:00:10. > :00:12.Merseyrail is expressing concern that the next strike by
:00:13. > :00:16.the RMT rail union will target the Grand National at Aintree.
:00:17. > :00:18.Talks broke down today between the company
:00:19. > :00:21.and the union in the dispute over driver-only trains.
:00:22. > :00:25.The RMT says it will be taking further industrial action,
:00:26. > :00:27.but hasn't yet decided when that will be.
:00:28. > :00:30.Earlier I spoke to our reporter, Mark Edwardson, and asked him why
:00:31. > :00:37.The two sides met this morning to try to bring this dispute
:00:38. > :00:40.about driver-only trains on the Merseyrail network to an end,
:00:41. > :00:44.but they broke down, with both sides blaming each other.
:00:45. > :00:47.The company accused the union of going into the talks
:00:48. > :00:50.with pre-conditions, and now it says it fears strikes
:00:51. > :00:54.will target the Grand National meeting at Aintree in April.
:00:55. > :00:57.But the RMT has accused Merseyrail of refusing to discuss what it says
:00:58. > :01:02.are the real issues - staffing, funding and safety -
:01:03. > :01:05.saying Merseyrail is determined to bring in driver-only operated
:01:06. > :01:11.It will undoubtedly cause immeasurable damage to the event
:01:12. > :01:14.and to the economy at large, if the RMT executive
:01:15. > :01:17.decide that their next strike is going to be
:01:18. > :01:21.I sincerely hope that they think twice about doing that.
:01:22. > :01:24.We have tried the talks today, but, as I say, they have been fruitless
:01:25. > :01:27.and the company don't want to talk about the issues that
:01:28. > :01:30.are at the heart of the dispute, so we have got no alternative
:01:31. > :01:32.than to recommend that further industrial action takes place.
:01:33. > :01:35.That will be decided by our executive in London
:01:36. > :01:39.So, where do the two sides go from here?
:01:40. > :01:41.Well, unless something gives, it's likely there will be more
:01:42. > :01:45.of what we saw ten days ago, when RMT members walked out for 24
:01:46. > :01:51.The RMT says more strikes on the Merseyrail network
:01:52. > :01:56.For its part, Merseyrail says it can't understand why the union
:01:57. > :01:58.had accepted the invitation to talks today,
:01:59. > :02:06.unless, it says, it was simply to maintain appearances.
:02:07. > :02:09.Either stand down as the MP for Tatton, or quit your new job
:02:10. > :02:12.as editor of the London Evening Standard -
:02:13. > :02:15.that's the message from 180,000 people who've signed a petition
:02:16. > :02:18.criticising the former Chancellor George Osborne.
:02:19. > :02:20.He's been defending himself today after being accused
:02:21. > :02:23.of breaking Parliamentary rules about the appointment
:02:24. > :02:28.of former Government Ministers to outside jobs.
:02:29. > :02:33.George Osborne is facing calls to resign as MP for Tatton
:02:34. > :02:39.or forget about editing the London Evening Standard.
:02:40. > :02:42.Today, a petition signed by thousands of people was
:02:43. > :02:46.handed in to his constiuency office in Knutsford.
:02:47. > :02:49.Everybody feels the same way, and we don't feel that he is going
:02:50. > :02:54.to be able to give us the time required to do his job as an MP,
:02:55. > :02:56.and maybe he should stand down and let somebody
:02:57. > :03:02.The former Chancellor takes up his newspaper job in May,
:03:03. > :03:04.but, although former ministers are required to tell a parliamentary
:03:05. > :03:09.watchdog about outside jobs, he didn't wait for its advice.
:03:10. > :03:14.Will the Minister confirm what action the Government intends
:03:15. > :03:17.to take against ex-ministers who appear to be in breach
:03:18. > :03:20.of the ministerial code on their failure to seek advice
:03:21. > :03:24.from ACOBA before accepting an appointment?
:03:25. > :03:29.Mr Osborne has several jobs - he gets paid ?650,000 a year
:03:30. > :03:32.to advise Blackrock Investment Institute.
:03:33. > :03:37.He's made around 780,000 from speeches since leaving office.
:03:38. > :03:41.He's also the unpaid chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
:03:42. > :03:44.I thought it was important to be here, although unfortunately we have
:03:45. > :03:46.missed the deadline for the Evening Standard.
:03:47. > :03:57.In my view, this Parliament is enhanced when we have people
:03:58. > :04:01.of different experience take part in our robust debate,
:04:02. > :04:05.and when people who have held senior ministerial office continued
:04:06. > :04:08.to contribute to the decisions we have to make.
