01/09/2014 Spotlight

tonight fighting extradition to Britain after they took their

Mistakes by forensic scienthsts may have compromised any future case.

Basically one member of staff accidentally contaminated exhibits

relevant to the case with ptrple fibres from their own clothhng.

A lorry driver who killed two charity cyclists is sent to prison.

Robert Palmer was jailed for eight and a half years

And a spaniel who'd been missing for more than a week is rescued

Contamination of forensic evidence in one of the south west's lost

shocking unsolved murder cases has cast doubt on whether

the killer could ever be brought to justice, the BBC can reveal.

14`year`old Kate Bushell was stabbed in Exeter in the run up

BBC South West has learned drrors by the government's

Forensic Science Service led to the incrimination of an innocent man,

a wasted police operation and the repayment of a ?100,000 of public

The murder of Kate Bushell horrified the nation. She was stabbed a few

hundred yards from her home when walking a dog. Her body was found by

her father. We have now discovered there has been contamination of key

forensics evidence in the enquiry. It happened during a review of the

case. A technician from the Forensic Science Service was wearing a purple

top that left fibres on a r`nge of exhibits which resulted in the

incrimination of an innocent man and a three`month police investhgation

into the false lead before the error was discovered. The contamination

would also have to be disclosed to the defence at any trial,

potentially undermining the prosecution case. It would be

enormously useful if you ard looking, as one is, at the `cquittal

of the man accused of the crime the defendant. The defence quitd rightly

will make an issue of this. They may be able to discount the particular

fibres but they are underst`ndably going to call into question the

whole forensic procedures and they would want to cast doubt on any

other forensic evidence. The police say a prosecution could

still be possible they retahn forensics samples which are

uncontaminated. Clearly it hs an issue that we would have to disclose

to the defence for the reasons you have outlined but I would argue it

is not unsurmountable. It is an and we will disclose it to the defence

but in terms of our forensic evidence the contamination has

occurred but the forensic tdsts that took place before that would be

secure. We have also learned the Forensic Science Service repaid the

police ?100,000 because of their error. In a statement that he Home

Office said the Forensic Schence Service was abolished two ydars ago

with police in house and prhvate laboratories now carrying ott

forensics work, they are ovdrseen by a regulator in order to maintain

standards. Kate 's family dhd not want to be interviewed but told

us... They added, the support of those

close to us has allowed our family to rebuild our shattered lives and

look fondly upon the preciots years we were lucky enough to share with

Kate. There's more on this story

in the new series of Inside Out South West which returns

tonight at 7.30pm on BBC Ond. A Cornish lorry driver has been

jailed for eight and a half years after killhng two

cyclists who were on a charhty ride The judge said Robert Palmer was

so exhausted he probably fell asleep at the wheel and accused hil

of showing a flagrant disregard The Court heard just

a few weeks after the tragedy Palmer was involved in another acchdent

when he careered into From Truro Crown Court Leigh Rundle

reports. A witness to the accident ndar Truro

in July last year said that Mr Palmer had been driving err`tically

along the road for some timd. He then described the lorry is mowing

down the two cyclists. Mr P`lmer then, he said, carried on for some

distance, as if unaware of the collision. The cyclists, Andrew

McMenigall and Toby Wallace, both died at the scene. Following this

sentence their wives have s`id there was no words to describe thd

devastation and loss. They `dded that UK transport laws are lenient

and charges are difficult and owner was to attain and they calldd for an

improved transport infrastrtcture and better education for drhvers. In

court today Mr Palmer was sdntenced on a third charge of dangerous

driving. This resulted from a separate incident in 11 weeks after

the double fatal accident ndar Truro. The court heard Mr P`lmer was

working day and night withott proper breaks and falsifying his t`chograph

records to hide his lack of sleep. He had been speeding before the

accident and he habitually textured on his mobile phone while driving.

The QC, in sentencing, said it was obvious at the time that Mr Palmer

was suffering from severe f`tigue and slip `` exhaustion. But after

the first terrible accident you failed to heed the warnings. In 11

weeks later you drove into ` good vehicle, forcing it off the road. He

told Mr Palmer, your sentence has to be a warning to other drivers. He

was given a warning to other drivers. He was given must serve in

jail and the other half on licence. He was also banned from driving for

ten years. The NHS has stopped referring

patients to a private hospital in Torquay for cataract operations,

after concern about the treatment given to 19

patients seen on the same d`y. A consultant has been suspended and

a review of safety is under way Our Health Correspondent Sally

Mountjoy can tell us more. What has happened in this incident?

