26/08/2014 Look North (Yorkshire)

on settling down and turning warmer. That is all from the BBC News at

Six. 1,400 children have been

exploited over 16 years. Some were raped,

doused in petrol and threatened with Three reports that highlighted

the abuse were either supressed or In some cases,

victims were not believed. Rotherham Council and

South Yorkshire police have faced There has been a collective failure

of the most senior people, politicians and people. Because the

police are aware, social services were away, and they knew that and it

did not stop him, it encouraged him. It became like a game to him.

We'll hear more from the victims and those accused of failing them.

We report from the seaside town that's been dubbed

New evidence that trainspotting was a passion for teenagers in Victorian

After that cloudy start, it turned out to be a beautiful day, but what

about the rest of the week to mark joined me for the very latest.

Tonight, the shocking evidence of child

sexual exploitation in Rotherham and a collective failure by the council

The town's council leader for the past decade stood

down today after a damning report revealed blatant collective failures

The investigation found 1,400 young women were raped, some were

One of the victims was just 11 years old.

Most perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage.

Three reports to the police and council were ignored

The report author said people in the town would be appalled

We'll hear from Professor Alexis Kay in a moment.

First the story of Jessica, one of the victims.

You should be over 16 to consent and they should keep it in place.

There is no point having a law there and not sticking to it.

I was a child and they should have stepped in.

There are some things that I don't remember,

but there are also things I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

No matter what is done now, even if it is investigated now,

It should have been stopped and prevented.

I think because the police were aware, social services were aware

and they knew that and they still did not stop it that encouraged it.

The report author and Rotherham Council held separate

James, talk us through some of the detail

in the report and what the council's leadership have said in response.

This report for shock people in Rotherham. The scale of it was

simply staggering. Some of the detail is hard to read. 1400

children sexually exploited over 16 years in this town. Children as

young as 11 raped, beaten, dozed with petrol if the went to the

police. The failures by the council and the police were blatant.

Rotherham has failed the children it needed to help the most. There has

been a collective failure of the most senior people, both politicians

and officers across a very lengthy period of time. They did not give a

lead to challenging how things were being done, they did not actively

pursue different ways of working with this group despite being told

from a fairly early stage of the nature and scale and seriousness of

the problem. Rogerstone I asked the council's

Chief Executive whether he could reconsider his play session. I do

not think that anybody could read that report without being upset

either allegations in it. These children did not receive the

services they deserved. either allegations in it. These

children Rogerstone has already stepped down, have you considered

your position? The report has made it very clear that I am part of the

solution, not part of the problem. Services during my tenure have

improved significantly. Social workers indicated that services

today I very different from 2009. The culture is unrecognisable. There

have been a number of reports that have taken place over the course of

the last few years. We had an Ofsted inspection in 2012 that indicated

that our sexual exploitation that our sexual exploitation

services were recommended. We have had our peer review of, I reviewed

by Barnardos, an independent enquiry. All of them say that

services today are better than in the past. I am taking

responsibility, I am the chief executive of the council today, I

have commissioned the independent enquiry report, I have made sure

that the report has been published, I am making a set of recommendations

to the council. One of the things that I am saying is that we should

accept the findings of the report without exception and that we should

move forward immediately to implement the recommendations in the

report. The council says that nobody working within the Council at the

moment it needs to be disciplined, but one councillor who was in charge

of council services is now South Yorkshire's elected Police

Commissioner. Some pressure coming for him to step down.

In the last few minutes, South Yorkshire's Police Commissioner has

issued a statement. He has apologised and said as Commissioner

he has made tackling child sexual exploitation forced's number one

priority. Hundreds of potential criminals have not been brought to

justice. We've let people down and from the

start, I want to offer a sincere apology to the victims and families

that we should have done more with. We have commissioned a number

of investigations in relation to complaints and it will continue

until we find those responsible The evidence of child sexual

exploitation goes back to 1997, but only goes back `` was only uncovered

two years ago. Spencer Stokes reports on

his reaction to today's developments and what people in Rotherham make

of what we've learnt. 1400 children subjected to sexual

exploitation. In 2010, five member convicted for sexual offences

against girls. Andrew Norfolk revealed the depth of what was going

on. He had seen a confidential report by the police intelligence

bureau that details a significant problem with...

