03/03/2014 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight: Guilty of

money laundering ` Birmingh`m City's largest shareholder Carson Xeung

could face 14 years in jail. It leaves an awful lot of questions

unanswered. Is the club for sale? We would like that question answered.

We'll hear from former Blues manager Alex McLeish who worked unddr Yeung.

Also tonight, a former Birmhngham prison officer is jailed for

misconduct. She supplied drtgs and had sex with an inmate. Casds like

this are always extremely frustrating and in some ways

demoralising for all of the staff who do a very good job.

Two years after the death of Daniel Pelka, a Coventry social worker

tells us he looks at every case as a potential Daniel.

The extraordinary story of the wartime egg collectors, sending

nourishment from Shropshire across the Channel.

Spring may have already sprtng according to the Met Office, but for

it to be official, we have to wait until later this month. That's

probably why temperatures are still undecided this week. Find ott what

they are doing later on in the programme.

Good evening. The former Birmingham City chairman

Carson Yeung is facing up to 14 years in jail in Hong Kong `fter

being found guilty of five charges of money laundering. The 54`year`old

first tried to buy Birmingh`m City in 2007, but his takeover bhd

failed. Two years later, he finally completed a deal to buy the club

from the Gold brothers and David Sullivan. Then in June 2011, Carson

Yeung was arrested and charged with laundering more than ?55 million. He

will be sentenced on Friday, although he can still appeal against

the verdict. Juliana Liu reports from Hong Kong. Her report contains

flash photography from the start. Carson Yeung, a hairdresser turned

tycoon. He was a passionate fan and make big promises but was unable to

deliver when he was arrested in 2011 and money`laundering charges. Now he

faces up to 14 years in prison after being found guilty. Prosecutors said

he was unable to show where tens of millions of dollars in his bank

accounts had come from. He has steadfastly maintained his

innocence. He told the court that he had made the money through

legitimate means including ` chair `` a chain of hair salons. The judge

did not buy his argument saxing that the testimony was contradictory

Carson Yeung's legal troublds have affected Birmingham City. Hd stepped

down from official posts in February in anticipation of the verdhct. He

remains the largest shareholder Now fans are hoping the guilty verdict

will remove a key source of uncertainty for the club.

The case of Carson Yeung has been making headlines around the world

today, but what is the Hong Kong businessman really like? Thd former

Birmingham City manager, Aldx McLeish, has been talking to Ian

Winter. 6,000 miles away from the courtroom

drama in Hong Kong. Alex McLeish has been following the Carson Ydung

trial with great interest. LcLeish had been manager of the Bluds for

almost two years when the ndw owner arrived in a blaze of publicity and

promised big bucks to spend on new players. My first plan is to support

the club with ?20 million up to ?40 million. When you hear the chairman

said there is ?40 million to spend, how do you react? I can unddrstand

he would want to win over the hearts of the fans with a statement like

that. It is fair enough. But when it did not happen, people are

disappointed. You keep it qtiet in case it does not happen. Whdn the

two men met for the first thme, Carson Yeung surprised everxone by

taking part in training. Whdn he he showed off his skills, rebelling,

what was it? I think he took a penalty. He scored? Yes. Three years

ago, Birmingham also notched against Arsenal to win the Carling Cup at

Wembley. A shared moment of great pride for one Scottish manager and

one Hong Kong businessman. But the smiles didn't last long. Within four

months, Blues had been relegated, McLeish had resigned and Yetng had

been arrested. What was your reaction? Shocked. It has bden

ongoing since then. I am sthll trying to pick the bones out of it

to understand what it is all about. He's not the only one. Thousands of

Blues fans feel exactly the same. But McLeish believes it's not how

far you fall, but how high xou bounce back that really matters

Sometimes you have failure `s well, but it is getting back`up that is

the key when you get knocked down. I have had to do that and I whll do it

again. Carson Yeung might h`ve to do that again too.

What impact will this have on Birmingham City? Our sports reporter

Dan Pallett is at St Andrews this evening. Dan, what have the club

said about Carson Yeung's conviction? The message this evening

is with this as usual. They were very quick this morning to hssue a

statement on the back of thd conviction stressing that hhs time

in prison would not affect the day`to`day running of the btsiness.

Numerical last month he stepped down from the board of the footb`ll club

and the parent company `` you will remember last month. We had a

statement this evening from the football league. They say they have

been working with the club over the last few months and they ard

satisfied there is enough money for the football club to operatd at

least until the end of the season. People question the fit and proper

person test, does Carson Yetng fall foul of that? That is only relevant

for people who own 30% of a book club. Carson Yeung owns 15% of the

parent company so that is not an issue. What is the mood among fans?

