16/07/2011 BBC Weekend News

A public apology from Rupert Murdoch for the phone-hacking

scandal. The media mogul uses full- page newspaper adverts to say he's

sorry. Heightened security at a hospital

in Stockport where three people died and contaminated saline is

found. A relative of one of the victims

expresses his disbelief. This came as a complete shock to us, and I

think the most difficult thing we have had to deal with is the real

uncertainty as exactly what happens next.

The Army faces further Government cuts to help pay for reserve forces

like the Territorial Army. And struggling in the rain - the

world's top golfers battle the elements at the Open.

Good afternoon. Rupert Murdoch has made a public apology for the

phone-hacking scandal, taking out prominent advertisements in today's

newspapers. It comes after a second of his most senior executives

resigned last night. Les Hinton, Chief Executive of the media

group's Dow Jones, was chairman of News International at the time

Milly Dowler's phone was hacked. Sophie Hutchinson has the story.

The report contain some flash photography.

The sorry state of Rupert Murdoch today - the media magnate sought to

make amends by publishing full Although he's expressed his regret

over what's happened previously. This is, by any standards, pretty

fulsome, some night say abject. There is no question this is a

major turnaround. Even Rupert Murdoch admits simply saying sorry

won't be enough. The apology is part of a wider strategy to shut

down the crisis engulfing News International. It's clear, at least

for now, there will be no let-up to the ongoing questions about this

scandal, such as just how much did News International executives like

Rebekah Brooks know? She resigned yesterday alongside Les Hinton, who

had been Chief Executive in the UK at the time of the hacking. Both

deny knowledge of any wrongdoing. Yesterday, the parents of murdered

schoolgirl Milly Dowler received a personal apology from Rupert

Murdoch for the alleged hacking of their daughter's phone. They want

those responsible published. It's like a house of cards that's

started to tumble, but ultimately, anybody that was at news group

newspapers - News of the World, and in any way involved in any way at

the time these things were happening probably should go. I

suppose it includes anybody whose surnames might be Murdoch. Could

this now be that the position of Rupert Murdoch's son James is in

danger? Some say the waves of the scandal are now lapping at the

family's door. And reverberations continue to be felt in Westminster

about just how close the Prime Minister got to the Murdoch empire.

Records show 26 visits by News International executives to David

Cameron since he took office. Rebekah Brooks is the only guest to

have been invited to Chequers twice, and Andy Coulson, former News of

the World editor, who became head of communications at Number Ten,

was invited to Chequers in March two months after he resigned from

Downing Street. The Government insists it's not embarrassed by the

contact with News International, but all eyes will be on Westminster

next Tuesday when Murdoch - father and son - and Rebekah Brooks are

Our political correspondent Norman Smith is in Downing Street. And how

damaging are the latest revelations of Andy Coulson visiting the Prime

Minister? Well, the Coulson question remains

the critical question for the Prime Minister because it is the one

thing that links the Prime Minister directly with the hacking

allegations and his reluctance to disown Andy Coulson could prove his

achilles heel because we learned he invited him back to Chequers two

months after he resigned. People say this is indicative of his

decency. You can draw a relationship between Rebekah Brooks

and Rupert Murdoch and David Cameron and Andy Coulson because

here you have two very astute political operators who have left

themselves open to being politically damaged because of

their reluctance to immediately get rid of and discard friends who have

become liabilities. Norman, from Downing Street, thank you.

Police investigating the deaths of three patients at a hospital in

Stockport, where saline solution was deliberately contaminated, say

anyone entering the site could now be searched. They're planning to

interview all staff and patients at Stepping Hill Hospital, including

11 people whose treatments were tampered with. Fiona Trott reports

from Stockport. It's place where people should feel

cared for, but tonight, Stepping Hill Hospital is under close

scrutiny. Police say somebody here contaminated some saline solution,

and until they're caught, security is being increased to prevent any

further harm to patients. 44-year- old Tracey Arden is one of three

people whose deaths are being investigated. She had multiple

sclerosis and had been in and out of hospital for over a decade, but

her brother Gary says hours before she died, she was making a good

recovery. Now, instead of planning for a funeral, they're facing days

- maybe weeks - of uncertainty. police came around in person to

visit my mum and dad in the evening to tell them that there was an

investigation - a serious investigation ongoing and that

because of that, we wouldn't be able to go ahead with the funeral

as planned. It was planned for this Monday. To be told this came as a

complete shock to us. This teaching hospital is at the centre of a

major police investigation. Detectives have been meeting with

senior managers throughout the day. The Health Protection Agency is

involved. The coroner is involved, and visiting relatives are anxious.

You can't push it to the back of your mind. It's got to be sort of

up forefront. You've got to wonder what's going on. There is always a

concern when things do happen in hospitals, and you don't know, do

you, whether it's going to affect the person you know. To answer what

may have happened here rest with the results of postmortem

examinations. Police say they may not be known for days.

