Concerning cases
Dozens of patients were put at risk after two of the UK’s leading transplant centres - the Freeman in Newcastle and Harefield in London - continued fitting a heart device despite knowing there were concerns about it having a higher mortality rate than a rival product.
Concerns were raised by the NHS about the mechanical pump in 2018, according to an in-depth BBC report. An audit showed 54 out of 119 patients had died within two years of being fitted with a Medtronic pump (45%) compared to just 15 out of 97 (15%) who were given the rival one.
The Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge had picked up on the growing international concerns and in February 2018 stopped using the Medtronic device, which was typically used for patients awaiting a transplant or those unsuitable for one.
Medtronic eventually withdrew their pump in 2021 on safety grounds. The Freeman and Harefield were still using it in that year - and the BBC learned that leading cardiologists at both hospitals were paid consultants for Medtronic.
The article quotes Medtronic as saying it continues to provide support to approximately 1,200 patients currently implanted with the device.
Manchester-based Fletchers Solicitors, who specialise in medical negligence and defective medical device claims, are taking a look at the situation.
We’re in business
North East mayor Kim McGuinness has announced a £70m funding programme for small businesses.
The North East Accelerate Fund is designed to unlock £350m over the next 15 years, supporting at least 470 companies and creating 2,300 jobs. And the good news is the lines are already open.
“Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy,” the mayor said. “By opening the new North East Funds for applications, we’re giving local entrepreneurs and business owners the support they need to create jobs and drive real opportunity in innovative businesses across our towns and trading estates.
“I expect to see the first deals struck within weeks. This is the dynamic and accessible fund North East firms have been waiting for.”
Cap doesn’t fit
The Great North mayors sent a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for full delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail, a new devolved funding settlement for business growth, and the removal of the two‑child benefit cap to tackle child poverty.
One missing signatory from the collective was Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen. He said he does not support removing the cap, arguing that “hard work should be rewarded” and that slimming down welfare is the only acceptable path in “tough” economic times.
Malhotras win payout
Newcastle-based leisure, care and property company the Malhotra Group has won a £660,000 pay out from Aviva.
The insurance company claimed the owners of the New Northumbria Hotel in Jesmond deliberately caused a flood in July 2020 when the hotel was closed during lockdown.
Following the costs judgement in the High Court, a spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have finally received this judgement vindicating Malhotra Group and its directors. This has been an extremely stressful experience and we hope that through this judgement insurance companies will be addressing their policy holders with more compassion and care.”
Taking CARE to MPs
MPs are getting the chance to see the realities of the underfunded and overstretched care sector through the eyes of those living and working in it.
CARE, a ground-breaking documentary filmed entirely by workers in a Sunderland care home as they emerged from lockdown, has already toured the country featuring panel discussions with the creators of the film and care industry professionals.
Produced by academics at Newcastle University, CARE will now be shown to a range of MPs and industry leaders at a special event in Westminster on Monday.
Director Alastair Cole said: “Bringing the film - and the voices of the care staff it represents - to Westminster has been a key goal for our whole project team, so it’s incredibly exciting to see it happening. The film’s journey around the UK has been both heartening and inspiring.”
Staff ‘betrayed’
Japan-based NSK Ltd has told more than 350 workers it is looking to end production at its two factories in Peterlee as part of a restructure of its European business.
Unite the Union general secretary Sharon Graham called it a betrayal and said staff at NSK Bearings and AKS Precision Ball had “broken their backs” to hit targets on the understanding the factories would remain open.
The town’s Labour MP Grahame Morris said: “Clearly, NSK have other manufacturing sites and we are outside the EU now - I don’t know if that has been a factor - but I am going to be working with the trade unions to put together a business case to maintain production at this plant.”
PCCs to be scrapped
Police and Crime Commissioners will be abolished in 2028 after the Government decided they were a “failed experiment”. A potential £20m saving will be reinvested into frontline policing.
The responsibilities of PCCs will likely transfer to elected mayors or council leaders - although it will be interesting to see what happens in Durham where Joy Allen’s patch straddles both the North East and Tees Valley combined authority areas.
She wasn’t happy with the announcement saying that scrapping her post would “remove the public’s only direct say in policing governance” and risked replacing it with an “invisible and toothless” board.
A ward ceremony
On the left, Newcastle City Council leader Karen Kilgour posts about her honour in representing the council and her West Fenham ward at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony.
On the right, independent (former Labour) Blakelaw ward councillor Marion Williams basically says the leader won’t be representing West Fenham at the ceremony next year, irrespective of whether she is elected in May’s all-out elections or not.