:04:09. > :04:11.In a letter, the former chairman of Committee on Standards
:04:12. > :04:25.in Public Life, Sir Alistair Graham, said...
:04:26. > :04:27.The Committee for Standards in Public Life will be looking
:04:28. > :04:30.at this matter again, and it is a matter of ongoing
:04:31. > :04:36.concern to the public widely and has been for many years.
:04:37. > :04:38.George Osborne will be at the Tatton Conservative
:04:39. > :04:40.Assocation's Annual General Meeting later this week, where surely
:04:41. > :04:43.he will have to explain how he can be both the voice
:04:44. > :04:50.Yunus Mulla, BBC North West Tonight, Knutsford.
:04:51. > :04:53.Could George Osborne be in real trouble over these
:04:54. > :05:00.After Labour asked an urgent question, he said that he will
:05:01. > :05:04."listen" to what other MPs think, and several Conservative colleagues
:05:05. > :05:08.came to the support of Mr Osborne, including former cabinet minister
:05:09. > :05:12.Michael Gove, who defended the right of a newspaper proprietor
:05:13. > :05:16.But the Government has said it will wait until ACOBA
:05:17. > :05:19.publishes what it thinks about the Evening Standard role,
:05:20. > :05:21.and that's the point at which we could yet
:05:22. > :05:31.We aren't not yet closer to finding out if these rules have been broken.
:05:32. > :05:33.The number of people signing the petition criticising
:05:34. > :05:38.If the pressure keeps growing, is there a chance he might
:05:39. > :05:41.The petition organisers claim it is not party political,
:05:42. > :05:44.and they have broad support, but earlier I was told that
:05:45. > :05:46.most of the signatures were from outside the constituency,
:05:47. > :05:48.and the former Chancellor could easily dismiss this
:05:49. > :05:51.But what may concern him more are the views
:05:52. > :05:53.of the Tatton Conservative Association.
:05:54. > :05:55.I was told by its chairman Don Hammond that the views
:05:56. > :05:58.of members are mixed, and it is fair to say
:05:59. > :06:00.there will be concerns raised and put to George Osbourne
:06:01. > :06:09.This will be an open forum and there will be members who wish to question
:06:10. > :06:12.him over the Evening Standard and it is the exchange afterwords which
:06:13. > :06:13.determines whether or not he remains the MP for Tatton.
:06:14. > :06:16.Police have revealed that a body - found after a house
:06:17. > :06:18.fire in Lancaster - was that of an 11-year-old boy.
:06:19. > :06:20.Cem Bora was thought to have been trapped
:06:21. > :06:22.inside the property on Conniston Road early
:06:23. > :06:27.An 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy who managed to escape
:06:28. > :06:31.And a woman's been found dead at a house in Greater Manchester
:06:32. > :06:33.after emergency services were called to a small fire.
:06:34. > :06:35.The woman was discovered by firefighters in a property
:06:36. > :06:38.on Hayling Road in Sale just before 3pm this afternoon.
:06:39. > :06:43.Police say they're keeping an open mind about the cause of death.
:06:44. > :06:46.Police trying to recapture escaped killer Shaun Walmsley
:06:47. > :06:50.are using the criminal's own money to offer a reward of ?20,000.
:06:51. > :06:53.Walmsley is still on the run after being sprung from custody
:06:54. > :06:56.during a visit to Aintree hospital last month.
:06:57. > :06:58.The reward comes from cash seized after his conviction
:06:59. > :07:05.When people see Maria Belton with her two young children
:07:06. > :07:09.who have Down's Syndrome, she says they often express
:07:10. > :07:13.sympathy, but her message is, there's nothing to be sorry about.
:07:14. > :07:15.Tomorrow is International Down's Awareness Day,
:07:16. > :07:19.and Maria hopes her experiences can help change attitudes.
:07:20. > :07:24.# You'll never know, dear, how much I love you...#
:07:25. > :07:26.Meet the Beltons - mum Maria, dad Neil,
:07:27. > :07:28.Ellie, who is 14, Joey, two and a half,
:07:29. > :07:37.It just so happens that the two youngest members
:07:38. > :07:40.There's differences, of course there's differences,
:07:41. > :07:46.but there are more similarities, far more similarities,
:07:47. > :07:48.between our children and a typical child
:07:49. > :07:54.You have decided to go public with your family's story to mark
:07:55. > :07:58.International Down's Syndrome Awareness Day tomorrow - why?