The International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has

urged other countries to do more to help the victims of the drought in

east Africa. The UK has pledged �52 million in emergency aid. Mr

Mitchell has been visiting the Dadaab camp in Kenya, which is

overflowing with tens of thousands of refugees. From there, Clive

Myrie reports. S. He came in to land, Andrew Mitchell would have

seen the enormous size of the refugee camp here in the Dadaab,

which spreads for miles. Before long, he was in the thick of

it. How many of these holding areas are there for different foods?

one of the food distribution areas, feeding thousands of people every

day, life-saving aid, and the camp needs much more of it. Two years

old. He listened to some of the personal stories the refugees

recounted of escaping the drought in Somalia. This woman told him she

was part of a group of 20 others who walked for 30 days to get here,

and on the road, they were attacked by bandits and robbed. Others say

women have been raped, while malnourished children have died

along the way. She is safe here. She is safe here now, he tells her.

Then it was off along a long, dusty road to the fetid outer reaches of

the camp where some of the new package of British aid announced

today will provide better health care facilities and more clean

water. Andrew Mitchell's visit here isn't just designed to publish what

Britain wants to do, help the victims of the drought. It's also

helped this trip will galvanise other governments into doing more.

There is no question this is an extremely grave crisis. The real

question is whether the international community by putting

its shoulder to the wheel can stop it turning into a catastrophe.

These levels of malnutrition that we're seeing - particularly amongst

children and mothers with very young children - almost

unprecedented. This woman knows all about

malnutrition. Last week she buried "Four of my children have died of

malnutrition," she told me. "I have three children left. Will they be

taken from me too?" There have been severe droughts

here before, but this region is now on the edge of a precipice. Without

more international help, this severe emergency could indeed

become a catastrophe. A crowd of about 100 loyalists were

involved in disturbances in Portadown in County Armagh last

night. Police and their vehicles were pelted with petrol bombs,

bricks and fireworks. Officers responded by firing plastic baton

rounds. Three people were arrested. The BBC has learned that the

Government is preparing to make further cuts to the size of the

army to help pay for greater investment in reserve forces such

as the Territorial Army. The army is already losing thousands of

posts over the next four years. Helen Fawkes reports.

Britain relies much less on volunteer reservists to fight

alongside regular soldiers than countries like America or Australia,

and the Territorial Army has been in decline for several years. Now,

Ministers are considering boosting the ranks of Britain's 37,000-

strong part-time soldiers. An independent report into the future

of the TA is expected to call for a major recruitment drive, offering

better pay, training and responsibility. It's understood

this will be paid for by further cuts in the size of the regular

Army, once British combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

expansion of the role of the Territorial, and it would have to

be at the expense of the regulars because where else is the money to

come from? I - I do not feel a great concern at that. This will be

on top of the reduction already announced by the Government, with

the Army due to lose around 7,000 soldiers. Labour says the defence

community will want clear reassurances that this is not cover

for more cuts to come. The details of the plans are expected to be

unveiled in Parliament next week. Strong winds and heavy rain have

made it tough going for most of the competitors during the third round

of the Open Championship, with many posting high scores.

The leaders, though, are currently out on the course and are

benefiting from improving conditions. Our correspondent Tim

Franks is at the Royal St George in Sandwich. Yeah, looking at it now,

you may not believe me, but it has been absolutely filthy here by the

Kent seaside for much of the day. In fact, so nasty was it that the

experts were couping when the early golfers were managing to keep their

scores down to 5 over par by the end of their rounds, but as the

weather is clearing up, so perhaps a clearer picture is beginning to

emerge. It was less golf, more Glastonbury. Yesterday's T-shirts

and shorts felt a year away. It was a time to beat the good humour out

of the most chipper of golfers. There were attempts, it seemed, to

lighten the mood. Ricky Fowler's wet weather gear came from the

Department of Infectious Diseases, and Jiminez, just one shot off the

lead, managed to keep his cigar alight all the way through his

warm-up. Even through a high-deaf niv TV camera, the scene resembled

a water colour by an old master, which made it even more appropriate

that one of the best rounds of the day came from the oldest of them

all. Tom Watson carted a two over 62. Rory McIlroy, the US Open

champion, found the going particularly rough.

His Northern Ireland compatriot, Darren Clarke, was last to stride

out. That's the privilege of being top of the leader board. It was

teeming down when you were on the practise round. His excellent

spirits were to rise even further as he became the only man to birdie

And then as blue sky began to poke through the blanket, Clarke took

advantage of one of the friendlier holes, the seventh. His lead was

back to two. But it's tight at the top - all the more so when Ricky

Fowler confounded the stereotypes of Americans not having the stomach

for rain. On the 16th, he was 2 under overall. And the latest is