20/09/2011 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to NorthWest Tonight.

Daytime denial - Rebecca Leighton the nurse at the centre of the

Stepping Hill deaths inquiry, takes to the TV sofa to tell her story.

just could it makes sense, I just couldn't understand what, why it

was me that was arrested. Victims of a jilted lover - did an

ex boyfriend start a fire that killed him and left four members of

a family critically injured? Who should pay for the riots? The

Victorian law that means insurance companies can claim back their

losses from hard-up police forces. A new juggling act for the

Knutsford man who ran away to the circus and who then bought it!

mother thought it was a passing phase. Most mothers would, I

suppose. It developed into something much bigger.

Also tonight from Libya to Liverpool - HMS Albion is docked on

the Mersey and Andy Gill is aboard to welcome them in.

This is one of the biggest ships in the Navy. She has been on duty in

Libya. Let's -- find out later watches been doing and why 500

members of the ship's company will march through Chester tomorrow.

One day, Rebecca Leighton was a hard working staff nurse at a

Stockport Hospital. The next, she was in a police cell and being

called "the Angel of Death" by the tabloids. Today the woman at centre

of the inquiry into patient deaths at Stepping Hill Hospital hit back

at the media - in what was a very carefully arranged media moment on

a daytime talk show. Rebecca leighton was freed without

charge and in the interview she talked how the accusations had put

her through a "living hell." She wants to return to a normal life

and a career in nursing, but at the moment she's says she still too

afraid to leave the house. With a new hairstyle and celebrity

PR guru Max Clifford to guide her, the 27-year-old chose daytime TV to

give her own account of what happened. I just couldn't string a

sentence together, I couldn't understand what was going on, why

it was me that was arrested. I have never felt hat I felt then. When

they arrested me, I thought I would be home for tea time, because

surely if they know I have not done anything wrong, I obviously had no

idea what was to come. At first she even refused to have a solicitor

with her. Because I had nothing to hide, I didn't see why I would need

a solicitor. Miss Leighton had charges against her dropped earlier

this month. She described the despair she felt while being held

in custody at Styal women's prison. I pleaded with the police every day,

all the time, please don't stop looking, don't stop. If you do,

then surely the person that has done these horrific things is still

going to be out there. It worried me so much, the patients, everybody

was still going to be affected. It can't just stop with me. She told

of her horror at the betrayal in the media and the effect on her

life. I'm not working. I can't go outside my house without people

taking pictures. I can't walk down the street on my own because I'm a

bit scared. Someone has always got to be with me all the time. She has

been told she can return to nursing but she is still suspended on full

pay while the hospital carries out an internal inquiry into

allegations she stole drugs. Nursing is all I have ever done. I

am so passionate about my job. Looking after patients, that's what

I do. Anything that bad happens to you, you have got to tear into a

positive. If anything, I'd like to think what I'm a stronger person

and will learn to appreciate life more than what I did before.

Detectives are trying to establish whether a jilted boyfriend set fire

to his former girlfriend's home in Altrincham. David Potts died in the

fire. Tracy Jones and her three children suffered serious injuries.

It's emerged that the police had been involved with the couple in

the past. They've now called in the Independent Police Complaints

Commission to investigate the way officers handled matters. Our Chief

Reporter, Dave Guest, has the story. The blackened remains of a family

home bear testimony to the horror that unfolded here early yesterday

morning. I have never seen anything like before and I do not want to

see it again. It was awful. Hearing the screaming, it was awful. And

seeing all the flames and everything. You just think it

happens to somebody else. That sense of shock intensified today

when police confirmed they believe the fire was started deliberately.

And it's possible David Potts started it. He perished in the fire.

The origins of the fire are clearly suspicious. There will be a full

forensic examination and we will piece together what has happened.

You are not looking for anyone else? At this time, all the

evidence and intelligence available to us, there is nothing to suggest

that we need to be looking for anyone else. His former girlfriend,

Tracy Jones, and her three children, Cailin, aged 18, 15-year-old Shaun

and four year old Zak, lived at the house were all seriously injured.

Throughout the day, crime scene investigators have been examining

the house in fine detail. It seems that what started out as a tragedy,

a fire that claimed one life and injured four others, has taken a

sinister turn. Police also confirmed they had had contact with

David Potts and Tracy Jones in the past. I will not go into detail but

it is in -- appropriate to brief people about this. Tracy Jones and

her children remain in hospital tonight.

