16/06/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today. I am Anne Davies. Tonight, I billion-

pound blow for bombard J. As the company fails to win a huge order,

its 3,000 workers fear for their futures. It is the contract that

kept the site open. Now that has gone, it does not look good. A good

evening from me. By M Quentin Rayner. Also in the

East Midlands: The NHS Trust running out of cash and having to

cut 400 post to plug the gap. Plus the families of Mansfield

fallen heroes may plaques attain new memorial in the town.

In sport, we are at the City Ground Good evening. Welcome to Thursday's

programme, live from the bombarding a factory here. The factory is

behind me. It is a huge site. About 3,000 people worked there and it

was today they got the awful news they have failed to win a �1.4

billion contract. We had a call from a worker today who wanted to

remain anonymous. He said the workforce were devastated, shocked

and upset. We will be talking to the Transport Secretary. I will

also speak to Margaret Beckett. She is the MP for Derby South. This is

her constituency. The loss of this contract casts a dark shadow in

deed over the future of this factory. The implications are far

greater. There is a huge supply chain for bomb bayadere. Hundreds

of companies will be affected. -- There is a huge supply chain for

Bombardier. This is a taste of what some of the workers and people on

the street felt when they heard the bad news. It's is basically a

contract that kept the site open, in my opinion. It does not look

good. It will have a massive impact. I do not know what the future holds.

If it is pretty bad. The country needs the work. Why should it go to

a foreign firm when we need it in this country? We are in recession

still. People say we are out of recession. We are not. It is not

good. I think it will have a terrible impact. I do not know why

we cannot keep contracts like this in the country.

As I said, this was a government contract. The preferred bidder,

Siemens, was announced today by transport minister, Theresa

Villiers. She spoke to as LEA and this is how she defended the

decision. A we had no choice. We had to

appoint Siemens as the preferred bidder because the rules require us

to focus on value for money for the taxpayer. We are not allowed to

give preference to domestic suppliers or manufacturers. We have

to judge bids impartially, regardless of where the work would

be carried out. Theresa Villiers speaking to Wes

earlier. Let's cross to Westminster. Margaret Beckett is there. A great

deal of surprise here. Are you surprised?

Not as surprised as I would like to be. I have been increasingly

suspicious as this announcement kept been delayed and delayed that

it was going to be the wrong judgment.

To be fair, some would say it was the wrong judgment under your

government when they lost out to a Japanese factory.

I do not dispute that. I was equally angry, to be frank, but

that decision. Part of what was said then was that the Thames

League order is coming along. That is what Theresa Villiers is saying

now. She is saying, there will be another order now coming along. She

says we are bound by rules. Yes, we are, but other countries manage to

work within those rules and still get orders for their countries.

Here, we do not seem to manage that. In your opinion, will there be any

other orders? Do you think this could be the death-knell for

Bombardier here? They could be other orders. The

question is when. Bombardier has shown great loyalty to Derby. They

have just taken on apprentices. For how long they will go on doing that,

if the orders do not come here but go to foreign firms. The government

says they want to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing, they

want higher skilled jobs, jobs in the private sector. Barbie is doing

all of that. Margaret Beckett, we will have to

leave it there. Thank you very much indeed. Barbie is at the heart of

Gabriel business that is worth billions to the economy. -- Derby

is that their heart of the rail business. Mike O'Sullivan reports

on repercussions. The railway is the lifeblood of

this company at Alfreton. They make rail signalling equipment. Meshwork

-- they are shocked at the news about Bombardier.

They should be protecting our jobs within Derby, with in England.

We seem to have lost an awful lot of jobs. A we are astounded.

The Department of Transport appears adamant that UK manufacturing

should be given much of a chance -- should not be given much of a

chance. This is part of the Derby and

Derbyshire Rail Forum, set up to promote the rail industry in our

The East Midlands probably has the largest cluster of rail businesses

in the world. Bombardier is at the heart of all that. There are

concerns the company could pull out altogether, leading to thousands of

job losses. Could Bombardier pull out of Derby?

