Unite in Grangemouth legal action

25 February 2014 Last updated at 17:16

Unite in legal action against Ineos over Grangemouth emails

The Grangemouth refinery was the scene of a bitter dispute last year

Continue reading the main story

The Unite union is taking legal action against the owner of the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex over allegations about the "leaking" of emails.

The union said Ineos had "questions to answer" over how emails appeared in newspapers last year during a dispute at the refinery.

It said it had begun High Court action over "continued refusal" to release information under data protection laws.

Ineos said it was confident it had done nothing wrong.

Unite has also reported reported Ineos to the Information Commissioner.

Unite's Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty, its legal director Howard Beckett and former convener Stevie Deans have lodged requests under the Data Protection Act with Ineos, public relations firm Media Zoo and public affairs agency Portcullis.

Mark Lyon, a former Unite convenor at Grangemouth, who was sacked by Ineos earlier this month, has also demanded that the company release data and information held on him.

'Every legal option'

Mr Beckett said: "Ineos, Media Zoo and Portcullis all have questions to answer about their actions and how confidential emails found their way into national newspapers.

"If these companies want to avoid suggestions of a cover up and appearing to have a complete disregard for the law, then they need to come clean.

"No company is above the law and they should be in no doubt that we will pursue every legal option to force them to comply with the law and hand over the information that we, as individuals, are legally entitled to."

A spokesman for Ineos said: "We understand from a Unite media release that the union has issued legal proceedings against this company.

"We have not yet received any documentation but we are very confident that the company has done nothing wrong and will be fully vindicated in any court action.

"Since the ending of the dispute at Grangemouth, Unite has continued to try and undermine the plant."

The spokesman said Ineos had dropped its own legal actions against the union "only to discover that Unite has chosen to issue new writs against the company."

Grangemouth was at the centre of a dispute last year, which led owners Ineos to threaten to close part of the site if workers did not agree to a rescue package to help secure its future.

Unite had been threatening strikes over the suspension of former union convener Stevie Deans, but the union decided to accept the company's proposals, and Mr Deans resigned from his job.

He was also chairman of the Falkirk Labour Party, which was embroiled in a dispute over claims that Unite had tried to influence the selection of a candidate.

An internal report was drawn up for the party, with Unite insisting it had done nothing wrong.

The row led to Labour leader Ed Miliband announcing reforms in the historic link between the party and unions - changes which were agreed by the party's national executive on Monday.

VIDEO: 'Yanukovych should be punished'

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Ukrainian ambassador: Yanukovych 'should be punished'

25 February 2014 Last updated at 17:43 GMT

The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK Volodymyr Khandogiy has said that former President Viktor Yanukovych "should be punished" for allowing recent violence to happen.

The new government is due to be formed this Thursday following the overthrow of Mr Yanukovych.

Mr Khandogiy also told the BBC's Richard Galpin that his country should apply for full membership of the European Union and NATO.

The spinal pains of the UK workforce

25 February 2014 Last updated at 17:05

Is back, neck and muscle pain hurting the UK economy?

By Joe Miller Business Reporter

About 44 million workers in the EU have musculoskeletal disorders caused by their workplace

The UK economy is slowly recovering, but the country's workforce is in considerable pain.

Almost 31 million days of work were lost last year due to back, neck and muscle problems, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS's Labour Force Survey, which polls hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, found that musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, which include a large range of bone and joint complaints, accounted for more prolonged absences than any other ailment.

Minor illnesses such as the common cough or cold accounted for 27 million lost days, but MSKs were more likely to recur, and develop into long-term conditions.

Although the country's workforce has largely swapped heavy manual labour for sitting in offices, MSKs have been the primary cause of absenteeism for the past five years, and the UK has one of the highest rates in Europe.

In fact, the Work Foundation estimates that employees suffering from bone and joint pain cost the EU's economies 240bn euros (£200bn) each year.

So why have bone and joint complaints persisted?

"Sitting is the new smoking," explains Prof Steve Bevan, director of the Centre for Workforce Effectiveness at the Work Foundation.

"The more sedentary you are the worse it is for your health."

Chronic keyboards

Offices, it turns out, can be harmful environments.

