28/04/2014 North West Tonight

the teacher's family and the school and all the pupils to study there.

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin and

Roger Johnson. Our top story: It's claimed he preyed on young boys in

care ` but did Rochdale Council cover`up for Cyril Smith? Two new

investigations are launched. Whether there was cancelled culture which

inhibited proper investigation, prevention of such abuse. We'll talk

to the town's MP, who first blew the whistle. Also tonight: Anger after a

far`right party uses murdered soldier Lee Rigby's name on their

ballot papers. Was that the moment the title slipped from Liverpool's

grasp? It's advantage Manchester City in the race for the Premier

League. And Dale Delight! Rochdale's footballers celebrate promotion from

League Two. Did Rochdale Council tolerate ` even

facilitate ` the sexual abuse of children it was supposed to be

caring for? That's a question to be examined by an independent inquiry.

Details were announced today. It follows allegations that Rochdale's

former MP the late Cyril Smith was a serial abuser who preyed on young

boys in local authority. Our chief reporter spent the day in

Rochdale and he was at the news conference. He joins us live. Yes,

the council chose their words carefully when they announced the

details of the enquiry. The council leader would not take any questions.

But the message was clear enough. The council says they want to know

the extent of any abuse that happened in council care

establishments during the 1960s, 1870s, 1980s, and 1990s. They want

to know the extent to which Cyril Smith was involved and, crucially,

what council officials knew and did not know, and whether there was any

cover`up. In life, Cyril Smith was a respected, revered politician. In

death he has been branded a serial child abuser. I got smacked in the

face. As an 11`year`old, this man claims he was physically assaulted

at a care home by Cyril Smith in the 1950s. Social worker asked me how I

ended up with stitches so I explained. The comment was, I should

not tell lies. This book written by the current MP claims Cyril Smith

used his power and influence to avoid detection. There are claims he

was involved in the abuse of boys at this school. It closed in the early

1990s. Earlier this year, Rochdale Council announced an independent

review of what happened at the school. It said the terms of that

review would be far more wide`ranging. It would cover all

council establishments between 1961 and 1995. It will try to establish

who knew what and whether there were any attempt at a cover`up. Whether

the abuse of children was tolerated, facilitated by the council or its

members of staff, and whether there was a culture at the council which

inhibited the proper investigation, exposure and prevention of such

abuse. Lawyers representing those who have already come forward

claiming Cyril Smith abused them say what the client wants answers. They

want to know if people knew what was going on, what they did about it,

who they reported two. The police are looking at a number of suspects

who may have been involved in abuse at the school. Anybody with

information and particularly victims of abuse, we encourage them to come

forward. Do you think this will get to the truth of what happened? I

sincerely hope so. My concern is these victims, of which there are a

number, need genuine answers. This afternoon, the Smith family said

they welcomed news of this enquiry because it might finally establish

what is true and what is not. They say they will cooperate fully. The

findings of the enquiry are due to be published in July. Back to you.

The Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has played a key part in pressing for a

wider investigation. Earlier, I asked him for his reaction. I'm

pleased they are concentrating on this issue. I do have some concerns

about the fact that the police are spreading themselves too thinly in

terms of investigating the perpetrators of this child abuse,

but also looking at the cover`up. I would rather the investigation did

the abuse and then concentrated on the cover`up. You used that phrase

alleged perpetrators. You have written a book, there is compelling

evidence, but some people might feel uncomfortable that those accused are

now dead. I think it is a valid question to be asked, what we have

to remember is, Greater Manchester Police are speaking and are quite

clear, as are the Crown Prosecution Service. They have all come out and

said if Cyril Smith was alive today, with the evidence on file, they

would have had a successful prosecution. How do you feel this

presents the tone you represent in the wider country better mark it

comes off the back of the grooming case. What does it say about

Rochdale to the wider world? I think this helps Rochdale. The rumours

about Cyril Smith have been around for decades, literally. The Mac he

has not been a road `` he has not been around to answer them. Yes, but

it has been an undercurrent for the tone to live in four years. In some

ways, it impacts on the grooming case. The unhealthy atmosphere they

have had in the town. The book exposes that, hopefully we will get

some prosecutions from people who are still around who committed some

of the abuse. That allows the town to be able to move on, and put it

behind us once and for all. Simon Danczuk, thank you. The Hillsborough

Inquests have heard about the last victim to die from injuries suffered

during the disaster. Tony Bland died after spending almost four years in

hospital. His father said today's tribute describing Tony's happy and

carefree childhood captured him to a T. The court also heard from a

daughter who was`year`olds when her father died. Tony Bland's family

travelled from Yorkshire to tell the jury about him. Tony Bland was 22

when he died after four years in a persistent vegetative state. He was

just a teenager when he went to Hillsborough. His father said

today's tribute describing Tony's happy and carefree childhood

captured him to a T. When he was in a coma, almost four years, that was

really horrendous. It has all come back, to be quite honest. The court

also heard a tribute to David Hawley from St Helens. His daughter Leanne

was one when he died. The saddest thing for me is the fact I have had

to grow up without him. I know Mike dad was a wonderful father `` I know

that my father was a wonderful father, a sincere friend, and I wish

I could have known him for myself, how different our lives could have

been. He was a great man. James Delaney from Wirral was 19. His

brother Nick was nine at the time. I went from a boy to a man, they took

my innocence, might childhood, and my family. The jury also heard

tributes to Brian Matthews, Gordon Horn, Carl Lewis, Alan Johnston,

Kester Ball, Stephen O'Neill and James Hennessy. They will hear the

last of the tributes tomorrow. The inquest then takes a three`week

break. The jury have been told that various matters need to be done.

