13/01/2012 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to NorthWest Tonight with Roger Johnson and

Ranvir Singh. Our top story: Network Rail in the

dock. It's to be prosecuted over the Grayrigg train crash in Cumbria

in which a woman died. Margaret Masson's family welcome

the prosecution but say they've still not received an apology from

Network Rail. Also tonight: Another family hoping

for answers. An inquiry will be held into how a soldier died in

friendly fire in Northern Ireland 10 years ago.

We are a service family, we didn't expect one of our going to kill him.

And the end of the Liverpool Daily Post, the scion of an industry

under threat or a different future? Amir gets his rematch. The WBA

order a new fight after Khan's controversial World Title defeat

last month. And a belated Christmas gift. How

thousands of donated trees will be used to preserve Formby's sand

It was a crash that killed 84-year- old Margaret Paston and injured

another 86 people. To date Network Rail will face prosecution over the

Grayrigg derailment, it was announced today. Badly maintained

points were to blame. Peter Marshall has been at the scene and

reminded me what happened that night in February, 2007.

Had it think anybody was there that night will ever forget the horror

of 300 tons of the train flipping through at more than 90 mph. 109

people on board, 86 injured, 20 it seriously. One woman, 84-year-old

Margaret Masson from Scotland died from the injuries she sustained.

The subsequent investigation and inquest into her death decided a

poorly maintained set of points was to blame for the accident and the

inquest into her death raised doubts and questions about the

standards of Network Rail's maintenance routine on the track in

the run-up to the accident. The Office of Rail Regulation has

decided it is in the public interest and that there is enough

regulation -- evidence to pursue an investigation under health and

safety legislation. What reaction has there been from

her family today? Her daughter has said she is

pleased there will be a prosecution in this case. The family has always

said they wanted somebody to be held accountable for what happened

to their mother. We have been speaking to the lawyer representing

the family and this is what he had to say.

He seems to me that the prosecution of Network Rail is inappropriate,

given the evidence that came out towards the end of last year.

they facing the prospect of a huge fine, what are the penalties they

could be looking at? You can actually look at previous

prosecutions and Network Rail has been prosecuted in the past, in the

Potters Bar crash in 2002 when seven people died. They were fined

�3 million. In the Ladbroke Grove - - -- Ladbroke Grove crash in 1999

they were fined �4 million. If this case goes to crown court they could

face an unlimited fine. The MP for this area has said he is pleased

they will be a prosecution but believes there is still a case for

a public inquiry. It is still very much needed. The

Grayrigg crash took part after the Potters Bar tragedy, lives have

been lost, lessons clearly what learnt and all the arguments that

have taken place still convince me there were lessons that Network

Rail have still not learnt. What reaction has there been from

Network Rail? They have issued a statement and

say they have never hidden from their responsibilities and they

were quick to accept it was a problem with the infrastructure

that led to this accident. They say they have worked closely with you

verities and brought about many improvements to their maintenance

regimes since the accident since -- in February 2007. They say rail is

the safest form of transport but it is important the industry works

together to make it saved us still. -- safer. For macro ford decades

Robert Cutting's family have been seeking justice for their son who

was shot dead. The teenager from Manchester died in Northern Ireland

at the height of the troubles in the 1970s and it was now referred

to as a friendly fire accident. His family say army officials refused

to elaborate on exactly how and why he died. They have campaigned since

then for answers and 40 years on they have been told there will be

in the investigation into the case. It is 1972, Northern Ireland is a

very dangerous place for British troops to be. Gunner Robert Cutting

was to discover just how dangerous when he was shot dead while on

patrol in the province one September day. The fatal fire came

from his own side. He was the only boy in the family,

adored by everybody, we were devastated. And we heard it was one

of his own? Angry. We are a service family. We didn't expect one of our

aim to kill him. Her Royal citation commends the bravery of the young

man from Manchester he died for Queen and country. His family say

the military showed them little respect or compassion at the time.

His mother Edna recalls arriving home soon after his death to find

her son's personal belongings left in a box on the doorstep. 30 years

later a letter from the Ministry of Defence told Roberts parents they

might be eligible for a pension of �1 per week, subject to means

testing. The family have spent decades trying to get to the truth

of exactly what happened to Robert. They were not invited to the

inquest in the 70s and were appalled to discover a verdict of

accidental death Ward -- was recorded. Irene recently obtained a

pathology report but showed he was shot four times. A want to find out

what happened, and what happened to the person that killed my brother.