Today, Andrew Norfolk saw the authorities accept the seriousness

of the original allegations. There is no doubt of the sheer scale and

brutality of what was going on. 11`year`old girls being gang raped,

having petrol poured on them, being trafficked around the country. His

original findings led to the chief executive of Rotherham Council and

chief before a select committee of MPs. We are talking about hundreds

of victims who have not been protected. The Police and Crime

Commissioners in South Yorkshire ordered three separate

investigations before the council called in Professor Alexis Jay last

member. Her report published today. Many awkward questions for the

authorities. The people who are guilty need to be prosecuted. And

the people who let it go are equally responsible, possibly more so. It

would not have gone on so long had it not been left. It is really

shocking that something is happening in front of our eyes. And we can't

do anything about it. Reports have been written, lessons may be

learned, but the victims have to live with the abuse they suffered

and the injustice of being ignored. It was happening, they were telling

people it was happening, front line staff are telling senior managers it

was happening, and every time they try to raise the alarm, concerns

were discarded and dismissed and reports were suppressed. It was an

absolute disgrace. Finally, those girls know that people will believe

them. What next for the victims? Many are

still waiting for the men who abuse them to be prosecuted.

David Greenwood, a solicitor representing some

of the 1,400 victims of sexual abuse in Rotherham.

It was certainly good to hear Rotherham Council acknowledge

People have to see exactly what new systems are in place

and what new personnel, what new funding is in place to prevent this

Reports were ignored, victims were not believed, do you

It is inevitable that faced with so much criticism, the council has

It is good that the council have responded positively, but we still

need to make sure that there is enough support their for people who

will inevitably come forward as a result of this and to protect future

generations of girls from this type of abuse. You think

victims will now be listened to as a result of this report?

I'm certain that the local authority and the police

will do everything they can to try to open their ears and try to build

Lots of these girls have lost their trust in public authorities,

They need to feel they can trust them again so they can report

this abuse and feel confident that action will be taken.

What has been the response from some of the victims?

One lady that I have spoken to today is pleased that

the report has gone into so much detail and has highlighted

the stuff that she has been talking about for a number of years and

But there are many victims still out there and girls

and young women will be thinking, should I come forward, do I have

They have to be sure they can find someone they can trust to take this

forward to the police and to the Council and investigative lawyers.

There's more on the story in our late bulletin at 10.25 tonight,

and the BBC's Panorama programme has also been investigating child

Their programme will be shown next Monday at 8.30 on BBC One.

Helping to save Yorkshire heritage. Budget cuts mean volunteers are

being relied upon to run vital services in one

of our national parks. New figures show that more men die

in Scarborough from alcohol related diseases than

anywhere else in Yorkshire. Per head of the population,

the town fares worse than places Well now the Home Office has decided

to make Scarborough a special Low Alcohol Action Area,

one of just 20 in the country. Carla Fowler spent a night

in the seaside town to find out how Go out in the evening in Scarborough

and this is what you might find. ID scanners, breathalysers, even

fingerprint technology, just some of the methods it is hoped will lower

rates of alcohol abuse in the town. Recent figures show there is more

violent crime linked to alcohol here in Scarborough than anywhere else

in Yorkshire per head. Statistics for deaths from

alcohol abuse are equally high. Nearly half of all anti`social

behaviour and a third of all We have seen a trend

of people coming out much later and that has a knock`on effect

in terms of the timing of incidents and it is also resourcing issue

for the public sector as well. So we have done a lot of work around

what the issues are and the focus of the partnership work is very much

around, we want people to come out in Scarborough, we want people to

have a great night, we want people If someone is in such a state or

so intent on assaulting somebody because something has happened

in a bar or they have fallen out with somebody, they won't see the

police, they won't see the CCTV. So it's how we work back from that,

to say, how do we make sure people don't get in that state to get those

assaults? Now it is a

Local Alcohol Action Area, the town will have help from central

government and NHS England to target We are challenging people

at the front door saying, sorry, They say they have

only just come out. That's fine, but what you have had

is three bottles of wine at home. That constitutes quite a lot

of alcohol and you probably haven't That's the sort of difficulty we

are getting now, that we never I think it's better all round

because at the end of the day if you have the police stood here

and someone is over the limit, they can keep an eye on them and

whether they get in a car or not. If you're too drunk to go

in the pub, and cause trouble when The trial is still

in its first weeks but the challenge for Scarborough's

authorities is to change drinking culture, save money spent

on health and crime and save lives. A man's been arrested

by police investigating the death of a man who was assaulted in Leeds

over the weekend. 37`year`old Gerard Adeshida died

following an incident in Beeston on Saturday evening when he

and his brother were involved in a dispute with the driver

of a grey Vauxhall Corsa. Mr Adeshida fell backwards

and suffered a head injury. Police want any witnesses

to contact them. Two new Area Bishops

for the recently created Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales

