Browse content similar to 14/07/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Tonight we are at the dustcart manufacturers. Business confidence | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
is growing and exports are up, but economic growth is weak. This | :04:19. | :04:24. | |
company is doing well, but others aren't. We spent the day with | :04:24. | :04:34. | |
:04:34. | :04:36. | ||
several other companies on this industrial estate. | :04:36. | :04:40. | |
This a firm makes high-visibility clothing, but it has not protected | :04:40. | :04:48. | |
them from be up and down -- from the ups and downs of the economy. | :04:48. | :04:52. | |
They are being forced to seek out new markets. It has been | :04:52. | :05:02. | |
challenging, but we were not let it affect us. Staffing levels have | :05:02. | :05:06. | |
remained the same throughout the downturn, but for some it has been | :05:06. | :05:13. | |
a worrying time. I have been made redundant twice before. My husband | :05:14. | :05:22. | |
has just had a massive pay cut, so everyone is concerned. Here, the | :05:22. | :05:27. | |
music is different. This man set up his business at the height of the | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
recession. Despite that, it is one of the most successful businesses | :05:32. | :05:37. | |
on the estate, but the weak economy is having an effect. People are | :05:37. | :05:41. | |
cautious. They are careful and considered that about what they | :05:41. | :05:45. | |
spend their money on. And here is a good illustration of how weak the | :05:45. | :05:50. | |
economy is in some sectors. A wine merchant we featured when we were | :05:50. | :05:55. | |
last here has gone out of business. The decorators are getting the unit | :05:56. | :06:01. | |
ready for another customer. Thankfully here, most firms are | :06:01. | :06:06. | |
still in business. This double glazing firm is doing well, but the | :06:06. | :06:12. | |
managing director admits that drove his flat. Business is OK, but it is | :06:12. | :06:19. | |
flat Crowfoot wise. We haven't seen any sense 2008. The report may say | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
things are getting better, but I cannot see it. Then is no doubt | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
that confidence is improving, but with the economy still weak, there | :06:28. | :06:33. | |
is no covering up the fact that we are not out of the woods yet. Still | :06:33. | :06:39. | |
more pessimism that optimism about the recovery. Earlier, we spoke to | :06:39. | :06:46. | |
the local MP. He said any companies that want to grow need to make sure | :06:46. | :06:50. | |
their plans are sustainable. The is an opportunity to be optimistic. It | :06:50. | :06:56. | |
takes people like myself, the chambers, even some of our media | :06:56. | :07:00. | |
outlets to make sure this message of confidence is regained and | :07:00. | :07:06. | |
improved. It is something we need to work together on. Joining me | :07:06. | :07:14. | |
here is one of the managers of this company. What is the picture here? | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
The order book is growing and production is going up. A lot of | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
people have suffered because the council orders have gone down. | :07:25. | :07:30. | |
is true. They are lagging behind. Most of our new business comes from | :07:30. | :07:40. | |
:07:40. | :07:42. | ||
the private sector. Our export up? The yes. They are encouraging. -- | :07:42. | :07:52. | |
:07:52. | :07:52. | ||
yes. What about jobs? We have not laid people offer as much as we | :07:52. | :07:58. | |
could have done when it turned down. When it turned up, we have to | :07:58. | :08:01. | |
achieve the Bonham's by productivity. What DC for the next | :08:01. | :08:07. | |
three months? Increased production and order intake. A mixed picture | :08:07. | :08:12. | |
from here, but we are heading in the right direction. | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
Thank you. Later in the programme we will hear about an engineering | :08:15. | :08:22. | |
firm that has just opened a new factory in Telford. Also, a job be | :08:22. | :08:29. | |
