:00:12. > :00:16.Good evening. The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset has been suspended
:00:17. > :00:20.from duty after allegations made by a number of female police officers
:00:21. > :00:22.and staff. Nick Gargan was sent home from work this afternoon by Sue
:00:23. > :00:29.Mountstevens, the woman who appointed him a year ago. She said
:00:30. > :00:32.he was devastated. Here is our home affairs correspondent, Stevd Brodie.
:00:33. > :00:35.Nick Gargan has been in the spotlight since his appointlent But
:00:36. > :00:38.today he found himself at the centre of serious allegations about his
:00:39. > :00:43.behaviour towards female police officers and police staff. He was
:00:44. > :00:47.suspended by the woman who `ppointed him, Crime Commissioner Sue
:00:48. > :00:51.Mountstevens. I was told about them by whistle`blowers last week and I
:00:52. > :00:54.spoke to the IPCC on Friday. On Monday they came back and s`id they
:00:55. > :00:57.were going to start an investigation today, which has happened. Both the
:00:58. > :01:00.Chief Constable and the crile commissioner have prided thdmselves
:01:01. > :01:07.on their policy of transpardncy and openness. And now that very policy
:01:08. > :01:09.is being put to the test. The commissioner says she hopes the
:01:10. > :01:12.investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission will
:01:13. > :01:16.not be delayed. These are allegations that the IPCC whll be
:01:17. > :01:19.investigating and I have asked them to do it as quickly as posshble
:01:20. > :01:27.while ensuring that it is robust and fair to the Chief Constable and to
:01:28. > :01:30.the organisation. How did the Chief Constable react? Obviously he is
:01:31. > :01:38.devastated by the news and we are waiting now to be contacted by the
:01:39. > :01:45.IPCC. I'm very upset about ht, as is the organisation. But I want to make
:01:46. > :01:50.it very clear that these ard only allegations at this point. The act
:01:51. > :01:55.of suspension is an act of neutrality and it is not making any
:01:56. > :01:58.judgement. I have been very clear about that to the Chief Constable
:01:59. > :02:01.and I am very clear about that to the organisation. Nick Garg`n was
:02:02. > :02:06.appointed as the new Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset at the start of
:02:07. > :02:09.2013, taking up the post in March. One of his first campaigns hn office
:02:10. > :02:13.was to write to local counchls offering help to turn the area's
:02:14. > :02:17.speed cameras back on. A calpaign that proved more popular with some
:02:18. > :02:20.authorities than others. In June 2013, Mr Gargan let slip about the
:02:21. > :02:24.possible start date of the West Somerset badger cull ` a st`rt date
:02:25. > :02:30.which was still supposed to be a closely guarded secret. And by the
:02:31. > :02:33.autumn, he told the BBC how his officers had failed murder victim
:02:34. > :02:38.Bijan Ebrahami ` the man who was beaten and set on fire following
:02:39. > :02:41.rumours he was a paedophile. The Chief Constable will remain
:02:42. > :02:45.suspended on full pay until the completion of the investigation now
:02:46. > :02:50.being carried out by the IPCC. Steve Brodie, BBC Points West at Police
:02:51. > :02:53.HQ, Portishead. A kitchen fitter and carpenter from
:02:54. > :02:57.Midsomer Norton told "extrele" lies to customers and caused thel stress
:02:58. > :03:02.and "trauma" after taking tdns of thousands of pounds for work he knew
:03:03. > :03:06.he could not deliver. Christopher Hope`Shannon will not be sentenced
:03:07. > :03:10.until six months' time. It hs because a judge wants to give him
:03:11. > :03:14.time to try and give somethhng back to his victims.
:03:15. > :03:17.One hundred jobs are at risk in Somerset after a printing fhrm went
:03:18. > :03:20.into administration. Butler Tanner and Dennis in Frome prints `nd binds
:03:21. > :03:25.colour books and magazines. Managers say it is too soon to know how many
:03:26. > :03:28.jobs will go. Some may transfer to a sister company which makes laps The
:03:29. > :03:32.company was rescued from lipuidation once before in 2008.
:03:33. > :03:35.Some of the first patients have begun moving into the new stper
:03:36. > :03:39.hospital at Southmead in Brhstol. Today it was the turn of hip and
:03:40. > :03:45.knee patients. The site has cost ?430 million to build and whll offer
:03:46. > :03:48.more than 800 beds. One of Britain's best`known
:03:49. > :03:52.politicians hit the campaign trail in Gloucestershire today ` with
:03:53. > :03:56.entertaining results. London mayor Boris Johnson had a close encounter
:03:57. > :03:59.with a sheep and got in a mtddle over the Conservatives he h`d come
:04:00. > :04:03.to meet. His supporters lovdd it, but opponents dismissed his
:04:04. > :04:07.performance. Our political dditor, Paul Barltrop, reports.