Other news now and a toddler from Manchester has died from meningitis,

despite being vaccinated. Two-year- old Lewis Taylor had received the

standard three doses of the vaccine but died of meningococcal C after

being rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital last week. His parents

described him as "perfect" and say they're devastated. The Meningitis

Trust says it's a very rare case and has urged parents not to stop

vaccinating. A man has appeared in court,

charged with aggravated burglary at a house where an intruder was

killed. 33-year-old Michael Thorpe from Heald Green is accused of

entering the home of Vincent Cooke in Bramhall on Saturday, whilst

armed with a knife. Mr Cooke was also arrested on suspicion of

stabbing another intruder, Raymond Jacobs, to death that night.

Spending cuts at Manchester Prison are affecting some of the most

vulnerable inmates according to a report out today. The Independent

Monitoring Board found some prisoners with severe mental health

problems were waiting months to be transferred to secure hospitals,

when they should be moved within a fortnight. The Ministry of Justice

said cutbacks haven't affected core staffing levels.

Plans to build an international trade centre in Wirral, will be

decided by councillors tonight. Those behind the idea say it could

create 3,000 jobs and attract companies from as far away as Asia.

It would be built on the West Float Dock at Birkenhead.

To anyone affected by the riots, today is an important day. It's

deadline day for claims to cover the cost of losses. But who foots

the bill for those losses? Both the uninsured and the insurance

industry can claim against their local police authority. It's all

down to an arcane law called the Riot Damages Act. Manchester Police

Authority, which is facing millions of pounds of cuts, says the law

should be scrapped. Here's Jayne Barrett.

While chaos reigned in this Manchester store, one statement was

shouted again and again to the stunned owner. Pretty much most of

the people coming past were saying, don't worry, you're insured, which

was laughable. People who wanted to help themselves? They wanted to

come in. But who really picks up the tab? In this case in excess of

150,000. The Riot Damages Act dates back to 1886. It means that the

taxpayer. Not the insurance industry, will ultimately foot the

bill. The theory goes that if an institution is set up to protect us

and our property, when that protection fails, they should pay.

Under the Riot Damages Act people who are uninsured have until today

in Manchester, tomorrow in Merseyside, to get their claims in

direct to the Police Authority. In 2002, the Yarls Wood detention

centre went up in flames. The cause - a riot. Bedford police was handed

a bill by the insurance industry. Police challenged it but lost in

the High Court. In Manchester, looting was rampant. The Police

Authority say even today, they're still receiving claims. In excess

of �5 million so far, that's before the cost of policing. We believe it

shouldn't come for money earmarked for policing. It should initially

come from our reserves, but we believe the Government should be

able to top that up and enable us to carry on improving policing in

Greater Manchester. Although it is is a financial arrangement between

insurers and local authorities. these are local in -- of parties

that do not have a lot of cash to spend and have not been paid

premiums for insurance polities. That is true, but the law is the

law. Merseyside Police have only received a handful of claims.

Manchester, more than 250. The authority is hopeful, but not

certain the government will pick up the tab. Either way - the taxpayer,

will pay. The Deputy Prime Minister Nick

Clegg has told North West Tonight that there should be clarity on

government payments to police authorities "as soon as possible".

Earlier I spoke to our political editor, who's covering the Liberal

Democrat conference in Birmingham, and asked him what Mr Clegg had to

say. Let's remember that there are two

costs facing the police. The first, the operational cost of the riots.

The second, the businesses that were badly affected. The problem is

that David Cameron gave the impression that said pro-government

was going to pick up most, if not all of the bill. That is clearly

not going to be the case. I asked Nick Clegg how much money the

government was planning to pay. is right that the Government should

give support to those police forces who met these exceptional

circumstances and incurred exceptional costs. There is a

mechanism by which police forces can apply, and I think they have

applied in the North West and elsewhere, to the Home Office, to

assess what kind of support and at what level of support that is from

central government. We are looking at that right now. Let's assume

that a police force is asking for �5 million because that is how much

was spent in terms of dealing with riots and compensation? I am afraid

I can't short-circuit a detailed process. I can't tell you now

without knowing the details of what it claims are. Without knowing

exactly if they are fairly represent the costs incurred and if

they can be covered by Centre government. I do not think you can

reasonably accept -- expect me to second guess this. Mr Cameron said

the government will ensure the police have the funds they need to

meet the costs, which gave the impression... What you're asking me

to do, which I cannot do, is predetermine whether I'd �5 million

claim is legitimate. I understand. What I do not understand is why Mr

Cameron seems to have given it the impression that government would be

funding forces who have had these extraordinary situations. He said

legitimate costs. The process is about to terminate, as the prime

minister says what does legitimate costs are. I can't tell you. This

is a dialogue between the police forces and the Home Office, and I

can't tell you what cost the police forces would have bought anyway.

