14/05/2014 North West Tonight

risen, over 200 dead and 120 are still trapped.

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson... And

Annabel Tiffin. Our top story: The husband of Rania Alayed tells a

murder trial he's heard voices in his head and seen spirits since he

was a teenager. Ahmed Al`Khatib admits killing her, but denies

murder on grounds of diminished responsibility. Also tonight: Calls

for a public inquiry into whether a pregnancy`testing drug caused birth

defects in the 1960s and 1970s. The so`called sun`bed culture in

Liverpool that's left its scar on this young mother.

defects in the 1960s and 1970s. The so`called sun`bed culture in

Liverpool that's left its scar on this young mother.

It was a drug taken by almost 1.5 million women to test for pregnancy,

but was it safe ?It's a question a new parliamentary group of MPs, set

up today, will be looking into after growing calls for a public inquiry

from people who say they have been left with birth defects and other

Karl Murphy from Liverpool blames the condition he has lived with for

41 years on the drug Primodos. His mother Pamela and 1.5 million women

took the hormone pregnancy`testing drug, which was available until the

late 1970s. Primodos predates modern urine`based pregnancy tests and came

in a packet containing two round pills. It contained hormones which

would trigger menstruation if the woman wasn't pregnant in today's

We were never consulted, we were never told what we were taking. We

were told to take the tablets. The company that made the drop says

that there is no scientific evidence to prove that the drop caused harm.

They said... Campaigners say that since then they have a teamed new

documents which said that it should not be used during pregnancy. This

and other evidence will be presented to a new all`party committee set out

today. This really is a scandal. It stinks to high heaven and I am

really angry, actually, on behalf of my constituent. Kyle and others are

expecting a public inquiry but he also wants a secure future. The need

to be helped through the rest of their lives, because they are going

to suffer in the future. The husband of Rania Alayed has told

a murder trial in Manchester that he first started hearing voices

in his head and seeing spirits Ahmed Al`Khatib admits killing Rania

Alayed, but denies murder on grounds The court has also been hearing

about extensive social`media exchanges in the weeks

before Rania's death. Our reporter Mark Edwardson has been

in Manchester Crown Court for us. Mark, tell us more

about these voices and demons He has told the court that he has

been hearing voices. That is since he was 16 years old. He says at

times those voices have urged him to take his own life. It is alleged

that on the 7th of June last year Rania Alayed was murdered by her

husband and his brother. The prosecution says that the mother of

three was killed because she had become too westernised. She had

started college, made new friends, and it appears that her husband felt

that she may have been having an affair with a fellow student. Ahmed

Al`Khatib said that he killed her when she appeared as that Demon and

he claims diminished responsibility. I mentioned exchanges on social

media. Can you explain a bit more about that? Those exchanges were

quite extensive and written in the months before Rania Alayed's death.

They were exchanged when she was taken to hospital after she claimed

that Ahmed Al`Khatib had raped her. He repeatedly implored her to go

back to him, expressing his devotion for her. She said, enough is

enough. I want a divorce. He admits killing her, but we still do not

have a body. What is supposed to have happened? As you say, it is

alleged that Rania Alayed was murdered by Ahmed Al`Khatib in his

brother's flat. Her body was buried near the A19. The remains have never

been found despite an extensive search. Ahmed Al`Khatib and his

brother both deny murder but they do admit intending to pervert the

course of justice by transporting and concealing her body. Ahmed

Al`Khatib's brother denies that charge and I should point out that

he is not accused of murder. A man has been charged after a

54`year`old woman was injured by a dog in Lancaster. It is not to be

the first time that new laws have been used. Jade Anderson was mauled

to death by a pack of dogs. Unemployment in the North West fell

by 11,000 in the last quarter. That is according to figures from the

Office of National Statistics. Seven point cent of the work for workforce

is never employed. Liverpool City Council is backing a

call to ban unsupervised tanning booths after a sharp rise in skin

cancer rates among women in the city. The local authority says there

been a 130% increase in cases over At this high school, a group of year

19 eaters are discussing the dangers of sunbeds. Rates of skin cancer and

sunbed use in Liverpool are among the highest in the UK. These

sessions are intended to undermine what is sometimes call the city's

sunbed culture. There are other spray tans and fake tans and make up

that you can use instead which give the same effect. This is a

frightening reality of skin cancer. As a young teenager, this woman used

sunbeds. But last year she got devastating news. The mole on her

arm was diagnosed as a malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of

skin cancer. People ask, you know, skin cancer. People ask, you know,

what have you done? I just tell them. I just say to someone, yes, it

was skin cancer. You get looked out and things like that.

