:00:06. > :00:10.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight. Our top story:
:00:10. > :00:14.Trial and retribution, but a week after the riots we ask if justice
:00:14. > :00:17.is really being done. We will be talking to the head of
:00:17. > :00:21.the Crown Prosecution Service in the North West about how the
:00:21. > :00:27.rioters have been dealt with. 4,000 jobs at risk. MBNA announce
:00:27. > :00:30.they want to sell their credit card division, but at what cost?
:00:30. > :00:40.Relief at last. The teenager who suffers the agony of arthritis is
:00:40. > :00:43.
:00:43. > :00:46.given a trial drug which has changed her life. It took six weeks
:00:46. > :00:56.until I noticed a proper deference when I could get out of the
:00:56. > :00:57.
:00:57. > :01:03.wheelchair and walk. And how one couple have been
:01:03. > :01:06.reunited with an old friend, thanks to the local council.
:01:06. > :01:09.And that story about the couple who have been reunited with the bench
:01:09. > :01:14.they did their courting on is our e-mail subject tonight. Let us know
:01:14. > :01:18.what reminds you of your courting and why. E-mail, Facebook or Tweet
:01:18. > :01:21.us now. But first, the sentencing of those
:01:21. > :01:23.convicted of taking part in the rioting and looting has been the
:01:23. > :01:29.subject of some controversy with claims that the magistrates had
:01:29. > :01:32.been told to dish out tough sentences. Today in Manchester the
:01:32. > :01:35.first Crown Court cases were heard and the Judge, Andrew Gilbart QC,
:01:35. > :01:38.explained exactly why he believed those who had taken part in mob
:01:38. > :01:48.violence should be dealt with more severely than if the offences had
:01:48. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:03.been committed in isolation. If the magistrates court had wanted
:02:03. > :02:07.it to be seen to be tough on the rioters, this charge was not in any
:02:07. > :02:15.mood for going soft on them. He said that the acts they had
:02:15. > :02:21.admitted committed -- committing could not be judged in isolation.
:02:21. > :02:31.There were four defendant in the dock today. He said, those who take
:02:31. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:43.part in these activities must No doubt, his words will come as
:02:43. > :02:48.some comfort to the victims for lost property, businesses and homes
:02:48. > :02:51.in those disturbances. I have been to meet one of those victims today.
:02:51. > :02:58.This is what's left of the internet cafe Raaz Sathwilkar spent years
:02:58. > :03:02.building up. But the mob didn't stop at ruining his business. They
:03:02. > :03:12.rampaged upstairs they set fire to the flat where Raaz, his wife and
:03:12. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:22.five children lived. This is the living room. Everything has gone.
:03:22. > :03:25.What was over here? My children's computer. Everything has gone.
:03:25. > :03:30.Having completely ransack your business, they have come up here
:03:30. > :03:35.and set fire to your home? Yes. What you think about people who
:03:35. > :03:43.could do something like that? Animal People. A human life cannot
:03:43. > :03:47.do that. What sort of punishment should they get? They should go to
:03:47. > :03:50.jail and not come out. His sense of anger at all this and his desire
:03:50. > :03:53.for justice is understandable. The police and the courts have been
:03:53. > :03:56.keen to ensure people such as Raaz get justice. Hundreds of arrests
:03:56. > :03:59.have been made. Dozens have already been processed by the courts. Today,
:03:59. > :04:01.the first four to face a Crown Court judge appeared in Manchester
:04:01. > :04:04.Crown Court for sentence. This woman's 14-year-old son is
:04:04. > :04:08.currently locked up waiting to learn of his punishment for
:04:08. > :04:16.burglary during the disturbances in Manchester. She has no doubt he
:04:16. > :04:19.must be punished. I fully support the fact that he is on remand at
:04:19. > :04:22.the moment because he has done something wrong and he has accepted
:04:22. > :04:31.that. I have tried everything to keep him on the straight and narrow.
:04:31. > :04:34.He is very vulnerable to suggestions from other people.