While there are still significant numbers doing work that requires lifting or awkward movement, strict health and safety legislation has helped reduce the amount of injuries incurred in those jobs.

Most deskbound workers, however, are not adequately addressing their health risks, and waving away the pesky "work station assessment officer".

Preventative measures, such as keeping chairs, desks and computers at the right height, are often neglected.

"Many office workers make repetitive movements," says Prof Bevan. "Allowing people to move around and take breaks is essential."

Early detection

Once symptoms do occur, we are slow to react. A two-year trial in Madrid showed that by assessing and treating 13,000 workers with MSKs who had been off for five days or more, their temporary work absence was reduced by 39% in the long term.

The Work Foundation estimates that more than 60,000 Britons would be available for work if the Madrid tactics were replicated in the UK.

However, even the more careful among us are at risk of MSKs, and the workplace may have little to do with it.

"People forget how common musculoskeletal problems are," Prof Anthony Woolf, a rheumatologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, told the BBC.

"Around 30% of all disability in the UK is due to these conditions."

'Ferrari without wheels'

Indeed, alarm bells have been ringing for some time over the impact of musculoskeletal diseases.

In 2000, then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan launched the Bone and Joint Decade at the World Health Organization in Switzerland, an initiative designed to reduce the number of MSKs around the globe.

Not much has changed since. A study by medical journal The Lancet, published in 2012, found that musculoskeletal conditions were the second greatest cause of disability in the world, affecting over 1.7 billion people worldwide.

"I describe suffering from musculoskeletal disorders as being like a Ferrari without wheels," says Prof Woolf, who is also the chair of Bone and Joint Decade. "If you don't have mobility and dexterity, it doesn't matter how healthy the rest of your body is."

Recurrent MSKs account for 60% of permanent work incapacity in the EU

Snowball effect

The rest of the body is likely to suffer too. Having an MSK dramatically increases the likelihood of suffering from depression, says the Work Foundation.

And according to the ONS, depression accounts for the third largest amount of missed work days in the UK - 15 million.

But changing attitudes could be having an effect. There has been a general reduction in the total number of work-related MSKs since 2001, and a series of measures have been introduced to increase awareness of the problem.

The "fit note", introduced in 2010, encourages doctors to provide details of what may be causing employees' ill health, and suggest adjustments to be made.

Smaller business looking to make their workplaces safer can also access government grants to help them do so.

In the meantime, sit up straight - it could help the recovery.

Man held over ex-IRA man's murder

25 February 2014 Last updated at 18:11

Eamon Collins murder: Man arrested in Newry

Eamon Collins was murdered a short distance from his Newry home

A man has been arrested by police investigating the murder of a former IRA man 15 years ago.

Eamon Collins, 45, was found beaten and stabbed to death on 27 January 1999. Police believe he may also have been deliberately struck by a car.

His body was found at Dorans Hill, a country road a short distance from his home in the Barcroft estate in Newry.

A 59-year-old man was arrested in Newry on Tuesday and his house has been searched.

While in the IRA, Mr Collins collected information on police officers and Royal Ulster Constabulary special branch members and set up assassinations over a six-year period.

Although he never directly shot anyone, he provided information and recruited members.

A hunting knife similar to the one used in the murder of Eamon Collins in 1999

He was arrested in 1985 and charged with 50 terrorist offences including five murders and membership of the IRA.

After his arrest, however, he turned supergrass, the term used for those prepared to give evidence against former colleagues.

More than 40 suspects were arrested, but most were released after Eamon Collins had a change of heart.

He walked free from Belfast Crown Court after the judge dismissed his alleged confessions.

He later wrote a book, Killing Rage, which was highly critical of the IRA.

Last month, police revealed that they had obtained DNA from the scene of his murder.

Picamoles dropped for mocking referee

25 February 2014 Last updated at 13:47

Six Nations 2014: Louis Picamoles dropped by France for mocking ref

France number eight Louis Picamoles has been dropped for next week's Six Nations match against Scotland for showing disrespect to a referee.

The forward appeared to mockingly applaud Alain Rolland after the referee sent him to the sin-bin against Wales.

He also gave a thumbs-up gesture as he left the pitch during Friday's 27-6 loss to the reigning champions.

