:00:13. > :00:15.The region's MPs and police forces have made a plea for unity and calm
:00:16. > :00:19.in the face of yesterday's terrorist attack at Westminster.
:00:20. > :00:22.They were speaking as it emerged that a north-east boxing trainer
:00:23. > :00:25.was one of the first to come to the scene of the fatal
:00:26. > :00:27.With our first report, here's our political
:00:28. > :00:35.What had been a normal afternoon for the mother of Parliaments,
:00:36. > :00:45.Parliamentarians, tourists and visitors forced
:00:46. > :00:52.Among them, GB boxing team coach Tony Davis, from County Durham.
:00:53. > :01:01.He brandished two knives, I'd seen, attacking one of the policemen.
:01:02. > :01:04.That's the decision I took to then leap the fence and then try to give
:01:05. > :01:10.Mr Davis tended to the fatally-injured police officer.
:01:11. > :01:15.I tried to stem the blood flow with my rain jacket.
:01:16. > :01:18.I checked his pulse and was trying to make sure he was breathing.
:01:19. > :01:24.To die in the fashion he did is totally unjust.
:01:25. > :01:27.His was one of many acts of bravery, and in the Commons today,
:01:28. > :01:31.tributes to the police and parliamentary officials.
:01:32. > :01:34.Yesterday two of my constituents were caught up in the attacks,
:01:35. > :01:38.one of whom was eight months pregnant, and they have asked me
:01:39. > :01:42.to pass on their gratitude and thanks to the House staff
:01:43. > :01:45.and the police for the consideration with which they were treated
:01:46. > :01:53.That personal impact was also felt by another north-east MP,
:01:54. > :01:59.We were aware pretty quickly that people had died,
:02:00. > :02:03.not only on the bridge, but also one of the policemen who looks after us
:02:04. > :02:07.in the House of Commons, who we see every single day.
:02:08. > :02:10.The most important thing is that, whilst we remain vigilant,
:02:11. > :02:13.we make it abundantly clear that these people,
:02:14. > :02:16.whether it was one individual terrorist or a group of terrorists,
:02:17. > :02:20.do not deviate us from living our normal lives.
:02:21. > :02:24.It was a day that saw the worst happen, but also saw the best side
:02:25. > :02:34.Our police forces say there is no specific threat to our region
:02:35. > :02:39.Nevertheless, security measures are being assessed.
:02:40. > :02:42.The key response I would like to stress here is about communities
:02:43. > :02:45.staying together through all of this, because the best method
:02:46. > :02:49.of tackling terrorist attacks like this is through community
:02:50. > :02:52.intelligence, communities feeding in with the police.
:02:53. > :02:55.Here at Northumbria Police headquarters, the flag has been
:02:56. > :02:59.lowered in respect of those who lost their lives
:03:00. > :03:03.In efforts to keep the public safe, Northumbria Police has
:03:04. > :03:08.increased its armed officer recruitment by 50% in the last year,
:03:09. > :03:13.giving the force more than 100 firearms officers.
:03:14. > :03:18.Armed officers are already visible in some of our key shopping areas.
:03:19. > :03:36.In a statement today, Northumbria Police said...
:03:37. > :03:39.Of course, it makes you think that it could be any
:03:40. > :03:44.We just go out when we want to. Why not?
:03:45. > :03:47.If you stop going, you're giving in to them.
:03:48. > :03:50.As policing is stepped up across our communities,
:03:51. > :03:52.including at key locations like York Minster
:03:53. > :03:54.and railway stations, we're urged to stay vigilant.
:03:55. > :04:03."There was no corruption and no cover-up" -
:04:04. > :04:05.the words of the former Chief Executive of Middlesbrough
:04:06. > :04:09.Council after claims it sold some its prized buildings below
:04:10. > :04:13.49-year-old Karen Whitmore, a former Assistant Director
:04:14. > :04:16.of Organisation and Governance, is taking the council
:04:17. > :04:18.to an employment tribunal after she was made
:04:19. > :04:23.She claims she was targeted after raising concerns about the way
:04:24. > :04:30.Karen Whitmore claims she was targeted because she refused
:04:31. > :04:34.to turn a blind eye to the flawed way that the council was selling off
:04:35. > :04:40.She said she was told to cover up and hide information about the way
:04:41. > :04:44.the council handled the sale of Acklam Hall after council
:04:45. > :04:49.officials agreed a price reduction of ?1.2 million.
:04:50. > :04:52.She also raised concerns about the way Middlesbrough's Tad Centre
:04:53. > :04:57.was sold to Ray Mallon's election agent for ?400,000 -
:04:58. > :05:01.this despite the fact it was valued at up to ?900,000
:05:02. > :05:04.and there was a higher offer on the table.
:05:05. > :05:07.Giving evidence to the tribunal, Middlesbrough's former chief
:05:08. > :05:12.executive said there had been no cover-up and no corruption.
:05:13. > :05:15.Mike Robinson said he had actually asked Karen to investigate
:05:16. > :05:17.the sale of Acklam Hall because there were accusations
:05:18. > :05:21.flying around on social media and in the press.
:05:22. > :05:25.He said she was never asked to hide facts and actually came back
:05:26. > :05:28.within a few weeks to say there had been no illegal
:05:29. > :05:34.Mr Robinson said he had little involvement in the Tad Centre,
:05:35. > :05:38.but said the preferred bidder had carried out a successful similar
:05:39. > :05:43.Mike Robinson was then asked about the laddish culture
:05:44. > :05:45.that was said to have set in at Middlesbrough Council
:05:46. > :05:51.during his time as chief executive between 2014 and 2016.
:05:52. > :05:54.The tribunal had been told earlier that senior managers had
:05:55. > :05:57.referred to women as "posh birds" and "fatties".
