06/02/2014 Midlands Today

Peter, thank you. That's all from the BBC

Here in the Midlands... Time to draw a line says David

Cameron after this stag party cost an MP his political career.

He behaved wrongly, he has admitted that and we should move on from

that. And hailed a hero ` the security

guard who fought off a gang of robbers who were armed with an axe.

One year after the Stafford Hospital in quarry and Europe report assesses

how its findings have changed the NHS.

All of us are focused on what Francis has said and all of us don't

want that to happen in our hospitals, so it has had an impact.

A moment to treasure for the rest of his life ` a Solihull speed skater

chosen to carry the GB flag at the Winter Olympics.

I did not expect it, I think there were a lot of strong candidates in

our team, great group of guys and girls, so to be selected was

fantastic. And when there's a warning up you

know it's serious. It's wet out there ` very wet, and set to get

even wetter before the weekend. Want to know more? Then join me later.

Good evening. The Prime Minister says Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley

has done the right thing by standing down. The MP himself has thanked

constituents for their overwhelming messages of support. He decided to

go in the face of continuing controversy over a Nazi`themed stag

night ` something he says he deeply regrets. In a moment, I'll be

discussing the fallout from Mr Burley's decision with our political

editor Patrick Burns. But first here's Joanne Writtle.

David Cameron at a Birmingham school with football pundit Gary Lineker.

But with the political storm over Aidan Burley's decision to quit

blowing right to the top, the PM spoke out.

I think he has made the right decision. He worked very hard in

Cannock, particularly on issues like the hospital. Obviously there was

that report by David Gold fund found he had `` that found he had behaved

foolishly and wrongly and that is why he has made this decision, which

I think is the right decision, and we should move on from that.

Aidan Burley was a Tory golden boy, winning the Cannock Chase seat in

2010 with the biggest swing in the country, ending 18 years of Labour

in Cannock. But he was sacked as a ministerial

aide after being filmed at a Nazi`themed stag party.

In his constituency today, his decision to stand down as MP at the

next election was big news. He knew better than to get involved

in that, surely! He is so young, and I am sold remember everything.

He has been a good MP for the area, particularly when we had the trouble

with the hospital. He supported the hospital all the way.

Meanwhile, out canvassing, a man most likely to benefit from Aidan

Burley's move ` Labour election candidate Janos Toth.

He has brought shame to our constituency with the antics he

carried out in France. What do I mean by that? We find out recently

he purchased a Nazi uniform that he gave to the groom who he was the

best man for and then they went partying in France.

In the party there is great support for Aidan Burley, with many

respecting him as a hard`working MP. At his constituency office in

Cannock it was business as usual today, with Mr Burley himself saying

in a statement, I am pleased it is all behind me now and I am pleased

to serve the people of Cannock Chase over the next 15 months.

Aidan Burley spearheaded the campaign to save Cannock Hospital

from closure and ran local jobs fairs. But it's unclear what he'll

do next, though one man was awash with new ideas.

It might be best for him to perhaps start again at something else. He

can have a job with me if he wants! For now though, Aidan Burley will be

MP until the next election. And our Political Editor Patrick

Burns is with me now. Obviously Aidan Burley has been under intense

pressure. Was the timing of this decision last night a surprise or

was there an element of inevitability about it?

I think, really, events had moved decisively against him. First of

all, that Conservative Party report we were hearing about which branded

his actions stupid and offensive. No less significantly, the Sunday

papers that signalled their determination not to let go of this.

There comes a point where it is a political judgement, irrespective of

the merits of the arguments on either side. Is it possible any

longer to limit the damage or will he forever beat high as the man

involved in that notorious stag party? `` will he forever be tagged.

One MP whose family lost loved ones at an Nazi extermination camp thinks

this decision has not come one moment too soon.

I think it wouldn't have come to this if, over two years ago, after

this party, he had told the truth about what had happened, his role in

it, and if he apologised properly at the time I think it would never have

to write on. It would never have got to this, it would have been dealt

with at the time, I think. It is a shattering fall from grace

for someone who was a rising star in the 2010 intake.

