:22.:05:24.

chain in the country, owned by the Co-op, will also be sold. But there

:05:25.:05:30.

is a fundamental assessment of the philosophy of the group. They are

:05:31.:05:35.

carrying out probably the largest survey of customer opinion ever

:05:36.:05:41.

carried out by a British company. And two things may flow from that.

:05:42.:05:46.

For example, they may stop paying the famous dividend to the members,

:05:47.:05:51.

millions of members, and they may instead use more of their profits to

:05:52.:05:55.

cut prices. But that would be a big cultural change. Similarly, they are

:05:56.:05:59.

asking members and other people, should they continue to make

:06:00.:06:03.

political contributions to note that may signal the end of the so-called

:06:04.:06:08.

Co-op Party, which would also mean the end of valuable financial

:06:09.:06:11.

support for the Labour Party and its MPs.

:06:12.:06:13.

In just over an hour's time, the plans for the future of the troubled

:06:14.:06:18.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust will be made known by the Health Secretary,

:06:19.:06:21.

Jeremy Hunt. He's expected to confirm that it is be the first

:06:22.:06:24.

trust to be abolished, with services taken over by other trusts - and

:06:25.:06:27.

some units closed. A public inquiry last year ruled the trust was

:06:28.:06:30.

responsible for the "unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people".

:06:31.:06:32.

Our correspondent Chris King reports.

:06:33.:06:38.

It is the name which came to symbolise everything which is wrong

:06:39.:06:44.

with the NHS. Yet despite a dramatic improvement in the standards of

:06:45.:06:49.

care, the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust could soon be no

:06:50.:06:52.

more. A report for the health regulator says the trust will not be

:06:53.:06:56.

able to clear a hole in its finances because it does not provide enough

:06:57.:07:00.

specialist services, and that could mean its struggles to maintain state

:07:01.:07:04.

staffing levels as well. The administrators brought in to decide

:07:05.:07:07.

on the future of the trust have recommended that it should be

:07:08.:07:12.

dissolved, with Stafford and Cannock hospitals being taken over by

:07:13.:07:18.

neighbouring trusts. The A department would remain closed

:07:19.:07:21.

overnight. Maternity, paediatric and critical care units would also be

:07:22.:07:25.

downgraded. That would mean some patients having to travel further

:07:26.:07:34.

for treatment. What is important is that the overall quality and safety

:07:35.:07:37.

of services is considered and explained properly to local people.

:07:38.:07:41.

There are some instances when time is of the essence, but typically,

:07:42.:07:45.

alongside that, it is about making sure that you get to the most

:07:46.:07:48.

visualised and appropriate hospital care. The report has sparked anger

:07:49.:07:55.

among local people. Last April, up to 50,000 marched through the

:07:56.:08:00.

streets, calling for services to be maintained. That is despite claims

:08:01.:08:06.

that 90% of patients will still be treated in the same place. The

:08:07.:08:10.

majority of things are not specialised. Although they say 90%

:08:11.:08:17.

of patients will still be seen here, they are predominantly outpatients,

:08:18.:08:19.

they are not the people for whom it will make a huge difference if they

:08:20.:08:23.

are away from home. And they say if today's announcement does not go

:08:24.:08:31.

their way, they could take legal action. Our correspondent Jon Brain

:08:32.:08:39.

is in Stafford. Why closure? There is something of an irony in this

:08:40.:08:43.

hospital trust being dissolved now. The reason is because it is in huge

:08:44.:08:48.

debt. The reason it is in huge debt is because, after the scandal here,

:08:49.:08:51.

resources were poured into improved services. There is now a general

:08:52.:08:56.

agreement that this hospital has turned itself around. The problem

:08:57.:08:59.

is, it is considered no longer financially viable to provide all of

:09:00.:09:03.

those services. So, the plan is to move them to bigger hospitals. That

:09:04.:09:08.

is also part of a national picture, a drive to move more services away

:09:09.:09:13.

from district hospitals like this one to bigger, specialist centres,

:09:14.:09:17.

where there is more expertise and more money. Given the criticism, why

:09:18.:09:21.

are campaigners objecting quite so strongly? Well, they're a complaint

:09:22.:09:27.

is that it is all very well downgrading services here, such as

:09:28.:09:32.

maternity and paediatrics, but then, if there are compensations, if there

:09:33.:09:36.

are no surgeons at hand when you need one, and then you have got to

:09:37.:09:41.

go 18 miles up the road to the bigger hospital, 18 Miles may not

:09:42.:09:46.

sound much, but in this case, it is along the M6, which is often subject

:09:47.:09:51.

to severe delays. And they say that could cause potential dangers to

:09:52.:09:52.

patients. The Democratic Unionist Party has

:09:53.:09:57.

said the collapse of the case against a man charged with killing

:09:58.:10:01.

four soldiers in an IRA attack in Hyde Park in London in 1982 has

:10:02.:10:03.