:04:34. > :04:37.feels she and the rest of the family are also being punished for
:04:37. > :04:41.events that were outside of their control. I could be affected. I
:04:41. > :04:45.have a one-year-old son and it is scary. But with memories of all
:04:45. > :04:52.this still raw, the need form justice to be done, and be seen to
:04:52. > :04:55.be done, will be paramount. Let me tell you more about the four
:04:55. > :05:00.people who appeared here at Manchester Crown Court today.
:05:00. > :05:07.Stephen Carter is 26. He admitted picking up bags of clothes which
:05:07. > :05:12.had been stolen from the city centre store. David Essex --
:05:12. > :05:21.another man admitted collecting a TV screen which had been stolen.
:05:21. > :05:30.118 year-old -- and 18-year-old man was given two years in a young
:05:30. > :05:35.offenders' institution. A heroin addict got 10 months, suspended for
:05:35. > :05:39.two years, for picking up a bag of look. In Chester, two men have
:05:39. > :05:49.appeared in court today, charged with inciting riots through the
:05:49. > :05:51.
:05:51. > :05:54.internet. They got for your sentences each. -- they got four
:05:54. > :05:56.year sentences each. So, seven days on from the riots,
:05:56. > :05:59.what has the impact been on businesses? Are shoppers staying
:05:59. > :06:02.away from the worst hit areas or defying the criminals and
:06:02. > :06:05.reclaiming their streets? Dozens of stores at Salford's Shopping City
:06:05. > :06:08.were attacked by looters. Five are still too badly damaged to reopen.
:06:08. > :06:12.Our reporter has been back to speak to some of those affected.
:06:12. > :06:16.No stock means no income for Wayne and Stephen. They spent six years
:06:16. > :06:21.building this business up. It took rioters a matter of minutes to
:06:21. > :06:31.destroy it. It will take �60,000 and four weeks of hard work before
:06:31. > :06:31.
:06:31. > :06:36.they can reopen. We don't know how much business we will lose from
:06:36. > :06:43.this. That is the scary thing. are not frightened of it happening
:06:43. > :06:47.again. The big fear is trying to get the public backing to the shop.
:06:47. > :06:50.-- back into the shop. That is not a problem for Nasser Iqbal.
:06:50. > :06:54.Business is booming because on the other side of the precinct one of
:06:54. > :06:58.his competitors had his shop destroyed. It is sad to see it
:06:58. > :07:06.happen this way. My heart goes out to the other gentleman whose
:07:06. > :07:10.business was affected. The man in charge of the centre says visitor
:07:10. > :07:15.numbers were on the rise for. the first couple of days, the
:07:15. > :07:20.figures were lower. As of yesterday, it seems to be back to normal.
:07:20. > :07:30.Slowly but surely, we are getting back to normality. Has this pitch
:07:30. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:37.you off? No, why should it? atmosphere is awful. One week after
:07:37. > :07:40.we saw the worst elements of this community, here is the best. These
:07:40. > :07:48.Army Cadet are giving up their time to improve the look of this
:07:48. > :07:56.shopping centre. We're not all that bad. It is a small minority of
:07:56. > :08:02.teenagers that are for. Near enough of this has been done. I am proud.
:08:02. > :08:06.Despite their best efforts, it will take more than a lick of playing --
:08:06. > :08:10.lead of paint to erase what happened here. Bosses say the
:08:10. > :08:13.fightback has started and the fortunes of this centre will
:08:13. > :08:18.improve. Joining me now is Nazir Afsal who
:08:18. > :08:22.is head of the Crown Prosecution Service in the North West. Let me
:08:22. > :08:28.ask you whether you are comfortable with the speed in which these cases
:08:28. > :08:33.are being rushed through the courts and whether there can be proper
:08:33. > :08:38.preparation and assessment of these cases? They were not rushed. These
:08:38. > :08:45.are unprecedented times. What we saw last week is unprecedented,
:08:45. > :08:48.solar response must match that. I have been making sure that all my
:08:48. > :08:54.prosecutors apply the code and bring the cases to court that need
:08:54. > :09:02.to be kept -- need to be brought to court. This is about swift justice,
:09:03. > :09:06.not rushed. Last week, people were shocked. The need to see their
:09:06. > :09:11.confidence in justice has been restored. We want to help, by
:09:11. > :09:14.bringing these cases into court. Some of those accused are saying it
:09:14. > :09:20.is too fast and too bewildering and they're not getting a chance to
:09:20. > :09:23.prepare themselves, which has the right. That is not true. They will
:09:23. > :09:28.undoubtedly have legal representation in court. We had
:09:28. > :09:34.overnight courts running. They have been given legal advice and the
:09:35. > :09:38.evidence against them. They have then entered a guilty pleas. The
:09:38. > :09:43.people who were seen today accepted their guilt on the basis of
:09:43. > :09:48.evidence. The judge had all the information about them before the
:09:48. > :09:53.court and sentenced them accordingly. The lot should be calm
:09:53. > :09:58.and considered and free of emotion. Are you convinced that it is or has
:09:58. > :10:03.there been an knee-jerk reaction here to issue a big deterrent to
:10:03. > :10:08.other people? With tougher sentences than normal? Deterrence
:10:08. > :10:13.has always been allowed in terms of sentencing. Context is important.