He achieved the result of the election for the Conservatives, a

14% swing in Cannock Chase, a staggering result. He rose very

quickly, influential on changes to the police services and towards the

end he was actually Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Private

Secretary `` Transport Secretary Tony was really on his way before

that trip to the French Alps. Where does this leave his

constituents for the next 15 months? Well, the Labour council leader in

Cannock Chase says he should go now because they would otherwise have a

lame`duck MP, but frankly during the latter stages of any Parliament

there are plenty of MPs serving out their time, including many who have

actually been deselected. That is not a fate that has befallen

Aidan Burley and I am sure he will be an active MP and determined to

see this out to the end. Coming up later in the programme...

Reservoirs overflowing and adding to flooding fears, with even more rain

on the way. A security guard has been hailed a

hero after fighting off a gang of robbers who were armed with an axe.

The police cordoned off a road in Dudley, where the attack took place.

The thieves were trying to get money being delivered to a bank ` a so

called cash in transit robbery ` a type of crime that is on the

increase again. Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson has this

report. This is the security guard working

for G4S who refused to hand over a box of cash. Three men pounced as he

delivered the money to Barclays bank in dudley. `` Dudley. They were

armed with an axe. The security guard suffered minor bruising and

asked us to protect his identity. The cash vans are very well

protected. It's the guards walking from their vans which are often the

weak link. It was like a fight, they were

fighting, I thought, until I got up and had a look and it was more the

gentleman trying to pool something off him, of the security man. The

cash box? Yes, he was trying to pull it off and get hold of it.

He had something in his hand, as well. I don't know what it was, like

an axe. Hours after the attack, the security guard remained at the scene

helping the police with their investigation.

The security guard would not give me his name. He did say that he was in

his mid`50s, that he was a family man and that he had been determined

not to give that cash box to the Raiders. I said to him that,

clearly, he had been a hero. He said he was simply doing his job. Painful

memories. Watching the crime scene, Rod

Phillips. 20 years ago he was held up by armed robbers while delivering

cash. The advice usually is not to resist.

We were taught not to argue with shotguns or baseball bats or

anything like that. What injuries did you receive?

I received an injured shoulder by a baseball bat.

Armed police sometimes escort security vans delivering cash.

Nationally, in some areas cash in transit robberies have doubled. But

the raiders today fled empty`handed. Parents of children at a Redditch

nursery, where a member of staff was arrested, are meeting police this

evening. An employee at the Crabbs Cross branch of Bright KIDS was

arrested earlier this week and released on bail after a parent

contacted officers. The West Mercia police say they have no ongoing

concerns for the welfare of children.

Hospitals are more focused on quality of care, but the regulation

is still complex and confusing. That's the view of independent

research to coincide with the first anniversary of the publication of

the Francis Report into the failings at Stafford Hospital. Our health

correspondent, Michele Paduano, has been to see what has changed in the

health service in the last 12 months.

These are the people on the front line that make the difference. 60%

of all care is provided by health care assistants. In Stoke`on`Trent,

they are now being taught about dementia and how to stimulate

elderly patients' memories. And one time we were not getting

much training, but this has opened a few doors for us, so we are getting

a lot more training and, like I say, the staff is improving all the

time. Giving patients like Joyce Merchant

care and dignity is central. Here they have introduced minimum nursing

levels on wards and the chief nurse sits on a national body looking at

staffing. All of us are focused on what

Francis has said and all of us don't want that to happen in our

hospitals, so it has made an impact throughout the country, no doubt,

and for probably from a field. `` probably further afield.

Nobody is suggesting care is perfect.

91``year`old Mary Bradley had received poor care at Stafford in

the past but is receiving excellent care today. Her daughter says in

Walsall Hospital her mother fell recently and broke a bone. She was

covered in dried faeces. The Trust has apologised, saying her care was

unacceptable. It was horrendous, to say the least.

