:00:14. > :00:17.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight:
:00:17. > :00:19.It was trialled in Birmingham. Now the first pill for multiple
:00:19. > :00:21.sclerosis will be available on the NHS.
:00:21. > :00:24.Brought home to rest. Hundreds expected for the funeral in
:00:24. > :00:31.Stafford tomorrow of the policeman who killed himself after being
:00:31. > :00:36.blinded by a gunman. He has always been there as a big brother and I
:00:36. > :00:38.put him on that pedestal. He Gold Cup delight. A triumph of
:00:38. > :00:41.timing for the Gloucestershire trained horse Synchronised.
:00:41. > :00:51.And as towns across the region bid for cash to regenerate their high
:00:51. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:56.streets, can Twitter give Warwick the edge?
:00:56. > :01:02.Good evening and welcome to the start of the weekend here on
:01:02. > :01:05.Midlands Today. Our main story tonight: the world's first pill for
:01:05. > :01:09.multiple sclerosis patients will be funded on the NHS after trials in
:01:09. > :01:12.Birmingham. Gilenya helps prevent severe and painful relapses. It has
:01:12. > :01:15.proved more than twice as effective as the current leading treatment
:01:15. > :01:20.for the disease, for which there is no cure. Around 100 thousand people
:01:20. > :01:27.in the UK have multiple sclerosis. A year's supply of Gilenya could
:01:27. > :01:29.cost �20,000 per patient. It is approved in 55 countries but until
:01:29. > :01:32.now hasn't been available in Britain. Our Health Correspondent
:01:32. > :01:37.has been looking at what the new treatment could mean.
:01:37. > :01:40.Multiple sclerosis patients exercising in Birmingham. Keeping
:01:40. > :01:44.as supple as possible is important in fighting a debilitating brain
:01:44. > :01:49.disease for which there is no cure. Clare Stevenson injects herself
:01:49. > :01:57.once a day, but when that treatment stops working. She relapses with
:01:58. > :02:04.terrible consequences. What it is terrifying. It is like your whole
:02:04. > :02:12.body has gone route out of control. You lose the facility to be able to
:02:12. > :02:21.talk and walk. Anything could be taken from you. But now patients
:02:21. > :02:27.who relapse can look forward to a new treatment. It is something
:02:27. > :02:35.which will stop the relapsing perimetry York and that is great. -
:02:35. > :02:40.- the relapse 0 a courier sort and Multiple sclerosis is caused by the
:02:40. > :02:43.body's own white blood cells. Aggressive cells enter the brain
:02:43. > :02:45.and attack the sheathes around axons. What Gilenya does is to
:02:45. > :02:49.block the aggressive cells from escaping from the lymph nodes,
:02:49. > :02:53.giving the body time to repair itself. It is fantastic and they
:02:53. > :02:58.rarely fills the gap between the very first lines of therapies which
:02:58. > :03:03.have been injectable for some time and we're expecting further
:03:03. > :03:07.progress over several years. I think there's a lot of promise here
:03:07. > :03:12.for multiple sclerosis patients. But there are possible side-effects
:03:12. > :03:16.and it can't be given to pregnant women. The first time people use
:03:16. > :03:24.this, they will be a heart monitor for six hours. Afterwards, they
:03:24. > :03:26.will require an I test. -- eye test. But this type of research which
:03:26. > :03:28.goes beyond just controlling inflammation, is lifting MS
:03:28. > :03:31.sufferers hopes that they can live active lives for longer.
:03:31. > :03:34.Simon Gillespie is the Chief Executive of the MS Society. He
:03:34. > :03:40.joins us now from our London studio. How important a breakthrough is
:03:40. > :03:44.this? Well, I think it is a really good break through. You pointed out
:03:44. > :03:49.in your report that there are many other countries where this is in
:03:49. > :03:59.use, so we're slow off the mark. But the impact of having a suitable
:03:59. > :04:09.pill for MS is a huge step forward. 55 countries have been using the
:04:09. > :04:11.