To translate, Councillor Juna Sathian is a member of the Newcastle cabinet who represents Blakelaw. She was spotted on a ward walkabout with Ian Tokell, who lost his seat in West Fenham at the last election.
If Councillor Williams is correct, then both he and the council leader view Blakelaw as a better place to fight off (survive?) the expected surge in support for Reform.
Now you see it…
One day we’re being teased about a new footbridge across the Tyne as part of the Forth Yards development in Newcastle where 2,500 homes are planned over the next two decades.
The very next day we’re being cautioned that the bridge would be a “costly and complex” piece of infrastructure to deliver and that new homes are the priority… news that transported me back to Sunday evenings when Jim Bowen would show Bullseye contestants the star prize they could have won.
To be fair, development on the former Calders leadworks site next to the Utilita Arena has stalled for years because of the cost of remediating the contaminated land. Government funding has been secured and Homes England are looking for a development partner - but it will be at least 15 years before the project will be completed.
The council have begun a six-week consultation on the Forth Banks site. A planning application will soon be submitted for two residential blocks, a multi-storey car park, new shops and green space at the disused Forth Goods Yard behind Central Station - a small part of the site.
Abuse on a huge scale
An officer at the notorious Medomsley detention centre for young offenders was “possibly the most prolific sex offender in British history”, an inquiry has concluded.
Neville Husband was jailed in 2003 for abusing five teenagers at the County Durham centre, with a further 338 sexual offences attributed to him in the inquiry’s report.
Hundreds of young men were physically and sexually attacked by prison staff from 1961 to 1987. A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report lists a string of missed opportunities by the Home Office, police and prison managers to stop the abuse.
Durham Police has apologised to the victims. The Ministry of Justice also apologised on “behalf of all governments, past and present”.
Hospital build stops
Work on a new hospital in Berwick has stopped. Cramlington-based Merit Construction filed for an administration notice last month and workers left the building site last Friday.
Damon Kent, managing director of Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management, said there were discussions with the firm to find a solution, but the hospital would be finished “with or without Merit”.
A quick word
Former Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn has been tasked by the Government to lead a review into the persistently high number of NEETs - the acronym for 16-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training. NCG’s chief executive Liz Bromley has been shortlisted in the Further Education and Skills category at the EducationInvestor Power List Awards. Learning Curve’s Brenda McLeish is in the running for the ESG & Impact award. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on December 2. Parent power has emerged triumphant after Cheviot Learning Trust announced it was scrapping plans to merge Mickley and Broomley first schools, and Prudhoe Castle and Ovingham CE first schools, in Northumberland. By The River, a bar and restaurant complex on the Gateshead quayside, has received planning permission to reopen after closing in 2022. Ponteland’s 700-year-old New Year’s Day wheelbarrow race has been saved after local businesses stepped in to cover increased traffic management costs. The opening of Freight Island, a £16m entertainment complex on the top of Newcastle’s Eldon Square, has been pushed back until the first half of 2006. Sunderland City Council is to investigate fly-tipping at Ryhope Dene, a beauty spot on the Durham Heritage Coast path which is popular with families and dog walkers. A key safety test on the soon-to-be-demolished A167 Gateshead Highway flyover was not conducted for 28 years, according to a report obtained by the BBC. Congratulations to The Northern Echo for winning the Society of Editors Media Freedom Campaign of the Year award for their Keep Hitachi On Track campaign. TransPennine Express is to increase services between Newcastle to Edinburgh from five to eight a day from Sunday December 14, including an early-morning commuter service which will arrive in the Scottish capital at 7.20am. Sunderland council leader Michael Mordey will meet campaigners trying to save the National Glass Centre from closure at a public meeting in the city hall on Wednesday evening.
Burn’s night
It was an early Burn’s night at the annual Sport Newcastle awards last night. The Newcastle United defender won the Sporting Success of the Year prize for his headed goal in the Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool.
That victory also secured the club the Sport Newcastle Team of the Year award. Adopted Geordie Marc Steutel, from Newcastle Eagles, pipped Eddie Howe for the Coach of the Year award while former Olympic and double world champion Jonathan Edwards - a Sport Newcastle patron - was a popular recipient of the Special Recognition Award.
You can see the full list of winners here, including a well-deserved Community Award for Sam Blake, CEO of the Eagles Community Foundation, in recognition of her 25-plus years driving transformative initiatives across the region.