It is not for me to answer back. We should not speculate. It must be a

question that is being asked. Rail industry insiders say people

at Bombardier ashore shot. It is the second time in 18 months there

have lost out on a big contract. -- rail industry insiders say people

at Bombardier are shocked. We will talk to the chief executive

from the Chamber of Commerce and later. For now, back to the studio.

Onto the rest of the news. One of our hospital trusts could run out

of money by September. That is the news from the University Hospitals

of Leicester. The trust has significant the overspend, and over

400 posts will have to go. At university hospitals of last NHS

Trust is one of the biggest in the East Midlands. In a statement today,

the chief executive has admitted that it is facing the toughest

financial challenge in its ten-year history. Why? It has been a tough

winter. More people visited accident and emergency. Extra staff

were employed and extra wards were opened. That cost an extra �6

million, and put quite simply, the trust could not afford it.

It is a massive problem. Back in 2007, 2008, �50 million by taking

away from this trust. Whatever reserved cash is hospital had three

years ago, it lost it all. They have been running on a shoestring

since then. That is why we are having a prop Os. It cost around �2

million a day to run a hospital's here. What is the trust going to do

about this overspend? The bosses want to make hospitals run more

efficiently. They want to drive out waste. Significantly, post will go,

around for a hundred and 20. Some of those will be compulsory

redundancies. The chief executives is what matters most is the

patients. Two more important stories on their

way. If anyone can, McLaren can. Patients and parent power. The

fight goes on to save Leicester's children had surgeries.

-- the fight goes on to save Leicester's children heart surgery

The Conservative MP arrested last week for an alleged sexual assault

has been told all charges have been dropped. Andrew Bridgen has always

denied claims that he sexually assaulted the 29-year-old woman.

Geoff Maskell has been following this story. What have the police

said? Tonight, the news that Andrew

Bridgen has waited a long week to hear. A Metropolitan Police

spokesman said a 46-year-old man has been released on bail with no

further action. He was questioned a week ago about allegations of

sexual assault after a complaint from a 29-year-old woman. He has

always denied the allegations. light of this, as he said anything

today? Him the last few minutes, he has made a statement saying he was

confident he would be cleared by police. He talked about the her to

be incident has caused his family. The allegation was unfair and

hurtful. Not just to myself, but to my wife and children, who bore the

brunt of future and unwanted media intrusion. It was worrying for my

friends and constituents, and disruptive to my work. Andrew

Bridgen speaking a few moments ago. He has also said he is considering

legal action. Thank-you. The families of seven men from

Mansfield who were killed in action have laid plaques on a new memorial

dedicated to them. The emotional ceremony was held this morning. The

community raised to �70,000. They came a family at the time to

lay their individual plaque. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,

honouring their loved one who died in conflict. Each plaque engraved

with the name of the serviceman who lost his life. Seven in all, each

one carefully positioned on this new memorial. This private ceremony

it was emotional. The family's United in agreement that this is a

fitting tribute to their loved ones. It means so much. This is not just

for May. This is for all my family. It is for my grandson, and future

generations that will come after that. Very emotional. We are proud

of David. This memorial is amazing. At the centrepiece of this memorial

at these three black granite tear drops, representing each of the

armed forces. A heavy chains around the perimeter, representing the

Merchant Navy. An official ceremony to open and bless the memorial

takes place later this month. The Prime Minister David Cameron

has been in the East Midlands Today. He what inspecting officers

graduating from Cromwell. He told cadets that changes to the armed

forces would stand and then for the future. It has emerged that one in

10 of the cadets graduating today do not have jobs to go to. They

were would-be pilots whose jobs were scrapped under the defence

review. The police have issued a picture of

a woman they want to question in connection with an attempted

abduction of a young child in Nottingham this afternoon. The

woman approached the charge that the John Lewis store in the

Victoria Centre, but ran away when challenged by the child's mother.

