:00:00. > :00:00.Good evening and welcome to the late Look North.
:00:00. > :00:00.More criticism of South Yorkshire Police.
:00:07. > :00:11.Inspectors say the force is failing vulnerable victims and must improve.
:00:12. > :00:14.And the extraordinary claims that the legendary Yorkshire TV
:00:15. > :00:19.presenter Richard Whiteley was a spy for MI5!
:00:20. > :00:21.Some very unsettled weather to come over the next few days.
:00:22. > :00:31.Join me for the live updated forecast.
:00:32. > :00:34.Tonight - more criticism of South Yorkshire Police.
:00:35. > :00:37.The force has been told it must make substantial improvements,
:00:38. > :00:41.by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.
:00:42. > :00:43.The forces in North and West Yorkshire,
:00:44. > :00:49.In a minute, we'll hear from South Yorkshire's Police
:00:50. > :00:51.and Crime Commissioner, but first this report
:00:52. > :00:54.from our home affairs correspondent Spencer Stokes.
:00:55. > :00:59.South Yorkshire Police is a force under pressure.
:01:00. > :01:01.The Hillsborough disaster, Orgreave during the miner's strike,
:01:02. > :01:06.all areas where the service has faced severe criticism.
:01:07. > :01:09.On top of that, a Chief Constable forced out of his job.
:01:10. > :01:15.But this latest report is about the force as a whole.
:01:16. > :01:16.Neighbourhood policing in towns like Penistone
:01:17. > :01:23.Here, the number of police officers has fallen.
:01:24. > :01:25.We don't really see that many police, no.
:01:26. > :01:28.But generally, I would say it's still a relatively safe place.
:01:29. > :01:32.I don't like the fact that there may be an increase in
:01:33. > :01:38.That is my biggest worry, that if there is no presence there,
:01:39. > :01:43.We are still paying the same rates for the police, aren't we?
:01:44. > :01:45.As anyone else is getting the police service.
:01:46. > :01:49.We'd like to get some value for money for it, yeah.
:01:50. > :01:52.The report says local officers are often taken out of
:01:53. > :01:55.their area and that reduces community engagement.
:01:56. > :01:59.They also don't get the chance to carry out problem-solving work
:02:00. > :02:03.in individual communities and South Yorkshire Police
:02:04. > :02:07.should be doing more to protect committee support officers
:02:08. > :02:09.to allow them to get on with their job.
:02:10. > :02:13.Every police force has been given an overall rating.
:02:14. > :02:16.Outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
:02:17. > :02:21.South Yorkshire Police was told it requires improvement.
:02:22. > :02:24.And there are three areas in particular -
:02:25. > :02:27.preventing crime, investigating crime and protecting people.
:02:28. > :02:30.But the force did get a good rating
:02:31. > :02:35.For many in South Yorkshire, the requires improvement tag
:02:36. > :02:39.attached to the police force won't come as a surprise.
:02:40. > :02:48.how long until that improvement takes place?
:02:49. > :02:51.The force has said it understands where it urgently needs to improve
:02:52. > :02:53.and is working hard to introduce a renewed, targeted
:02:54. > :02:56.and reinvigorated approach to neighbourhood policing
:02:57. > :03:00.South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner
:03:01. > :03:04.Earlier I asked him if he agreed that policing
:03:05. > :03:08.is in a "potentially perilous" state.
:03:09. > :03:12.This is policing nationally, of course,
:03:13. > :03:15.but I think what the inspectors or report as saying that there are
:03:16. > :03:17.really serious issues now because I think what's happening
:03:18. > :03:20.is that the demand that is coming on the police service
:03:21. > :03:22.is becoming almost overwhelming and the police are
:03:23. > :03:28.finding it difficult to prioritise and that is a serious situation.
:03:29. > :03:32.Now, the South Yorkshire force has been criticised for its safeguarding
:03:33. > :03:35.vulnerable people and its approach to neighbourhood policing.