:04:08. > :04:12.Good afternoon. Morning, morning, morning. Boris Johnson was not too
:04:13. > :04:15.sure what time it was as he reached Cheltenham. The first hand he shook:
:04:16. > :04:21.Conservative parliamentary candidate's, Alex Chalke. Whth so
:04:22. > :04:27.many to meet, it is easy to get muddled. I am just here to support
:04:28. > :04:30.Alex Clarke and...oh sorry. Let s get names right! He was on surer
:04:31. > :04:34.ground posing with council candidates and putting the boot into
:04:35. > :04:37.the Lib Dems who run the cotncil. We have got a spineless Liberal
:04:38. > :04:40.Democrat administration herd at the moment, is that right? I have
:04:41. > :04:48.absolutely no inhibitions about bashing the Lib Dems ` what is the
:04:49. > :04:56.point of them? All they do hs hold up Conservatives when we want to get
:04:57. > :04:59.on and do our serious projects. . They enable you to govern the
:05:00. > :05:06.country? Well, they do becatse they are supporting us. And off he went
:05:07. > :05:08.to get better acquainted with the Tory candidates. Cheltenham Borough
:05:09. > :05:12.Council elections really ard a two`horse race. Labour have not got
:05:13. > :05:15.single seat here and UKIP are yet to make a significant impact. @part
:05:16. > :05:19.from a few independent councillors, the contest here is a coalition
:05:20. > :05:22.dogfight. The local Lib Dem office is busy running their campahgn.
:05:23. > :05:27.Keeping control of the council this year will help Martin Horwood keep
:05:28. > :05:30.his parliamentary seat next year. I think we work hard. We actu`lly
:05:31. > :05:34.believe in local politics. Ht is part of our view of democracy that
:05:35. > :05:38.local politics really matter. And I think it does pay off, actu`lly We
:05:39. > :05:41.do not regard local politics just as a stepping stone to something else,
:05:42. > :05:48.as Boris perhaps does, we actually commit to it. Cheltenham's politics
:05:49. > :05:53.can be very local. The People Against Bureaucracy have had council
:05:54. > :05:56.seats for decades. It is not really daunting, the fact we are a small
:05:57. > :06:04.party does not appear to have impeded our progress at all. Back
:06:05. > :06:07.with the Boris bandwagon and in Stonehouse he tried his hand at
:06:08. > :06:11.sheep shearing. Whether tod`y boosted his party's chances in the
:06:12. > :06:15.West is not certain. But it has certainly increased interest in the
:06:16. > :06:21.election. Boris's verdict? Sheer madness! Paul Barltrop, BBC Points
:06:22. > :06:27.West, Gloucestershire. That is it from us tonight. I will
:06:28. > :06:29.leave you now with Alexis Green who has the latest forecast.
:06:30. > :06:34.Hello, good evening. It will stay settled through the next few days
:06:35. > :06:37.thanks to building high pressure. Overnight tonight, there is a risk
:06:38. > :06:41.under the clear skies of thd touch of frost ` but it will be short
:06:42. > :06:44.lived. A few showers as well, clearing away toward the sotth`east.
:06:45. > :06:47.With the clear skies and light winds, temperatures will drop to
:06:48. > :06:51.around 7`8 Celsius in our towns and cities. Perhaps down to 3`4 degrees
:06:52. > :06:54.out in the countryside. So ` chilly, but bright and sunny, start to the
:06:55. > :06:57.day tomorrow. Some hazy sunshine in the afternoon and temperatures will
:06:58. > :07:00.rise very nicely, certainly higher than today, reaching 16`17 Celsius `
:07:01. > :07:03.possibly 18 Celsius in some sheltered spots. It will st`y
:07:04. > :07:06.settled over the next few d`ys thanks to high pressure building in.
:07:07. > :07:08.Heading towards the weekend, temperatures could reach 20`21
:07:09. > :07:17.Celsius. So pleasant and sunny conditions, thanks to high pressure.
:07:18. > :07:32.Coming up next is the national weather forecast.
:07:33. > :07:37.tomorrow evening, but a sunny outlook, although it might start to
:07:38. > :07:43.breakdown in some places at the weekend. Today the weather was the
:07:44. > :07:49.sort of weather where it couldn t really make its mind up.
:07:50. > :07:52.It changed from hour to hour, there were storm clouds and thunder and
:07:53. > :07:59.lightning as well. As far as tomorrow goes, it will be sunny and
:08:00. > :08:01.warm so you can leave your lawn bowlers at home although after today
:08:02. > :08:06.I wouldn't be surprised if you take it just in case. You can see some of
:08:07. > :08:13.the big shower clouds moving across the country, this is another loop
:08:14. > :08:21.here, the radar scans the horizon and tells us where it has been
:08:22. > :08:22.raiding. You can see them over Northern Ireland, over eastern