Police are hoping a Crimewatch television appeal could help them

to trace a seat will almost killed a pensioner. 67-year-old Jean

Burrows had tried to stop the man from stealing her car at Somercotes

in Derbyshire last November. He drove off as she tried to grab the

keys and she fell into the road. She suffered a fracture and

bruising, and has lost her sense of smell. Amazingly, she has sympathy

for the man responsible. I am hoping he will come forward, or

somebody who knows who he is will help him to come forward. He needs

help. You feel sorry for him? way, yes. I do not think these

Parents fighting to save a children's heart surgery unit stage

a protest rally today. The NHS body which is deciding on all of the

units was on -- was in Leicester today.

Theo's heart was mended by experts at Glenfield Hospital but it is

minds at his family needs to win over.

To go anywhere else would mean starting all over again with

someone new who does not know him. Emotions always run high outside

Leicester's Walkers Stadium. Today the usual sea of blue turned red as

parents came to champion the children's heart surgery in the

city. The last public consultation event before the NHS Commission has

made some bold decisions. A lot of people here are support -- here to

support Glenfield Hospital. We need to keep it... Open. Increasingly it

is seen as a fight between Leicester and Southampton.

Campaigners are hoping that patient and Parent Power will be enough to

save the unit. No one has had the courage to grapple with the issue

for years. Everywhere they go there are protests. TV cameras were not

allowed into the consultation event. I asked why? We do not want people

to feel inhibited about casting or answering questions. We want it to

be free and open. The whole process has been open and transparent up

until now. This is not just about the Midlands, it is about our

national role. The argument for change, fewer children's heart

surgery units concentrates expertise. The aim is to save more

lives. Try telling people here that it is surgery in Leicester that

should go. There is uncertainty about what will happen and it it is

certain that it will not be popular everywhere.

Lovely and sunny in Leicester. We will have the forecast later.

looking out for rain. It looks like Let us return to our top story. The

news that the train maker Bombardier has lost a contract to

build up to 1200 carriages for Thameslink. Our correspondent is

outside the factory in Derby. tell you that the company issued a

brief statement earlier saying that they were very disappointed that

they lost the contract. As you said earlier, there are those who feel

that losing the contract could mean the end of train making in Derby.

This is a tradition that goes back well over 100 years. It is a

history that is not without its ups and downs. Here is a report.

Look at its Great Railway Works where we see engines being built...

It has been at the forefront of railway engineering for over 150

years. Steam was still in its heyday in the 1930s and politicians

have been associated with the works. Barbara Castle visited in 1967.

Changes were afoot. The carriage works went from British Rail to

British Rail Engineering Ltd, as privatisation beckoned. In 1992, a

complete change of ownership. The Swiss firm ABB took over. A year

later, rail unions are in Westminster, pressing MPs for more

railway work. In 1996, another change of ownership. Three months

later, yet again, we were reporting, more redundancies and cuts. In 2000,

another change of ownership to French-Canadian Bombardier. In 2007,

unions and management combine to beg the government to stop the

endless cycle of feast and famine in rail orders. Nonetheless, two

years later, Bombardier failed to win the order for the new InterCity

express. Now it has failed to win the order for Thameslink too. Those

in Britain's remaining train maker wonders whether they can survive

again. I am joined now by the chief

executive of the Chamber of Commerce. Can they survive a again?

We will do everything we can to insure that they do. It is a very

good company, it is part of an international group. There is a big

investment hearing Derby. We what about the implications? Not only do

the people who supply Bombardier but also the businesses around

here? There are a lot of direct suppliers to Bombardier who will be

dismayed. Bombardier also employed 3000 people here which puts

spending power into the Derbyshire economy. If that is going to be

reduced, that is of significance. One managing director we spoke to

on the telephone, he supplies bombard the air -- Bombardier and

he says that there will be many job losses. That is a worst-case

scenario. We will do all that we can to ensure that we still benefit

from the contract. Another prime contractor has won the contract.

All of these suppliers and all of the manufacturers here now need to

beat a path to their door to see if we can get work back here to Derby.

