14/04/2017 North West Tonight

There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel.

The Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie has been suspended from

the newspaper after he expressed "wrong" and "unfunny" views

The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has condemned the article

about Everton midfielder Ross Barkley as "racist

Barkley was punched in a Liverpool bar last weekend, in what his lawyer

Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie compared Barkley, whose

grandfather was Nigerian, to a "gorilla at the zoo".

MacKenzie was the editor of The Sun at the time

of the Hillsborough disaster, and controversially produced

the front page claiming the Liverpool fans were to blame.

Three children on the Isle of Man remain in hospital after swallowing

The children aged 11 and 12 are in a stable

It's thought they'd found the substance near The Bowl

in Douglas at the National Sports Centre yesterday afternoon.

Rail passengers across the region face disruption this weekend

as major engineering works are carried out.

Roads and rail routes in Manchester are particularly affected.

Manchester's Victoria Station has been unusually quiet today.

Many passengers have found alternative ways to travel

following warnings of disruption to services over the

We are slightly affected because normally we get a direct

from Manchester Victoria to Newcastle, and now we have

We booked months in advance, and it really wasn't such a big deal.

I think the weather has affected people coming into the city centre.

They never seem to manage these projects carefully.

It does not matter what station you go to,

A, they are always overrun, B, they are badly mismanaged,

All of Manchester's city centre stations are affected,

with buses and diversions replacing many services through not only

Victoria, but also Oxford Road and Piccadilly stations.

And this is one of the projects being carried out.

The Ordsall Chord will link Victoria and Piccadilly Station

The aim is to eventually get more trains through

But city centre road closures will also be necessary

while a bridge is replaced, the Castlefield viaduct is

The routes into Victoria are blocked from the north.

Also, routes are blocked from Liverpool into Victoria Station.

We have practically refurbished and replaced the majority

of the railway within the central Manchester area.

While many rail routes are quiet, thousands of people

are flying from the region's airports this weekend.

Manchester Airport says it expects more than 290,000 people

to pass through its doors, a 12% increase year on year.

For those staying at home and hoping to avoid disruption,

Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester say they will

It's hoped most of the engineering works will be completed

Naomi Cornwell, BBC North West Tonight.

It's the 40th anniversary of the Easter Boat Gathering

at the National Waterways Museum in Cheshire, which sees boat owners

from around the country gathering on the banks of the Mersey.

Dozens of boats of all different shapes, sizes and colours are coming

together this Easter bank holiday for the annual Boat Gathering

This year is an extra special celebration because it's

It is quite fitting that such an event takes place at this site,

because not many people realise how historically important

The town is named after the docks, the ports, and that is because,

in the 19th century, this was the largest inland waterway

The event, which runs from today until Easter Monday,

will have boat trips, of course, but also music,

workshops and activities for the whole family.

There is something for everybody on the canal, not just

Mums and dads, grandparents, we get lots of schoolchildren,

so it is a fantastic place to come this weekend.

The Easter Boat Gathering is on until bank holiday Monday.

Deena Campbell, BBC North West Tonight, Ellesmere Port.

The big question is will the weather gets better?

It is not looking warm at all. Good evening. It will not be a warmer

ankle at a weekend. It will feel much colder this weekend because we

have the wind blowing in from the Arctic. Saturday looks better. We

will seem a non-Sunday. For tonight, it should be mostly dry. There is a

lot of cloud around. Temperatures down to three, four Celsius. It will

be bright tomorrow, we're expecting sunny spells, isolated showers

through the afternoon, a lot of cloud of bubbling all. A breezy

afternoon, ten, 11 Celsius. Clear skies tomorrow night. It will be a

cold night. Tomorrow, it will look like it will be a wet one on Sunday,

but Easter Monday could be drier. That is it from us. We will be back

tomorrow. The political power base across

Greater Manchester is shifting. For years we have been saying

in the north west London Who do you want to put in charge

on the fourth of May? Someone who understands Manchester

and sees the opportunity this city If we blow it, we will regret

it for a generation. A BBC North West

special on the Greater