The baby death scandal at an nhs trust. The woman in charge appears to downplay what has happened. At least ten babies died at east kent nhs trust whos boss is now questioning how many of those deaths are preventable. There are six or seven cases that are viewed likely is preventable. This is not credible. I can give you ten names now. It isnt always quite as clear cut as that. Now. It isnt always quite as clearcut as that. Also on the programme tonight. A 52 year old man charged in connection with the murder of lyra mckee in londonderry. Trying to crack down on harmful content online, the government gives the media watchdog ofcom new powers to punish social media firms. After 14 days in quarantine on the wirral, 83 britons people who were flown out of wuhan are told they dont have coronavirus and leave tomorrow. And how the footballer Rio Ferdinand is trying to help parents worried about their children and screentime. And coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, the chinese grand prix is postponed because of the coronavirus but will it have to be cancelled this year . Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. Its a major nhs trust at the centre of a scandal about baby deaths that were preventable. East Kent Hospitals trust accepted responsibility after at least ten babies died since 2011. Some were stillborn, some were left brain damaged during labour and didnt survive, others contracted infections. But now the hospitals chief executive has spoken publicly for the first time and has sought to downplay not only what happened but also the number of babies who died. Our social Affairs CorrespondentMichael Buchanan reports. No one spotted what was going on. They could have saved him. Some days dol they could have saved him. Some days do i want to go outside and face the big wide world . No. Our son, harry, died because of a number of serious and preventable failures in the medical care and treatment he and my wife sarah received. Over the past month east Kent Hospitals has accepted that since 2011 at least ten babies have died after bad errors, some of them stillborn but inafirst errors, some of them stillborn but in a first interview, the trusts chief executive, susan acott, said
there were fewer. From about 2011 to about 2020, there are six or seven cases that are viewed likely is preve nta ble. Cases that are viewed likely is preventable. This is not credible. I can give you ten names 110w preventable. This is not credible. I can give you ten names now of babies who have died at this trust that this trust has accepted responsibility for, for their preve nta ble responsibility for, for their preventable deaths. When you are looking at babies who are born very prematurely, often have congenital issues as well, it is not always quite as clear cut as that. Issues as well, it is not always quite as clearcut as that. In 2015, an independent report commissioned by the trust uncovered numerous maternity problems. Among their findings were significant concerns about the failure of consultants to conduct ward rounds, review women and attend out of hours. Despite being in post since october 2017, susan acott said she hadnt even read the crucial report for more
than two years. Can you remember when you saw that Royal College of obstetricians and gynaecologists report which preceded your time here but highlighted the issues . Can you tell me when you saw it . At the end of 2019. At the end of 2019 . Yes. Why did it take you so long to see that report . I wasnt aware that report had actually been commissioned. Harry richfords wholly of avoidable death in 2017 highlighted systemic problems with the trust and susan acott apologised for his death but she had admitted she hadnt yet met a Single Family who had lost a baby due to the trusts poor care. As chief executive, i think it is very important that i learn and we all collectively learn. Unless you sit
down face to face in the same room as the people who have lost their children, you cant know, you cant even begin to know what it is like. I think it is important that staff, me included, stuff as well, listen to families. We do do that. My concern, my focus to families. We do do that. My concern, my focus needs to be to make sure that, going forward, we are doing all the right things and that, today, everything that would be expected of us is being done. Susan acott ending that report. Michael is with me. What she says will upset the families involved in this. I think it well and it will upset an awful lot of them, some of the ones ive been speaking to certainly will be disappointed, some of them will be furious. There are calls for a Public Inquiry into what has happened at this trust over the yea rs has happened at this trust over the years and i think those remarks will probably add to that. Not only did susan acott come across as
downplaying some of the seriousness of the problems but you couldnt a nswer of the problems but you couldnt answer for instance why clinicians we re answer for instance why clinicians were not passing on to coroners the details of babies deaths which raises the prospect some children might have died affordably, not only do the trust not get scrutinised for them but more importantly the families never got answers as to why their children had died. She said she is keen to remain in post, she has appointed a new team and that they are focused on improving services. Ministers have received a couple of reports into maternity ca re couple of reports into Maternity Care in east kent and they will announce what action they will take in terms of ensuring that services are safe. One final thing, the first trust Board Meeting will be held tomorrow since these problems emerged, and i think itll be lively. Michael buchanan, thank you. A 52 year old man in Northern Ireland has been charged with murder and possession of a firearm in relation to the death of lyra mckee. The 29 year old journalist