have been named. They were

at Leeds station this morning. The Reverend Doctor Toby Howarth

will be the new Bishop of Bradford. The Reverend Doctor Jonathan Gibbs

has been made the first ever Bishop They'll be consecrated at

York Minster next month. Leeds West Indian Carnival could

bring as much as ?10 million into the economy of the city

according to Leeds City Council. The carnival took place

in the Chapel Town area This year, for the first time,

the council have surveyed revellers to find out how much they spend

in the hope of getting a better idea of the income generated so they can

plan more for future events. One of the country's biggest

national parks is warning it may have to close rights of way

and shut down conservation projects The North York Moors National Park

has seen its budget cut by 40 percent and, next month,

more savings It says it's now being forced

to rely on teams of volunteers Phill Connell's been investigating

the financial plight We're going to be working

on the alternative route today. They are the teams of volunteers

on which the North York Moors National Park has

become increasingly reliant. Cuts and redundancies have left

the authority facing Volunteers are now playing

an important role If we weren't here doing this now,

by the time spring came, you would virtually not be able to

see this path. They are saying we will need more

volunteers, more people who are In the last three years,

the park's budget has been cut by 40%, with annual spending now

reduced to just over ?4 million. In September, further cuts

and redundancies are also expected. So what role will volunteers now

play here and how reliant will the Park become

on their hard work and goodwill? The park's chief executive says

volunteers will not replace qualified staff but he says

in more than 50 years of the park's existence,

he has never known times like it. This is quite exceptional,

we are now going back to having less money than

when we were set up in real terms. There are days when you be

a completely despondent. `` feel. So we will rely more on

volunteers because the alternative A planning application

for ?1 billion potash mine near Whitby has also squeeze

the park's finances further. Delays have so far cost the

authority almost ?1 million, raising new questions as to how we safeguard

this beautiful national asset. Not just for the over 60s.

Experts find evidence that trainspotting was a passion

for Victorian teenagers. Leeds Rhinos players have been back

in training today, no doubt with a few sore heads

after celebrating the club's first It was some performance against

Castleford Tigers at Wembley. We'll speak to the man

of the match Ryan Hall in a moment. First here's a reminder

of how they did it. Now they can let themselves enjoy

this moment. It has been 14 years in the making.

Well, how does it feel? It feels really good. As it sank end? Yes, it

has. It was the homecoming yesterday. Your voice is croaking,

is that from all the celebrations? You have been to Buckingham Palace,

Headingley, what about today? We traded today. We have to try and

finish in the best we possibly can in the lead.

Art you the best winger in the world? I don't think so. But that is

a great accolade. I don't go on about it myself too much. I just try

my hardest. The great thing about it is when you win the trophy, it

really is a bit special. That is something that makes you stand out

from the rest. Yes, is a lot that goes along with the trophy. I am

going to dinner tomorrow night, and looking forward to that. `` to a

dinner. There is a lot of ribbing going on, a great team spirit. Just

a word about Castleford. It is a remarkable achievement that they got

to that final. Nobody fancied them and they pushed you all the way.

Yes, they have turned the club around. They have been doing a

beneficent job. To get into the lead position that they are in, and to

get to a final. Best of luck to all of you. Good luck on Friday. Thank

you. The oldest ever mention of

trainspotting has been uncovered by the National Railway Museum in York

and the hobby is at least 80 years It's emerged that

a 14`year`old girl was writing down the numbers of engines heading

in and out of Paddington Station Train spotting

during its post`war peak of popularity, but new research by the

National Railway Museum in York has uncovered the earliest ever mention

of the hobby from 80 years before. During preparations for a train

spotting expedition, staff unerthed evidence moving train spotting's

origins back to the Victorian era. They're not just train spotting,

the person is recording names and numbers and she is a lady

called Fanny Johnson who is 14. So the earliest reference to

train spotting was from a woman. On platform four at Doncaster

station on a weekday afternoon, The test train has just gone

from Peterborough to Leeds. Everybody has a different system

for writing down what they see. And just like in 1861,

it still appeals to some There are a lot of teenagers and

we connect through social media. Trainspotters telling critics

to zip it from 1861. A nice day to come tomorrow. Dry,

and little cloudy. But there is a ridge of high pressure in charge.

This weather system will bring some rain across us on Wednesday night.

That means a damp start on Thursday morning. We did get off to a cloudy

start, but lots of blue skies. The whole of Yorkshire is bathed in

sunshine just now. Overnight, we might get the odd, isolated shower,

but otherwise looking pretty good. The odd light shower is possible for

spring, otherwise dry and bright, variable amounts of cloud. Some

decent spells of sunshine coming through. It has been quite breezy

today. It will feel slightly warmer tomorrow. 18 Celsius inland. A bit

disappointing for the end of August. Friday and Saturday are looking

bright and breezy with sunshine and scattered showers.

That's it from us. We will be back at 1025 with more on the

Have somebody play bagpipe at the airport to welcome you? Possible.

Whichever car you like, with Wi-Fi inside? Possible.

Can I get you a pink elephant? I'll try!

See, the Indian philosophy dictates that

anybody who comes to your house is not a guest, but he's God.