"very serious implications for devolution" in Northern Ireland.

:10:04.:10:11.

Yesterday, it emerged that garment officials wrote a so-called letter

:10:12.:10:15.

of assurance to John Downey, seven years ago, mistakenly saying he was

:10:16.:10:18.

no longer a wanted man. In the last few minutes, Northern Ireland's

:10:19.:10:23.

First Minister has threatened to resign unless there is a judicial

:10:24.:10:27.

inquiry. In a moment we will speak to our Northern Ireland

:10:28.:10:31.

correspondent, but first, we can go to our chief political

:10:32.:10:32.

correspondent, Norman Smith, at Westminster. Is it fair to

:10:33.:10:37.

characterise this as a good deal of government anger, the letter should

:10:38.:10:40.

not have been sent, but there is nothing we can do? I think that is

:10:41.:10:44.

not far from the truth. It is certainly the case that there is

:10:45.:10:48.

huge anger in the Commons, or there was this lunchtime, at this

:10:49.:10:52.

decision, and other similar letters sent out two suspects, with

:10:53.:10:55.

suggestions that it amounted to an amnesty for terrorists, suggestions

:10:56.:10:59.

that it would undermine the judicial process, and even threaten the

:11:00.:11:04.

stability of the peace process in Northern Ireland. But the response

:11:05.:11:06.

of ministers has been fairly consistent, which is that, of

:11:07.:11:10.

course, we sympathise with the pain and suffering which these letters

:11:11.:11:13.

have caused, there will be a review and lessons learned, but no, there

:11:14.:11:17.

is not going to be any attempt to unpick or scrap these letters. The

:11:18.:11:22.

reason for that, as we heard from the Prime Minister, is because we

:11:23.:11:28.

are a country under the rule of law, as he puts it. In other words,

:11:29.:11:31.

because the previous government entered into an agreement and sent

:11:32.:11:35.

out these letters, there can now be no attempt to abolish them. We have

:11:36.:11:39.

had the Attorney-General confirming in the last few minutes that there

:11:40.:11:43.

will be no appeal against that John Downey decision. But there is

:11:44.:11:46.

another element, hard-headed politics, which comes into this. It

:11:47.:11:51.

was striking, there was no criticism of Tony Blair or the decision of his

:11:52.:11:55.

government to send out those letters in the first place. That suggests to

:11:56.:11:59.

me that within government there is a view that it would be much more

:12:00.:12:01.

damaging for the peace process to scrap these letters than to live

:12:02.:12:07.

with the consequences of them, even given the pain and hurt they have

:12:08.:12:12.

clearly caused. Norman Smith in Westminster, thank you very much. We

:12:13.:12:16.

can now speak to our Ireland correspondent, Chris Buckler, in

:12:17.:12:20.

Belfast. I guess it is the same kind of reaction, except for the

:12:21.:12:22.

conclusion - the letter should never have been sent, however, unionist

:12:23.:12:27.

politicians believing that something has to be done? Yes, I think it goes

:12:28.:12:32.

beyond just one letter, in the case of John Downey. More than 180

:12:33.:12:36.

letters were sent to other paramilitary suspects as well. As

:12:37.:12:40.

Norman mentioned, this is about the peace process, and many difficult

:12:41.:12:43.

decisions have been made as part of that process. But unionists feel

:12:44.:12:47.

they were not involved in this decision, to send out the letters,

:12:48.:12:51.

that it was all a result of a secret negotiation between Sinn Fein and

:12:52.:12:54.

the Government. They say they simply did not know about these secret

:12:55.:12:59.

letters, which they have referred to time and time again as effectively

:13:00.:13:04.

get out of this morning, the Democratic Unionist Party has been

:13:05.:13:06.

saying that they would not have gone into power-sharing with Sinn Fein if

:13:07.:13:10.

they had known about the existence of this scheme. Beyond that, they

:13:11.:13:14.

said it actually causes real problems for devolution, with

:13:15.:13:18.

potentially serious imprecations. In the last few minutes, the First

:13:19.:13:21.