This is about compensation? absolutely not. We want to find out

why they were so shady about everything. Now at last news his

case will be reinvestigated. family have never had the final

board of inquiry report, they have never seen the full and redacted

coroner's report. They need to know all the details. The Ministry of

Defence said they hoped the review of his case will be carried out as

quickly as possible. It cannot come quickly enough for his family

because they had then at last they will have answers to questions they

have been asking for the past four Some of the other main stories.

The lorry driver has been jailed for six years after being found

responsible for a crash on the M6 in which two people died. The two

men had stopped to change a tyre on the heart -- hard shoulder when

Malcolm's since a's vehicle crashed into them.

Liverpool City Council says all its Sure Start children centres will

remain open. Six were under threat of closure and campaigns like a

John Lennon bed-in were launched at the time to save them. 19 jobs will

still be lost but after consultation they're pretty says it

has found another way to make an early pounds savings.

It Rivett is being treated for back injuries after crashing his bus

into a Manchester pub -- a driver. It happened just behind Piccadilly

station. Our witnesses heard a large bang after it collided with

cars. There were no passengers on board and the landlord said it

could have been much worse. Lucky it was a five minutes later.

We had a party of 13 booked into that area which has been smashed in

by this accident. So Friday the 13th, forced -- for 13, was going

to be unlucky. A new orchestral composition

inspired by foreign and -- fell running in the Lake District will

be performed for the first time tomorrow. The Bob Graham Round sees

athletes a send 27,000 ft over 70 miles in just 24 hours. The BBC

Philharmonic invited an Italian composer created -- to create a new

piece dedicated to human endurance and the beauty of the lake.

When it is played, it shows the runners witnesses into strength,

and the human fragility into heroism. It should be quite an

event. It will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Cumbria tomorrow evening

and another life performance will be on BBC Radio 3 on Monday, at the

same time, right from here at MediaCity.

Liverpool has woken up to it for the last 156 years but after today

the Liverpool Daily Post, up one of the first papers to be published

outside of London, is no more. Next week they will publish a new

weekly title and Jayne Barrett has been following the story and joins

me now from Liverpool. You have a copy of the very last edition.

A little piece of history this. How about this for a low-key exit,

absolutely no mention of that fact on the front page. No interviews

today because they do want to focus on this as being the end, they want

to focus on next week as a new beginning. Sceptics might not be

convinced by that, but they say there is a future for this title,

it just might not look like this any more. The last edition is

delivered in Waterloo there are few this morning were buying. I read it

in the library. Saves me the cost of buying it. It is not that

popular, to be honest. It has delivered the news to

Merseyside for 156 years, the mundane to the most important

issues of the day, but just 1000 copies are sold daily. Should we

care it is disappearing? It does matter because it is the sign of

the decline of local press generally and other parts of the

country where entire towns are without a newspaper. Newspapers are

more than just a product like a can of beans, they are a public service.

In the last five years its Kath and Gen a part of the problem

and the answer. News junkies get their news Dyffryn in now. It is

better than take your time to stand in a queue in a shop and buy the

paper. Eventually it at your own convenience. As circulation

plummets on line hits are on the rise. A lot of people don't put the

money on to print because they can get so much of return from online

social media, radio advertising. They reach more people that way.

They reached a huge amount of people. Nobody from the Liverpool

Daily Post wanted to chat to us today. They want Thursday to be

remembered as the day the new title is born. Chat to people in media

circles and they wish it well because there is a lot of respect

for it. There are plenty who doubt that new weekly model can't work.

From next week a bigger edition in your shops, not a new model, cast

your mind back to 2006, the North West Enquirer. That any lasted 21

editions. If the Liverpool Daily Post might sell about 200,000

copies a month, but they get 600,000 users on their news website.

That figure is increasing for them as it is for all other local

newspapers. In future your local might not look like this, but you

will definitely see more of it on things like this.

Neither reverse have one. We are behind the curve.