Let us hope that this is not the end of train making in Derby and

not the end of the line for Bombardier and its 3000 workers.

Let us have some sport. It had been a big day at the City

ground. The new man in charge has been speaking for the first time.

The former England boss Steve McLaren believes he has got what it

takes to return the Reds to the top Steve McClaren is back. Back to the

stresses and strains of English football. That is a great way of

putting it! Its is great to be back, involved in what is a great

historic tradition of football club I have experienced life in the

Premier League, I know what it takes to get in there and back is

what we bring. We will try to build and what was -- on what has already

been achieved by the chairman and what Billy Davies has done over the

last two-and-a-half years. He was sacked at the weekend. The club

only met McLaren on Sunday. Some supporters early on Monday were

disappointed with our decision. Once they got to know him like we

have got to know him, I think they will be quite happy with our

appointment. What do you think the general mood is? Reserved optimism

I think. I think he will do a good job, optimistic. Do you think he

will pick up a Nottingham accent? have listened to his Dutch accent

on You Tube macro. Graham Taylor had the internet. He overcame that

and progressed. -- Graham Taylor had the turnip. Wherever I have

gone, whether I have been, the key thing we need to achieve his full

houses in the City Ground. That is the first target. He has not

stopped smiling since the press conference. Some will say it is the

hefty new contract bet he says he would not have come here if he did

not think he could fill every one's If you want to see more of his only

one to one TV interview, you can see it on the BBC's Board website.

The Forest board clearly believe that the McLaren is the man that

can return Forest to the Premier League. How good are his

credentials? Earlier today I spoke to David Davies, former executive

director of the FA. Let us be quite clear, Nottingham Forest have

appointed one of the best coaches, one of the best English coaches of

this generation. His track record is there. He was the coach when

Manchester United won an unprecedented treble in 1999. He

was the coach who took Middlesbrough, who frankly have not

won hundreds of trophies over the years, to winning the League Cup

and to a European final which was a fantastic achievement. He also was

successful in Holland with a relatively small club, which beat

the likes of big clubs. He is one of the best coaches in his

generation. Given all of that and his fantastic club credentials,

people remember what happened with him and the England job. Do you

think he has to overcome some of the reputation... When he failed to

achieve what he could have with the England team? England is high

profile. He is as sad as what happened with England as anyone.

But you do not become a bad coach overnight. Since then, as I have

mentioned, he has gone to Holland and done unbelievably well. Now he

has had another hit back with another team, but the reality is

that he is coming to a fantastic club. You do not have to be a

Forest supporter do have the highest possible regard for

Nottingham Forest. Timing is everything in football. It seems to

me that you have Nottingham Forest and Steve McClaren coming together

at a very good moment. The Forest fans was totally hope that you are

right. Thank you. One of his first games in charge

will see him take on Notts County in the Carling Cup. Leicester City

will face Rotherham, Derby travelled to Shrewsbury and

Chesterfield will play Rochdale. That is all for tonight. The good

thing about him coming back is that we got to hear that song that we

both like? Mark Morrison is from the East Midlands.

Now the weather. We think it is You are right. The rain is on its

way for stump I am by the canal and I have made some friends. They are

just going for a nice trip on their barge. It looks like the showers

have been holding off for the most part. One or two around. Let us

take a look. It is going to become quite dry overnight. We will see

some clear spells compared to last night. It would have been nice last

night with the lunar eclipse but sadly we cannot order the weather

just like that. There were some showers earlier today, few and far

between. Any showers will be drying out. On the pressure chart, the

area of rain that we are looking at his the large bit of blue in the

south-west. That is gradually making its way north into tomorrow.

The forecast is that we are seeing showers gradually fizzling out that

throughout receiving and overnight. Turning dry with clear spells. As a

result, temperatures will be a little cooler. Tomorrow morning, it

will be bright, sunny but as the day goes on, the cloud will

increase. Some showers by late morning. The winds will increase