:10:13. > :10:18.Last week, we had the worst disturbances we have encountered in
:10:18. > :10:22.decades. It was important for us to be able to demonstrate that we
:10:22. > :10:26.recognise what happened last week and those were response will have
:10:26. > :10:30.to pay the consequences for their actions. Sentencing is a matter for
:10:30. > :10:36.the judge, but I don't think any decision made by the judge today
:10:36. > :10:39.could be criticised. He made it very clear that the context was
:10:39. > :10:44.import and. There was a young mother who slept through the riots
:10:44. > :10:48.but received one pair of shorts the next day from friends. She was
:10:48. > :10:52.jailed for five months for that. That sentence would not have been
:10:52. > :10:57.anything like that, had it been a week before the riots. Is it right
:10:57. > :11:01.that it should be so much harsher because of what happened?
:11:01. > :11:06.Absolutely. Without Handlers, there are no thieves. Whoever has
:11:06. > :11:09.properties that was stolen on the night, whoever was involved in the
:11:09. > :11:14.damage that happened, they have to be aware that the sentence they
:11:14. > :11:20.will be given will fit the crime because of the impact it had on our
:11:20. > :11:23.local communities. Thank you. 4,000 jobs are in the balance in
:11:23. > :11:27.Chester as the biggest private- sector employer plans to leave the
:11:27. > :11:31.city. Bank of America runs it's UK credit card division from MBNA
:11:31. > :11:34.offices in Chester. But the company's announced it's closing
:11:34. > :11:40.that arm of its business. Our Economics Correspondent joins us
:11:40. > :11:49.from Chester Business Park now. That is a bit of a finance hub in
:11:49. > :11:53.the North West, isn't it? It certainly has. Almost every
:11:53. > :11:58.single building you can see behind three is a finance house of some
:11:58. > :12:02.kind. By far the biggest player is Bank of America. Lloyds Banking
:12:02. > :12:08.Group, Marks and Spencers money and some others are also here. Between
:12:08. > :12:14.them, they employ 8,200 people. Over the past couple of years,
:12:14. > :12:19.there have been losses in the sector of 270 jobs. That is about
:12:19. > :12:28.20% of the sector. The last thing they want her anymore job losses
:12:28. > :12:34.here at Bank of America. Tell me more about the recent
:12:34. > :12:42.announcement. Yesterday, employees were told that
:12:42. > :12:45.the company wants to exit from this division. That could mean that the
:12:45. > :12:50.pull-out and lose all of the jobs or it could mean that they sell the
:12:50. > :12:54.company as a going concern. Yesterday, they did that in Canada.
:12:54. > :13:02.That is the hope for here. Why are the ditching this part of
:13:02. > :13:06.their business and will they find a light we buyer? -- a likely buyer?