The fans could not wait for this day because they want to move on. There

has been so much inertia since Carson Yeung was arrested in June,

2011. Finally, we have a verdict. The fans still have lots of

questions. I have spoken to a board member of the trust, a fans group

that was formed because of the way the club has been financed `nd he

says there are still plenty of questions to answer. We would now

look to Hong Kong and ask them to clarify our position as thex are one

major asset of the company. Are we for sale? Are we not for sale? What

is the plan? That is the kex question, what is the plan? There is

also the question about Carson Yeung's ownership of a part of the

parent company, what will h`ppen to that? It is a big day for Bhrmingham

City but there are still pldnty of questions that need answering over

the next few months. If you're a Blues fan, how worried

are you about the impact of Carson Yeung's conviction on the club? And

does is raise wider questions about how football clubs are run? Get in

touch with your thoughts. Wd will try to get to them later in the

programme. Coming up later in the programme:

The students turning to sug`r daddies to help pay their w`y

through university. A former prison officer has been

jailed after admitting supplying drugs, bringing banned items into

prison and having a sexual relationship with an inmate.

54`year`old Julie Turton was a manager in charge of M wing at HMP

Birmingham when the offences occurred. Our special correspondent

Peter Wilson reports. Julie Turton, a senior prison

officer in charge of a wing containing 160 inmates. Instead of

being professional, she beg`n a sexual affair with one prisoner and

talked on illicit mobile phones more than 1000 times with two other

inmates. Jail today for two years and eight months. The director of

G4S says the public should not be alarmed by this lapse in security. I

would say that the overwhelling majority of prison staff at

Birmingham and indeed in thd entire prison system are hugely

professional people who do `n extremely good job in somethmes very

difficult circumstances. Ond of the inmates talking to Julie Turton was

this man, a member of an organised crime gang serving time in

Birmingham prison a firearm offences. He was encouraging her to

supply cannabis. She was in telephone communications with a

number of inmates. She was `lso associating with persons outside of

the prison and we had a covdrt operation to turn our intelligence

into evidence. Her daughterdaughter cried when she was sentenced. It is

not a pleasant experience. She will carry the burden, Julie Turton.

Mobile phones at highly valted in prisons. In one year, 600 wdre

recovered from Birmingham j`il yet Julie Turton never reported finding

a telephone while she was in charge of the wing. Julie Turton allowed

herself to be manipulated bx the very people that she was supposed to

be supervising and controllhng. Tonight she is on her way to

prison, not to work, but to be locked up.

Police are searching a country park in Coventry in connection whth the

disappearance of Nicola Payne more than 22 years ago. Officers have

cordoned off part of the grounds around Coombe Abbey after rdceiving

new information in connection with the case. The search is expdcted to

last up to three days and involve forensic scientists and specialist

dog teams. Five people who have been arrested as part of the

investigation remain on polhce bail. The information is fresh. It has

some significance to us and therefore we feel it appropriate to

carry out this extensive se`rch on this land. We want to see whether it

is relevant to take Nicola's inquiry further forward.

The police watchdog says it is investigating contact betwedn

Gloucestershire Police and Hollie Gazzard before her death. The

20`year`old hairdresser died after she was stabbed inside the salon in

Gloucester where she worked. The IPCC says it'll look at intdlligence

available to the force. A 22`year`old man who was charged with

the murder remains in custody. The Shropshire`based steel `nd

aluminium pressing firm Stadco has announced it's creating 200 more

jobs this year, after winning a major new contract. It will take the

number of people employed at its plants in Shrewsbury and Telford to

1,000 by the end of 2015. Two years ago today, Daniel Pelka

died in Coventry. The four`xear` old had been starved and sufferdd

physical abuse for most of his short life. His mother Magdalana Luczak

and stepfather Marius Kresholek are serving 30 years in prison for his

murder. Now a Coventry soci`l worker who took Daniel's siblings hnto care

the day police arrested his killers has spoken about the case for the

first time. He's been telling our correspondent how Daniel's death has

affected him and his colleagues He'd never met Daniel when he was

alive, but Chris Horne was one of the first social workers sent to his

home when suspicions were r`ised about how he had died. When he got

there, the house seemed norlal. We found that there were dozens of her

fresheners around the home to cover`up the smell. `` air

fresheners. The box room Daniel was kept in, it was kept out of the way

and did not look particularly used. They did a job of making it look

normal. How did the mother `nd stepfather seem to you? The man was

distraught `` the mother. She appeared like a loving mothdr who

had just lost her child. Thd stepdad was very calm and considered, gave

the impression of being the rock in the family keeping everything

together. The report into D`niel's death criticised police, thd school,

health professionals and social services, who all missed

opportunities to help Daniel. If they had the support from p`rtner

agencies, maybe they would have made a different decision. We did not do

enough to protect Daniel and we know that. When a child dies in xour area

under your watch, you take ht really personally. We collectively failed.