Minister, Peter Robinson, has made it clear that it does have

:13:22.:13:26.

imprecations, saying that unless there is a judicial inquiry into

:13:27.:13:29.

secret letters given to those suspects, he says he will resign as

:13:30.:13:33.

the First Minister. He says that is because he is not prepared to remain

:13:34.:13:37.

in an administration which is being kept in the dark about such

:13:38.:13:41.

important matters. He is due to speak to the Northern Ireland

:13:42.:13:43.

Secretary this afternoon. I think that will be a pretty frank meeting.

:13:44.:13:51.

A serious case review has concluded that the army, doctors and social

:13:52.:13:56.

workers could have prevented the death of a baby girl at the hands of

:13:57.:13:59.

her father, a former soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder.

:14:00.:14:05.

25-year-old Liam Culverhouse was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court

:14:06.:14:08.

to six years in prison last month for causing or allowing the death of

:14:09.:14:13.

Khloe Abrams. Our defence correspondent Jonathan Beale

:14:14.:14:16.

reports. In January this year, former soldier Liam Culverhouse,

:14:17.:14:21.

wounded on duty, and still bearing the scars, was jailed for six years

:14:22.:14:25.

after admitting to causing the death of his own baby. He had survived his

:14:26.:14:29.

own injuries but he had inflicted catastrophic ones on Khloe, when she

:14:30.:14:34.

was just weeks old. No photograph of her has been released. Liam

:14:35.:14:38.

Culverhouse were described as a violent and troubled young man,

:14:39.:14:41.

whose problems became worse after he was injured in Afghanistan. This was

:14:42.:14:47.

the rescue after he was shot six times by a rogue Afghan policeman.

:14:48.:14:50.

Five of his comrades were killed in the same attack. Today's report into

:14:51.:14:56.

how Khloe died found key opportunities to intervene were

:14:57.:15:00.

missed. It found that Liam Culverhouse had warned Army doctors

:15:01.:15:03.

he might harm his child, but that was never passed on. Health

:15:04.:15:08.

professionals failed to spot serious injuries to Khloe, just days before

:15:09.:15:12.

she was admitted to hospital. The report concludes that her death was

:15:13.:15:16.

preventable, if a referable had been made and a child protection plan has

:15:17.:15:17.

been put in place. clearly, there were errors, but

:15:18.:15:30.

parts of the system could have raised questions that would have

:15:31.:15:35.

raised a greater degree of curiosity about them as a family as opposed to

:15:36.:15:43.

individuals. This is a highly and usual case, but psychiatrists

:15:44.:15:48.

studying cases of PTSD say there are important lessons to be learned. The

:15:49.:15:54.

impact of military service is not just on military personnel, but also

:15:55.:15:58.

their spouses and children. It could be emotional but also, as in this

:15:59.:16:06.

case, physical harm. There is a need to improve the sharing of

:16:07.:16:12.

information. The MoD says it says -- recognises it could have done more

:16:13.:16:15.

in this case and has already changed procedures. Our top story this

:16:16.:16:23.

lunchtime: The Co-op group is expected to announce the biggest

:16:24.:16:26.

loss in its history next month, of around ?2 billion.

:16:27.:16:28.

And still to come: Beijing is still under a thick cloud of hazardous

:16:29.:16:32.

smog, which could be deadly. Later on BBC London: The weapon that

:16:33.:16:37.

helped win the First World War - how the tank was secretly tested in the

:16:38.:16:40.

unlikely suburb of Dollis Hill. And we're in Istanbul with Chelsea,

:16:41.:16:43.

as they face Didier Drogbar's Galatasary.

:16:44.:16:58.

A new line-up of government ministers in Ukraine is due to be

:16:59.:17:03.

presented to the crowds in the capital, Kiev, this evening, even

:17:04.:17:05.

though it hasn't yet been finalised. The British Foreign Secretary,

:17:06.:17:08.

William Hague, has discussed the situation with the American

:17:09.:17:12.

Secretary of State, John Kerry. Afterwards, Mr Kerry said all

:17:13.:17:15.

nations should work together to bring about a stable and prosperous

:17:16.:17:17.

Ukraine. Well, our correspondent Duncan Crawford is in Kiev.

:17:18.:17:29.

There are so many challenges facing Ukraine. Its new leaders are trying

:17:30.:17:34.

to create a new government, they are trying to stabilise the country as

:17:35.:17:38.

well. They know it could face bankruptcy. They want to find the

:17:39.:17:42.

ousted president, Ukraine's most wanted man, President Yanukovich,

:17:43.:17:48.

and they also want to unite the country. They are trying to stop the

:17:49.:17:55.

splits from developing between the West and the Russian speaking east.