:03:36. > :03:38.Do you agree that these are problem areas?
:03:39. > :03:41.Overall, the report is saying that South Yorkshire Police need
:03:42. > :03:48.It's saying within the report that some things they do very well like
:03:49. > :03:52.tackling serious and organised crime, but there are some areas
:03:53. > :03:55.of weakness and one of them is the neighbourhood policing.
:03:56. > :04:02.When I appointed the new Chief Constable in December last
:04:03. > :04:04.year, I said to him that the first priority has got
:04:05. > :04:07.to be to restore neighbourhood policing, difficult though that is,
:04:08. > :04:10.because the resources are not what they were few years ago.
:04:11. > :04:13.And then there are some areas around vulnerability,
:04:14. > :04:19.Now, that's a growing area of crime and the police have got to
:04:20. > :04:22.get better at understanding that and knowing how to deal with people
:04:23. > :04:28.But what can the force actually do to improve
:04:29. > :04:32.as it's been told if it's not getting any more money?
:04:33. > :04:33.Well, money's not the only issue, although
:04:34. > :04:37.it is an issue and every year the Government go
:04:38. > :04:42.This year, they cut the grant but said we could make up
:04:43. > :04:45.the difference in cash terms by putting the precept up.
:04:46. > :04:48.After years of telling us not to put the precepts up,
:04:49. > :04:50.they are now telling us to put them up.
:04:51. > :04:53.That only gives you the same amount of cash as last year
:04:54. > :04:56.whereas in fact inflation, wage increases and all the rest of it
:04:57. > :05:02.So they've got to find savings and that's very difficult.
:05:03. > :05:05.The way they can improve in other ways, of course,
:05:06. > :05:07.is to understand, demand better and manage the situation better
:05:08. > :05:11.and be more efficient about what they do,
:05:12. > :05:13.but I agree with the report.
:05:14. > :05:15.It's saying that's getting more and more difficult to do.
:05:16. > :05:21.The family of a girl from Hull who died 11 years
:05:22. > :05:25.after a botched operation by a Leeds heart surgeon has been given more
:05:26. > :05:30.Carrie Wright's brain was starved of oxygen
:05:31. > :05:34.during the procedure at Leeds General Infirmary in 2003.
:05:35. > :05:37.Her surgeon Nihal Weerasena, seen here on the left,
:05:38. > :05:41.was struck off in January because of failings
:05:42. > :05:48.Words cannot describe how much I miss that girl.
:05:49. > :06:07.Nine Rugby League players have been charged with a number offences
:06:08. > :06:13.The RFL is investigating after a brawl between Fryston Warriors
:06:14. > :06:16.and Keighley Cougars at Featherstone on Saturday.
:06:17. > :06:18.Two players were sent off and two others sin-binned
:06:19. > :06:23.during an altercation involving a number of players
:06:24. > :06:25.in the second half of the Challenge Cup match,
:06:26. > :06:32.Yorkshire's Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams has been awarded an OBE
:06:33. > :06:34.by the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace.
:06:35. > :06:36.Nicola has been honoured for her glittering career
:06:37. > :06:39.inside the ring, which has also seen her win World,
:06:40. > :06:48.She'll contest her debut professional fight later this month.
:06:49. > :06:52.Next tonight extraordinary claims that the late Yorkshire TV presenter
:06:53. > :07:00.We all remember Richard as the presenter of Calendar
:07:01. > :07:03.and Countdown but now the actor Ricky Tomlinson claims
:07:04. > :07:07.he worked for the security services in the 1970s.
:07:08. > :07:10.That's something his partner says is ridiculous.
:07:11. > :07:17.Could Richard Whiteley, game show host and presenter
:07:18. > :07:22.known for his bumbling persona, really have worked for MI5?
:07:23. > :07:33.He accuses Whiteley of helping to put him in jail.