:04:11. > :04:17.struck for quite a while. Why is Italy just available here? Weir
:04:17. > :04:25.23rd out of 26 countries in Europe for the take-up of therapies. -- we
:04:25. > :04:29.are. Whilst Gilenya seems to be very expensive at first, the impact
:04:29. > :04:32.that it is having on making people carry on with normal lives is
:04:32. > :04:35.incredible and will save money in the long term.
:04:35. > :04:39.Still to come tonight: The grow your own revolution and how it
:04:39. > :04:42.could save you hundreds of pounds at the supermarket till.
:04:42. > :04:47.Tomorrow will see the funeral of PC David Rathband in his hometown of
:04:47. > :04:50.Stafford. It is expected hundreds of mourners will turn out to pay
:04:50. > :04:53.their final respects to the officer who was shot and blinded by the
:04:53. > :05:03.gunman Raoul Moat. Our Staffordshire Reporter joins us now
:05:03. > :05:05.
:05:05. > :05:10.from Stafford Crematorium. First this is where David
:05:10. > :05:16.Rathband's family will gather tomorrow lunchtime for the funeral.
:05:16. > :05:21.He was found dead last month at his home in Northumberland two years
:05:21. > :05:27.after Raoul Moat shot him. That resulted in him losing his sight.
:05:27. > :05:31.Ever since those dreadful events, his family say they have been
:05:31. > :05:36.struck by the level of support he received from his home town in
:05:36. > :05:41.Stafford. In 2010, he switched on over the Christmas lights. This was
:05:41. > :05:48.the place for he grew up and some where her he had very close family
:05:48. > :05:55.ties. His twin brother has described how David would stick up
:05:55. > :05:59.for him when they were growing up. He would greet me in the morning
:05:59. > :06:05.outside school in the lockers and asked if I was OK. If anyone was
:06:05. > :06:09.picking on me, he would step up and sort it out. He would make sure
:06:09. > :06:14.they stopped bullying me. I was more quiet at school. He has done
:06:14. > :06:23.that throughout his life. He has always been there as a big brother
:06:23. > :06:27.and I put him on that pedestal. of David Rathband's lasting
:06:27. > :06:35.legacies is the charity that he set up. They say they will continue
:06:35. > :06:38.doing work in his memory. There'll be celebrations in
:06:38. > :06:41.Gloucestershire tonight after a locally trained winner took the
:06:41. > :06:46.coveted Cheltenham Gold Cup - in fact the horse we featured on this
:06:46. > :06:49.programme last night. It meant there was no fairy tale ending to
:06:49. > :06:56.the career of Kauto Star. But it pleased the bookmakers who've taken
:06:56. > :07:06.a hammering during this year's festival.
:07:06. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:17.MUSIC. This young Irishman sang his heart out for a popular champion.
:07:17. > :07:22.The experts look forward to a classic Gold Cup. Some people say
:07:22. > :07:30.this is a two-horse race, but really there is only one in the
:07:31. > :07:38.focus and that his colt will star. -- Kauto Star. Synchronised had
:07:38. > :07:44.travelled 10 miles up the road. It did not take long for Kauto Star's
:07:44. > :07:52.dream to fade away. Two warm applause from those watching, he
:07:52. > :08:02.was pulled up and synchronised pushed on to victory. There was a
:08:02. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:18.thrilling a finality. It was a 50-1 outsider. A hugely popular winner
:08:18. > :08:30.
:08:30. > :08:39.for this local training team. The horse is only seven. He will do
:08:39. > :08:44.nothing but improve. The Gold Cup usually ends in tears of joy and
:08:44. > :08:52.occasionally sadness. Tonight, there will be a sense of relief
:08:52. > :08:59.that out of store -- Kauto Star has returned home safe and sound. His
:08:59. > :09:06.career is now that -- part of folklore.
:09:06. > :09:09.Great race. We were banging our desks this afternoon.
:09:09. > :09:12.We will be back live at Cheltenham a little later in the programme.