It was traumatic, it was even worse than deja vu, because with Stafford

it was a hygiene problem. With Walsall come across`the`board care

was appalling. It's a picture that Ken Lownds, who

twice met the Health Secretary and coined the phrase "zero harm", still

recognises. My feeling on the whole is have

positive but have to disappoint a dad not seeing very ever noticed

signs of other changes. `` very definite signs. For instance,

legislation to bring about the single regulator that the NHS

wanted. Getting the right staff with the right attitude is essential, but

part of the problem at Stafford is finance, how to carry on improving

care with less money. If the circumstances arise where it

is impossible to provide acceptable care with the money there, it seems

to me the people who know that must say so.

You cannot continue to have stories of patients being left in their own

faeces. In hospitals, attitudes are

changing, but it will take time to completely change the culture.

And Michele is outside Stafford Hospital now.

What happened at Stafford seems to have entered the consciousness of

the NHS as a whole, doesn't it? Yes, from the gloom over Stafford

for so long, this is the real ray of hope. Words like duty of candour and

zero harm seemed to be embedded in the NHS and a recent survey showed

82% of hospitals said they had done something as a result of the

Stafford angry and 93% still intend to do so. There are still concerns

about reorganisation, the end of regulation that is complex and

difficult, but one Chief Executives said I would rather be hung now for

the money than for quality of care. The future of the hospital itself is

still undecided and I hear there are new developments tonight?

Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State, is due to pronounce on its future a

few weeks that matter in a few weeks. But a Conservative MP has

written to all GPs in the area as being them for their views as to

what should happen to the hospital. If they do not agree with the

Clinical Commissioning Group, it could result in a challenge. If they

do, it could mean the end for the campaign against the changes. There

are concerns tonight about the viability of the accident and

emergency department? Yes, there has been talk for some

time about reducing the number of hours, apparently around half of the

staff working as nurses in that department are actually non`staff,

because clearly for so long there have been concerns about the future

and many people have been leaving. Obviously that has had an impact on

the way they can do their work. Thank you.

Our top story tonight... Time to draw a line, says David

Cameron, after this Nazi`themed stag party cost the MP for Cannock Chase

his political career. Shefali is ready with your detailed

weather forecast. Also in tonight's programme, what

Juan from crime`ridden streets in Los Angeles had to tell pupils in

Birmingham about the perils of gangs and knife crime.

Once you are in, there is no way out, and if you do get out there and

you live the life where you are at risk, it is duly risky. `` it is

really risky. And we meet the Staffordshire

teeenager with genuine medal hopes in the Winter Olympics.

For consecutive summers, water companies have warned of drought,

but, after one of the wettest months on record, there's now a new issue.

97% of Severn Trent's reservoirs are full, with some overflowing into

already swollen rivers. And, even with 4.2 million homes and

businesses to supply, that's enough water to take us right through until

September, as Ben Godfrey has been finding out.

On the surface, Lake Vyrnwy is a picture of serenity, but look beyond

the dam. Millions of gallons of fresh water

are bursting through and pouring away.

This area of Mid`Wales saw twice the average rainfall in January, and

this Victorian reservoir is completely full.

I have to say, the volume and noise of this water is extraordinary, and

it should find its way into the river seven insurers bray within

around 12 hours. `` River Severn in shrews brief. `` Shrewsbury.

Two years ago, the Midlands experienced water shortages because

there hadn't been sufficient winter rainfall. That won't happen this

summer. Severn Trent says a dozen of its reservoirs surrounding the

Midlands region are already at capacity.

We have enough water now to provide us until September, and that is

without further rainfall. Lake Vyrnwy is almost five miles

long. It's the size of 600 football

pitches and is one of the country's most important environment for

birds. Intense rain can alter habitats `

something the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is trying to

manage. We are feeding the birds twice as

much because they are so hungry, and, yes, they are having a rough

time. We keep on feeding them and we hope it will not affect the bird

count. We have not had any recordings of losses yet.

While this dam is doing it's job successfully, this charge of white

horses is galloping towards the Midlands, bringing an increased risk

of river flooding. A knife surrender is expected to

start in the West Midlands in the next few weeks after a number of

attacks which have cost too many young lives. Pupils at Moseley

School in Birmingham walk past the scene of one such tragedy every day.