Two peoples went to A at Torbay Hospital with eyesight problems

after cataract surgery at Mount Stuart, the private hospital in

Torquay. As a result 19 pathents were urgently reviewed. Somd had

trouble recovering from thehr operations but none about to have

corrected surgery. Now referrals have been halted while a safety

review is carried out and wd know that a consultant has been

suspended. Why were NHS pathents being operated on or seen at a

private hospital? Torbay Hospital had a contract with Mount Stuart to

enable NHS patients to be sden more quickly for their cataract

hospitals. Didn't something similar happen in Taunton recently? That is

right. Last month another private provider were doing cataract

operations and a number of people had blurred vision and other

problems. That contract was also stopped. With this in mind should

patients be worried about increasing amounts of NHS work being c`rried

out in private hospitals? In safety terms, many people would sax no

because this has been common for many years, the NHS sending patients

to private providers increases capacity and cuts waiting thmes and

it gives patients a choice of where to have an operation. The mddical

operator of Torbay Hospital said today they have been sending

patients to Mount Stuart for over a decade and he also said that when

they prefer `` refer people to private providers they alwaxs do

checks to ensure their standards are the same or better than the NHS

Thank you. People across Cornwall are being

warned an unprecedented levdl of cuts means all areas

of council spending will be affected Cornwall Council has published

a draft budget detailing how it intends to save nearly ?200 million

by 2019. Tamsin Melville has been at

County Hall in Truro today. This is the 180 page document that

has been made public today. It has proposals for how ?200 millhon can

be cut from council spending in four years. There is an awful lot of

detail here and it is clear that not many areas will escape unsc`thed.

Services for the vulnerable, public transport and road maintenance, the

three areas of spending Cornwall Council says it will protect as far

as possible as it looks to lake ?196 million of cuts by 2019. We have

come straight from a meeting... At a briefing today the council leader

made it clear that the budgdts for all other areas on a cuts of around

one third. We wish we were not here but we are and so we have t`ken a

realistic attitude... Hundrdds of council workers could lose their

jobs. We will make sure that they are fully involved in the changes we

make but we look to lose ?30 million off our pay villa in the next few

months and it will be difficult The authority says it has no choice but

to make big changes and it seems that means it will not be the

council itself providing many services. We need to work whth towns

and parishes and charities `nd voluntary section `` sector and the

private sector to see what they can do on our behalf and what they would

like to do to contribute. The council claims its plan offdrs

unique detail, opposition councillors trying to take ht all in

our anxious. There are masshve amounts coming out. 44% comhng out

of the library service, all of the money coming out of the leisure

service. Tourism will take ` big hit. The government says it has

delivered a fair settlement and says that Cornwall's forecast for future

cuts are its own and not government policy. It is being stressed that

these are just proposals at the moment and there will be a series of

20 public meetings across Cornwall in October for people to get their

views across on these cuts. There will then be a full council vote in

November. Police have named the 12 ye`r old

boy who died after an acciddnt Leo Gregory from Exeter was

in collision with a skip lorry on Topsham Road near the Countdss Wear

Roundabout last Thursday afternoon. Officers are appealing for ` cyclist

who was seen close to the area to A 44`year`old man has been charged

with wounding with intent following Armed officers were called to the

Old Railway Line at Cowley Loor on Friday night after reports that a

27`year`old woman had been stabbed. An 11`year`old boy with learning

disabilities has gone missing George Pugh`Sargent from Dorchester

was last seen in the car park at Ringstead Bay

on the coast between Lulworth tall and has short blonde h`ir. He

was wearing a Hawaiian print t`shirt with black shorts and braces. The

police say they're becoming increasingly concerned for his

welfare. Scottish Independence could have

considerable implications hdre. An extraordinary rescue with

a happy ending. And majestic and magnificent, the

tall ships fleet in all its glory. With just over two weeks to go

until Scotland goes to the polls on independence Spotlight is looking

at the effects any decision might One major issue is the future of

Trident, the UK's nuclear ddterrent. The Scottish National Party has said

that in the event of a Yes vote it That would mean moving

the nuclear missiles Submarines that carried thel south

of the border. If Scotland votes yes Trident could be a frequent visitor.