Coach Philippe Saint-Andre said: "Certain attitudes have no place whatsoever in our sport."

France are already without the influential Wesley Fofana (ribs) and flanker Yannick Nyanga (groin) at Murrayfield because of injury.

"Respect is the foundation of our values," Saint-Andre told the France Rugby Federation website.

"It is important to send a signal to all players who have the privilege of wearing the jersey and remind them it imposes duties and obligations."

Saint-Andre has made a number of changes to his squad for a match France, who are in a four-way tie at the top of the table, must win if they are to maintain hopes of winning the championship.

Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra has been recalled, although he faces a disciplinary hearing after receiving a red card for head-butting a Montpellier player at the weekend.

Prop Rabah Slimani, flankers Bernard Le Roux and Antoine Claassen and centre Remi Lemarat have also been called up.

France squad: Vincent Debaty, Thomas Domingo, Yannick Forestier, Brice Mach, Dimitri Szarzewski, Nicolas Mas, Rabah Slimani, Alexandre Flanquart, Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape, Sebastien Vaahamahina, Virgile Bruni, Alexandre Lapandry, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard le Roux, Damien Chouly, Antonie Claassen, Jean-Marc Doussain, Maxime Machenaud, Morgan Parra, Jules Plisson, Remi Tales, Mathieu Bastareaud, Gael Fickou, Remi Lamerat, Maxime Mermoz, Yoann Huget, Maxime Medard, Hugo Bonneval, Brice Dulin.

Also related to this story

• 'Watching France is like watching clowns at the circus' 25 Feb 2014 Rugby Union
• Fofana could miss Six Nations finale 24 Feb 2014 Rugby Union
• Wales 27-6 France 21 Feb 2014 Rugby Union
• Six Nations: Wales v France as it happened 21 Feb 2014 Rugby Union
• Jonathan Davies's Six Nations Team of the Week 23 Feb 2014 Rugby Union
• Get Inspired: RUGBY UNION 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

Share this story

Share this page

• print

Ignore tuition fee myths, says Clegg

25 February 2014 Last updated at 18:07

Ignore tuition fee myths, says Nick Clegg

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg fears "myths" about the cost of tuition are putting students off higher education.

On a visit to a school in East London, he urged students to ignore what they have heard, telling them: "You can still afford to go to university."

The deputy prime minister is launching a fight back against critics of his U-turn over scrapping tuition fees.

He repeated his apology for breaking the pledge - but said more young people than ever were going to university.

The Lib Dems have never recovered from the hit they took in the polls when Mr Clegg went back on his pre-election pledge to scrap fees - despite a widely-publicised apology that was even set to music by YouTube pranksters.

With the European elections approaching, and a general election in 2015, the Lib Dem leader has decided to tackle the issue head-on again.

'Not a luxury'

In a speech to students and pupils at the Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School, in East London, he said: "I want to make sure not a single one of you is being put off a degree because you think it's something you can't afford."

Nick Clegg's 2012 apology went viral

He said the Lib Dems had made a promise before the 2010 election to scrap tuition fees but had been forced to break it, because it would cost too much money and because compromises had to be made with their Conservative coalition partners.

"I've said I'm sorry for that, and I meant it.

"But what matters to me now is that you know you can still afford to go to university - and that you don't let the myths that have emerged crowd out the facts.

"This may not have been the policy my party wanted, but I made absolutely sure that it wouldn't turn a degree into a luxury for the very rich.

"I made sure that no student pays a penny up front - you don't pay anything back until you leave university, get a job and you're earning at least £21,000."

He stressed in his speech that repayments would depend on salary and "if you don't earn enough to pay it back, eventually the money you owe is written off".

'Graduation photo'

Far from deterring poor youngsters from going to university, as some had predicted, their numbers have increased since fees went up, Mr Clegg said.

This was down to the grants and other support that has been made available and "by forcing universities to open up their doors and attract more students from lower income homes".

Some 21% of English 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds applied for university in 2014, compared with 18% in 2011 and 11% in 2004.

In his speech, Mr Clegg added: "To the mums and dads in the room: if you've always hoped to one day see that framed graduation photo of your son or daughter on your mantelpiece - you can still have it."