:17:56.:18:00.

So it is a lot to do for anyone, and all of this at a time when much of

:18:01.:18:04.

the country is still in mourning. Most of the men in these pictures

:18:05.:18:09.

were shot. Many of them killed by security forces who were loyal to

:18:10.:18:13.

the then president, Viktor Yanukovich. He is on the run,

:18:14.:18:19.

accused of mass murder. But the authorities today took some action

:18:20.:18:23.

against those who pulled the trigger, disbanding the Ukraine's

:18:24.:18:27.

much hated and specialist riot police. TRANSLATION: We had always

:18:28.:18:34.

wanted them to have stood down. Now people have died and they must be

:18:35.:18:40.

punished. At Parliament, attempts continue to form a new coalition

:18:41.:18:45.

government, but at the moment it is men like this you control the

:18:46.:18:48.

streets around it, convincing some to give up their new-found power may

:18:49.:18:55.

not be easy. This is Independence Square and tonight it will become

:18:56.:18:59.

the scene of a sort of political talent contest with want to be

:19:00.:19:02.

leaders appealing to the crowds for their approval. The ousted

:19:03.:19:09.

president's extravagant mansion continues to be a source of anger.

:19:10.:19:15.

Its zoo and its sonar are mocked for the levels of greed and corruption.

:19:16.:19:20.

The millions he spent on himself and now documented on a website.

:19:21.:19:26.

Meanwhile, there are still concerns a Cold War style conflict could

:19:27.:19:28.

break out between Russia and the West. Many in the international

:19:29.:19:37.

community are urging calm. This is not a West versus East game, it

:19:38.:19:43.

should not be. It is not Russia or the United States or other choices.

:19:44.:19:49.

This is about the people of Ukraine making their own choice about their

:19:50.:19:55.

future. What that future is remains uncertain. In this eastern city,

:19:56.:20:00.

pro-Russian demonstrators are in a stand-off with those who support the

:20:01.:20:03.

demonstrations in Kiev. It shows just how hard it will be for any

:20:04.:20:07.

unity government to heal the divisions in the country.

:20:08.:20:16.

Everyone here has been waiting to see how Russian President Putin will

:20:17.:20:20.

react to events in Ukraine and this lunchtime reports from Russia say he

:20:21.:20:24.

has ordered troops along the west of the country by Ukraine's border to

:20:25.:20:30.

be on alert, to test their ability to mobilise and be combat ready.

:20:31.:20:35.

This isn't an uncommon kind of test, but given the circumstances

:20:36.:20:39.

and the timing of this announcement, it is unlikely to be a coincidence.

:20:40.:20:48.

Thank you. As we've been hearing there's been tensions between rival

:20:49.:20:50.

groups in the Ukraine supporting closer links with Europe OR Russia.

:20:51.:20:53.

Our correspondent Daniel Sandford has just sent this report from the

:20:54.:20:56.

Crimea, where divisions are in danger of getting out of hand.

:20:57.:20:59.

We are seeing decades if not centuries of life blood between two

:21:00.:21:06.

groups of people. Over here, one group whose land is originally was.

:21:07.:21:11.

And over here, the Russians who took it over in the 18th-century and have

:21:12.:21:16.

controlled Crimea and the sense. But it is neither group who control the

:21:17.:21:23.

area now, it is the Ukrainian government. The new government in

:21:24.:21:28.

Kiev is supported by the first group, who feel they will get some

:21:29.:21:32.

support. And they are hated by the Russians, who fear it will undermine

:21:33.:21:36.

their way of life. We've already seen violence here today outside the

:21:37.:21:40.

parliament and there is much possibility of violence in the days

:21:41.:21:47.

and weeks to come. The Big Six energy firms will be

:21:48.:21:51.

forced to publish their wholesale power prices up to two years in

:21:52.:21:53.

advance, under proposals from the regulator Ofgem. The move is

:21:54.:21:56.

designed to make it easier for smaller suppliers to enter the

:21:57.:21:59.

market and make it work better for consumers. Our industry

:22:00.:22:06.

correspondent John Moylan reports. The big six energy firms. They

:22:07.:22:10.

supply 98% of households across Britain, but they also generate

:22:11.:22:15.

power as well. Critics say that has given them an advantage over their

:22:16.:22:19.

smaller rivals. It is also led to questions over where exactly they

:22:20.:22:24.

make their profits. So, from next month, those big firms will be

:22:25.:22:28.

forced to trade that power on a daily basis with smaller suppliers.