used for the car industry in Shropshire. -- a job be used. | :08:29. | :08:32. | |
A Shropshire man has been found responsible for a murdering an | :08:32. | :08:34. | |
antiques dealer in the county 17 years ago. Jurors at Birmingham | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
Crown Court decided that 59-year- old Robin Ligus killed antiques | :08:37. | :08:42. | |
dealer Trevor Bradley in 1994. Ligus is facing two further counts | :08:42. | :08:47. | |
of murder. This is 59-year-old Robin Ligus, a | :08:47. | :08:52. | |
father of three from Shrewsbury. Today he was found responsible for | :08:52. | :08:55. | |
killing Trevor Bradley, an antiques dealer from Ludlow, who's body was | :08:55. | :09:02. | |
found in a burned out car in 1994. In 2009, Ligus was charged with his | :09:02. | :09:05. | |
murder and also went on trial accused of killing two other men in | :09:05. | :09:07. | |
Shropshire in 1994 - 57-year-old Brian Coles and 36-year-old Bernard | :09:07. | :09:17. | |
:09:17. | :09:23. | ||
Czyzewska. Robin like this was considered unfit to enter a plea. | :09:23. | :09:28. | |
The jury was asked to consider whether he was responsible for that | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
deaths of those men. The jury said he accepted he had murdered Trevor | :09:33. | :09:37. | |
Bradley. And they did so after hearing this apparent confession | :09:38. | :09:47. | |
played in court. The court heard that Ligus is currently serving a | :09:47. | :09:51. | |
life sentence for murdering pensioner Robert Young in 1994. | :09:51. | :09:54. | |
jury of six men and six women is still considering the cases of | :09:54. | :10:03. | |
Brian Coles and Bernard Czyzewska. They will resume their | :10:03. | :10:07. | |
deliberations tomorrow. There are still more revelations to | :10:07. | :10:10. | |
come. That's the view of the MP who's played a key role in exposing | :10:10. | :10:13. | |
the phone hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's News International | :10:13. | :10:16. | |
newspaper empire. In an interview with BBC West Midlands' Hard Talk | :10:16. | :10:19. | |
programme, Tom Watson said the work he was putting in on it was having | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
an impact on his family life and causing him to spend less time on | :10:23. | :10:33. | |
constituency issues. This next report contains flash | :10:33. | :10:38. | |
photography. A local face thrust into the | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
spotlight in what has become an international media storm over | :10:42. | :10:50. | |
phone hacking. We are only halfway through this. We are here because | :10:51. | :10:59. | |
of one or criminal investigator. Many other investigators were hired | :10:59. | :11:04. | |
by News International. A stark warning from the West Midlands MP | :11:04. | :11:08. | |
who has been investigating the News of the World for two years. Can I | :11:08. | :11:13. | |
ask the Prime Minister to make inquiries as to whether the | :11:13. | :11:23. | |
:11:23. | :11:26. | ||
families of the victims of 9/11 were targeted? I felt inadequate | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
because there was nothing I could do. These people would not stop. | :11:31. | :11:36. | |
People went through out what dustbins, they went into our garage, | :11:36. | :11:45. | |
upset our neighbours. He went on to become a villainous voice when | :11:45. | :11:51. | |
hacking first came to light. It won him admirers. Watson has been a | :11:51. | :11:56. | |
terrier with his teeth in the trousers of Mr Murdoch's | :11:56. | :12:02. | |
Organisation for several years. He is not afraid and he keeps going. | :12:02. | :12:12. | |
:12:12. | :12:14. | ||
It is a distressing and hard, but he has hung on. Great accolades for | :12:14. | :12:18. | |
Tom Watson at Westminster where he is the backbencher of the moment, | :12:18. | :12:22. | |
but this is his constituency and people wonder whether their local | :12:22. | :12:30. | |
MP should be focusing on our phone hacking or issues that affect them? | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
There are lots of things that need doing in West Bromwich. It is | :12:34. | :12:38. | |
something to fill of the newspapers. He needs to get things done. I am | :12:38. | :12:46. | |