The SNP wants to remove Trident and that would mean finding a ndw home

for the submarines missiles and warheads south of the border,

probably here in the south`west The option they are looking for is one

that is reasonably quick and not expensive to do and that is probably

the combination at Devonport and Falmouth. The submarines ard

currently based at Faslane hn Scotland while the missiles and war

heads are stored a few miles away. Only last month a report from the

Royal United services Institute stated that Devonport would be the

most obvious alternative to Faslane. The option given most credence to

date. In the nuclear warheads north of Falmouth on a headlined. Before

it happens there will be such an uproar and people will be so against

it that I cannot see it happening. Few visitors to the area wotld

welcome a nuclear base here. I think it would spoil the natural beauty of

the place. It is quite a quhet place. It would not stop us coming

here but it would certainly add to the traffic of the holidays anyway.

I think it is out of the qudstion and I would be very surprisdd if you

find anyone who lives locally to accept that. Cornwall's tourism

bosses more pragmatic. I thhnk what we would want to see is how can we

minimise the impact on tourhsm. Obviously it would be good for the

economy to Cornwall to have a bigger mix but you do not really w`nt to

gain something and lose somdthing else so it would be, where hs the

winning win in this rather than the win`lose full? Devon has already

seen the huge benefit of Trhdent with the refit contract being worth

more than ?5 billion relocation could bring many jobs. It h`s also

seen a share of opposition. There were protests when the first

submarine arrived for a refht in 2002. The views of many of the

protesters remain unchanged. This is a wonderful opportunity. Thd

question of the future of Trident, to make the decision to end our

nuclear deterrent and actually starts to spend that money on

welfare services and the thhngs that we need. The Ministry of Defence

maintains that it is not pl`nning for Scottish dependence ``

independence. It said in a statement there are no plans to move Trident

from Her Majesty 's naval b`se in Clyde and unilateral disarm`ment is

not an option. Even if Scotland does not vote yes any decision on where

to `based Trident is likely to be a long way off, probably around 2 28.

Many believe Everett for independence is more likely to

reignite the debate about the future of Britain's nuclear deterrdnt

itself. To the sport now and only

Plymouth Argyle came out of the weekend's League football

with anything to shout about. Yeovil Town can't seem to gdt

their season started, while Exeter City are still

searching for their first whn. Commentators from BBC Radio Devon

and BBC Somerset describe the drama. He shoots for goal. What a goal We

know he can do that. Now he gets the crossover. It is an own goal. The

ball bounces in and Yeovil Town have equalised. We got into the box many

times, especially in the second half and we could not touch a win away.

Credit to my team, I went in there and I said it was only a pohnt and

obviously you you are disappointed with that but we played a good team

and we created a lot of opportunities but we showed the

desire to win and that is where we needed to

And he scores. A brilliant goal from Argyll!

Header. 2`0 to Plymouth Argxle. Alessandro scored it with a creation

of his work in the penalty `rea It is a long flat throw and he`ded up

in the air. Oh, and overhead kick, what a goal that is by Mark

Richards! In the last minutd it is cruel on city but it is spectacular

from Mark Richards. Northampton have won the game in the last minute

Cornwall para`triathlete Melissa Reid has won gold and silver in

23`year`old Melissa from Porthtowan, who's partially sighted, cotldn t

repeat last year's gold med`l in the Worlds finishing second behind

But she did retain her world aquathon

Archaeologists have just uncovered a historic site near Bridgwatdr. It is

a Roman villa complete with hot and cold bathtubs. It

land being used for a new road to the nuclear power station

bathhouse. Evidence comes from a hyper coursed, underfloor hdating

system, proof there were nulber of types used for bathing.

This bathhouse out rather than for the bulldozdrs. Now

to the story that is quite literally a cliffhanger. The dog that was

missing for more than a week and was rescued from a cliff. He disappeared

more than a week away in Devon. An RNLI lifeboat crew found thd

nine`year`old dog on a ledgd while on a training exercise on Stnday.

His owners say it was the bdst news ever.

It is the best news ever, isn't it? Did you say he was licking water off

their wet suits? He must be thirsty, his heart.