I am sorry... Since the year 2000 the number of skin cancer cases

among women in Liverpool has let Y 130%. It is up to the council to

inspect the tanning salons, but not all are as big and well run as this

one in the city centre. If we do not know where the army cannot check

them. They could be breaking health and safety regulations and basically

giving people radiation poisoning, but we do not know where they are,

because they do not have to register. MPs have also backed the

idea of a ban on coin`operated tanning booths. The message in

Liverpool is that the sunbed culture is to change.

been a 130% increase in cases over Liverpool's Famous Cavern Club is

involved in a bitter legal battle the American restaurant chain Hard

Cafe. Hard Rock registered the ?Cavern Club? as its trademark in

the States 20 years ago. The Cavern, which is on the site of the original

home to the Beatles, has been fighting the case and is now going

to the Florida State Court. Joining me now in Liverpool is Dave Jones

from the Cavern Club. with the past 13 years. Dominic Hughes Rock

reports. Thank you for joining us. Why is it

so important for the Cavern Club in Liverpool to or knows naming rights?

A trademark as a badge of origin. The origins of the Cavern Club

family here in this city. Every day of the week the world comes to

Liverpool and what we want to do is just take Liverpool to the world and

open Cavern Clubs that represent Britain's culture in Liverpool's

culture in other places and the rest of the world. Obviously we cannot do

that in the United States. On both sides this involves money. If you do

not have the rates you cannot publicise memorabilia or your tours

is anything over in America. We can publicise things, but what we cannot

do is treat our brand `` trade our brand in their territory. What we

want to be able to do is claim are to be able to do that and we have

every right. You are taking on pretty big boys. What are your

hopes? They actually did not register the market until 2000, but

it is: The `` but it is called deep pocket litigation. We have had to

pick together the best legal case that we could with limited financial

means. Up until now we have succeeded and we are at the final

stage of the case now. Thank you very much for joining us.

A glorious evening in Liverpool. Still to come:

reports. Seconds out as Tyson Fury goes all

out to become a legend of the sport. And it is a lovely evening to be

beside the seaside. We will be live from the top of

Blackpool Tower as it celebrates its prickly.

`` its birth they. out to become a legend of the sport.

With the European elections approaching, one of the key issues

for voters to consider is the impact on business. Labour and the

Conservatives say the European Union is good for jobs. But opponents such

as the UK Independence Party say it creates too much red tape. Our

political editor Arif Ansari has been to Liverpool to hear some of

the arguments. the arguments.

Liverpool knows something about trade, and so does

ChargePoint Technology in Speke, which manufactures high`precision

valves. It has benefited from substantial European grants and

exports a third of its products to Europe. Those barriers are not

there, we can trade freely with those countries without too much red

tape and that facilitates growth in the business. What are you doing

here? Basically what I do is I turn dull metal into shiny metal. Theresa

Griffin hopes for a similar transformation to go from Labour

candidate to a very pro`European MEP. Do they really want to say a

Griffin hopes for a similar transformation to go from Labour

candidate to a very pro`European MEP. Do they really want to say a

company like this is closed for business in the rest of Europe when

over 90% of its product is actually exported? But the UK Independence

Party is fighting Labour with the opposite arguments. Freed from the

regulation of the EU they would actually have an opportunity to

trade more with the rest of the globe, they would actually reduce

their costs and it would also, more importantly, for somewhere like the

north`west where there are 4.9 million businesses, they would

actually increase the number of workers. Another factory producing

politicians. Chancellor George Osborne at a wax`blending plant in

Chorley, campaigning to stop Tory support melting away. People want a

European Union that supports jobs in Lancashire and the north`west. The

only people that can deliver that change are the Conservatives. We

want to deliver that change in Europe. And we want to offer the

British people a referendum on our membership of Europe. That

referendum promise probably reflects Europe's diminishing political

support, despite its economic power. Tomorrow Arif will be looking

at the prospects for three of the other parties hoping to win

a seat in Europe. There are a total of 11 parties

standing in the European There's a full list

on your screen now. For more information you can take

a look on the website Outgoing Manchester United captain

Nemanja Vidic has denied that player power was one of the factors

in former manager David Moyes' failure at Old Trafford.

There had been suggestions that the player stopped trying

for their new boss but the defender, who is leaving

the club to join Inter Milan, says the players did everything

David Moyes asked of them. Mind she's cricketers put up a fight

in their final championship match. They could not invent a heavy defeat

at Lord's. They were 45`5. At one point they had a mini recovery but

they could not bat out the final day. Eventually they lost by ten

wickets. David Moyes asked of them.

The heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury says he doesn't just want become

a world champion, he wants to become a legend of the sport.

Tyson, who lives in Morecambe, was speaking at the opening of a new gym

and community facility in Bolton. The controversial fighter will live

and train there as he builds up to his highly anticipated clash with

Derek Chisora in Manchester in July. Richard Askam took a deep breath

and a stepladder and went to speak to the man himself.