Still to come: 24 hour protest. Blackburn fans start a marathon

picket he gives the club's bosses. -- against. Lancaster Castle turns

to tourism after 800 years as a More than 5,000 Christmas trees

arrived on the beach at Formby today. They our trees that didn't

sell at Christmas and they have been donated to try to halt the

erosion of the genes at Formby Point. Weeks of high winds have

swept thousands of sand -- thousands of tons of sand in on.

Call it a late Christmas present. These unsold trees are not here for

decoration, they are here to stop the shifting sand.

With 5,000 trees to position help is at hand from a local primary

school. The sand dunes are a fragile sea defence. It is held

together by the Marron grass but in parts Major is needed -- is in need

of a helping hand. Coastal erosion is where the sand will blow. It

will come further towards where we live. When it gets blown it will

get caught in between that. I could see a lot of the sand blowing.

The trees will be positioned over a mile of coastline at Formby. It is

a protected area and hard sea defences are out of the question.

It is not the first time Christmas trees have been used in

conservation. They are already helping stop erosion at the River

Bollin in Cheshire. The sand dunes on moving inland naturally at the

rate of about four metres per year. The idea of the trees is to stop

some of that sand blowing in towards the town.

Christmas-tree Zagreb because obviously they hold their measles

so they are nice and bushy so they really do help to dissipate the

power and it buys the San together underneath. The other great thing

is they are free. -- the sound Tony's here with the sport and Amir

Khan has something to celebrate tonight. Remember he

controversially lost his WBA and IBF world titles to Lamont Peterson

in Washington DC last month, well the WBA have ordered a direct

rematch. Various questions were raised about the original fight,

particularly the Man In The Hat, Mustafa Ameen, who was seen

interfering with judges. The WBA have also cited "questionable

refereeing decisions." The IBF, who say Ameen was part of their

"outreach programme" will begin their hearing on Wednesday. If only

the WBA call for a rematch, Peterson may just give Khan that

belt back instead of fighting. he may have been reaching too far.

What's the reaction to the re-match order? Well Amir's promoter Richard

Schaeffer says he's thrilled and wants to get the fight done. But

it's not the best possible scenario. That would have been if the result

was nullified, automatically reinstated Amir as world champ. Now,

a lot depends on that IBF hearing. They've got ten days to decide but

if they let Peterson keep the IBF belt a rematch is less likely.

Khan will get a real match one way or another. If he does not get a

rematch, this way, he will get his belt back. Moving on to football.

A group of Blackburn Rovers fans have been protesting outside the

club's ground today. The 24 hour protest is the latest in a long

list of action inside and outside Ewood Park. Rovers, who face Fulham

tomorrow are bottom of the table, with one of their best players

Chris Samba confirming this week he wants to leave. As Richard Askam

reports there is growing frustration with the club's Indian

owners Venkys. A hard core of supporters outside he would bark

determined to keep the pressure on for change. We have had enough now.

They are putting no money in. true that the balance sheet has

looked better. Pre-tax losses are up from �1.9 million to 18.6

million. Net debt up to 26 million. The manager given an improved

contract recently appears to have the backing of the owners. His team

have had a mini resurgence including a win against Manchester

United. But overall he has won about a quarter of his matches,

compared to about a third by his predecessor. We have had a good

training week. We know if we can get a positive result, there is a

very good chance we can climb out of the bottom three with many games

to go. Not all black firm France agree with these protests but there

are common concerns. -- Blackburn Rovers. The previous experienced

regime has gone, leading many to believe that the club is

comparatively rudderless. Decisions are being taken in India and the

strong communication line which existed between supporters and the

club has broken down. They need to show what their intentions are. If

you are not interested, let people know. Senate to somebody who is.

Communication is an issue. A letter was sent to the owners by a sponsor

expressing concerns. He has not had a supply. The drawbridge has gone

up. They don't want to interact with anybody. Whether it is the

fans all local media. It is a wall of silence at the moment. We did

approach Blackburn Rovers for a comment or interview but the

requests were declined. Preston have agreed a deal for the

Stevenage manager, Steve Westley. Preston North End, winning just two

of the last 20 will have their caretaker managers in charge for

the last time for the game at home to Wycombe. Manchester United are

involved in a pseud game at the top and bottom of the Premier League

tomorrow when they host Bolton Wanderers. The BBC understand that

Gary Cahill's move to Chelsea will be completed tonight. Manchester

United are hoping to rebound from two league defeat in a row. It is

10 years since they lost three in a row. Whatever happens, both

managers last showing plenty of respect. As we saw against

Blackburn Rovers, any team at the bottom of the table, you must

address them properly. We have respect for Blackburn Rovers but it

was not a great performance. We need a good performance against a

team battling for everything. have been great after season upon

season. They are led by the best manager in the history of football.