He took part in a a question and answer session with students at the East London school, as he sought to shake off the Lib Dems' image as the party that has betrayed younger voters.

He said the new fees system meant there was now an "incentive to universities to provide a better service to students," something he said had come as a "shock" to some institutions.

Students were much more "demanding" than in his university days when it was "easier" and "people were not under as much pressure to make decisions about their future," he added.

China mulls holiday for Japan defeat

25 February 2014 Last updated at 16:26

China mulls holidays marking Japanese defeat and Nanjing massacre

Last year China marked the 76th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre

China is considering two new national holidays to mark the war against Japan in the 1930s and 40s, amid rising anti-Japanese sentiment.

The plan, now submitted to parliament, is to mark the formal surrender of Japan in 1945 and the anniversary of the Nanjing massacre in 1937.

China says some 300,000 civilians were massacred in the city after its occupation by Japanese troops.

Japanese nationalists dispute the Chinese version.

Nationalist sentiment has been rising in China, fanned by a dispute with Japan over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

According to the draft laws now before the National People's Congress, 3 September would be "Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression", the official Xinhua news agency said.

In addition, 13 December would be a "national memorial day to commemorate those killed by Japanese aggressors during the Nanjing massacre", Xinhua reported.

Japanese forces invaded and occupied Manchuria in northern China in 1931.

A wider war between the two countries began in 1937 and ended with Japan's surrender in August 1945, days after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Ties between China and Japan have recently been strained by the territorial row over a group of islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China.

The islands - controlled by Japan - are close to important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and lie near potential oil and gas reserves.

US 'planning full Afghan pullout'

25 February 2014 Last updated at 18:23

US planning full Afghan pullout, Obama tells Karzai

The US has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001

Continue reading the main story

President Barack Obama has warned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai that the US may pull all of its troops out of his country by the year's end.

Mr Obama conveyed the message in a phone call to Mr Karzai, who has refused to sign a security agreement.

The US insists this agreement must be in place before it commits to leaving some troops behind for counter-insurgent operations and training.

The US has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001 when it toppled the Taliban.

Its forces went into the country following the 9/11 attacks on the US. With Afghan and Western allies, they quickly overthrew the Taliban authorities, but have faced insurgent attacks since then.

Correspondents say the disagreement over the bilateral security agreement (BSA) is the latest step in the long and deteriorating relationship between Washington and Mr Karzai, who was once seen as a key US ally.

The BSA, which offers legal protection for US troops and defines a post-2014 Nato training and anti-insurgent mission, was agreed by the two countries last year after months of negotiation.

It was endorsed at a national gathering (Loya Jirga) of Afghan elders in Kabul in November.

But Mr Karzai has refused to sign the deal until a peace process is under way with the Taliban, adding that if he were to sign it, he would become responsible if Afghans were killed by US bombs.

"President Obama told President Karzai that because he has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the BSA (Bilateral Security Agreement), the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning," the White House said in a statement.

"Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

"Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 US mission will be smaller in scale and ambition."

The withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is gathering momentum

While Mr Karzai has refused to sign the BSA, some candidates in April's Afghan presidential elections have indicated they would.

Mr Karzai, who has served two terms as Afghanistan's first and only president since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, is obliged by law to stand down after the next election.

Analysts say the US statement clearly implies that Mr Karzai's stance will harm his country's security long after he leaves office.

The White House statement came as US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel flew to Brussels for a Nato meeting at which Afghanistan is due to be discussed.

NHS staff say care 'good enough'

25 February 2014 Last updated at 18:00

Most NHS staff deem care 'fit for their own family'

By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online

More than two-thirds of NHS staff would recommend the care on offer at their local trust to their own friends and family, an annual poll shows.

Of 203,000 staff questioned for the 2013 NHS survey, 65% said care was fit for relatives, 24% were unsure, while 11% would not recommend the service.

The survey included GPs, ambulance staff, nurses, midwives and dentists as well as other health professionals.

There were improvements on the previous year in 21 of the 28 poll categories.

Some 90% of staff believed their job makes a difference to patients, 78% are satisfied with the quality of work and patient care they are able to deliver, and 68% say in their role they are able to contribute improvements to the organisation.