proud of him. He has done a great job. I wanted to get to the bottom | :12:46. | :12:51. | |
of phone hacking, but I still want to get legislation on that metal | :12:51. | :12:56. | |
theft in West Bromwich. There is a day-job but I still find rewarding | :12:56. | :13:03. | |
and satisfying. His next job - to help quiz Rupert Murdoch, his son | :13:03. | :13:10. | |
James and Rebekah Brooks went all three have faced a -- when all | :13:10. | :13:17. | |
three face a select committee next week. | :13:17. | :13:22. | |
Our political editor is here. Tom Watson says that he has been | :13:22. | :13:29. | |
distracted. Will that change? could. He says we are only halfway | :13:29. | :13:34. | |
through all the revelations. His market value on that lucrative | :13:34. | :13:41. | |
North American lecture circuit will be higher. Also at this whole | :13:41. | :13:45. | |
firestorm could extend to the News International operation over there. | :13:45. | :13:51. | |
You can see times are changing for him. He had been giving interviews | :13:51. | :13:55. | |
to ours and the New York Times. There is also that new hairstyle, | :13:55. | :14:05. | |
which is always a sign that upward mobility! -- a sign of upward | :14:05. | :14:14. | |
mobility! What about his position at | :14:14. | :14:24. | |
:14:24. | :14:40. | ||
Westminster? Well he will be high profile. There is an element of | :14:40. | :14:46. | |
settling old scores. How did he get so involved? He says it landed in | :14:46. | :14:50. | |
his lap. He was on the culture committee when these allegations | :14:50. | :14:55. | |
started to surface and unlike almost everyone else, he felt he | :14:55. | :15:01. | |
could not turn a blind eye. You felt that dossier it may still just | :15:01. | :15:06. | |
be a work in progress. Thank you. You can hear that into view in for | :15:07. | :15:14. | |
by going to a website. -- interview. Walsall council workers began | :15:14. | :15:17. | |
receiving letters today detailing how much they will gain or lose as | :15:17. | :15:20. | |
a result of changes to pay grades. The restructuring is being brought | :15:20. | :15:23. | |
in because of equal pay legislation. Hundreds of employees showed up at | :15:23. | :15:26. | |
union meetings this afternoon after receiving their letters. One in | :15:26. | :15:29. | |
five of them face a pay cut. Among those to lose out is 59-year-old | :15:29. | :15:38. | |
social care worker Margaret Adams from Willenhall. | :15:38. | :15:45. | |
I have been dropped about �2,500 a year and the night and at once has | :15:45. | :15:49. | |
dropped. I used to get it for 10 out words and now it is early for | :15:50. | :15:56. | |
eight hours. 29 years with Walsall council. It is not fair. I am | :15:56. | :16:01. | |
really angry. The family of a man murdered in his | :16:01. | :16:04. | |
house as his six-year-old son slept upstairs have made a fresh appeal | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
to the public to help catch his killers. Police say they are | :16:07. | :16:10. | |
reopening the inquiry into David Currier's death. He was found with | :16:10. | :16:14. | |
a stab wound to his leg at his home in Bromsgrove in 2009. Cannabis | :16:14. | :16:17. | |
plants were found growing at the house and police say his death may | :16:17. | :16:20. | |
be drugs related. His sister says his little boy talks about his dad | :16:20. | :16:29. | |
all the time. He says he wishes he could go up | :16:29. | :16:34. | |
into the sky and bring his daddy back. He often blows kisses into | :16:34. | :16:41. | |
the air for him. When he gets his suite, he saves some and puts them | :16:41. | :16:45. | |
on his dad's grave. Soldiers have been describing what | :16:45. | :16:49. | |
it's like to come under fire from the Taliban. The 3rd Battalion, the | :16:49. | :16:51. | |
Mercian Regiment, which recruits from the Midlands, are in | :16:51. | :16:54. | |
Afghanistan helping train the Afghan army and police. So far, 375 | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
British soldiers have died in the conflict. 32 of those were from | :16:58. | :17:01. | |
this region. In the second of our series of special reports, Louise | :17:01. | :17:10. | |
