02/09/2011 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Gordon Burns and

Ranvir Singh. Our top story: All charges dropped against this

Stepping Hill nurse but police now say they're investigating the cases

of up to 40 patients, including 7 who died there.

We'll be reporting live on that breaking news from outside the

police press conference. Residents are moved out of a

Warrington care home after serious concerns are raised about their

welfare. All these residents, they've turned 90 but they've got

to find somewhere else. It is unbelievable, just terrible.

Troops for teachers - the controversial plan for a school

staffed by the ex-military. Join me for a day at the seaside

with the new man who has put more comeback in the spotlight.

And join me to find out why the Government was so interested in his

First tonight, we bring you major developments in the Stepping Hill

Hospital poisoning case. Rebecca Leighton, the nurse charged in

connection with three deaths linked to contaminated saline drips has

been released and all charges against her dropped. But the

investigation is still active and growing in scale. Police say there

are now 40 possible victims of contaminated saline, 7 of whom died.

Stuart Flinders has just come out of the press conference in Ashton

under Lyne, where police made their dramatic announcement. Stuart, what

did the police have to say? Two key point backs - firstly,

Rebecca Leighton has been released from prison. She was charged with -

- in connection with a number of suspicious deaths. She has been

released and is no longer being pursued through the courts.

Secondly, the police had previously told us that they were

investigating three suspicious deaths. They tell us now that in

fact there are 40 patients who are the subject of this investigation

who are believed to have been made ill through criminal circumstances.

Of the deaths, they believe that two are almost certain to have been

the victims of crime. What happens to Rebecca later now? -- and

Rebecca Leighton. A police spokesman said she has been

released from prison and is free to go where she liked. He admitted he

was concerned for her safety because of the controversial nature

of the charges that she faced and that he regarded it as a

responsibility of the police to look after her. He expressed a

desire by journalists should not pursue her, although I have to say

that I imagine that, right now, there will be a camp of journalists

outside her house. She has been released suddenly, hasn't she?

this has obviously been a very distressing time for patients and

staff at a hospital. She was arrested under what is called the

threshold test. In other words, there was not sufficient evidence

for her to go to court straight away but an expectation that more

evidence which emerged as the case went on. That, clearly, has not

been the case and the Crown Prosecution Service tell us, it

would have been wrong for us to keep the suspect in custody

indefinitely. They do at that the law allows us to reinstate new

charges should new evidence come to light.

Residents are being moved out of a care home in Warrington after

inspectors raised serious concerns for their welfare. Some were

verbally abused, one went without medication for five days, another

was found in urine-soaked bandages. The action was taken, not by the

care home watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, but by

Warrington Borough Council. In a moment we'll hear from the Care

Quality Commission. We will ask them what is the point of a

watchdog if a local authority is swifter to protect the welfare of

residents? First, this report from Jayne Barrett. Today I met Pat

Miller. Her mum, Daisy, is one of 15 residents who will be moved out

of Hollybush care home. The council refers to the process as "removal

to safety". She says she's had concerns since February. She went

to hospital in February and when I went to see her she had arrived

with a flimsy nightie. She ended up with a pad at the that was wet

through. The hospital discovered her mother had pneumonia.

The Care Quality Commission today admitted that care that the bomb

was nowhere near good enough. -- care at the home. One staff member

told a resident to move as she was putting her off for dinner.

Inspectors said the care home owner, Adi Osani, was failing to meet

essential standards of quality and safety. Today she refused to speak

to us. In two weeks the home will effectively be closed as there'll

be no patients left, but Mrs Osani could move out of Warrington and

set up a care home elsewhere. She still has her registration. The CQC

could take it from her. It has yet to reach a decision on that. So

what has it done if residents have been moved, not by them but by the

council? They were first elected in May -- alerted in May by have

whistled law. A final warning came today.

All of these residents have turned 90 and they have to find somewhere

else. As she left tonight, Pat told me

she had not told her mother has been used could breaker. Earlier I

asked Debbie Westhead from the Care Quality Commission of what point

was there of whistleblowers complaining to them if, in the end,

the CQC took no action to protect residents.