Compared with 2012, more said there was good communication between staff and management, and more were being appraised and getting appropriate health and safety training.

'Could do better'

But work-related stress was up slightly, with more than a third saying they had experienced it in the last 12 months.

And a third said they had witnessed or reported potentially harmful errors or near-misses at work in the last month.

Only 56% of staff said hand-washing materials - such as soap - are always available, with the figure being 59% in acute hospital trusts.

Some 15% said they had been the victim of violence in the last year from visitors, patients or relatives, 28% had been bullied or abused by the same group, and 11% suffered workplace discrimination.

Sue Covill of NHS Employers said abuse and harassment of workers from patients and the public was a concern and more needed to be done to protect staff.

But she said many of the survey's other findings were encouraging.

"Staff feeling valued and being valued is absolutely vital to the effective delivery of patient care and we believe it is an important factor behind many of the positive results."

Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing was more critical, saying: "Only 30% of staff feel that there are enough staff to enable them to do their jobs properly and high numbers of nurses in particular continue to work extra hours. (82% compared with 81% the previous year.)

"Some 68% of staff have attended work while not being well enough to perform their duties in the last three months alone. It is hardly surprising that there has been an increase in work-related stress.

"Clearly, nurses and other staff are working hard to ensure that patient care is delivered. However, it is simply not sustainable to have staff stretched too thinly and working beyond breaking point."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "NHS staff have some of the hardest and most respected jobs in our country. It is good to see that more staff would recommend the NHS as a place to work and would want friends and relatives to be treated where they work.

"But we know we need to do even more and our response to the Francis report set out how the NHS can promote openness and support staff to raise concerns in order to protect patients and give high quality care."

Sewell duped Tate on ‘Hogarth’ work

25 February 2014 Last updated at 17:11

Brian Sewell admits duping Tate over 'Hogarth' painting

Sewell thought it was an early Hogarth but said it was in a "pretty dire state"

Art critic Brian Sewell has revealed he duped the Tate into buying what it mistakenly believed to be a Hogarth painting in the 1960s.

In an interview with The Lady, Sewell said he found the work while working at Christie's and initially thought it was an early Hogarth himself.

He added his own brushstrokes to the work to make it "look much better", after which the Tate bought it.

A few years later, the London gallery discovered that it was not a Hogarth.

Sewell told the Lady: "For a few years, it was the earliest Hogarth in the Tate… until some Hogarth scholars came along and it was demoted. I haven't seen it for years, but I was jolly chuffed when they bought it."

The painting, by the much more obscure Dutch painter Egbert Van Heemskerk III, is titled The Doctor's Visit.

The painting can currently be seen on the Tate's website

It is still part of the Tate's collection but is not currently on display.

The gallery has not made any comment on Sewell's claims.

In a listing on its website, the Tate says the painting is dated at around 1725 and was acquired in 1965.

It states that the subject - a dying man surrounded by family and friends and representatives of the church, the law, and of medicine - was a popular one at the time.

The website also says that "Heemskerk's paintings were often attributed to Hogarth as early as the eighteenth century".

The Heemskerk family of painters, originally from Haarlem in the Netherlands, settled in London in the 1670s.

The father is thought to have trained his son as a painter. Heemskerk junior - who was behind The Doctor's Visit - is described on the website as "a coarse imitator of his father's works".

Sewell has been the art critic at the London Evening Standard newspaper for more than 30 years and is well known for his outspoken and often controversial views.

He began his career at Christie's auction house in the 1950s and had many artist friends, including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Salvador Dali.

You can read the full interview in Friday's edition of The Lady magazine.

VIDEO: Device 'sees who's at the door'

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Device 'sees who's at the door'

25 February 2014 Last updated at 17:49 GMT

BBC Technology Correspondent Mark Gregory is given a demonstration of the AT&T Digital Life system at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Team GB get Downing Street reception

25 February 2014 Last updated at 15:26

Team GB get Downing Street reception after Sochi Winter Olympics

Athletes from Team GB won medals in four events at the Sochi Winter Olympics

Medal-winning Team GB athletes who competed in the Sochi Winter Olympics have been recognised for their achievements at a special Downing Street reception.

The team won medals in four events during the Games.

