91Èȱ¬

As one door closes another opens, they say. So it is with my blog.

I am being absorbed into the 91Èȱ¬ News family and just like %3Ca%20href="/programmes/b006q2x0/features/past-doctors">Doctor Who is occasionally forced to regenerate, I am undergoing a bit of a makeover.

The new blog will continue to bring you behind-the-scenes information and background details of some of the stories we cover.

You will also be able to comment on the films we make.

This blog is now closed and is being archived. To follow my new blog just go to %3Ca%20href="/news/correspondents/chrisjackson">bbc.co.uk/chrisjackson

See you on the other side...

Whenever a boat sails through the Farne Deeps off Northumberland it seems you've every chance of spotting %3Ca%20href="https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/whitebeakeddolphin.htm">white beaked dolphins.

Kirsten O'Brien joined naturalist %3Ca%20href="https://www.northernexperiencewildlifetours.co.uk/news.php?story=40">Martin Kitching on a survey of dolphins in the North Sea, and when they appeared her excitement was obvious. Having them jump up out of the water alongside the boat or surf the bow wave can't do anything but leave you smiling.

Are we playing with them, or are they playing with us? If it's their habitat I guess we are the guests.

Not that we act like that though.

We humans are rather duplicitous as a race. As you can see in %3Ca%20href="/programmes/b01nnnlq">the programme (Monday, 20 October 1012, 19:30 GMT) we have environmentalists who are urging the government to create protective zones along the Northumberland coast and those who argue against it.

Martin and other wildlife conservation groups warn that just protecting the sea bed is not enough, the whole watery habitat needs to be included.

Michael Bold is a fisherman in Amble, who worries his profession might become endangered if that's part of the proposed %3Ca%20href="https://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/marine/protect/mpa/mcz/">marine conservation zones.

He argues pilot areas should be set up to assess what impact it has both on wildlife and the fishing industry.

What's your take? Why not leave a comment on this blog and let us know?

Finally.... my blog is moving to a new home. After today you can follow me at %3Ca%20href="/news/correspondents/chrisjackson/">bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/chrisjackson/

Be careful what you wish for. An old adage that many of us should heed, especially as your best intentions may backfire.

When %3Ca%20href="/programmes/b01nj43s">Inside Out airs tonight (19:30hrs Monday, 22 October 2012) it will be the second case in which we reveal how a police force, trying to root out rogue officers, ends up shining a light uncomfortably brightly into its own affairs.

Back in 2010 we reported on the case of %3Ca%20href="/news/10581584">Maurice Allen. The Durham officer had been selling on guns handed in to the police for safe disposal. He was convicted, but in an exclusive interview with Inside Out he revealed how the force's internal control of guns and licensing was a mess. At his trial the judge branded Durham's firearms procedures as "extremely lax, if not chaotic".

In our latest episode we speak to Paul and Suzie Thompson. He was an undercover detective with %3Ca%20href="https://www.northumbria.police.uk/">Northumbria Police and she was a high powered exec on Teesside.

He stupidly ended up using cocaine behind his wife's back. His bosses meanwhile thought he was linked to a drug dealing gang and launched a big anti-corruption investigation.

When Suzie was arrested it all came out of the blue and she found herself accused of being part of this drugs ring.

At court, the couple were cleared on the dealing charges. They'd always denied conspiracy to supply and when the evidence against them was revealed it left them wondering how on earth it could ever have led to a prosecution.

The jury was told Paul Thompson had a conversation in which he said goods were to be delivered at the weekend as they had to be cut then. His wife had texted a friend saying they were celebrating with a "snifter to get in the mood".

However when the whole picture emerged at trial it was revealed his chat was in fact in a timber yard when he was buying wood, and Suzie was pouring a "snifter" of whiskey to celebrate the start of the festive season.

Paul Thompson accepts his police career was always going to be over. He admitted taking cocaine and he was convicted of possession.

But for his blameless wife the fall out of the police investigation was devastating. She lost her job because of all the adverse publicity.

Possessing a %3Ca%20href="%3Ca%20href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_2120000/newsid_2120400/2120454.stm?">class A drug would have been enough to root out a bad apple from their own ranks; However the internal investigations team were adamant they had a drugs mastermind on their hands, even though the evidence as revealed in court just didn't stack up.

Northumbria Police told us: "The public rightly expects the highest possible standards of all Northumbria Police officers and staff. Where we suspect those standards fall below the required level, we will take action.

"Paul Thompson was a serving officer convicted of possessing a class A drug and misconduct in a public office - this was entirely inappropriate behaviour for any employee of Northumbria Police.

"We carefully consider each investigation we undertake, to make a decision purely on cost would be wrong, we are obliged to investigate thoroughly if concerns are raised to us and will continue to do so".

Northumbria Police confirmed that they'd had a complaint from Mrs Thompson which was investigated - but not upheld.

No one can doubt the police are right to fight corruption within their own force but cases like these are bound to be high profile. We shouldn't be surprised that no-one is perfect.

Those that have done wrong should expect to be punished, but those holding them to account should be prepared for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to be revealed about all those involved.

%3Ca%20href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles">The Beatles famously asked in one of their songs; "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm 64?"

Life expectancy has gone up since they penned the song, but the question hasn't gone away. Just who can we rely on to give us that extra bit of care when we need it?