Brierley looks at what life is like for them on the frontline. | :17:10. | :17:14. | |
Soldiers from the Mercian Regiment on patrol on the front line in | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
Helmand province. For many this tour has been their first | :17:18. | :17:22. | |
experience of modern warfare and they are never far away from danger. | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
This is Private Josh O'Hare from Solihull. He was caught in an | :17:27. | :17:34. | |
incident involving and improvised explosive device. It was pretty | :17:34. | :17:42. | |
hard to deal with that. Unfortunately, there were at two | :17:42. | :17:49. | |
casualties. One was killed in action. I was about five minutes | :17:49. | :17:55. | |
away. I didn't know how many casualties there were or anything. | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
At base there is not much time before these troops had to leave | :17:59. | :18:08. | |
again to go back out to protect a local town from the Taliban. This | :18:08. | :18:18. | |
:18:18. | :18:19. | ||
soldier has completed several tours of duty. If we were not here, the | :18:19. | :18:24. | |
local communities would be taxed and intimidated. Their children | :18:24. | :18:29. | |
would be stolen from them, especially their daughters. We | :18:29. | :18:37. | |
provide a safe thing Baron -- environment for them. Conditions | :18:37. | :18:40. | |
are tougher with temperatures reaching 15 degrees and they do not | :18:40. | :18:47. | |
have the luxuries of main bases. The soldier has also completed | :18:47. | :18:52. | |
several tours. He it is pretty basic. There is no air-conditioning. | :18:52. | :18:58. | |
We have a well for water and we are on rations. But the guys enjoy it. | :18:58. | :19:03. | |
For many, the front line is what joining the army is all about, but | :19:03. | :19:09. | |
for others, it can be overwhelming. I would not mind coming back, but | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
it is not something I would want to do every day. Is that because of | :19:14. | :19:20. | |
the conditions? Yes. And obviously getting shot at. A risk these men | :19:20. | :19:30. | |
:19:30. | :19:39. | ||
face every day. And still to come: do not get comfortable with the | :19:39. | :19:47. | |
weather because it is going to get changed -- it is going to change. | :19:47. | :19:50. | |
More later. Now, earlier in the programme we | :19:50. | :19:52. | |
heard about that positive business survey. There's some more good news | :19:52. | :19:56. | |
today for car parts firm Stadco, which has opened a new factory in | :19:56. | :19:58. | |
Telford today. The news comes just weeks after its largest customer | :19:58. | :20:01. | |
Jaguar Landrover announced record sales and plans to create 1,000 new | :20:01. | :20:11. | |
:20:11. | :20:14. | ||
jobs in the West Midlands. Manufacturing is well under way at | :20:14. | :20:18. | |
Stadco's new factory in Telford. 50 new jobs have been created with | :20:18. | :20:24. | |
dozens of others in associated injuries. 90 % of the part it makes | :20:24. | :20:28. | |
here and in factories around the Midlands are supplied two car | :20:28. | :20:35. | |
companies in the UK. There is tremendous optimism about car | :20:35. | :20:40. | |
manufacturing in the UK and we hope to take advantage of that. It is | :20:40. | :20:47. | |
good news that parks are being made locally. But it has not always been | :20:47. | :20:52. | |
such good news. In the depths of the recession this company reduced | :20:52. | :20:58. | |
its workforce from 1,000 to 600 at sites across the UK, including | :20:58. | :21:06. | |
Coventry. Now employment is back to levels before the recession. This | :21:07. | :21:16. | |
:21:17. | :21:21. | ||
man is back in employment after a rough time. He is a supervisor here | :21:21. | :21:29. | |
in a similar role for a similar salary. I did not see it coming. I | :21:29. | :21:35. | |
have never been out of work in my life before, but now I have a job. | :21:35. | :21:43. | |
There is empty space here, but this company says it is expecting growth. | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
Sport now, and the day that golf fans wait all year for. Today is | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