You would hope the Home Office would know. According to a great --

greater Manchester Police Laboratory, the quotes are changing

all the time. According to Merseyside police are authority,

they do not know what the Home Office rules are at all. What is

going on? Clearly, but police forces are entirely entitled to

expect clarity as quickly as possible. The Home Office will

hopefully provide. As quickly as possible. You can't say, you cannot

be expected to sign a blank cheque, let's look at declaims and decide

what are legitimate and what are not, just as the Prime Minister

implied. In terms of giving the police authorities the rules so

they know where they stand, the you agree that the Home Office should

make accurate to them? Obviously, they do not know at the moment.

Acceptable from all sides. The quicker you can resolve these

things, the better. I'm afraid it is not a question of me snapping my

fingers and resolving an issue which is quite complex. Let the

police and Home Office thrash this art and determine what are

legitimate additional costs which should be covered by government and

are not. It's pretty clear that there's lots of confusion here

amongst all sorts of groups. Even the politicians do not know exactly

what the rules are. Clearly, Greater Manchester and Merseyside

police will want to get clarification on that pretty soon.

Very interesting stuff. Still to come in North West

Tonight... Berry tasty - autumn's on its way

and so is Diane with the weather. And one man's service journey from

Knutsford to Moscow and back again. You have probably seen the

controversy over the deal foreign travellers' site in Essex recently.

-- the a farm. What do you do when travellers set

up home in a local field? How do you balance their rights to live in

peace with the needs of long-term residents? In Cheshire, they've

more experience than most of wrestling with such dilemmas. Now,

one local authority is trying a new approach. Stuart Flinders reports.

Making babies Thomas, you should be ashamed!

Dale Farm in Essex. Travellers are refusing to leave their illegal

camp. The local council wants them out. Other councils will be

watching what happens closely. In Cheshire, they've come up with a

plan to stop disputes such as this reaching a standoff. This is a

traveller's site near Childer Thornton in south Wirral. The

travellers bought this land some months ago before moving their

caravans on to it and then seeking and getting retrospective planning

permission. The local authority is not happy. It's green belt land and

the council opposed planning permission. Temporary permission

was granted. Now they want to create six new sites for travellers.

They say it will mean travellers can't argue that they need to buy

land like this. These sites would be properly managed, whereby they

have to pay for their site provision, they pay council tax

while they're there, and they paid other taxation has. It is different

than the sites that may be in the countryside at the moment. Along

the lane from the site, John Jones runs a market garden. He says

they're good neighbours, but believes the planning process isn't

working. If they get planning permission within it the green belt,

then effectively the council have gifted them a valuable asset.

travellers who live here didn't want to speak to us on camera.

Manchester United has put plans to sell shares on hold because of

uncertainty on the financial markets. It received approval to

float the company on the Singapore Stock Exchange in September. The

club needs to raise money to pay off some of its debts but is

holding off because of concerns about the eurozone.

Everton Football Club has mortgaged its TV rights for two seasons to an

offshore investment company. The deal, signed with a company in the

British Virgin Islands, is thought to be worth �14 million pounds.

Fans recently marched in protest at the lack of investment in the club,

which didn't bring in a single permanent player during the

transfer window. It is incredibly worrying that the club don't seem

to have a sustainable business plan that can actually move the club

forward. That is why we are advocating setting up a

professional group of hard-nosed businessmen who have got clear and

concise mandate from the board to find the investment we need.

Last week we had the Queen Mary on the Mersey. Today we've another

giant of the seas in dock in Liverpool. The Navy's flagship, HMS

Albion, is here for the next few days. She's just come back from

operational duty off the coast of Libya. Our Merseyside Reporter,

Andy Gill, is aboard now. Looks like a great did you?

Albion is one of the Navy's biggest ships, the flagship as well. The

Krug rises to about 1,000 when the Royal Marines are on board. If you

look at half-time we are compared to the live a building, you can see

how high we are. The job is to get Marine's onshore to fight. It also

has a job as a command centre to coordinate operations from a ship.