:13:06. > :13:11.They say they are going to move into more profitable commercial
:13:12. > :13:16.business. The financial press and America is highlighting the bad
:13:16. > :13:20.mortgages that were sold at the start of the housing crisis. Are
:13:20. > :13:26.they likely to find a buyer for this business? Let me just tell you
:13:26. > :13:30.that at the start of this year, Barclaycard what one credit card
:13:30. > :13:35.company as a going concern. At the end of this year, they will close
:13:35. > :13:45.out -- closed down that head office with the loss of 600 jobs. The hope
:13:45. > :13:49.is that history will not repeat A man who died after a crane
:13:49. > :13:53.collapsed in Lancashire has been named as Lindsey Easton. He was
:13:53. > :13:57.from Halifax and he died at the Scout Moor Quarry at Ramsbottom
:13:57. > :14:01.yesterday. They held their executive -- Health and Safety
:14:01. > :14:05.Executive and the police are investigating.
:14:05. > :14:08.No further action will be taken after Liverpool Community College
:14:08. > :14:13.after a government report found it had taken money for students that
:14:13. > :14:16.should not have been on courses. It was said that the Skills Funding
:14:16. > :14:23.Agency had already dealt with the matter and the college has been
:14:23. > :14:28.ordered to pay back �80,000. Coming up: Where did you meet the
:14:28. > :14:33.love of your life? For this couple, it was that bench. Let us know your
:14:33. > :14:40.story. And the Manchester City new boy
:14:40. > :14:46.impressed us all, but despite this Cracker, his boss expects more.
:14:46. > :14:56.Adding he needs to improve with the 18th. -- I think he needs to
:14:56. > :15:03.improve with the team. A driver fatigue was the likely
:15:04. > :15:07.cause of a train rolling backwards at 50 mph in the north-west. It was
:15:07. > :15:11.close to derailment when the driver finally put the brakes on. The
:15:11. > :15:16.incident has led to calls for changes in the way that night
:15:16. > :15:21.shifts are managed. The thousands of tons of freight
:15:21. > :15:26.moving along the railways without incident every year. But in the
:15:26. > :15:32.early hours of August 17th last year, on this stretch of the West
:15:32. > :15:38.Coast main line on Cumbria, there was near disaster. The train was
:15:38. > :15:44.travelling uphill between T Bay and chapeau on routes to Glasgow, but
:15:44. > :15:50.it claimed to a halt and started rolling backwards. -- it came to a
:15:50. > :15:55.halt. It weighed 715 tons and was 500 metres long. It rolled
:15:55. > :16:00.backwards for four-and-a-half minutes and cover 2.2 miles at a
:16:01. > :16:04.reach of 50 mph. Signals blocked the line to prevent any collision
:16:04. > :16:11.and luckily there were no trains in the area at the time. Nobody was
:16:11. > :16:18.hurt and the train was stopped by the driver before heading the side.
:16:18. > :16:26.-- hitting. Rail accident report said that it happened because the
:16:26. > :16:30.driver was suffering from fatigue. It warned that the matter of the
:16:30. > :16:36.mathematical model would need to be adopted for people working night
:16:36. > :16:40.shifts. This stretch of line has seen tragedy before. In 2004, four
:16:40. > :16:45.workers were killed by a runaway train her. The report recommends
:16:45. > :16:48.that companies look closely at shift patterns. They should limit
:16:48. > :16:54.the duties of drivers when they worked the first in a series of
:16:54. > :16:57.night shifts. The company is working on the recommendation and
:16:57. > :17:04.the Office of Rail Regulation is reviewing guidance on the way that
:17:04. > :17:09.companies manage driver fatigue. For years, 16-year-old Dannii
:17:09. > :17:11.Rowley lived in almost constant pain. She spent much of her time in
:17:11. > :17:16.a wheelchair unable to do the simplest things like walking,
:17:16. > :17:20.swimming and playing. She has a type of juvenile arthritis that
:17:20. > :17:24.affects one in 10,000 people. Then, she was offered the chance to
:17:24. > :17:29.take part in the trial of a new drug by doctors at Alder Hey
:17:29. > :17:36.Children's Hospital. She says the drug, Tocilizumab, has changed her
:17:36. > :17:41.life and hopes that one day it will help people like her.