:07:34. > :07:38.Tomlinson's known for his role as Jim Royle, but in the 1970s,
:07:39. > :07:41.he was a young union activist, accused of inciting violence
:07:42. > :07:51.Tomlinson now says there was a Government conspiracy against him.
:07:52. > :07:54.He claims a Yorkshire Television documentary about the strike,
:07:55. > :07:56.fronted by Richard Whiteley, helped convict him and that Whiteley
:07:57. > :08:10.A suggestion described as ridiculous by his partner.
:08:11. > :08:16.He was the worst person in the world who could be...
:08:17. > :08:19.Although, maybe he would have been a fantastic spy.
:08:20. > :08:21.I don't understand what Ricky Tomlinson's motives are
:08:22. > :08:26.And all I can think is that he's up there with Terry Wogan
:08:27. > :08:29.and David Frost and they're laughing their heads off.
:08:30. > :08:32.Before he died, Richard Whiteley was known for his reporting
:08:33. > :08:34.on a full range of stories both silly and serious.
:08:35. > :08:40.Which one this story turns out to be,
:08:41. > :08:51.In rugby league tonight, Leeds Rhinos suffered
:08:52. > :08:53.a heavy defeat away to Castleford Tigers.
:08:54. > :08:56.A barrage of tries in the first half put the Tigers
:08:57. > :08:59.in a very good place at the half way mark.
:09:00. > :09:03.And despite a number of attempts in the second half, the Rhinos
:09:04. > :09:06.struggled to make headway in a very one-sided match.
:09:07. > :09:10.Greg Minikin and Greg Eden both scoring hat-tricks for Castleford.
:09:11. > :09:13.The match finished Castleford Tigers - 66,
:09:14. > :09:19.Meanwhile, in tonight's other Superleague game it ended
:09:20. > :09:30.Now, very unusual tonight, altering Hull FC - 48.
:09:31. > :09:36.Now, very unusual tonight, altering the weather.
:09:37. > :09:41.Bad weather to come, I'm afraid. Let me show you a beautiful picture that
:09:42. > :09:47.was taken this morning from Cook Reg. That was sunrise, a stunning
:09:48. > :09:51.picture. If you have any pictures, tweet me. Quite a bit of rain to
:09:52. > :09:54.come over the next few days. There is the headline, mostly cloudy with
:09:55. > :09:59.rain later. Certainly more developing into a wreck date when
:10:00. > :10:02.this weather front pushes up from the south. Low pressure in charge.
:10:03. > :10:07.It may be that we get a clearance pushing through on Saturday. Having
:10:08. > :10:10.said that, we will be left with a legacy of low cloud, patchy rain and
:10:11. > :10:13.drizzle particularly on Saturday morning but perhaps an improvement
:10:14. > :10:16.through the afternoon and Sunday should be brighter. A little bit of
:10:17. > :10:20.patchy rain on the radar picture across the Pennines. That will
:10:21. > :10:26.fizzle out. The rest of us try with clear spells. Just a ground frost in
:10:27. > :10:31.rural areas with lows of one or two Celsius. Two Celsius is 36 in
:10:32. > :10:34.Fahrenheit. For tomorrow then, a mostly dry start. Brightness in the
:10:35. > :10:38.east of our region but cloud will thicken. Patchy rain into the North
:10:39. > :10:43.Midlands, South Yorkshire late in the morning and as you can see, that
:10:44. > :10:47.rain spread northwards through the afternoon. Temperatures by that time
:10:48. > :10:54.around seven Celsius, 45 Fahrenheit. Barry White into Friday evening. --
:10:55. > :10:58.very wet into Friday evening. Showery outbreaks of rain from the
:10:59. > :11:00.south-west. Dry and damp, especially at first on Saturday. That is it
:11:01. > :11:05.from Lara and me. I will leave you weekend, we have more rain in the
:11:06. > :11:07.forecast. Rain at times this weekend, not