That is when it has been dealing off the coast of Libya, as a

commanding officer told me earlier this evening. We were deployed to

provide political choice in the immediate aftermath of the Arabs

brink this year. -- Arabs bring. When we first were projecting a

helicopters into Lippiett, we were -- that is clearly our primary

focus. -- bringing up helicopters into Libya. HMS Albion is

affiliated with Chester. Tomorrow, most of the ship's company will

march is to Chester in the morning. The salute will be taken by

Princess Anne. She is the ship's sponsor. I am joined by two crew

members. You're from West Derby originally. This is a special visit

to Liverpool for you, tell us why? This Sunday, my three-year-old son

is getting christened on board on the bridge. The ceremony is

happening on board? Yes. important is it for you to take

part in this parade? It is very important. It is a city that shape

is affiliated to, so it is a special occasion to be able to

march through it and have the freedom of Chester. You have been

in any be a while. His is your first visit to a home city? Why is

that? I was on HMS London in 1996. When it came into never put a 1997,

I left the ship to go on a course, and then eaten as Glasgow came in

around 2000, and I left that shipped to go on another course,

therefore I have never been to Liverpool on a ship. Lieutenant

Turley, you are in the Royal Naval Reserve. What is it you like about

Navy life? It is an amazing chance to work alongside a great team. You

get to have a challenge and exciting time. It is a great

opportunity to do something different and exciting and develop

yourself, and also bring my own skills on board. What your kids

make of it? They get excited. They can be a bit blase, but it is good

to keep in touch with letters home. They think it is great. It moppet -

- it must be nice to come home on a ship like this? Etc. But live a

building behind me really gets you going. -- to see the live her

building. The parade is tomorrow in Chester at 10:30am.

Let's see what the weather has in The berries are on the bushes but

not for very long when my dog is around. Here he is, helping himself

to black berries, straight from the bush. He is making sure he gets one

of his daily five a day. Just helps himself. He can pick out the rap --

the right ones. Does anybody else's dog do that? I have had an e-mail

this afternoon from Dennis. He says his wife is not impressed with the

forecast. I said it would be a largely dry day. Well, it hasn't

turned out at all like that. He says, can you bring the washing

round and hang it on my radiators because it is so soaked? You can,

but I can't promise you that some one-82. The rain has finally

managed to leave us. It has been sporadic and patchy as we head

through the day. Over the next couple of ours it will be dry in

virtually everywhere but it will be very clear in parts with overnight

temperatures down to around six Celsius. It will feel autumnal

tomorrow morning. Not only do we have a lot of clear skies, we have

incredibly light winds. Maybe even some fog forming as we head towards

Down. There is an Hon Tom of start to the day. -- and autumn and will

start today. It will be warmer along the coast, particularly in

parts of Cumbria. You will see some nice spells of sunshine in the

morning. You can clearly see a south-westerly breeze, not a bad

direction for a southern parts of the region. Cloud feeding into

parts of Cumbria and Lancashire. Add to that light and drizzly

showers, they will start to take cold and by the end of the day, and

we will all have seen a shower. The best of the weather around first

thing. The south-westerly breeze will become a feature. It will pick

up through the afternoon. It will go up to 25 mph. The south-westerly

is relatively mild. After that, high pressure will start to squeeze

in. Thursday and Friday don't to lead to bad. It falls apart again

at the weekend. At 16, a schoolboy from Cheshire

left Knutsford to join the circus. 33 years later, after a career as a

juggler, Paul Archer is back in the town. But he's not performing in

the circus - he's the boss. Paul's now a director of the world-famous

Moscow State Circus and he owns the UK performance rights. Tonight the

show opens in Tatton Park, a short hop from where he was born. Kate

Simms went to meet him. A small step in the name of

publicity for his new show, but it's been a long journey for Paul

Archer- from Knutsford to Moscow and back again. Paul spent hours

doing this as a child in Knutsford, inspired by the circuses that came

and went from the heath. I had ever experienced something like that

experienced something like that before. Sheer excitement for a

child is going along and seeing this happening in his own town.

From then on, the bug caught me. Paul Juggled everywhere. I is a

strange feeling being back here. Today he went back to what used to

be Edgerton Primary School But at 16, Paul left Knutsford to ply his

trade as a juggler, but he soon became involved in the running of

the circus... My mother thought it was a passing phase. It developed

into something much bigger. And 33 years later, he's brought the world

famous Moscow State Circus he now runs back to his hometown. How does

it feel to see the sign in Knutsford? It is like I have come

full circle. I am proud to be back in Cheshire with the Moscow State

Circus. I have come back Kong, I suppose. The show includes unique

tricks like this one - don't try this at home! The circus is in town

till Sunday. I am excited and proud to bring it back to Cheshire., long,

I can actually juggle. Many years ago! What do you juggle with?