was shot during rioting in londonderry in april last year. Our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in belfast for us. Emma, what more do we know . Welcome lyra mckees death had a major impact here. She was described asa major impact here. She was described as a rising star in Northern Ireland and she was shot by terrorists, say police, during rioting last year in londonderry. Now a 52 year old man from derry, who was arrested on tuesday, has been charged with murder with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and with intent to endanger life and with professing membership of a proscribed organisation. You will appear at Londonderry Magistrates Court tomorrow. There was widespread condemnation of the violence after lyra mckees death, both the british and irish Prime Ministers attended herfuneral. And irish Prime Ministers attended her funeral. These charges will be seen as a her funeral. These charges will be seen as a significant step but police in Northern Ireland have a lwa ys police in Northern Ireland have always said a number of people were involved on the night of her death and the quest for evidence to bring the gunman to justice remains ongoing. Thank you. The media watchdog ofcom has been given new powers to punish social media firms who fail to act over harmful content. Until now, platforms like facebook, tiktok, youtube, snapchat and twitter have largely been self regulating. Its not yet known what penalties ofcom would be able to impose on those who fail to comply. Heres our media editor, amol rajan. It would be better if social media apps like instagram and twitter improved their blocking and reporting system. It is automatically public and i think they should change that to private when you are signing up for things. I feel safe, like, it depends which people i follow. Do you sometimes find you have to explain things to adults . Yeah for a generation who have never known life before the internet, the online world is an addiction which evolves every week. But new rules for keeping them safe are still short on detail. For years, ministers have promised the strictest internet laws in the world but the competition is tough. In germany, platforms with more than 2 million german users have 2a hours to remove illegal content. They can be fined up to £112 million if they dont. And in australia, tech executives can be jailed for three years with financial penalties worth up to 10 of a companys global turnover. We will ask the question about exactly what the enforcement mechanism should be. Should there be fines, some other kind of liability . I dont think it will be criminal sanctions but i do think it will be things that will concentrate the minds of the platforms. At this stage, we dont know what the sanctions are going to be . No, we are going to obviously. The announcement about ofcom today being the regulator we are minded to appoint, obviously we want to speak to them but also to the many other interested parties. Many charities welcome the direction of travel. Ten, 11, 12, 13 self regulatory attempts to keep children safe online have all failed. Statutory regulation is essential and we are delighted that that is now going to happen. Regulating the internet is fiendishly difficult. There is no universally agreed model or definition of online harm. With 500 hours of footage
uploaded onto youtube alone every single minute, the sheer scale is extremely hard and expensive to police and if, if there are no criminal sanctions, will any penalties actually be tough enough to really hurt companies who sometimes earn tens of billions of pounds every year . Mix all that with the fact that ofcom got a new chief executive today, and that later this week we will probably have the ninth culture secretary in just eight years, and these proposals are very much a work in progress. I think some of these schools should at least dedicate some lesson time to focus on, ok, so how is an appropriate way for you to use the internet . Shes right. For all the efforts of governments, regulators and companies, the best solutions probably lie closer to home. Amol rajan, bbc news. 83 britons who are flown out of wuhan and placed in quarantine have been told they dont have
coronavirus and can leave tomorrow. It comes as the man at the centre of the uka it comes as the man at the centre of the uk a break of coronavirus was released from hospital after being told he is no longer contagious. Eight people in the uk have tested positive for the virus and 1750 people here have tested negative. Happy to be home, the message from steve walsh after a full recovery from the virus and no longer contagious according to the nhs. He had contracted it in singapore and is thought to have infected 11 others. One of them is a gp who work two days at Worthing Hospital last week. That doctor is being treated in isolation elsewhere and the hospital is still running but patients are concerned. My husband took my son over to amd on sunday night and took my son over to amd on sunday nightandi took my son over to amd on sunday night and i want to check my son didnt come into contact with the Health Worker because, obviously, you just never know, do you . I think eve ryo ne you just never know, do you . I think everyone is panicking and i think there needs to be in the media, more in the media, to say dont panic. It is serious but we are dealing with