day one of the world's oldest and most famous major - The Open. Fans | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
from across the world have flocked to Sandwich in Kent to see who will | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
win the famous claret jug. But they could have gone to Rednal, near | :21:57. | :22:07. | |
:22:07. | :22:24. | ||
I morning, ladies and gentlemen. From a Northfield, Isobel Godfrey. | :22:24. | :22:34. | |
:22:34. | :22:44. | ||
She was opening up for a different generation. This school has its own | :22:44. | :22:49. | |
golf course. They are learning how to play fair and support each other. | :22:49. | :22:55. | |
Today was not just about competition. Support from the Golf | :22:55. | :23:05. | |
:23:05. | :23:07. | ||
Foundation meant there was tutoring from professional players. Best to | :23:07. | :23:12. | |
leave it to the experts - the children. It is calm and quiet and | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
you can just have a game with your friends and have a nice | :23:15. | :23:20. | |
conversation. We have won at nationals once and we had been | :23:20. | :23:24. | |
pretty the finals twice. That is why we think we can win today. | :23:24. | :23:31. | |
it turns out she was right. The tournament was won by the home team, | :23:31. | :23:37. | |
but perhaps the biggest achievement is that 120 children from inner- | :23:37. | :23:44. | |
city Birmingham were playing golf. They had better aware that there | :23:44. | :23:54. | |
:23:54. | :24:06. | ||
than they did at Sandwich. Wool is on the comeback and it is making | :24:06. | :24:13. | |
our sheep farmers money. We feel better because we have to | :24:13. | :24:18. | |
share our shoot anyway. It is better to do it when you are making | :24:18. | :24:28. | |
:24:28. | :24:30. | ||
money. -- away sheep. Three years ago, Simon was getting only 66p for | :24:30. | :24:40. | |
this fleece and it was costing apparent. Now the price is �2.80. | :24:40. | :24:45. | |
It is not enough to make wool farming a viable on its own, but it | :24:45. | :24:54. | |
is a bonus. It is good news. gives us more incentive to go out | :24:54. | :24:58. | |
and asked for more money. At this shop they are turning back the | :24:58. | :25:05. | |
clock when it wool meant wealth. It specialises in all kinds of Gollum | :25:05. | :25:09. | |
products and the market is warming up. I think it is starting to have | :25:09. | :25:18. | |
such a big comeback in this country. People are realising what an | :25:18. | :25:24. | |
underrated production wool is. It is versatile. People are loving it | :25:24. | :25:30. | |
and they realise what a super product it is. A sentiment welcomed | :25:30. | :25:35. | |
by Simon Edwards and all the other sheep farmers in the region. Some | :25:35. | :25:45. | |
good news in a sector of Agriculture at that really need it. | :25:45. | :25:52. | |
And now for the weather. Today was a pleasure, but tomorrow | :25:52. | :26:00. | |
and the weekend might not be. If you are hoping for rain, then you | :26:00. | :26:08. | |
will get it. It will be windy with lower temperatures. We see this | :26:09. | :26:12. | |
area of rain swirling around on beat South eastern corner of the | :26:12. | :26:21. | |
country. But that is not what is going to affect us. There are | :26:21. | :26:26. | |
weather fronts coming in from the West. However, tonight will be | :26:26. | :26:31. | |
clear. Temperatures will drop to a minimum of eight Celsius, but | :26:32. | :26:39. | |
double figures in built up areas. Tomorrow, it will start sunny and | :26:39. | :26:42. | |
dry. Through the day the clouds will thicken from the West. That | :26:42. | :26:47. | |
rain will arrive towards the end of the day, into the evening. It will | :26:47. | :26:57. | |
:26:57. | :27:00. | ||
not last very long and it is also fairly light rain. Temperatures are | :27:00. | :27:10. | |
:27:10. | :27:10. | ||
still warm. 21-22 Celsius. Tomorrow night we will see the rain come | :27:10. | :27:20. | |
through and it will be fairly heavy later on. A look at the main | :27:20. | :27:25. | |
headlines: Rupert Murdoch and his sons James agreed to appear before | :27:25. | :27:30. | |
MPs to answer questions about the hacking scandal. And police are | :27:30. | :27:37. |