:09:12. > :09:15.'60s pop star PJ Proby has been cleared of benefit fraud. The 73-
:09:15. > :09:18.year-old from Twyford near Evesham seen here at an earlier court
:09:18. > :09:21.hearing had denied cheating the benefits system out of more than
:09:21. > :09:23.�47,000. He was found not guilty of all nine charges against him today
:09:23. > :09:25.following the discovery of new evidence.
:09:25. > :09:35.Solihull-based Land Rover has announced record global sales for
:09:35. > :09:48.
:09:48. > :09:51.With the deadline just two weeks away, several towns across the
:09:51. > :09:53.region are putting the finishing touches to bids for a share of �1
:09:53. > :09:56.million of Government money. They're hoping to be chosen to
:09:56. > :09:59.become a Portas Pilot. The retail guru Mary Portas has been advising
:09:59. > :10:02.ministers on how to regenerate high streets after surveys revealed more
:10:02. > :10:05.than 15,000 shops have disappeared over the last ten years. The
:10:05. > :10:09.company says strong demand for the new Range Rover Evoque helped push
:10:09. > :10:19.sales above 28,000. That is a rise of 52% compared with a year ago and
:10:19. > :10:22.
:10:22. > :10:31.the company's best ever monthly We have to look at the high streets
:10:31. > :10:39.as multi-functional social and shopping streets. This business is
:10:39. > :10:45.award-winning. Who had the ambitious young people are so keen
:10:45. > :10:50.to see others do well. This is about assisting people across the
:10:50. > :10:57.country. It is not single-minded. We want to be able to roll things
:10:57. > :11:01.out across the UK. We feel that we have the drive and the passion and
:11:01. > :11:05.community spirit to put those ideas forward.
:11:06. > :11:12.Increasing rents and fears of increasing business rates are
:11:12. > :11:17.worries for all businesses. In Warwick, one trader is using social
:11:17. > :11:21.media to galvanise local businesses into a powerful lobbying group.
:11:21. > :11:29.There are trying to implement positive change in at the high
:11:29. > :11:33.street. Twitter is a powerful tool. You can do things in 10 minutes
:11:33. > :11:38.that used to take weeks. We have all part of the time talking to
:11:38. > :11:44.each other now. The market square in Warwick might seem like an
:11:44. > :11:51.unlikely location for a high-street revolution, but several towns in
:11:51. > :11:56.our region are all competing for the Mary Portas project. They are
:11:56. > :12:01.determined that their towns will lead the way. Just 12 times will
:12:01. > :12:05.eventually be chosen to take part in a pilot. What this scheme is
:12:05. > :12:15.showing to politicians and business leaders is that the high street
:12:15. > :12:17.
:12:17. > :12:19.will unite to show their survival. As well as encouraging businesses
:12:20. > :12:22.to take advantage of new government grants, the British Chambers of
:12:23. > :12:25.Commerce is pressing the Chancellor to use his budget next week to
:12:25. > :12:28.scrap a planned increase in business rates of 5.6%. Our
:12:29. > :12:36.Political Editor is here now. How likely is it he will bow to this
:12:36. > :12:43.pressure? It is an automatic increase like the fuel duty
:12:44. > :12:50.increase that we stop protesting against last week. But the
:12:50. > :12:55.Chancellor cannot make exceptions for everyone in every case. There
:12:55. > :13:01.could be a reduction in the burden of corporation tax. Also employers
:13:01. > :13:09.National Insurance contributions. Employers see this as attacks on
:13:09. > :13:18.jobs. We have heard of one place where they have doubled their work
:13:18. > :13:21.force over five years. For the country, it is more to expensive
:13:22. > :13:27.not to employ them. Their choice is between these contributions and
:13:27. > :13:34.more people on benefit. My argument would be to get people in
:13:34. > :13:37.employment and find businesses were young people can work force. And as
:13:37. > :13:40.we have seen, the Labour Leader Ed Miliband has been at Warwick
:13:40. > :13:47.University today, setting out his plans on youth unemployment. What
:13:47. > :13:53.exactly is he proposing? He was addressing his use conference. Many
:13:53. > :13:57.young people were out of a job. His answer is a plan which would
:13:57. > :14:02.guarantee everyone under 25 our job is they have been out of work for
:14:02. > :14:06.at least one year. We tax the bonuses of the bankers and use that
:14:06. > :14:13.money to offer jobs to every young person who has been unemployed for
:14:13. > :14:23.more than a year. There are 49,000 young people in that position in
:14:23. > :14:27.