When you put everything in the mix it is a great combination. You can

hear full commentary on that on BBC Radio Manchester. The game against

Fulham for Blackburn is on BBC Lancashire. We were talking earlier

on about Amir Khan getting a rematch and I am pleased to say we

have just heard from him. I am delighted. About everything they

have said. They demanded an immediate rematch. Let's get that

done. Waiting for a hearing next week, hopefully they can come back

with the same decision. Looking at April or May. Then I can hopefully

settle the score. Somewhere neutral, like Las Vegas on Los Angeles.

Three neutral judges are. And a neutral commission. Hopefully, they

will say it will be an immediate rematch. The WBA agreed on that

today. I spoke to Freddie this morning, he was happy with what the

WBA said. He said it was good for boxing. All of the commotion from

The last fight, people were in two minds about whether there was

corruption in boxing. This is good for boxing, demanding a rematch.

was referring to his trainer, Freddie Roach. Next time, please

knock him out. I know you watch. People thought, perhaps he was

bleating. He was right though. Back in the 13th century, if you

were caught on the wrong side of rural Lancashire you might have

been languishing in a dungeon. 800 years since his saw thousands of

prisoners and public executions, but now be landmark is about to

have a big change. It is now hoped the castle, some of which dates

back to medieval times, will become the City's biggest tourist

attraction. The gates slam shut for the final

time. Closely followed by the raising of the standard of the

Duchy of Lancaster. The high walls and grim courtyard once again the

personal property of the monarch. We want to insure it is a people --

building people can walk into. In the context of this yard, we want

the opportunity for it to be part of the fabric of the city.

Lancaster council has been used as a jailed for 800 years but they

left in November. This is Steve Allen, he is a guide. Tell us more

about the history. This building dates from the Norman period. This

is one of the great, iconic sides of Lancashire. Sometimes known as a

John O'Gaunt Gateway. There is a figure of him up there. His is

quite significant in its own right, isn't it? It is accused that those

believed to have committed witchcraft were in the dungeons

below the tower. In pretty awful conditions, between April and

August, when the trial occurred. This has raised some 21st century

concerns however. It is very exciting and we are looking forward

to it, but there are many issues. About traffic, parking, local

facilities. It is very important that the local communities are

involved. They say they will try to keep traffic impact to a minimum. A

final decision on the use of the castle is some way off. We have the

400 anniversary which is an incredibly important date. We want

to open it up, when we have the Queen's diamond jubilee weekend.

is her Majesty's latest asset, really. Issue likely to visit?

think that is unlikely! Tony has just revealed he has done time at

Lancaster council. Or is that spent time? It is where they had the

witches. Is that a link to what is Good evening, I know these cold

mornings are a bit of a shock to the system, but a trade-off is the

region looks beautiful. This is the sun rising over the Pennines and

City of Manchester, from media city looking out this morning. I hope

way you were looked just as good. What we have got over the next

couple of hours is a bit of a shock. Temperatures on the way down, some

places around zero right now. Temperatures will go much lower

than last night. You can see the region is clear everywhere as we

had to midnight. We were at-one or minus two last night, let me show

you the numbers tonight. These are for towns and cities. 0-minus two,

but it could fill as low as-six in the countryside. They could be mist

and fog in part. Some clout might occur in a Merseyside and Cheshire.

That is the only fly in the ointment. It will feel really

chilly and you will be scraping the car, but the sun is there from the

word go and it will stay there virtually all the way through the

day. Sparkling sunshine, lots of it, but around the Pennines the blue

tinge is therefore a huge portion of the day. Looking at maximum

temperatures, three or four at best. The saving grace is wall-to-wall

sunshine. It is not going to feel raw. Through Saturday night up to

Sunday, not quite as Chile, minus three or minus for relief. Then on

Sunday, trekking in more clout from time to time. What you can see is

the cold snap lasts all the way through to Monday, becoming a bit

It looks clear on Monday, we are going star-gazing with Brian Cox.