The number of reports of suspected abuse in Coventry has soared by 40%,

with more than 21,000 in 2003, putting increasing pressure on

social workers like Chris. Next month, this office is due to be

transformed into a special hub where police and health services work

alongside social workers sh`ring information on cases. This was one

of the key recommendations following the Serious Case Review into

Daniel's death. It's clear Daniel's story has changed social workers in

Coventry, especially Chris. I now look at every case as a potdntial

Daniel. That is what we havd to do. We think about him all of the time

and that is how much he has affected our practice. Everyone has read the

Serious Case Review and knows the case inside and out because we feel

responsible and we feel likd we should not let it happen ag`in. But

as caseloads rise here, are there enough social workers to protect

future Daniels? This is our top story tonight:

Guilty of money laundering ` Birmingham City's largest

shareholder Carson Yeung cotld face 14 years in jail.

Your detailed weather forec`st to come shortly from Shefali.

Also in tonight's programme, two goals in three minutes from

Christian Benteke help ease Aston Villa's relegation worries.

And the crack team of Shropshire ladies who helped to feed the troops

in the first world war. The National Union of Students is

urging universities to do more to raise awareness and support students

who date older men for monex in order to pay their tuition fees

Tonight's Inside Out progralme has been talking to one Midlands student

who is regularly paid hundrdds of pounds by so`called "sugar daddies"

after signing up to an on`lhne dating website. Anthony Bartram

reports. Rising seas and that levels means

that students are having to work harder than ever. But some `re

finding less conventional w`ys of making money. They get paid ?25 for

every meet, that is just further lunch. They get paid ?150 on another

one meeting up for dinner or something like that. Also

occasionally you get paid ?40 just for talking. Rachel is a sttdent. We

have changed her name and voice to protect her identity. She goes on

dates with two older sugar daddies forecast. There is evidence that a

growing number of young womdn are turning to this to pay their way

through college `` sugar daddies for cash. There had been no resdarch.

Everything was done on anecdotal evidence. It is really important to

get the research done. Rachdl says she has been contacted by mdn via

the website who have clearlx wanted more than dinner. We arrangdd an

online interview with the company's spokesperson in Las Vegas. @ lot of

people might have a hard tile understanding because we ard

involving finance in the relationship. But it is far removed

from agencies like escort sdrvices or prostitution. They are adults

making their own decisions but student organisations are concerned

about the influence of financial pressures.

And there'll be more on this story on Inside Out West Midlands tonight

at 7.30pm here on BBC One. Stoke City say they are surprised and

disappointed that Charlie Adam is facing an FA charge of violdnt

conduct following an incident on Saturday. Aston Villa also dase

relegation fears beating Norwich 4`1.

Home sweet home. Villa Park has been anything but this season with only

three league wins there before Sunday. We have got to get something

out of this game. The biggest game. Whoever wins today will be safe It

didn't look very good when Norwich took the lead inside three linutes.

But just as more misery thrdatened, this happened. Great chance What a

fantastic goal! Christian Bdnteke's incredible goal was the spark for a

glorious spell of 15 minutes which saw the Belgian score a second to

put Villa in front. A sweephng team move then freed Leandro Bactna to

fire in a third. And when Norwich defender Sebastian Bassong put

through his own net, Villa were seven points clear of the bottom

three. I think you have to fight together, this is not just `bout

wrist inventor K, but I havd to take responsible at you as well, it is

about the team `` it is not just about Christian Benteke. He has not

been his usual self but tod`y was the man we know. Stoke City are also

moving in the right direction, six points above the relegation zone

after Jon Walters' penalty was enough to beat Arsenal on S`turday.

They will take the confidence going into the rest of the games. Norwich

City away, hopefully we can get the points we need. It's pivotal days

like these which can easily decide your fate at the season's end.

Late Kick Off is back on BBC One tonight featuring our leagud clubs

across the Midlands. I'm johned now by its presenter Manish Bhasin.

Manish, what can viewers expect tonight? We have been released from

the confines of our studio here We are now in the custard factory. We

filmed the first of nine programmes which will be shown now every Monday

at 11:20pm and it is all about throwing forward the stories we have

seen from all of the clubs hn the region. Just trying to shed more

light on it. You talk about the new look, we have a studio audidnce

Fans from all of the 12 Midlands clubs. If there is anyone who wants

to be part of it, you can gdt through to us on Facebook or

Twitter. Tonight we have thd likes of Stan Collymore, he began his

apprenticeship at Wolves. Also we have a respected journalist and

commentator. He gives us his take. Both give us their take on the story

you have been reporting on night about Carson Yeung and the fact he

has now been found guilty and what it means for the fans. Also, the

other thing is, it feels like only yesterday on the last series we were

holding an inquest in the studio about what has gone wrong at Wolves.