:17:41. > :17:44.Two-and-a-half years ago, this, the simplest of tasks, would have been
:17:44. > :17:50.impossible for Dannii Rowley. The pain was routine, often constant
:17:50. > :17:55.and always debilitating. What was the pain like? It was like somebody
:17:55. > :18:00.was stabbing me over and over again. She was diagnosed with systemic
:18:00. > :18:05.juvenile arthritis at five years old. I could not walk for a far
:18:05. > :18:09.distance. It was painful to walk. I was in a wheelchair. I could not go
:18:09. > :18:12.to school and I could not spend time with my friends. They stopped
:18:12. > :18:17.asking me to come out eventually because they knew would that I
:18:17. > :18:22.could not. A lot of the time, she didn't even know when she was in so
:18:22. > :18:29.much pain because it was so severe that we would have to go to the
:18:29. > :18:32.hospital or are we would have to go because the pain was just a way of
:18:32. > :18:36.life and she would not tell us until the last minute. The doctors
:18:36. > :18:42.tried drug after drug. The pain was temporarily reduced but then came
:18:42. > :18:49.back with a full force. A couple of doses and a sick child can be a
:18:49. > :18:54.wild child. Then she was given this, and you drug on trial called
:18:54. > :18:58.Tocilizumab. It has made a dramatic difference for some patients.
:18:58. > :19:05.Within one or two doses of the treatment, their condition can be
:19:05. > :19:09.switched off, even. We are able to virtually stop all other treatment.
:19:09. > :19:14.Within one day, she had noticed an improvement. After a month, she was
:19:14. > :19:19.back on her feet. He took about six weeks until we noticed a proper
:19:19. > :19:25.defence where I could get up out of the wheelchair and walk. What was
:19:25. > :19:30.it like? Amazing because I could join in with everyone. NICE that
:19:30. > :19:37.makes recommendations to the NHS is studying the trial information. She
:19:37. > :19:41.now wants to start college and wants to become a research next. --
:19:41. > :19:44.research nurse. A remarkable change.
:19:44. > :19:48.Hundreds of screaming girls had been out since 5am this morning to
:19:48. > :19:53.catch a glimpse of X-factor finalists, One Direction, at
:19:53. > :19:59.Salford Quays. The band have been promoting their new single which is
:19:59. > :20:03.out next month. Manchester United's owners are
:20:03. > :20:08.considering selling shares on the Singapore stock market to help
:20:08. > :20:12.reduce debt. It is one of the number of refinancing options being
:20:12. > :20:19.examined by the Glazer family. Their only considering selling a
:20:19. > :20:23.minority stake, but if successful, it could raise �400 million.
:20:23. > :20:29.Manchester City's sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways is to be
:20:29. > :20:33.investigated by UEFA. The ten-year deal reportedly worth �400 million
:20:33. > :20:39.is an attempt to get around European football stripped finance
:20:39. > :20:44.rules according to critics. The club as that responded to claims.
:20:44. > :20:49.Meanwhile, the Blues got off to a flying start last night in a 4-0
:20:49. > :20:53.win over Swansea. Swansea did well to hold off
:20:53. > :20:58.Manchester City in the first half, but the second half showed why they
:20:58. > :21:04.could be early title contenders with Edin Dzeko adding to the
:21:04. > :21:10.scoresheet. All eyes were on the new signing. The Argentinian
:21:10. > :21:18.striker, Sergio Aguero scored after 10 minutes. He helped David sell-by
:21:18. > :21:22.get a third. Then he showed off with this 25 yard strike. Value for
:21:22. > :21:28.money for Manchester City but for the manager, Roberto Mancini, the
:21:28. > :21:34.end of Match report read, will do better. He will need to play with
:21:34. > :21:40.his team-mates and play better. But he is an incredible player. He is
:21:40. > :21:46.like David Selbourne. They speak the same language. He needs to
:21:46. > :21:53.improve, I think, with the team. 4-0 win ties them with Bolton at
:21:53. > :21:58.the top of the table, a team they face on Wednesday.
:21:58. > :22:01.At terrific player. I think Roberto Mancini could be a
:22:01. > :22:11.BBC manager, no matter what you do, they want more!
:22:11. > :22:12.
:22:12. > :22:19.He can be my line manager and the day!
:22:19. > :22:24.The weather went exactly as planned, cloudy, one or two showers. The
:22:24. > :22:29.shares have been moving through the region. Moving in from the Irish
:22:29. > :22:35.Sea in land. In the last couple of hours, sprinkles of rain. The
:22:35. > :22:40.latest picture, at the showers moving away up over the Pennines.