`` bless his heart. The Tall Ships Regatta in F`lmouth

has come to an end in a spectacular parade of sail in

front of thousands of spect`tors. As David George reports,

the ships looked their best as they left port in brilliant sunshine

for a race up the English Channel. Thousands have enjoyed lookhng

around these ships while thdy were open to the public. It is hdre

underwater `` on the water `nd under sail that they show their pddigree.

The wind direction of the L`ndman they could not fit all of their

sales until they turned awax from the shore. It looks like evdryone

who had anything that could float came out to see the fleet off.

Yachts, dinghies, canoes and even a paddle board. There were two

steamboats. It is estimated that more than 1000 small craft gathered

like bees around the ships. Every vantage point onshore was p`cked. It

is part of Falmouth, it is part of Cornwall, and it is just an event

that you do not want to mix Cosby nude `` miss because you do not know

when it will be back. It is special because it is aimed at youth and

half the crews have to be a under 25 so it brings everyone together.

These three youngsters are from Falmouth and they are off on the

adventure of a lifetime on board a Polish ship. Want to buy a tall

ship? This one is for sale. Built`in 2000 so only 14 years old, 49 metres

long and plenty of room for the family. The tall ship have been to

Falmouth more times than anxwhere else in the UK. They were hdre in

66, 82, 98, 2008 and now 2004. It has been really successful. We

reached the visitor numbers we predicted and I am hoping the

economic impact will be hugd. Certainly from a social point of

view has been brilliant and all of the town and all of the captains and

everyone involved have said how positive it is. Everyone has been

involved and enthusiastic about it, it has been a real Falmouth

celebration. We have been s`t here all of the time. We watched people

come and go and it has been just brilliant. The sun has been lovely.

The race up the channel to the Isle of White started several miles out

to sea. The ships and their crews are heading for Greenwich where they

will do it all again. Gorgeous pictures. Perfect weather.

Aren't we lucky? Weather was stunning yesterday but a

bit miserable today. Yes, it is the first day of the

meteorological autumn so it is fitting! The good news is that high

pressure is in charge this week some it will not all be plain sahling,

excuse the pun, but it should be nice at times. Not looking too bad.

Let us take a quick look back. It is the 1st of September so let us look

at August. It was cool and wet and we saw so that is what you would

expect and half as much agahn and it was 1 degrees below average. It has

been the coolest August since 1 93 so not a great picture. This week

and improving story. High`pressure is in charge. You will see variable

cloud at times and that will give us poor visibility. You will sde light

wind and warm and sunny spells. You can see the swirl of cloud tp

towards Iceland. This is a hurricane which has thrown a cold front across

us today hence the cloudy conditions we have seen. High`pressure is

dominating over the coming days In fact it will probably last out the

working week and in the `` dven into the weekend although there hs

uncertainty by that stage. This has been the picture today, a lot of

cloud in place and patchy r`in and drizzle as well. Brighter skies

starting to feed in now frol the north so we may see some evdning

sunshine coming through. Thd bulk of that cloud is clearing for tonight.

With those clear skies and light winds we could see some mist and fog

forming. Quite a bright start to the date tomorrow with any mist and fog

clearing quickly. Good and sunny spells clearing through and a touch

more clad bubbling up in thd afternoon. It should stay f`irly

bright and temperatures do not look bad at all. We could see sole spots

hitting around 21 or 22 degrees if we see enough sunshine coming

through. Not a bad day for the Isle of silly with variable amounts of

cloud. It should stay dry. `` the Isles of Scilly.

Taking a look at our waves for our surfers now.

For our coastal waters forecast for tomorrow the winds are stord

north`easterly, three or fotr and occasionally dropping down to

variable to and conditions `re fair and the visibility is good. Over the

coming days we have high`prdssure in charge which means the forecast will

be quite difficult. The det`il is tricky to pin down. We will see

variable cloud over the comhng days and sunshine coming through at

times. As we head towards the end of the week there will be a cloudy

picture on Friday with rain and drizzle. Where we see sunshhne it

should feel quite warm. Thank you. That is it from ts. More

stories on a Inside Out South West in half an hour and more details to

follow in a few moments. We will be back tomorrow at 6:30pm.

Goodbye. Go away if you don't me

to speak to you like that! Most schools exclude

disruptive pupils. I ain't putting up

with this any more. But one school takes them in

and promises five GCSEs.