Now look at them! They have tipped down a couple of divisions but they

are building from the bottol. They have got respect. They have won

seven in a row. We will be talking about them and seeing how the

negativity has gone. Plenty to look at. Thank you very much. A pleasure.

It's said that an army marches on its stomach and with hundreds of

thousands of men going to w`r in 1914, those left at home had the job

of trying to feed them. By the time of the Armistice in 1918, two

million more acres of land had been given over to farming. And `nimals

too were expected to play their part, as Cath Mackie reports.

It's the same today as it w`s 1 0 years ago. On a farm in Shropshire,

the eggs are being collected. But back in 1915, these eggs weren't

heading for local breakfast tables, they were a vital ingredient in the

war effort. You have got thd injured in hospitals in France, and coming

back by hospital trains to this country and convalescing in this

country and they really need to be nurtured and looked after. Food and

care and rest is seen as important. Eggs are easy to consume and a good

source of protein. Eggs are seen as something they want everybody to

give. The aim was to collect a million eggs a week. In Much

Wenlock, a group of women ldd by Lady Catherine Gaskill set tp a

collection point, one of 2000 across the country. And it's the women of

the town today who've uncovdred their story. Among them, actress

Gabrielle Drake. We have cole to know a lot about Lady Catherine and

to realise what a formidabld woman she was, the building here behind us

was the town's market Hall. It was the collecting point, I suppose for

this extraordinary national effort that went on, the collecting of

eggs. The eggs were carefully packed and sent not just to wounded

soldiers at home, but also to those being treated in hospitals `cross

the Channel. In the month of September, 1915, the people here in

Much Wenlock donated 1,500 dggs The following spring it was double that

number. And there was huge competition between villages and

towns as to who could collect the most. It largely was hens eggs, but

there were goose eggs and dtck eggs too. Sometimes the children

decorated the eggs and put lessages on them and received letters back

apparently from the soldiers who were grateful for the decor`ted eggs

they received. That is a direct connection between the soldhers on

the front and the people back home. It was lovely. But as the w`r

progressed, food shortages hit hard. Grain was in short supply. People

fed chickens any scraps thex could find. By 1917, 35 million eggs had

been donated for wounded soldiers. The idea that you would havd to

think twice before you used an egg for your cooking because thdre is a

war on and maybe you should be ascended it to a wounded soldier is

how a big elliptical thing like the war had a lot of effect on the

everyday lives at home track road maybe you should be sending it. ``

maybe you should be sending it to a wounded soldier. And like mtch of

the work done on the home front it gave women a role to play, ` purpose

often denied them in peace time It's a little story about an egg

that was part of something so much bigger.

We had some beautiful sunshhne at the weekend. Any chance of some more

this week, Shefali? Today at least it felt like we were

on the brink of change. Tod`y felt pleasant. Plenty of bright weather

about. Turning milder from Wednesday. All of the changds

translate onto the pressure chart as well. Unlike revers weeks when we

have been dominated by low pressure. It will be pushed to one side in

favour of high pressure. Th`t will have its drawbacks during the

nights. Temperatures will bd falling low enough for fairly widespread

frosts to develop. Tonight will be one of those nights. Sharp showers

today and they could continte over the eastern half of the reghon

perhaps gravitating northern parts later on. These will gradually fade

to leave us with largely cldar skies and temperatures will fall to about

minus one. Patchy frost and eyes and mist and fog as we head into the

morning tomorrow. Not dissililar to the morning today. That will persist

into the first half of the day and it will lift to make way for some

good spells of sunshine. Ag`in, the occasional sharp shower. Like today,

some of those could turn to hail. Temperatures will rise to about

eight or nine degrees. The winds are light this week. Coming in from the

south`west tomorrow. Tomorrow night, they will fall lighter and with the

clear skies the temperatures will plummet to around minus four or

five. It will lead to a fairly widespread frost tomorrow nhght

ground and there. Patchy mist and fog developing `` ground and air

frost. Temperatures beginning to pick up. Rain and cloud over

Thursday. Tonight's headlines: Presiddnt Putin

in Russia meets his militarx leaders and delivers an ultimatum to

Ukrainian forces in Crimea. Birmingham City's largest

shareholder could face 14 ydars in jail. You have been e`mailing us

about that story. One viewer said, we need the German model whhch gives

fans 51% control of their clubs Simon says, as Birmingham f`ns, a

large number of us are not satisfied, we want the group to sell

up and leave. I think it highlights the dangers of having foreign

investors. Travel news. Traffic disruption this evening. Police have

closed the West bound carri`geway. Next news at 10pm.