:22:40. > :22:46.Some spells of sunshine. Tonight, one or two clear spells already in
:22:46. > :22:51.evidence. They were spread out through the night. Tonight, a bit
:22:51. > :22:56.cooler than the last few nights. In theory, one or two places as low as
:22:56. > :23:00.eight or nine degrees. Along the coast, 11 or 12 degrees. Could be
:23:00. > :23:04.chilly and the morning first thing. The breeze, that has been strong
:23:04. > :23:09.all day today, that will ease down, so we touch of mist in places in
:23:10. > :23:15.the morning. When that goes, it is a nice day. One of the better days
:23:16. > :23:20.of the week. Quiet. He won it is much more sunshine than today. --
:23:20. > :23:30.you will notice much more sunshine. A nice that day, one in the
:23:30. > :23:30.
:23:30. > :23:36.afternoon. -- warm in the afternoon. 16 or 17 degrees. Could reach 20
:23:36. > :23:41.degrees in land. For Thursday, this area of weather is far too close
:23:41. > :23:46.for comfort. It looks like if it goes to plan, it will be wet
:23:46. > :23:54.through Thursday afternoon. After that, settling down a bit with more
:23:54. > :23:58.rain on the forecast for Saturday. There is there, too close to call.
:23:58. > :24:08.-- Thursday, to close to call. We will have more details on that
:24:08. > :24:11.
:24:11. > :24:16.tomorrow, but at the moment, Where did you do your courting? At
:24:16. > :24:21.the cinema? In the pub? For Marjorie and David from Chester, it
:24:21. > :24:26.was by the river. In their 58 years they have spent countless hours
:24:26. > :24:30.chatting and cuddling at the City's groves area.
:24:30. > :24:34.The redevelopment of the area means they would use an old friend until
:24:34. > :24:44.the council came off the bend to have them. -- they would lose an
:24:44. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:52.old friend. In February 1953, I was sitting
:24:52. > :24:56.here and we were chatting and getting to know one another.
:24:56. > :25:01.blossomed from that. We could not go out much so we used to just come
:25:01. > :25:07.and sit here and have a cuddle and a case. And always on the same
:25:08. > :25:14.bench. They married after seven years. They brought their children
:25:14. > :25:18.and grandchildren here and always sat in the same place. But time
:25:18. > :25:25.marches on and the Groves began to show its age. Work has begun to
:25:25. > :25:30.rework the airy and there was no place for the old bench. -- rework
:25:30. > :25:35.the area. It be said that the old seeds would be scrapped and that is
:25:35. > :25:42.when I said we have been courting here for 58 years. The cancer were
:25:42. > :25:45.contacted. As a council where did it recycling. We happen to recycle
:25:45. > :25:50.this and a slightly different way and the result that came out of it
:25:50. > :25:58.is fantastic. Last week, they were finally reunited with their bench
:25:58. > :26:02.in their own back garden. It is fantastic. Later in years' time we
:26:02. > :26:12.have passed on, hopefully one of the family will take it and keep it
:26:12. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:21.in their memories of us where we He's the! It's teatime!
:26:21. > :26:25.We have had lots of e-mails about where you have met your loved ones.
:26:25. > :26:31.Natalie met her fiance through Facebook three years ago. He has
:26:31. > :26:35.been living around the corner and they had been together ever since.
:26:35. > :26:41.Mary said that she would meet her future husband at Victoria station
:26:41. > :26:45.in Manchester and go to Old Trafford. They did their courting
:26:45. > :26:49.watching Manchester United. Even when they were on their honeymoon,
:26:50. > :26:59.they travelled back to watch the match. Victoria Station is very
:26:59. > :27:04.popular, Elisabet said that her husband proposed to her on Black --
:27:04. > :27:08.on platform 14 at Victoria. Dave said he went to school in
:27:08. > :27:14.Didsbury in 1964. He said he fancied a girl called Linda but
:27:14. > :27:20.lost touch after leaving. 30 years later, she got into his taxi in
:27:20. > :27:24.Manchester and they eventually got married in Memphis in 1999.