We have taken action in this particular case. We visited in May

when the whistle Blower raised concerns. We visited again in July

it. Three reviews and inspections this service has had since January,

in a very short period of time. Obviously, in that period, the same

serious concerns about patient safety kept coming back. If you

look at it from a relative's point of view, visiting every three

months is not enough. It is the provider's responsibility to make

sure they comply with essential standards. As a Watchdog, is an did

your job to make sure that residents are safe? It is. People

who live at the service are number one priority. We have served three

warning notices. The order of the homes still has her registration.

You have never given a fine of up to �50,000 to anyone, no matter

what they have done. Really, are you a bit of a toothless

organisation? No, we are not. At the end of the day we will make

sure that people are safe. In this case, it was the council but

stepped in and not you. We have been working with the council, not

just of the last few weeks but of a last few months. We have been

sharing information. They have also been monitoring the service.

you aware that you are in danger of losing the trust of relatives and

whistleblowers? I think that is harsh and difficult to answer. I

can guarantee that we have taken action, we have taken strong

enforcement action. We are seriously considering further

action. Residents remained in the care of those people who were

letting them down for months. That is not taking care of them, is it?

It is only this week that we heard of more serious concerns. The

manager left on Tuesday. I am frustrated that the order did not

put things right. We gave her the opportunity. She failed in her

responsibilities and now we are taking action. But you did not feel

in your responsibilities? I do not think so because we have taken for

action. We're working closely with the council and people like there

are now safe. The family of a Wirral man missing

since his teenage girlfriend drowned say they won't give up on

him. Robbie Crofts hasn't been seen since Sunday at New Brighton. The

body of his girlfriend was found on the beach there the next day. Today

Robbie's parents made an emotional appeal for information. Andy Gill's

report contains some flash photography.

Robbie Crofts comes from a large family. He has a young daughter,

Eva, from a previous relationship. Today his parents said the five

days he's been missing have been the longest five days ever.

need to come on, son. We will not give up on you. We love and miss

you very much. We feel you are out there somewhere. You need to let us

know you are safe. We are all worried sick about you. Robbie and

his 17-year-old girlfriend, Hayley Holmes, went to New Brighton beach

on Sunday night. Hayley's body was found washed up there on Monday.

She had drowned. Her parents described her as one-in-a-million.

Their shoes were found neatly placed at the scene with his mobile

phone in one of his shoes. They had only been going out for a few days.

The police say that the evidence is that they were an affectionate

couple at the beginning of a relationship. Police say they are

keeping an open mind over whether Robbie went into the sea as well.

What we know for sure is that he came home from a festival, went to

his parents' house. The RNLI are among the agencies who have been

looking for Robbie. Police say the decision on how long to continue

the search is reviewed on a daily basis. Andy Gill, BBC North West

Tonight, New Brighton. A woman who lured two teenagers to

a house in Blackburn where they were raped by three men has been

jailed for seven years. Stephanie Knight from Rawtenstall told the

Sixteen-year-old girls they were going clubbing. But instead they

were raped by Knight's former boyfriend, Amjad Hussain, his

brother, Shahid, and their cousin, Tanvir Butt, in December 2009. The

three men have been jailed indefinitely. Throughout the

investigation and trial they had shown no regard for the victims.

They have failed to acknowledge the role they have played. The

dangerousness of them is shown in the sentences given. I am really

pleased with the outcome today. The funeral of a Cumbrian man who

died after he was struck by a police taser took place in his

hometown today. Family and friends of Dale Burns gathered for the

service at St James' Church in Barrow this afternoon. The 27-year-

old bodybuilder died in hospital in August after police had tried to

arrest him. Last month's riots gave us all food

for thought. Were they caused by poverty or has there been what the

Prime Minister has called a 'moral collapse'? Some have blamed poor

discipline in schools, so is it time to call in the army? There are

plans for a school in Manchester run by former military personnel.

Will it work? Rachel Foley reports. There are no pupils, not even a

building yet. Just a big idea that ex-soldiers could make a difference

in the classroom. One ex-soldier, who lives in Droylsden, thinks it

might be worth a go. It would certainly bring discipline into

kids'' lives. It will hopefully give them a right direction in life.