:05:58. > :06:01.He said he didn't recognise that language or that behaviour.
:06:02. > :06:03.He said Middlesbrough Council was a good place to work and people
:06:04. > :06:09.He says he also was unaware of any bullying that had taken place
:06:10. > :06:13.at the council during his time as chief executive.
:06:14. > :06:16.The tribunal is expected to continue into next week.
:06:17. > :06:21.Stuart Whincup, BBC Look North, Middlesbrough.
:06:22. > :06:23.Cumbria has been identified as the worst area in England
:06:24. > :06:25.when it comes to patients stranded in hospital when
:06:26. > :06:29.Figures collected by the BBC found that, on average,
:06:30. > :06:34.between April 2016 and January this year, 103 beds every day were taken
:06:35. > :06:38.up by patients who didn't need to be in hospital but couldn't be
:06:39. > :06:40.discharged because of a lack of care to support them at home.
:06:41. > :06:48.A stay in hospital, seldom looked forward to.
:06:49. > :06:50.For every patient here there is one key aim -
:06:51. > :06:57.I've got a wife at home and she's very anxious for me to be at home.
:06:58. > :07:02.William's being helped by the HomeFirst team,
:07:03. > :07:05.a mix of health and social care professionals who work
:07:06. > :07:08.with the voluntary sector to get patients home again.
:07:09. > :07:11.The process begins as soon as they're admitted to hospital.
:07:12. > :07:14.There's nothing that can describe being able to promote someone's
:07:15. > :07:17.independence and getting them back home.
:07:18. > :07:19.Being in hospital makes people more dependent,
:07:20. > :07:24.and basically makes people less able to do things for themselves.
:07:25. > :07:27.A delayed return home doesn't just reduce independence.
:07:28. > :07:29.It can have a lasting physical impact.
:07:30. > :07:31.This is a particular problem in Cumbria -
:07:32. > :07:38.Anyone over 80 years old who spends ten days in an Acute Hospital
:07:39. > :07:42.is equivalent to ten years of muscle wasting.
:07:43. > :07:45.So if you imagine your relative who is maybe just struggling
:07:46. > :07:47.to get up into standing, if they stay in hospital for
:07:48. > :07:53.If you can't stand, you can't live at home,
:07:54. > :07:55.so you probably need residential care.
:07:56. > :07:58.The demand for the HomeFirst team is high here.
:07:59. > :08:02.Yesterday, looking at figures, of the 553 beds here in Carlisle
:08:03. > :08:06.and at the hospital in Whitehaven, 88 of those were being used
:08:07. > :08:09.by people who were medically fit but had nowhere else to go,
:08:10. > :08:12.something the trust admits is unacceptable.
:08:13. > :08:16.Quite a lot of the care market, if I can put it that way,
:08:17. > :08:20.in this area, is under pressure, and beds have been closing,
:08:21. > :08:23.so we are going to have to find new ways of responding
:08:24. > :08:27.People who hear this news will automatically say, well,
:08:28. > :08:30.we do have beds in community hospitals and some of those
:08:31. > :08:35.In a sense, that's part of the problem.
:08:36. > :08:37.I understand completely what people say about that.
:08:38. > :08:40.Just to make a clear point, if I may, which is that none
:08:41. > :08:43.of those beds will be lost until alternatives are in place.
:08:44. > :08:45.Cumbria County Council says it takes the delays
:08:46. > :08:50.Over the next three years, it'll get almost ?22 million
:08:51. > :08:54.from the Government to meet rising social care costs, used in part
:08:55. > :08:57.to speed up the move from hospital to home.
:08:58. > :09:02.Megan Paterson, BBC Look North, Carlisle.
:09:03. > :09:06.Just before we go to Paul tonight, some of our landmarks have been lit
:09:07. > :09:09.in the colours of the Union Jack as a mark of solidarity
:09:10. > :09:13.This is one of them - Penshaw Monument in Sunderland,
:09:14. > :09:21.The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is also lit with the British colours.
:09:22. > :09:31.Now let's take a look at the weather.
:09:32. > :09:38.Altogether, a quiet spell of weather over the coming few days. Heading
:09:39. > :09:41.through the weekend, the cloud was reluctant to break in some places
:09:42. > :09:45.today, though, and patchy cloud around through the night tonight
:09:46. > :09:50.still, especially in eastern areas. We hang on to the cloud,
:09:51. > :09:54.temperatures reasonably high. With clearer skies, more likely to see
:09:55. > :10:01.frost and temperatures down about zero, and some mist and fog spat led
:10:02. > :10:06.patches under there. Evidently chilly star and dry start and places
:10:07. > :10:11.starting dry tomorrow. Something and high cloud at times, and the odd
:10:12. > :10:15.patch of lower cloud. Nothing more much. Warmer tomorrow with winds
:10:16. > :10:22.lighter than they have been. Highs into double figures, 12 Celsius in
:10:23. > :10:25.Penrith there. High pressure keeping the weather much quieter through
:10:26. > :10:28.tomorrow. High-pressure hanging onto the weekend as well. Probably into
:10:29. > :10:35.the beginning of the next working week. It keeps us largely dry. After
:10:36. > :10:39.that fine and dry day tomorrow, with those light winds, Saturday looks
:10:40. > :10:43.like another dry day. Very little cloud and temperatures 13 or 14
:10:44. > :10:47.Celsius. Light winds will make it feel quite warm through the
:10:48. > :10:51.afternoon. Cold overnight, cold enough for frost before we have
:10:52. > :10:56.another mostly dry day on Sunday. More cloud in eastern areas, and
:10:57. > :10:59.where the sun comes out it could be 14 Celsius. That's how it's looking
:11:00. > :11:02.towards the weekend. Now the summary for tomorrow and the National