When I visited a day centre for the elderly in Darlington for our Inside Out investigation into how budget cuts are affecting home care (%3Ca%20href="/programmes/b01nd8y2">91Èȱ¬1 19:30hrs GMT, Monday 15 October 2012) it was clear today's pensioners felt they'd been paying their dues all their lives and they expect the local council to foot the bill.

However with an ageing population and tighter budgets it seems something has to give.

I've been told horror stories of vulnerable older people, some with Alzheimers, who are confronted with an ever-changing succession of carers. Continuity is the least they could hope for when memory is a challenge.

Others have carers who have four 15 minute visits to carry out, but without travel time being factored in it's a mathematical mission impossible.

Councils often employ private companies to carry out home visits for services like cleaning, bathing, and cooking meals for those who want to remain in their own homes, but who need a helping hand. Some of our local authorities are paying only just over £10 an hour - but that's not the carer's wage, it's the total amount a home care company has to recruit, train, pay and manage its staff, never mind the overheads such as carrying out criminal record checks.

The UK 91Èȱ¬care Association which represents providers carried out %3Ca%20href="https://www.ukhca.co.uk/pdfs/UKHCACommissioningSurvey2012.pdf">research that revealed that on average the North East paid less for home care than any other part of Britian (see page 26 of this report).

You can of course exercise your right to take control of the money the council would spend and find your own homecare, but how many people would be prepared to take that on at a time when they are starting to feel vulnerable?

When I spoke to Health Minister Norman Lamb he was suggesting the way to ensure that care is up to standard is to have the home care equivalent of tripadvisor.

People could add their own ratings to the public findings of the regulator, the %3Ca%20href="https://www.cqc.org.uk/search-criteria/care-your-home">Care Quality Commission.

Could there be other alternatives though? For our programme the %3Ca%20href="/news/uk-19949171">91Èȱ¬'s 91Èȱ¬ Editor Mark Easton travelled throughout the UK to look at innovative ways of providing healthcare, including a project in York.

It's something that will affect us all in one way or another - whether it's looking after one of our older relatives or having someone look after us.

Care is something we should all care about.

It is possibly the most important decision Cumbrians will ever have to make; %3Ca%20href="https://www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk/default.asp">should the county volunteer to become the home of Britain's nuclear waste?

At the moment 70% of the UK's high level waste is stored above ground at Sellafield. It's under cover in a special part of the site, but this is not the long term solution as some of today's waste will remain radioactive for up to 100,000 years.

When you look at the %3Ca%20href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution">timeline of our planet you get a feel of just how long that is; a mere 30,000 years ago %3Ca%20href="/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/neanderthal_prog_summary.shtml">Neanderthal man became extinct.

%3Ca%20href="/iplayer/episode/b01ncgv6/Inside_Out_North_East_and_Cumbria_Cumbrias_Nuclear_Future_An_Inside_Out_Special/">In a special documentary on 91Èȱ¬1 at 19:30 GMT, Monday 08 October 2012 I will be looking at how Cumbria is considering putting itself forward as the place to build the UK's underground nuclear waste repository.

The government has been asking for communities to volunteer to have the store under their feet. So far Cumbria has been the only area to come up with a credible bid, but even so it has concerns.

Allerdale, Copeland and the County Council were all due to make a decision this week on whether to press ahead, but at the last minute they and the government agreed to postpone the decision while they thrash out the detail.

Questions that need answering include:

• Can the councils get a legally binding clause so they could pull out at any stage in the future?
• Just what benefits can the county expect in return for saying yes?

To some observers it seems odd that the UK is looking for volunteer communities first and only then checking out whether the geology is suitable.

For the programme %3Ca%20href="/blogs/chrisjackson/2012/08/plumbing_the_depths_for_inside.html">I visited Finland where they shortlisted suitable sites first and then asked those communities if they'd like to volunteer.

Several towns said yes, and at %3Ca%20href="https://www.eurajoki.fi/html/en/Front_page.html">Eurajoki close to an exisiting nuclear power station, %3Ca%20href="https://www.posiva.fi/files/375/Onkalo_ENG_290306_kevyt.pdf">they have already dug down to 420 metres and are about to apply for a licence to store the waste.

Hundreds of mini tunnels will be built and along each several copper cylinders of radioactive waste will be lowered into individual holes bored into the rock and will be surrounded by %3Ca%20href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonite">bentonite clay.

It's a triple layer of protection that is designed to keep it safe until it is no longer radioactive. Engineers are having to plan for all eventualities, including another ice age.

Interestingly the Finnish store is close to %3Ca%20href="https://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/oldrauma.html">Rauma - a world heritage site, so it appears the Nordic approach is that you can have the nuclear and tourist industries cheek by jowel.

That is something those in Cumbria's tourist industry are having to contemplate - could the Lake District be compromised if the county gets a reputation as Britain's nuclear dumping ground?

The three councils in Cumbria will now wait until January to make up their mind whether to give the project the green light.

The benefits of saying yes could be 1,000 construction jobs and government money towards infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools. Local companies already supplying Sellafield see the project as vital to their long term prospects. With a £20 billion price tag the inward investment is certainly tempting.

Safety will be at the forefront of the concerns and the councils also want extra cash to promote Cumbria to offset any adverse publicity a nuclear waste store might bring to one of our most beautiful counties.

Faced with making a choice that will have an impact lasting thousands of generations there's no doubt that this is one the county will want to get right.

Here's a preview of tonight's film:

Read more about %3Ca%20href="/news/uk-england-cumbria-19816861">the background the decision on the 91Èȱ¬ News website.