it. Some parents are worried after hearing about local cases. The children are panicking about it. No one wants to send their kids to school, thats the other thing. It is getting a bit scary now. |j school, thats the other thing. It is getting a bit scary now. I asked Public Health england if they could reassure people in brighton and worthing. There is not a general risk to people either in schools or any other kind of facilities just because there happens to have been somebody with this infection in that area so somebody with this infection in that area so i can somebody with this infection in that area so i can reassure on somebody with this infection in that area so i can reassure on that point. If children need to be out of school, that is because we have told them, theyve been contacted and theyve been advised on the actions that need to be taken. With another 39 people on a quarantined cruise ship off the coast ofjapan 39 people on a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of japan testing positive for the virus, the question is how much it will spread beyond a share. Health officials here say thatis share. Health officials here say that is still uncertain but they expect to see more people with the virus. It is highly likely we will see some more cases based on people
coming into the uk from one of the countries of concern. What we are trying to do in this phase of response is to make sure we pick up any of those very quickly. Meanwhile, people quarantined at arrow Park Hospital in wirral will com plete arrow Park Hospital in wirral will complete their 1a day isolation tomorrow. Im pleased to announce each and every one of us, the 83 people on that first evacuation flight people on that first evacuation flight from wuhan, have tested negative for coronavirus. So, we are coming home government sources say there is no reason for public concern about people leaving quarantine and have appealed for their privacy to be respected. Hugh pym, bbc news. Our top story this evening. At least ten children have died in east Kent Hospitals trust and the government is questioning how many of those were preventable. And is Bernie Sanders, the 78 year old veteran
senatorfrom vermont, one step closer to the white house . Coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, an uncertain future for the Rugby Union Championship as funding for the 12 clubs in the second tier is cut by half. In exactly a month, Boris Johnsons government will set out its first budget, making it clear in which direction the Prime Minister plans to take the united kingdom. When he won the election, with a huge majority, he said his priority would be to unite and level up the country and that he would work round the clock in order to do so. Redcar in the north east of england went blue for the first time in the election. In the first of a series of reports from around the uk, our Political Correspondent alex forsyth has been to redcar to find out what people want from next months budget. The seaside town of redcar is home to a community built on steel. When the plant here closed five years ago, it left
thousands out of work, and changed a way of life. You used to come out of school and go straight to British Steel or aci. You were there for life. Thats how it was when i was a kid. Of course, suddenly, that was gone. Julies husband is one of those who lost his job. Everything just went downhill, really, there was nojobs, everybody was despairing. It felt awful. Its a familiar story at this Community Hub at the heart of the borough built to house steelworkers. It offers skills, training and support for families who struggled, services some say should come from the government. Everybody promises something until they get in, and then nothing is done. Everything is just put on a back burner. And its wrong. I think people in this area tend to feel that london gets a lot more help, and a lot more financial help than the north, and in the north we feel like we are being forgotten. This town has long been a labour stronghold but it voted
conservative last year. In part, brexit. In part, the promise of investment in transport, high streets, business. It is rough. Its horrible trying to find a job around here. Do you believe the government when they say they will invest in this area, make a big difference . Not really. I dont have a lot of faith in the government. I hope so. I voted tory, so. We will wait and see in a years time if anything has improved. If not, i dare say there will be a Labour Government back again. What we firstly need to see is that completely demolished. The tees valley mayor, himself a tory, knows there is pressure to deliver. He wants to redevelop the steelworks, create jobs in green technology. The government has put money into the project but there is a very long way to go. We cant have that sat on our horizon for the next five, ten, 15 years, with that ghost looking over our shoulder of what used to be. We need to move forward, we need more investment, and we need government now to step up to the mark. They made a lot of promises during the election, we have a lot more conservative mps in the region, and the local people
are now saying, well, heres your opportunity. You either deliver or youre probably going to be out on your ear in the next five years. Nicky knows first hand how the right support can turn things around. He was a steelworker. When he lost hisjob, he got a government grant and used it to start a boxing business. He is hopeful of such opportunity for others. I think some people seem to think theyve been forgotten about down this neck of the woods. Do you get the sense things are changing . I hope so. I think the way the election went, i think. What people want is to see a bit of change. But the people here have heard promises in the past. This community will stay sceptical until things look very different. Alex forsyth, bbc news, redcar. The race to take on donald trump in this years president ial election is hotting up with the veteran left wing senator Bernie Sanders strengthening his position in his bid to become the democratic partys candidate for the white house. He narrowly won the New Hampshire primary and declared it the beginning of the end for president trump. But it was a terrible night for former Vice President joe biden, whod been considered the favourite. He finished fifth. Our north america editorjon sopel is in New Hampshire. Something of a turnaround in this race . Yes, two months ago jo