Gallery no-go
The demolition of a former fire station in Hexham is to go ahead despite Angel of the North artist Sir Antony Gormley wanting to turn it into a gallery where his work could be displayed and other artists supported.
Northumberland County Council will now extend the site next door to house a new fleet of recycling vehicles and leader Glen Sanderson said he would speak to Sir Antony’s foundation about finding an alternative gallery space.
Prize guy
Sam Fender has donated his £25,000 Mercury Prize money to the Music Venue Trust, a charity which represents hundreds of the UK’s grassroots music venues. A small levy was added to the ticket prices for his last arena tour which raised more than £100,000 for the charity to support 38 grassroots venues across the country.
Business bites
Marking 20 years of partnership, Sunderland University and Singapore’s MDIS have launched a joint Centre for Applied Sustainability Research and Innovation to drive green skills, industry transformation and support Singapore’s net‑zero ambitions. Sedgefield-based Filtronic has secured a €7m three-year deal with an unnamed European aerospace manufacturer to supply radio frequency assemblies for use in a major low earth orbit satellite constellation programme. Newcastle-based holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts, which operates 65 sites across the UK, is to invest £50m to improve its on-park facilities and amenities next year.
2022 ad break
If you don’t like the BBC, watch this. If you used to like the BBC, watch this. If you don’t care about the BBC, watch this. If you like the BBC, you’ll want to watch this anyway.
It’s been quite a week for old Auntie - see below!
THE WIDER VIEW
Strong BBC journalism is needed as never before
BBC director general Tim Davie and chief exec of news Deborah Turness have resigned after an internal impartiality report somehow made it on to the pages of The Telegraph. A misleading Panorama edit of a speech made Donald Trump was the most damning finding - and now the US president wants $1 billion.
Is the BBC perfect? No. Does it make mistakes? Of course. Could it be quicker, clearer, more transparent when things go wrong? Definitely, says radio consultant Nik Goodman.
“But there’s also a growing group of people and organisations who want to damage the BBC. Who amplify every slip. Who want to chip away at the idea that public service broadcasting can still matter. And that’s why this moment is so important.
“The BBC isn’t just a news organisation. It’s drama, music, comedy, education, culture, and, of course, it’s radio - it’s part of how Britain sounds and feels. Without it, the UK would be culturally poorer and, frankly, smaller on the world stage.”
The Telegraph has been on a crusade against the BBC, says independent investigative reporter Sam Bright, and it’s used a handful of errors to claim the corporation is institutionally biased, deceptive, and should be defunded.
“But here’s what you won’t find splashed across The Telegraph: in 2025 alone, the paper has been forced to publish over 100 corrections, clarifications, and formal regulatory apologies. These are the kind of breaches that would, if committed by the BBC, spawn days of front-page indignation in The Telegraph itself.
“The Telegraph’s own corrections and clarifications page reads like an epitaph to the paper’s once proud reputation. The BBC has been forced to make 33 corrections to its coverage overall this year, compared with a whopping 114 from The Telegraph – despite its dramatically smaller headcount and output.”
There was a measured response from Dominic Ponsford, editor in chief of Press Gazette: “The BBC has made a hash of dealing with the Michael Prescott report on impartiality and the misleading edit in Panorama’s Trump documentary. And The Telegraph deserves kudos for airing an important issue the BBC tried to sweep under the carpet.
“But Trump’s attacks on the BBC raise concerns for me that the Turness and Davie resignations are another example of him undermining independent journalism.
Trump’s statement that ‘these are very dishonest people’ and his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt’s comment that the BBC is ‘100% fake news’ are alarming.
“The BBC is rightly the most trusted news organisation in the world. At a time when truth and objective facts are under concerted attack from the Trump White House, strong BBC journalism is needed as never before.”
MND breakthrough
Rugby stars Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow played a massive role in raising awareness of motor neurone disease - now scientists at Sheffield University have made a major breakthrough with preclinical trials showing a new drug can substantially slow disease progression.
The drug, named M102, works by protecting nerve cells damaged by MND. Researchers are now hopeful the drug can be tested on humans with the neurological condition, for which there is currently no cure.
‘We’ll fix it’
Google has promised it is working on a “fix” for spam sites in its Discover app after more fake news stories topped the rankings in the UK last week.
I reported on this two weeks ago (Eyes & Ears 31.10.25) with Google earning fortunes from the fake stories.
This week ‘Free TV licence for UK Over-60s - how to apply under new rules’ was visible to 2.95m people. An AI copy detector assessed the story as being “fully AI generated”. It is also completely untrue.