He is a man who likes to make a statement. Not always the one that

you are expecting. This was Tyson Fury today at the opening of his new

gym in Bolton. All smiles, but at his own admission he is a man who's

made cancelling as fast as his fist. `` mood can swing. I think I

better be on my best behaviour. I can be happy one minute and mad and

next. The smallest thing can put me in a bad mood or turn me the other

way. Somebody asking you annoying questions! No, questions are great,

sometimes they just get a bit low. I remember you talking to me a couple

of years ago, you seemed to reflect upon much darker moments then. Have

you changed? Dark, bright, whatever moments. They are all part of life,

aren't they? I enjoy routine, that's what I enjoy. When I am allowed to

just run wild and do what Awad, I do everything for the first week or

so, but once that is out of my system I am bored and there's not

much else to do and get low. I want to unify the division, I want to do

great things in boxing and I want to retire undefeated as well. Not a lot

there? A short list! It is possible, because I believe that any man can

do anything that he wants to do in life.

Motorists were held up for ever as this morning after a lorry carrying

live chickens crashed on the M62 this morning.

Thousands of birds were on the wastes. But hundreds made their way

up an embankment and into a field. Campaigners are now trying to

rehouse them. It has been quite a day for these

chickens. They started in creates on the back of

chicken. About 3000 birds were on the truck. Hundreds were killed and

around 2000 were captured. Hundreds more were rescued by a pet

sanctuary. since 1894, and today a huge party's

been held to celebrate Blackpool Tower's 120th birthday.

It was originally inspired by Paris' Eiffel Tower,

but Lancashire's version has a ballroom and a circus too.

Naomi Cornwell has been following the celebrations and we can go live

to her at the top of the tower now. That is the golden mail in all its

splendour and the sunshine tonight. It is a lovely evening to be beside

the seaside and we're better to see black bull from Dan the very top of

the terror. `` tower. It has been enjoyed by thousands and thousands

of holiday`makers and locals alike. Today hundreds of them gathered for

a huge birthday party. After 120 years of putting on a

show, you did not have to look far to find some entertainers to get the

party jumping today. They have in preparing for months. We are

currently undertaking a restoration to the facade of the tower. Being

from Blackpool it is quite a big, iconic piece of Blackpool history.

After 120 years the tower might not look very different from the outside

but it is constantly having to adapt to the times. There is a brand`new

for decent upstairs. There is also a skywalk experience, that is

brand`new. The terror has been here for 120 years. A similar experience

to what people were doing here is ago, but a modern version. Fans

around the country sent their favourite memorabilia to mark the

anniversary. Everyone here has a Tower story, whether that is the

dancers that come three times a week, or those here just for the

anniversary. Womack you meet new people and people from all over the

world. There is no one else quite like it in the world. For locals and

holiday`makers alike, the tower has happy memories.

When the ten two opened in 1894 tickets just cost sixpence. For a

limited time this afternoon that is what they were charging to come up

here. Not surprisingly they sold out very fast, there was huge demand.

Let us talk to the general manager of the tower. Why is this so

important to everyone and Blackpool? It is a place to come to have

amazing experiences and to weave with memories that last a lifetime.

In 1890 41 of the marketing messages was, Blackpool Tower, a place where

our factory girl can be a duchess for the day. If you do not like

heights, turn away, we're about to show you the skywalk. That is the

glass floor that you can walk across with this year dropped to the

promenade below. We are just looking at one of the things you are hoping

will be one of the next thing is to evolve for the terror. The max and

next big thing for me and for all of us, at the end of 2015, the

structure will be complete and the scaffolding will be taken off the

terror. I personally am so excited, I will be cartwheeling along the

comedy carpet outside. We look forward to that. All that remains is

to say happy birthday to Blackpool Tower and from 380 feet above the

promenade, it is back to the studio. At glass floor is horrible.

What have you. It is a beautiful view. We went up recently and we had

to come straight back down because the wind was too high. That is the

only problem. Your dress looks just as blue as the

sky. A lovely day to be beside the

seaside. Plenty of blue skies over Blackpool

and across the North West as you saw there. Temperatures continue to

improve tomorrow. 20 or 21 Celsius. There is plenty of cloud around, as

you can see, as we head into Friday. Tonight actually there is plenty of

sunshine around at the moment but cloud will begin to build as we head

into the overnight period. Some rain in places, some light winds. Some

mist and fog patches forming by dawn. The temperatures are not so

bad because of the cloud cover. For tomorrow, it is going to be a warmer

day but it is also, unfortunately, going to be a cloudy day then you

have seen today. Plenty of cloud to start off with tomorrow morning. The

cloud thickening at times to bring you some of that occasional rain. I

think that conditions will improve as we head into the afternoon. The

cloak will begin to break up quite nicely, hopefully to allow some

sunshine to break through `` the cloud. Temperatures should get as

high as 17 or 18 Celsius. For Friday, look at those temperatures.

High pressure is building rate above us. 20 or 21 Celsius on Friday.

Plenty of cloud around, we could see some rain approaching for the

weekend, but enjoy the weekend. Have a look at this picture. One

viewer has been busy playing on your computer. Guess who it is? I love

it. Thank you very much. We will leave you with a lovely shot

from the top of Blackpool Tower on a glorious evening.

Good night. Goodbye.

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