The brainchild of a serving soldier from Manchester, Affan Clarke, the

school would be based somewhere in the city. It would be one of a new

breed of schools called free schools. Paid for by the state,

semi-independent but playing to new rules. For example, the staff, the

soldiers, wouldn't have to have teaching qualifications. The

inspiration is an American scheme called Troops to Teachers. Proud to

serve again - that is our motto. Its mission -- our mission is

improving the lives of children by providing an example that is worth

living up to. A head teacher in Burnage, just the kind of inner

city area the new school would target, isn't impressed. To have a

school staffed by soldiers seems to me bizarre. You want teachers in

school teaching, not soldiers. You would not go to a hospital which

did not have doctors and nurses and you should not really want to go to

a school that is not staffed by teachers. Before veterans of

Afghanistan and Iraq take on the schoolchildren of Manchester, the

project has to be approved. The school wouldn't open for at least

two years. Its backers say they want to produce not good soldiers

but good citizens. Rachel Foley, BBC North West Tonight. One of the

men hoping to roll out this new type of school, first in Manchester

and then across the country, is former head teacher and military

instructor Tom Burkard. Earlier I asked him if he was proposing the

military school because he was unhappy with the style of teaching

in our current schools. Indeed. There certainly would not be any

other reason for it. I have worked as a teacher as well as a military

instructor. I was given vastly more freedom to do as I saw fit as a

military instructor than as a teacher. I respect the teachers of

this country because they work under extremely difficult

circumstances. With the amount of micromanagement that there is, they

are completely unable to react to situations in the way they see fit.

These ex-military personnel that will staff the schools and teach in

them, are they qualified teachers? Song will be, but this is not

something that we consider important. Teacher training in

Britain is something which is basically training young people not

to teach. When you go to be a teacher you are told that you're

supposed to be a learning facilitator and you are to teach

children to manage their own learning. When you take an a

literate pupil from an inner-city estate and expect them to manage

their own learning, it is almost impossible to maintain discipline

and the class and it is in the realms of fantasy. Tell me when and

where you are expecting to set up this first Military School in

Greater Manchester? Unless the government might decide it likes

the idea well enough to help expedite us through the application

stage, there is no way we can start one sooner than two years from now.

The thing I want to stress is that this will not be a military style

school. We will not have combined cadet forces or have their children

doing military manoeuvres. We aim to turn out good citizens, not good

soldiers. To do this we need to have the best possible links with

the community. Thank you very much. No prizes for guessing the

highlight game in Super League this weekend, with second-place

Warrington hosting first-place Wigan on Sunday. A win for Wigan

will mean they finish top of the league going into the play-offs, as

well as retaining the League Leaders' Shield.

There's a lot more at stake than the shield though, isn't there?

Yes, both sides are guaranteed home ties in the play-offs but if

Warrington overtake Wigan it means they might end up playing the

fourth-placed side in the playoffs, not the third. Also the Wolves have

another milestone to aim for. Here's Jon Cockrill. Thanks to the

Challenge Cup defeat to Wigan in July, will thus have had months to

prepare for this match. No such luck for The Warriors. We had to

work for everything we got. It was a great day. We make sure we had a

great time on Saturday and Sunday and were ready to go on Monday. The

boys showed they are ready for this weekend. Because they do not get

silver where each year it does not mean that they are unsuccessful. To

improve every year and to compete at the highest level shows that

they are the standard but we can be He has moved on from that and he

will be an improved player. He will go out and do what he does best.

Warrington's scoring record has been second to none. The Wolves are

hoping to break the 1,000 points barrier for the first time in the

history. We hope to get over that marred but there are no guarantees.

Every team but three that has achieved the feat has gone on to

Grand Final glory. Staying with rugby but switching

codes, and Sale Sharks get their Premiership campaign under way this

weekend. The Sharks' first match is away at Worcester. Boss Steve

Diamond has made wholesale changes, with 18 new faces coming to Edgeley

Park this season. There was disappointment for one of

our region's 2012 medal hopes today. Wigan's Jenny Meadows failed to

qualify for the World Championship 800 metre final after finishing

third in the semi-final. Just five games into the season and

already The Shrimps of Morecambe are going to take some catching.