:07:59. > :08:01.We've had enough of, sort of, people feeling sorry for us,
:08:02. > :08:08.because there's nothing to feel sorry for us about.
:08:09. > :08:12.In fact, Maria calls Joey and Nancy her miracle babies.
:08:13. > :08:14.After Ellie's birth, Maria was told a medical condition
:08:15. > :08:16.would prevent her from having any further children -
:08:17. > :08:22.When she fell pregnant again, Maria was told the chances of
:08:23. > :08:27.She refused offers of tests to make sure.
:08:28. > :08:34.If this baby has Down's syndrome, then she'll have Down's syndrome.
:08:35. > :08:37.What do you think of your brother and sister?
:08:38. > :08:39.Well, I think they're absolutely gorgeous,
:08:40. > :08:41.and they are just so funny, and, to be quite honest,
:08:42. > :08:44.I don't really think about the whole diagnosis a whole lot.
:08:45. > :08:46.You know, just, like, in general, I just think,
:08:47. > :08:53.What do you hope for the future with Joseph and Nancy?
:08:54. > :08:56.I hope they are treated as equals as much as everybody else.
:08:57. > :09:00.I think we just want to make sure the kids can do
:09:01. > :09:04.whatever they want to do, and achieve whatever
:09:05. > :09:07.they're aiming to achieve, and not be held back
:09:08. > :09:11.because of other people's attitudes towards them.
:09:12. > :09:17.Dave Guest, BBC North West Tonight, Wirral.
:09:18. > :09:26.Now let's take a look at the weather.
:09:27. > :09:31.Good evening. I am not sure what you will make of this forecast because
:09:32. > :09:35.it is not great. We have stepped into spring but the weather has a
:09:36. > :09:40.wintry feel through the next few days, feeling cold there. Wintry
:09:41. > :09:44.showers from time to time and they went stronger. Strong wind already.
:09:45. > :09:48.Today we started up with a lot of rain but at the end of the rainbow
:09:49. > :09:51.there was some sunshine through the afternoon, but the showers are still
:09:52. > :09:56.out there now, rising over the high ground bumping into the cold are
:09:57. > :10:00.descended this afternoon, after the front this afternoon, wintry showers
:10:01. > :10:04.in the forecast. Light covering of snow on the grass tomorrow morning.
:10:05. > :10:10.The sun is up early and read of it quickly if it is there. The same for
:10:11. > :10:15.a frost as well. Temperatures for towns and cities... Relay, minus one
:10:16. > :10:19.Celsius and minus two Celsius. Showers working their way to high
:10:20. > :10:25.ground and sleet and snow. Elsewhere spells of sunshine but some wind. To
:10:26. > :10:28.the afternoon, after 11 or 12, six or eight Celsius. Tomorrow night is
:10:29. > :10:33.a cold one and through the early hours of the morning, there could be
:10:34. > :10:38.more snow falling in places. It will not linger and life. Perhaps a light
:10:39. > :10:41.dusting and I'm gone. Wednesday gradually improves with April of
:10:42. > :10:45.cloud around in Pennine areas and up into Cumbria are always more cloud
:10:46. > :10:49.cover and showers. The temperatures are not great at six or seven
:10:50. > :10:54.Celsius. After that we settle down through Thursday. The West is best
:10:55. > :10:57.with scores of sunshine. Similar story on Friday and largely dried.
:10:58. > :11:02.Towards the weekend, things gradually get better.
:11:03. > :11:04.outlook for Saturday and Sunday is for something dry and settled, sunny
:11:05. > :11:18.spells but a bit on the cool side. This week we are starting off with a
:11:19. > :11:22.taste of winter. This is Paul and maritime air, it has come from a
:11:23. > :11:27.long way north and will push in lots of showers. The last of any mild air
:11:28. > :11:34.gets swept away with the cloud. Tonight we have showers mostly
:11:35. > :11:39.across the northern half of the UK, which will turn wintry and that
:11:40. > :11:44.means more snow, particularly across Scotland and Northern Ireland,
:11:45. > :11:51.perhaps northern England. With those temperatures it is not just snow
:11:52. > :11:55.that is a concern, it is icy roads. Quite a few wintry showers still
:11:56. > :11:59.packing in across the north and west of Northern Ireland, west of
:12:00. > :12:03.Scotland by this stage. Eastern Scotland much more sheltered so it
:12:04. > :12:04.should be drier and we may have early sunshine here as