:14:27. > :14:36.the UK at the moment. It -- this is all in the run-up to do in the
:14:36. > :14:40.budget and we will have more on that in the Politics Show on Sunday.
:14:40. > :14:47.And ahead of the budget there is a special programme here on BBC One
:14:47. > :14:50.about the regional economy. That is on Monday evening at 11:05pm.
:14:50. > :14:53.Still ahead: Staffordshire-born actor Neil Morrisey and how 45
:14:53. > :14:58.minutes in make-up transform him every night into Fagin on stage in
:14:58. > :15:01.Birmingham. And I will be here with the weather
:15:01. > :15:04.forecast which for the first time in ages includes some rain. But
:15:04. > :15:10.will there be enough for our parched farms and gardens? I will
:15:10. > :15:14.have the details in a moment. With food bills soaring, interest
:15:14. > :15:17.is growing in growing your own. And it can save families a lot of money,
:15:17. > :15:21.whether it is some veg in your garden or perhaps an allotment.
:15:21. > :15:24.Some estimates put the saving on a family food bill at up to �1,300 a
:15:24. > :15:29.year. Interest is such that sales of vegetable seeds are now more
:15:29. > :15:32.than double those of flower seeds. And there are 100,000 people on the
:15:32. > :15:42.waiting list for an allotment. This is our report on making your garden
:15:42. > :15:51.
:15:51. > :15:54.work for you. This man is part of a growing band of that producers.
:15:54. > :15:57.Maria and Gareth from Coventry are part of a growing band of food
:15:57. > :16:04.producers. Research shows 26% of us now grow our own vegetables.
:16:04. > :16:11.Any savings are a bonus. It is vegetables and we can make jam with
:16:11. > :16:13.our for it. -- fruit. To reflect the growing interest in planting
:16:13. > :16:15.and self sufficiency, the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh in
:16:15. > :16:18.Warwickshire expects to attract 11,000 visitors this weekend. The
:16:18. > :16:23.event wants to show budding gardeners they don't have to
:16:23. > :16:25.confine their ambitions to traditional crops. We have a
:16:25. > :16:33.selection of regular English vegetables that people are growing
:16:33. > :16:37.all over the country. Lettuce, radish and a whole range of things.
:16:37. > :16:44.But there are whole range of things different to this that you would
:16:44. > :16:52.never expect to be able to grow in the UK. Cream tea is one of those.
:16:52. > :17:01.This is like a regular chilly, but they can cope 2-5 degrees. Go you
:17:01. > :17:07.will be able to use lots of chilli peppers. These goals will reduce
:17:07. > :17:10.enough milk to feed a family of five every day. Residents in an
:17:10. > :17:16.increasing number of villages are calling together to rear there on
:17:16. > :17:23.pegs. You not make much money, but you'll get some nice meat and you
:17:23. > :17:28.know the animals will be well looked after. Perhaps more of us
:17:28. > :17:33.will join the Community of many farmers and growers in the coming
:17:33. > :17:36.spring. It is a big weekend for Stoke City.
:17:36. > :17:40.They are just one game away from the FA Cup semi-final which means a
:17:40. > :17:43.return to Wembley for the third time in a year. But it also means a
:17:43. > :17:46.trip to Liverpool to face Steven Gerrard who scored a hat trick this
:17:46. > :17:51.week. One man not shying away from the pressure is former Liverpool
:17:51. > :17:54.ace and Stoke City striker Peter Crouch. He is hoping the Potters
:17:54. > :17:59.can go there and play their cards right.