Four wins out of five, a 100% away record and just two goals conceded

means they are second in League Two. The man behind their best ever

start is former captain Jim Bentley, promoted to manager in May. But how

does the dressing room cope when you swap joking with your pals to

dropping them? Kieran Morecambe Bay is a

traditional way of showing your mate exactly who is in charge. --

here in more come, there is. Not any more. The new Shrimps boss has

had to rewrite the rules in his own way with the help of Assistant --

of his assistant coach. He has had to explain to the lads that he has

lined up next to for the last nine years that he is now the gaffer.

The lads have applied themselves but, right from day one, I have

tried to stamp my authority on it. Are you Jim are you the gaffer?

am the gaffer at the moment. that he does not have an ear to the

ground in the dressing room he just borrowed somebody else's. Is that

what he does, since you in on a mission? Yes, I am the liaison

officer. So they come and whinge to you and you go back to him. They

let me know what they think and it gets passed back to the gaffer.

So he has run over his mates, the board and the fans. If he wins over

Bradford tomorrow the gaffer Mike got to the top.

And finally Manchester has won a football double of a different kind

today. Sir Alex Ferguson has won August's manager of the month award

for guiding the reds to three wins out of three and City's Edin Dzeko

was named player of the month after scoring 6 goals in three matches.

We did not get to their right. Hopefully the forecast will go

wrong for tomorrow and you will get a better day than you are

anticipating. Saturday looks rather wet all the way through. Sunday

starts OK but there will be more rain turning up later. We thought

there would be a bit of sunshine today, there has actually been

quite a lot. The temperature was up to 22 Celsius. This evening will be

OK but if you are out very late, particularly in Cumbria and the

Isle of Man, the rain will be starting to move towards us. This

rain move slowly, which is not a good thing tomorrow. Overnight

temperatures will be around 15 Celsius. The rain will be

particularly heavy over high ground. The saving grace is the fact that

the so -- the wind is coming from the south, bringing milder air. The

rain will eventually lead on Saturday. Sunday will start OK but

the next band of rain is waiting in the wings. Next week is also

They were known as Cooper's Snoopers. Named after the wartime

Information Minister, Duff Cooper, their mission was to gather details

of our everyday lives, things like what clothes we had in our

wardrobes and what food we were eating. The social surveys

conducted by the Office for National Statistics continue to

this day, and in a moment we'll be meeting a woman from Manchester who

has been asking some very personal questions for the last 40 years.

But first, this from Colin Sykes. From the glamour of the 1930s to

the more utilitarian look of the 40s, the 1941 survey of foundation

garments might seem frivolous today but it had a serious purpose. Women

were asked what underwear they were wearing at the time. Be found out

that, on average, women owns just 1.2 bras. The question - why did

the government might need to know? With food and clothes in short

supply, the Government was actually concerned about the amount of metal

going into underwear. They needn't have worried. They are all built

for thrift - very practical and cheap. The surveys began 70 years

ago. Another rarely set of questions looked at what food we

were eating and led to the Dig For Victory campaign. At this farm,

preserved as it would have looked in the Thirties, the survey made a

lot of sense. People ate a lot of potatoes, root vegetables. They did

not eat a lot of meat. Potatoes or one of the main foods, I would say.

8% of shop assistants wore born suspender belts, compared with just

2% of farm workers. I do not know what that tells us, I just thought

you should know. Back to our top story now. The

police are now investigating the cases up to 40 patients at Stepping

Hill hospital, including seven who died. Charges against Rebecca

Leighton have now been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. A

lot of complex information coming out - what have you gained from it?

As we have been reporting through the programme, Rebecca Leighton has

now been released from prison. I can tell you we are expecting her

family to release a statement, probably a written statement,

sometime in the next half-an-hour. What happens now to our? It is a

question that I put to Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney a

short time ago. She has been released their way this afternoon.

We are in contact with our to help her back into the community and I

would ask that the media work with us to make sure that she has the

chance to return to a degree of normality with her family. At this

point in time there are no charges. Are there any concerns about a

safety? That that is why we are working closely, to make sure that

she is looked after. To sum up, the police investigation goes on

although it is no longer a murder investigation. 40 up to 40 patients

may have been contaminated and there are seven suspicious deaths