:22:29.:22:34.

Electricity is traded up to two years in advance and it is those

:22:35.:22:37.

longer-term products that independent suppliers really

:22:38.:22:41.

struggle to get hold of. These reforms will make sure those

:22:42.:22:45.

longer-term products are available for sale to those independent

:22:46.:22:49.

suppliers. Ofgem hopes these reforms will go a long way to help smaller

:22:50.:22:55.

suppliers compete. There will also be financial penalties if the big

:22:56.:22:59.

firms don't trade fairly. The regulator is also stepping up its

:23:00.:23:04.

scrutiny of the annual statements from the big six suppliers. They

:23:05.:23:09.

will now have to be audited. Last year, MPs grilled the energy company

:23:10.:23:14.

bosses over their profits, costs and prices. They accused of jam of

:23:15.:23:19.

failing to deliver the transparency needed to reassure consumers that

:23:20.:23:23.

high energy prices were not fuelling excessive profits. Today, Ofgem

:23:24.:23:27.

responded. Some say it is too little, too late. These are

:23:28.:23:31.

important ways of making sure the market works better, but incomes

:23:32.:23:37.

have not risen and bills are going up, people are spending more of

:23:38.:23:40.

their incomes on essentials. Much more needs to be done so people can

:23:41.:23:44.

be reassured the market is working properly and we need to take steps

:23:45.:23:48.

so that energy becomes more affordable for everything -- for

:23:49.:23:56.

everybody. In a statement, the industry body said the energy

:23:57.:24:01.

industry is committed to trading fairly so customers get a good deal

:24:02.:24:07.

and if their choice. But this lunchtime the industry regulator

:24:08.:24:10.

responded to criticism of the announcements today, saying they

:24:11.:24:14.

were just part of the sweeping and comprehensive reforms to ensure

:24:15.:24:18.

competition bears down as hard as possible on prices.

:24:19.:24:24.

The Royal College of Surgeons has raised concerns for the second time

:24:25.:24:27.

in six months about the high number of heart patients in Wales who die

:24:28.:24:30.

while waiting for operations. The College has asked Health

:24:31.:24:32.

Inspectorate Wales what has been done since it warned that patient

:24:33.:24:36.

safety was being put at risk. Health officials say steps are being taken

:24:37.:24:39.

to improve services. Let's speak to our correspondent Jordan Davies.

:24:40.:24:47.

What are the concerns of the Royal College of surgeons? Last summer, it

:24:48.:24:54.

said it was concerned about waiting times for heart surgery here. It

:24:55.:24:59.

said it was concerned about the number of heart patients dying while

:25:00.:25:05.

waiting for operations. Today, they say they are still looking for

:25:06.:25:08.

answers about those concerns. Last August, it emerged over 150 patients

:25:09.:25:14.

had died over a five-year period while waiting for heart operations

:25:15.:25:19.

in Wales. Two reviews are being carried out and the watchdog here in

:25:20.:25:23.

Wales says it will report in June course. We've just had a statement

:25:24.:25:27.

from the Welsh government. It says the quality of cardiac surgery here

:25:28.:25:32.

is good and it is looking to improve capacity. We understand the Welsh

:25:33.:25:35.

government has agreed a contract with a private provider in Bristol

:25:36.:25:40.

to carry out surgery there. We understand 80 people could be

:25:41.:25:52.

treated that way. China's biggest online face-mask

:25:53.:25:54.

sellers are reportedly running low on stock, as consumers struggle to

:25:55.:25:57.

protect themselves from smog. Large parts of northern China have been

:25:58.:26:00.

affected by air pollution, and the World Health Organisation says it

:26:01.:26:02.

has become a crisis. Our correspondent, Martin Patience, has

:26:03.:26:05.

visited a hospital in Beijing to see the impact on people's health.

:26:06.:26:17.

Beijing, crowded -- shrouded in a toxic smog. Normal life has not

:26:18.:26:24.

completely ground to a halt, but some of those dancing are taking

:26:25.:26:30.

precautions - with good reasons. At a busy Beijing hospital we will be

:26:31.:26:33.

meeting doctors on the front line when it comes to dealing with

:26:34.:26:39.

pollution. This doctor has worked in 30 years. He's never been busier,

:26:40.:26:48.

seeing up to 30 patients a day. TRANSLATION: As the air pollution

:26:49.:26:52.

gets worse, it is causing more diseases. It is linked with chronic

:26:53.:26:56.

diseases, especially lung cancer, pneumonia and bronchitis.