So what can be done? We can go over live now to Sarah Falkland. What is

the school doing, Sarah? A lot of it is that good

old`fashioned keeping them on the street and narrow, but that is

easier said than done. A lot of it is also about inspiring kids to do

the best they can. We just wrapped up a talk here tonight, and

18`year`old who delivered it, the current head boy at a public school

in Somerset, and he is not exactly from the kind of background you

might expect. Juan Luquin is a long way from home.

His family are thousands of miles away in Los Angeles. They are

illegal immigrants from Mexico. But he's here in Birmingham as a guest

speaker at Moseley school because of his incredible journey from poverty

to privilege. He grew up in is the notorious South Central part of LA,

where there are over 400 gangs. From the age of six he witnessed regular

shootings and murders. I've seen about three drive`bys. The

most recent one was about five years ago. I was in my house with my

friends and heard gunshots, and you just see him lying on the side of

the car dead. Those types of events stick with you for the rest of your

life. Some students here will never forget

what happened 16`year`old Azim Azam. He was stabbed to death less than a

quarter of a mile from their school. It was shortly after that that a

teacher read about Juan and thought he'd be a good role model.

The best way to keep young people safe and out of trouble is to help

them be successful. The more students are successful and realise

they have a stake in making themselves better and have something

to look forward to in the future, the saver they will be. `` the

safer. After an interview with the the

student newspaper, he will tell an audience of students about how easy

it can be to end up as a victim of crime, or even lose your life, or be

trapped in a gang. If you have problems at home, or

things like that, I know many people who got involved with selling drugs

and things like that to support their families, but without their

parents knowing. They would come back home with money for their

parents. Juan's life could have been so

different. As it is, he has another year as

head boy at Taunton School in Somerset, then it's back home to the

States for University. Just how inspirational was that

speech? With me is the head girl, what did you think about what Juan

had to say? It was very inspiring, especially for our young leaders to

hear about his past. He told us that when he was 16 he

was seeing people getting shot. That is not something you hear about in

daily life and coming from that background, and becoming a head boy

in an established school and being the best you can be, it inspires our

students to be the best they can be. What do you want to do?

I want to be a children's nurse, so hopefully that is what I will do and

I am buried passionate about that. I am going to university for a

degree to work in a children's hospital. Best wishes with that. We

also had a pastor from Birmingham here speaking tonight, there is

quite well`known. If you are wondering how Juan

managed to get to that public school in Taunton, he worked very hard at

school in Los Angeles, became head boy there, and then won a

prestigious scholarship which has paid for everything.

A speed skater from Solihull will carry the flag for Britain at the

opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Russia. Jon Eley says

the honour comes as a complete surprise, and it's a moment he'll

treasure for the rest of his life. Nick Clitheroe reports on how six of

our athletes will form a key part of a British team looking to win more

medals than ever before. Backside double ten!

Wow! Jamie Nicholls! The waiting is finally over for

Britain's Winter Olympians. Although the first events began this morning,

it is tomorrow's opening ceremony which really marks the start of the

drama. And no`one will feel that sense of pride more than speed

skater Jon Eley, who will carry the British flag into the stadium.

It's fantastic, an amazing feeling, I'm just over the moon. I didn't

expect it, there's a lot of strong candidates in the team, a lot of

great guys and girls, so to be selected was fantastic.

This will be Eley's third Olympics. He is joined in the speed skating

team by debutant Charlotte Gilmartin from Redditch.

There are plenty of first`timers on the British team. Like 18`year`old

freestyle skier Rowan Cheshire from Staffordshire. A half pipe gold

medal in a recent World Cup event has raised expectations for her.

I really want a podium, but just being there is a massive goal for

me. I definitely will try my best, but I think the most potential will

be in 2018. Coventry`born Amanda Lightfoot will be first up in the

biathlon on Sunday. 17``year`old Flo Bell from

Birmingham will carry Ireland's hopes in slalom. And there are

Midlands medal chances in the bobsleigh, too, where Ben Simons

from Broseley in Shropshire and Joel Fearon from Coventry compete.