The medal haul equalled the record achieved by the Great Britain team at the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the winners they were "brilliant", saying: "You have inspired me."

The athletes attending the reception included skeleton gold-medallist Lizzy Yarnold and snowboard slopestyle bronze-medallist Jenny Jones, as well as the women's and men's curling teams, who won bronze and silver respectively.

Lizzy Yarnold and Eve Muirhead were among those invited to meet the prime minister

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games cost £30bn, making Sochi the most expensive winter Olympics ever

Britain finished 19th in the medals table overall

Speaking to the BBC just before she met the PM, 25-year-old Lizzie Yarnold said: "It's been a great day; it's been a great week. I just can't really believe that it's all happened."

Yarnold, whose gold medal is one of only 10 in British Winter Olympic history, added: "People are driving along, and coming past, honking their horns and taking pictures, so, it's nice to share it with everyone now I'm back in Britain."

UK Sport invested £13.4m from lottery and exchequer funding so that Team GB could take part in the Games.

'No consent' on baby ventilator move

25 February 2014 Last updated at 16:56

Rohan Rhodes inquest: No consent for removing ventilator, hearing told

Rohan Rhodes deteriorated within an hour of a nurse removing the ventilator, an inquest was told

A premature baby deteriorated soon after a ventilator was removed without the consent of his parents or senior hospital staff, an inquest has heard.

Rohan Rhodes, of Narberth, Pembrokeshire, was born 15 weeks early at Singleton Hospital, Swansea, in 2012 and was transferred to St Michael's Hospital, Bristol, for surgery.

Medical staff wept as they told the hearing near Bristol how the baby's condition dramatically worsened.

Rohan died in hospital aged 36 days.

The inquest heard the baby was not allowed to die in his mother's arms despite her wishes because staff were unable to remove lines from his body.

Rohan had been transferred to St Michael's Hospital for a surgical assessment after a heart duct which usually closes at birth had remained open.

His parents Alex and Bronwyn Rhodes told the coroners' court on Monday about concerns they had about their son's treatment.

They said that Rohan's feeding tubes were inserted "aggressively" and caused him pain.

On Tuesday, Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard from medical staff at the hospital who said the plan had been to keep Rohan on the ventilator.

However, the hearing was told advanced neonatal nurse Amanda Dallorzo took the "autonomous" decision to extubate, or remove the baby from the machine, and apply a breathing mask instead.

Rohan's condition dramatically deteriorated and he died the following day.

Commenting on Rohan's removal from the ventilator, Dr Vel Ramalingam said: "That was not my decision. It was not discussed with me.

"My understanding was that Rohan was going to be kept on the ventilator. I was expecting to be consulted if someone was taking that sort of decision to remove him.

Rohan died in hospital aged 36 days.

"I thought the team plan was to continue ventilation."

Nurse Suja Thomas said she was asked by Ms Dallorzo to help take Rohan off the ventilator on 29 September, the day after he arrived at the hospital.

"I asked if she was sure," Ms Thomas said. "She said we will extubate and we extubated at around 4pm.

"A member of medical staff is telling me we have to extubate, then we have to extubate. That is their decision to extubate.

"The baby deteriorated after one hour."

Rohan's heart had started slowing and he was put back on the ventilator at 19:00 BST.

Mrs Rhodes previously told the inquest how she and her husband had watched their son turn "pale and lifeless" during this period.

'Grave concerns'

Timothy Rogers, a consultant paediatric surgeon, was called at 06:00 BST the following day, 30 September, to perform emergency surgery on Rohan.

He had developed a gastrointestinal disease and required surgery to repair a perforated intestine.

Dr Rogers said Rohan, who had developed acute peritonitis, suffered numerous cardiac collapses and did not become stable enough for surgery.

At 16:00 BST, Dr Rogers said he went to find Mrs Rhodes to inform her of his "grave concerns" for her son's survival.

Rohan died in his incubator at 18:00 BST.

A pathologist previously told the inquest he found multiple perforations to Rohan's bowel and said the likely cause of death was acute peritonitis and pneumonia.

St Michael's Hospital is part of the same NHS trust as Bristol Children's Hospital, which is the subject of a new investigation into the deaths of several children over the past three years.

The hearing continues.