:26:57.:27:04.

Ironically, when the smog hits, there is not a surge in admissions

:27:05.:27:09.

as the vulnerable are warned to stay indoors. But one woman who is

:27:10.:27:13.

ventured out is suffering from asthma. Her chest is tight, she

:27:14.:27:17.

says, and she is finding it hard to breathe. The impact of China's

:27:18.:27:23.

pollution is being felt in hospitals across the country. According to a

:27:24.:27:29.

study, and pollution here contributed to more than 1 million

:27:30.:27:35.

deaths in 2010. China's economic development may have been

:27:36.:27:38.

remarkable, but it is coming at a huge cost which is proving deadly.

:27:39.:27:47.

It is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years -

:27:48.:27:51.

a graveyard of whales found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile.

:27:52.:27:53.

And now scientists think they can explain how so many of them came to

:27:54.:27:57.

be preserved in one location more than five million years ago. Our

:27:58.:27:59.

science correspondent Jonathan Amos reports.

:28:00.:28:07.

When a road in Chile's Atacama Desert was widened in 2011,

:28:08.:28:13.

construction workers uncovered a remarkable bounty. Rising out of the

:28:14.:28:18.

ground, wail. After Wales boss. More than 40 of them beautifully

:28:19.:28:32.

preserved. -- whale fossil after whale fossil. Scientists have

:28:33.:28:38.

concluded this rock formation is as a result of mass strandings. They

:28:39.:28:44.

suspect the animals were poisoned after eating toxic algae, they were

:28:45.:28:51.

washed ashore and then buried. This is globally important. There has

:28:52.:28:55.

never been a find of this size would have visited anywhere in the world.

:28:56.:28:58.

It is one of the special parts of the Atacama region. The graveyard

:28:59.:29:04.

has now been covered over by the road, but scientists kept a

:29:05.:29:11.

permanent record, scanning the bones using the latest techniques. It

:29:12.:29:16.

means they can cover them in plastic to study them further. It should

:29:17.:29:20.

provide unprecedented insight into the abolition of Wales on earth. --

:29:21.:29:25.

of whales. Now, a look at the weather. Some

:29:26.:29:36.

lovely pictures have been sent in but we are still in winter and I

:29:37.:29:40.

will be mentioning the word snow a couple of times. There will be some

:29:41.:29:52.

sunshine around, feeling pleasant. What we're left with this afternoon

:29:53.:29:57.

is a strip of showery rain edging further north. This is the picture

:29:58.:30:04.

at three o'clock. If you are underneath this line of rain

:30:05.:30:07.

stretching from south-west Scotland into northern England, it does still

:30:08.:30:11.

cold, but there is brighter weather away from this. It looks like a

:30:12.:30:14.

lovely afternoon in Northern Ireland. Further south, one of two

:30:15.:30:19.

showers in England and Wales, but very few and far between compared to

:30:20.:30:23.

yesterday, so you will be unlucky if you catch one. Even if you do,

:30:24.:30:28.

shower will not make day wash-out. The sun will reappear. Another

:30:29.:30:37.

Atlantic system pushes across overnight, but quickly, so not a

:30:38.:30:42.

huge amount of rain, bank Billy. Some snow in Scotland over 400

:30:43.:30:46.

metres but not as cold as it was last night, so a mild start

:30:47.:30:50.

tomorrow. Overnight clears to eastern areas and the North Sea, and

:30:51.:30:55.

the sun comes out again. But then the showers get going and will be

:30:56.:30:59.

some heavy downpours, maybe with hail and thunder. Quite a blustery

:31:00.:31:03.

day, but you showers reach eastern parts of Scotland and the northern

:31:04.:31:08.

part of England. Temperatures in single figures. And then some

:31:09.:31:11.

problems. Thursday night, this area of low pressure. We are uncertain

:31:12.:31:21.

about the exact location and any potentially disruptive when they may

:31:22.:31:24.

bring. It may bring rain where it is not needed in parts of England and

:31:25.:31:29.

Wales. There is a potential but gales on the southern flank,

:31:30.:31:34.

wherever that may be. It may look different to this, we have to

:31:35.:31:37.

confirm things and we will do that in the next day or so. But an

:31:38.:31:43.

certainty continues and to lease the start of the week in. Some showers

:31:44.:31:46.

and maybe something wetter in southern areas. At the moment, it

:31:47.:31:51.

looks like Sunday will be the better of the two days this

:31:52.:31:52.

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