To have come so far in such a short time for me is amazing. I am proud

of myself now, really, blowing my own horn quite a bit, so I'm very

happy. British bobsleigh is going to such a

strong as it has ever been, we have genuine medal contenders in there.

`` is going to Sochi. Britain only won a single medal four

years ago. The pressure is on to win at least

three this time around. Good luck to them all.

On the ninth February 2011, Conrad Lewis from Warwickshire became the

353rd soldier to die in the Afghanistan conflict. Since then,

his family have made sure his memory lives on and he's not just a number.

To mark the third anniversary of his death, they are releasing a charity

single and they're aiming for a place in the Top 40. Ben Sidwell

reports. As we started to withdraw from

Afghanistan, then I think it is vitally important to recognise the

contribution and sacrifice of the other 446 to have died in this

conflict. We want the song to recognise what they have contributed

to our safety and security. Conrad Lewis loved music.

He played both the guitar and drums. So when a family friend wrote words

for a song following his funeral, it was decided the track should be used

to help all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

I loved it, and I think the lyrics appeal to anyone, not just someone

who has lost someone from the military complex, but anyone who has

suffered lost. Released three years to the day that

Conrad died, his family, from Clavedon in Warwickshire, are now

trying to get the song in the Top 40 Singles chart.

Just how big is the challenge facing them? To get into the top 40, last

year on average you had to sell 7800 singles. If you wanted into the top

ten it was 30,000. As for number one, this week's number one sold

136,000 copies to top the charts. The song has been recorded by

Warwickshire singer Andrew James at a studio in Bidford on Avon. We

desperately need people to download it.

If we get so many thousand downloads we should... But you really need to

be able to commit and do it, it is not easy.

Anyone who has suffered loss will resonate with the chorus, which is,

because I am still here. The single, appropriately named

Soldier On, is available to download now.

And our very best wishes to Conrad Lewis's family. Brace yourselves.

Let's see how the weather's looking ` don't get excited! Here's Shefali.

Nothing to get excited about, Nick. Worried about, maybe, if you are in

flooded areas, but by now you are probably used to this story. This

warning is in force until Saturday, covering two lots of rain going

through the region now and the next that arise on Friday evening

continues into Saturday. That combination will produce a couple of

inches of rain which is probably quite serious if you are in flooded

areas. It is being driven and generated by a series of low

pressures, which we have seen four days now. The intensity of the low

pressure will determine how much rain we get. The first one is not

too bad but look at this next one from the West on Friday evening.

That in itself looks fairly scary with tightly packed isobars and that

wrap around or collusion. That will bring in rain and following on from

that squally showers through the weekend. This evening, again, just

looking at the chart we know what is going on, wet across most parts.

Some wintering is over the hill tops `` wintry showers. The night will

end on a much drier note with some clearer spells and temperatures

dropping to around four or five Celsius. We started tomorrow with

largely dry weather but also some sunshine developing through the day,

which is nice, because that is only going to be a respite before the

next band of rain heads in from the south`west. In the sunshine,

temperatures rising to around seven or nine Celsius, but winds

increasing all the while. Today they were a lot lighter than yesterday

's, but winds again up to around 30 mph taking the edge of

temperatures, perhaps working up to around 50 mph through the night

tomorrow. As rain sweeps in from the south`west it will be very heavy

during the middle part of tomorrow night, clearing in the first part of

Saturday followed by showers by the `` for the rest of the weekend.

You do wonder when it will ever end, don't you?

Tonight's headlines from the BBC... Not guilty of sex offences ` the

Coronation Street actor William Roache walks free.

One storm followed by another ` more severe weather forecast into the

weekend as the government pledges an extra 30 million for emergency

repairs. Time to draw a line, says David

Cameron, after this Nazi`themed stag party cost the MP for Cannock Chase

his political career. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be

back at 10pm with your latest update. Until then,