:17:59. > :18:03.Stoke City are just one game away from a return to Wembley. Liverpool
:18:03. > :18:08.are the favourites to win, but the Potters are hoping they can be the
:18:08. > :18:11.wild card. And there is one man hoping to be shuffled into Stoke's
:18:12. > :18:17.starting 11 on Sunday. He wants to add to his tally of 10 goals this
:18:17. > :18:21.season. He is former Liverpool front-man Peter Crouch. So what
:18:21. > :18:27.does he reckon the odds are for a Stoke City victory? How are Stoke
:18:27. > :18:37.going to combat Steven Gerrard? it is going to be very difficult.
:18:37. > :18:39.
:18:39. > :18:48.He's on fire at the moment. He is a top-class player. He is someone
:18:48. > :18:51.that we will have to watch. What will Stoke's strengths be? You've
:18:51. > :18:54.built up an impressive partnership with Jonathan Walters. Yes, he's
:18:54. > :19:04.great for Stoke. We work off each other well. Your England goal
:19:04. > :19:06.
:19:06. > :19:11.I have enjoyed playing with him. You're England goalscoring record
:19:11. > :19:17.speaks for itself. 22 goals in 42 games. How do you feel about still
:19:17. > :19:27.not getting the call-up? Yes, I'm frustrated. I've always tried to
:19:27. > :19:31.
:19:31. > :19:39.play my best for England. If I am doing well for Stoke City, I hope
:19:39. > :19:43.to catch the manager's I. Playing for England as the best thing in
:19:43. > :19:46.the world. I would love to play in the European Championships. Crouch
:19:47. > :19:50.also talked to me about settling well into the Stoke Squad with the
:19:50. > :19:52.help of the other players. Who is the joker in the pack? Ooh, there's
:19:53. > :20:02.Jonathan Woodgate and Jermaine Pennant. And that's all you're
:20:03. > :20:07.
:20:07. > :20:17.that cup quarter final and the rest of the weekend's football action,
:20:17. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :20:25.tune into your BBC local radio Let's go back to Cheltenham now.
:20:25. > :20:28.Our reporter is at the racecourse. There have been calls for an
:20:28. > :20:37.inquiry into the deaths of five horses which fell during the
:20:37. > :20:42.festival. What has been the reaction there? Panda lighted to
:20:42. > :20:52.say there have been no more fatalities today he -- and I am
:20:52. > :20:54.
:20:54. > :20:58.delighted. But there were deaths earlier in the week. The RSPCA have
:20:58. > :21:05.said they are concerned. The British Racing Authority are saying
:21:05. > :21:09.that they will hold a full inquiry. This week has been very sad. But
:21:09. > :21:14.things like that happen in our sport, I am afraid. In football,
:21:14. > :21:20.the worst that can happen is a red card. Here, the highs and lows are
:21:20. > :21:23.difficult to take. But that is what we all signed up to four Stott as
:21:23. > :21:33.for the racing itself, is there anywhere with the magic of
:21:33. > :21:36.
:21:36. > :21:41.I don't think there is. It is 25 years since I first came here.
:21:41. > :21:48.Every year, new racing champions are Crown. There has to be no
:21:48. > :21:52.fairy-tale ending for Kauto Star today, but two local trainers have
:21:52. > :21:59.done well. That was popular with the record-breaking crowd of 70,000
:21:59. > :22:03.people. The village is fast being deserted. The brick makers have
:22:03. > :22:11.gone home. Tomorrow, thousands of punters will start saving up for
:22:11. > :22:15.the Festival next year! Actor Neil Morrisey who was born in
:22:15. > :22:19.Stafford is back on stage in the musical Oliver! At the Birmingham
:22:19. > :22:27.Hippodrome. He is best known for his role in one of the most popular
:22:27. > :22:32.sitcoms of the 90s, Men Behaving Badly.
:22:32. > :22:36.I once built a treehouse but we didn't have trees so I built it on
:22:37. > :22:39.the ground! Neil was brought up in care in
:22:39. > :22:42.Stoke-on-Trent, something he has talked about in a TV documentary.
:22:42. > :22:47.And he can see some parallels between those early years and the
:22:47. > :22:53.troubled youngsters who join Fagin's gang.
