Lisa Nandy wins the NUM's backing as the candidates seek endorsements from unions and local parties.

Health minister Nadine Dorries has told a House of Commons debate into maternity failings at Shropshire hospitals that a government-commissioned review is now investigating about 900 cases, some dating back 40 years.

But she said the government would not respond to the Ockenden review until it is complete, so as not to hinder the investigation.

Image source, Parliamentlive.tv

Ms Dorries also said she expected the review to publish its results by the end of the year, which matches the timeframe outlined by Ms Ockenden last year.

The debate was called by Telford MP Lucy Allen, highlighted the seriousness and "scale" of details reported in leaks to the media in November.

Commissioned in April 2017, Ms Allen also compared the time taken to complete the Ockenden review to the Morecambe Bay inquiry, which "reported promptly", and that it was about the safety of maternity care "in our hospitals today".

The former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, who commissioned the review, also spoke in the debate and suggested the "biggest mistake the government could make" when the Ockenden Report is finally published would be "saying this is a one-off incident" and that lessons would apply across the NHS.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow.

The MP for Telford has told a House of Commons debate on the avoidable baby deaths at Shropshire's hospitals that she has concerns about the trust's attitudes towards women.

Lucy Allan said "there was a kind of 'we know best' attitude" and "I am concerned about the way this trust appears to have treated women and about their attitudes towards women, which appears to be dismissive."

Image source, Parliamentlive.tv

A government-commissioned review into the safety of women and babies at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford has identified hundreds of potential cases.

Coventry Live

Here are three of the stories from Coventry Live today:

• Fatal stabbing in Leamington Spa, external
• Boy arrested over city centre knifepoint robberies, external
• Historic Coventry pub is up for sale, external

Rising costs of building a new platform at Coventry railway station could see the project shelved, according to a report submitted by Coventry and Warwickshire's Local Enterprise Partnership.

The new platform, external would have doubled the number of trains able to run between Coventry and Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Image source, Google

Mark Whitelegg is from the Nuneaton, Bedworth and Hinckley Rail Users Group said "I'm not surprised, I'm just very, very annoyed" and added the route was "supposed to usher in new metro-style trains".

Coventry City Council said it would issue a statement later this week.

West Midlands Trains said it was disappointed to hear the news and that demand between Leamington and Nuneaton via Coventry is continuing to grow, meaning better infrastructure is needed.

A former coal-fired power station site could be used to develop environmentally friendly driverless vehicles, a Parliamentary debate has heard.

Ironbridge Power Station stopped producing electricity in November 2015 and two months ago its iconic cooling towers were brought down in a controlled explosion that was watched by hundreds.

The long-term plan for the site includes 1,000 new homes in addition to a range of commercial, leisure and community uses, including a park and ride facility and a school.

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne told a debate in the House of Commons that one of the firms interested in building on the brownfield site was " one of the leading companies in driverless vehicles".

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said said it was a good example of the "fossil fuels of yesterday giving way to the green future".

The flooding is back and one again Worcestershire is seeing some of the worst of it.

This photo was taken by Jackie Surtees in Upton upon Severn today.

Image source, Jackie Surtees

And these photos were taken by BBC Weather Watchers in Eckington and Worcester.

Image source, PeakyBeaky

Image source, MikeSnapper

A man has been arrested after the fatal stabbing in Leamington Spa as police hunt a second suspect.

Jean Whitmore died of natural causes days before Carl Port raided her Birmingham home.

Gary Gardner ends Birmingham City's six-game winless Championship run with a second-half strike against bottom side Luton.

Charities and voluntary groups in Redditch will be getting less financial help from the local authority after a vote by councillors.

Last night, Redditch Borough Council's executive voted to phase out more than £80,000 of rent discounts, currently given to not-for-profit groups who use council property.

Image source, Google

They also agreed to cut £45,000 from their grants budget.

Ruling Conservative councillors said they would produce a compromise which staved off rent rises for a year, but some organisations are warning they could still be forced to close as a result.

A man's been cut with a knife in an attempted carjacking by three masked men.

Image source, Major Mahil

They grabbed the keys off the driver of a Mercedes on Harvest Fields Way, Sutton Coldfield, yesterday evening, West Midlands Police said.

However they failed to get the car started and fled on foot.

The man driving the car, Major Mahil, told the BBC it was a "very scary situation" and he suffered cuts to his knee from the knife.

He added he was more worried for his 20-year-old son who was getting out of the car at the time the attempt happened.

Jennie Aitken
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

The speed of pothole repairs in Stoke-on-Trent's been defended by the city council after it admitted having a backlog of about 4,000 still to do.

It comes after hundreds of residents complained to BBC Radio Stoke about the state of the roads.

Comments on the station's Facebook page included "horrendous, external" and "shocking, external" with some saying they didn't feel like reporting problems as "nothing gets done, external".

The council said it had nine to 10 teams working on them every day and was spending £1m to clear the current backlog.

It added it was also planning to put £20m over four years into the city's roads, if its budget proposals are approved.

A 33-year-old has been arrested after one man was killed and another seriously injured in a stabbing in Leamington Spa this morning.

Warwickshire police says the arrested man, from the town, is being held on suspicion of murder.

Emergency services were called to Tachbrook Road at about 11:00.

Image source, PA Media

The force said it was still looking for another suspect who was last seen at about 11:30 on Emscote Road at the junction with Fosberry Close in Warwick.

It added the attack on two young men appeared to have been targeted and was unlikely to present a risk to the wider public.

BBC Weather

The dry weather's set to continue tonight which will also see long, clear spells and a light breeze. Low: 3C (37F).

Image source, Liam Ball

Tomorrow will start dry and bright but it'll then turn cloudy and windy through the morning with some rain later in the day. High: 11C (52F).

You can keep up-to-date on the latest weather for your area on the BBC Weather website.

Although many of the areas on rivers in the west of the region are on flood alert, rainfall has not been excessive for this time of year, according to Dave Throup from the Environment Agency.

He said by 13 January most places had seen about half the monthly average rainfall.

He also said an area of high pressure was expected to bring some welcome drier weather over the weekend.

Dudley News

A few of the stories from the Dudley News this afternoon:

• Murder trial halted for more evidence, external
• Woman in serious condition after being found in Netherton reservoir, external
• New Bishop of Dudley set to be ordained this month, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Data used to justify the temporary closure of two Herefordshire minor injury units was "unhelpful", the managing director of the Wye Valley NHS Trust has accepted.

The units in Ross-on-Wye and Leominster were closed at the start of November, external, so that staff could be diverted to Hereford County Hospital over the winter months and the trust produced statistics to say the units were only being visited by 1.6 patients an hour.

Image source, Google

But, appearing before Herefordshire councillors, Jane Ives confirmed that figure had been reached by taking the annual attendances and then dividing them up on the basis the units were open for 52 weeks a year, when in reality it is less than that.

Ms Ives said she would be happy to send accurate figures to councillors.

St Andrew's tenants Coventry City set up an intriguing FA Cup fourth-round tie 'at home' to landlords Birmingham City as they comfortably dispose of Bristol Rovers.