When they resume, they will hear the substantive evidence about what

happened at Hillsborough and what led up to it. A postmortem

examination has revealed that a man whose body was found in the front

garden of a house in Manchester bled to death. It followed a break`in at

a solicitor office on the early hours of Sunday morning. The man had

suffered a severe leg injury. His death is not being treated as

suspicious. The Conservatives have allowed the Ribble Valley MP Nigel

Evans to officially rejoin the party in the House of Commons. Mr Evans `

who was cleared of a series of sexual offences earlier this month `

had been operating as an independent MP. He also stepped down as the

Commons Deputy Speaker before his trial. He says he's "delighted" `

and that it represents "a stop after the events of the past 11 months." A

four`year`old girl from Merseyside has become one of the first in the

country to take part in a pilot scheme involving the

cross`examination of vulnerable witnesses. The girl gave evidence on

camera ahead of a trial starting next month. It was watched by a

judge at Liverpool Crown Court via video link. Liverpool is one of

three Crown Courts where the programme's being rolled out. A

two`year plan has been launched to protect green lanes on the Isle of

Man. It follows complaints that off`road vehicles are damaging the

Manx countryside. The Department of Infrastructure says the scheme

doesn't include banning motor vehicles ` but some routes will be

closed or made one`way. And a schoolboy from Preston ` who became

the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion ` has been awarded

the first Honorary Student Membership of the Society for

Radiological Protection. Jamie Edwards, who's 13, was among

hundreds attending the society's Annual Schools Event in Southport

earlier. The family of the murdered soldier

Lee Rigby from Middleton, are said to be heartbroken about his name

being used by a far`right political party. "Britain First" will use his

name in next month's European elections. An investigation's

underway into how the party obtained permission from the Electoral

Commission. Our political editor Arif Ansari is here. How is his name

going to be used? This relates to the European elections on May the

22nd, which is the first anniversary of Lee Rigby's murder. What happened

is Britain First, which is a far right political party, have decided

they want to use his name on the ballot paper, so when you going into

vote, it will say, Britain First ` Remember Lee Rigby. It is necessary

for the Electoral Commission to approve what goes on to ballot

papers, and that is something they did. But his family were heartbroken

when they heard this news. The government was pretty angry as well.

One minister has said it is difficult to comprehend. Yet the

country will be appalled that the memory of Lee Rigby should be used,

abused in this way, for political advantage. Especially on the

anniversary of his murder. It is sickening, beyond belief. There are

calls for the head of the Electoral Commission to resign over this. That

is right, they have admitted they made a terrible mistake here. They

have apologised, putting out a statement in which they said the

Electoral Commission is deeply sorry.

There is going to be an investigation into what exactly went

wrong at the Electoral Commission, it will report within a week. But it

is too late to change the rules, because the ballot papers have

already gone out, particularly for people taking postal ballots, but

funnily enough this will only really affect people in Wales because that

is where the party is standing in the European elections, but the

family said Lee Rigby would not approve of this and they are very

upset about it. Still to come on North West Tonight: Do you know

these men? The First World War heroes who failed to get the

recognition they deserve. Will conducting Britain's newest brass

band be a tough task or child's play?

And Rochdale fans heal their manager as they celebrate promotion to

league one. `` praised their manager. Great celebrations, we will

talk about that. We have the sport. We will talk Premier League first.

Probably a defining weekend in the title race. Yes, Liverpool fans

would have been thinking a draw against Chelsea on Sunday and their

dream of a title`winning open`top bus parade would have been close

enough to touch. The only bus at Anfield was Chelsea. They parked it.

Liverpool could not find a way through. And after Manchester City

took full advantage by beating Palace by the same score, it's now

the Sky Blues who have the edge. As you can see, Liverpool remain three

points ahead of City. But Manuel Pellegrini's men have a game in hand

and, crucially, far superior goal difference. So where does this leave

the title race ` and those shredded nerves? The race for the Premier

League title has been well and truly shaken up. Gerard slept, Demba Ba is

onto it, and he scores. We will come back. The dream lives on. Chelsea

have won the game by 2`0. They got the result. My team wants to be

offensive, they want to win games by playing good football. Being

creative. We will focus on ourselves and get to Crystal Palace. Liverpool

slipping up at Anfield was gratefully lapped up by Manchester

City, who went into pole position. I don't want to speak about it,

really. Unbelievable result for ourselves. I think they can do it. I

really believe they can do it. What a finish. Superb goal. City are

favourites with the bookies but all three teams have a chance, even if

Jose Mourinho says he is counting his own team out. Forget it. Forget

it. Going to the last day? Chelsea have three games `` Chelsea in

Europe will have two games left, Manchester City have three. It is in

our hands, simple as that. Beat Everton and then we should win it.