:22:53. > :22:59.There are parallels. Thank goodness it was not as bad when I was in
:22:59. > :23:02.care. You had to learn how to pickpocket yourself and there was
:23:02. > :23:09.not an older man to teach you. You made a moving documentary about
:23:09. > :23:13.your teenage years. What was it like to make it? It was difficult.
:23:13. > :23:17.Meeting people that I was in care worth 30 years ago and beating
:23:17. > :23:24.their children for are in care now. There are many similarities. The
:23:24. > :23:29.basic thing is being torn away from your family.
:23:29. > :23:39.It leaves you with a big star. It is the most damaging thing. We
:23:39. > :23:45.tried to deal with that -- we deal with that within the documentaries
:23:45. > :23:51.with me leaving the viewer's hand. I spoke about the system and the
:23:51. > :23:56.various peoples were my life. I couldn't have done it without you.
:23:56. > :24:05.We are very proud of you. Thank you very much. It took one year to
:24:05. > :24:11.shoot, so it was constant heartache. You're approaching 50 this year.
:24:11. > :24:17.am still the child inside. When I walk along the street, I hopped
:24:17. > :24:21.along the wall and try to avoid the cracks in the pavement. Could he
:24:21. > :24:31.never -- could he ever have imagined taking on a role like this
:24:31. > :24:34.
:24:34. > :24:38.in Oliver!? No, I could never have considered that will start but you
:24:39. > :24:44.fall into age group. It took a while for them to allow me to
:24:44. > :24:50.audition. It was difficult for them to see me as Fagin. I had to going
:24:50. > :24:58.and sing the songs and back in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber and
:24:58. > :25:05.Cameron Mackintosh. -- act. You are looking good just now, but you want
:25:05. > :25:07.be in one hour. It is a massive job be in one hour. It is a massive job
:25:07. > :25:15.with the make-up. There is a five piece beard and moustache to be
:25:15. > :25:21.glued in place. There are so many attachments. There are two
:25:21. > :25:31.microphones. It takes one hour to put it on and half an hour to put
:25:31. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:36.it off. And Neil plays Fagin at the
:25:36. > :25:40.Hippodrome until the first of April Hippodrome until the first of April
:25:40. > :25:45.before Brian Conley takes over the role.
:25:45. > :25:51.I will think any of us really want rain at the weekend. But we have to
:25:51. > :25:54.face facts. We need some wet weather and there is little in the
:25:54. > :26:04.forecast. But it will be in the form of showers and there will be
:26:04. > :26:06.
:26:06. > :26:13.some sunny spells in between. If we will see some rain overnight. Some
:26:13. > :26:16.bits and pieces of rain overnight. It will stay mild. There is a
:26:16. > :26:20.weather front straddling across our region first thing tomorrow. There
:26:20. > :26:27.is some uncertainty about how quickly this will push away to the
:26:27. > :26:30.east. But I think you should move away fairly smartly. We will be
:26:30. > :26:35.left for sunny spells and bright conditions. Some of the showers
:26:35. > :26:40.could be heavy. Hail and thunder is possible. It all feel too bad and
:26:40. > :26:43.the sunshine. Just a moderate south-westerly breeze. Initially,
:26:43. > :26:47.the showers clear away in the evening and it will be cold
:26:47. > :26:51.overnight. But then more showers push in from the north by the end
:26:51. > :26:59.of the night. Some of those will be with us during the day on Sunday.
:26:59. > :27:02.Perhaps the odd heavy one. Through the day, the showers will gradually
:27:03. > :27:10.become consigned to the south of the region. If you're heading to
:27:10. > :27:14.Liverpool, a lovely afternoon there. The reason for things slowly
:27:14. > :27:22.turning more settles during Sunday is this ridge of high pressure
:27:22. > :27:27.pushing up from the south-west. It will be significant next week.
:27:27. > :27:34.There will be some rain over the weekend, but settled again for next
:27:34. > :27:38.A look at tonight's main headlines: The head of the Church of England,