After a season which has shifted one way and the other, there could still

be twists and turns. You never know. But there was some

good news for Liverpool yesterday. Luis Suarez was named Professional

Footballers' Association Player of the Year. The 27`year`old Uruguayan

is the first player to score 30 league goals in a season since Ian

Rush in 1987. Liverpool Ladies also celebrated as defender Lucy Bronze

won the women's equivalent of the award while the Young Player of the

Year went to Martha Harris. Congratulations also to Chorley

who've also won promotion. `` Rochdale. They are guaranteed

automatic promotion. The celebrations began with the final

whistle. This is what it means to be a winner. You won't see pictures

like this when the Premier League title is one, but we what went

inside the room at the celebrations began. `` we went inside the

dressing room. This shows what we have got. It is everything we

wanted. Absolutely magic. This is what you get involved in football

for. Two days later, things have finally calmed down at spot on. The

players have been given today off, and looking at those scenes on

Saturday you can't help feeling they' probably needed it. They went

into the night. You have led them to two of the promotions. They will be

talking about you in 50 years' time. Perhaps. You want to leave some sort

of legacy, whether in life, with your family, your work or your

industry. Supporters will want to know if you're staying. 100%

guaranteed. Fittingly, promotion was secured at Spotland in a match that

Rochdale always looked like winning. Both goals came within the first 15

minutes. Vincenti and Henderson the scorers. Rochdale fans are the real

thing. Nobody could accuse them of being glory hunters. Could Keith

Hill take them to football's second tier for the first time in their

history? You've got to dream. bowled out for just three. The first

ten batsmen were all out for ducks, only the number 11 Connor Hobson

scored a run against Haslington in Cheshire League Division Three, with

extras the top scorer. They must have been taking lessons from me.

What was not the problem was effort. I just read this, the number nine

came in, they were already seven wickets down, with no runs, he was

quoted as saying, we can still do this. Briefings. We will catch up

with them tomorrow. Good on them. This is the 100th anniversary of the

start of the First World War but it has been revealed some of the war

heroes of Liverpool did not receive the recognition they deserved. A

memorial plaque, found in a garden in Toxteth, contained the names of

several soldiers who were killed ` but they were not on the city's

official list of the dead. Now the plaque's been restored and their

descendants are being traced. Naomi Cornwell reports. The people of

Liverpool remember their dead and built a cenotaph. The unveiling

ceremony, before countless thousands gathered. Liverpool has always

honoured its fallen. After the First World War, the name of every man

known to have died was added to the walls of the city's Hall of

Remembrance. Or so they thought. Even today, we are still finding

names that should have been added. This lady came up and said, are you

the detective Lord Mayor, they had a war memorial. It's thought the

plaque originally hung on the wall here at St Peter's Church in Toxteth

and when work began to convert it into flats the church's caretaker

Harry Gardam took it home so it wouldn't be lost. It was after his

death that it was found at his home nearby in the garden shed. The

plaque was found in the grounds of a property, work men came across it

whilst getting it ready for the next tenants, they came to me and I to

them I would look after it. I felt quite sad because I thought it

should be somewhere. Now the search is on for the families. Incredibly

sad, these names, how many others are not on the walls? It is

important we don't forget. The names will be added to the Town Hall's

Hall of Remembrance in June. Good to see them get recognition after all

these years. They have had to wait a long time. Get in touch if you can

shed any light on who they were. Now the weather. It was a pretty nice

weekend. shed any light on who they were. Now

the weather. It Very nice, many of you were out with your cameras.

Craig Macdonald sent us this shot. That is a beauty. Some cloud has

rolled in. The temperatures have been pretty good, in the mid teens

for the most part, tomorrow will be very similar, but there just might

be a chance of showers breaking out here and there. After that, not

quite so good. Weather front after weather front after weather front,

there will be an area of low pressure. You can see things

becoming increasingly unsettled, so make the most of tomorrow if you

have the opportunity. There have been showers, but they barely dampen

the ground. They show up over the next couple of hours but once the

sun has gone down the risk will die down. It is cloudy, clear spells,

little bit of mist. The temperatures are the big story, seven former role

areas, 9`10 per towns and cities. It is warm and humid when you get up.

It is grey and overcast. You have pockets of missed. Very light wind,

nothing to stir it. Once it has gone, it is like today, decent, long

sunny spells. Wall`to`wall sunshine, not by a long shot, but that a

nicely. Clever, an increasing risk of showers developing. They are not

that widespread. They could dampen your day for a while. In terms of

temperatures, it is like today, could get to 12`13 degrees. After

that, the picture changes, from mid week things becoming creasing the

unsettled. `` increasingly unsettled. How many months is it

since you said warm and humid? Many years! We are finishing a little

earlier tonight because of an election broadcast, we will see you

at 10:30pm. See you tomorrow.