| It was one of the many promises made by Liz Truss before and during her disastrous, short-lived premiership that turned out not to be worth the paper they were written on. First in The Northern Agenda and then repeatedly to journalists, Ms Truss pledged to reverse ministers' watering down of the flagship Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme and fulfil Northern leaders' demands for a full new high-speed Leeds-Liverpool line via Bradford. But Arj Singh of the i newspaper reports that her successor Rishi Sunak has now shelved the pledge as he tries to find ways to plug the hole in the public finances. The PM's press secretary said Mr Sunak would carry out an "across-the-board" review of the pledges he made during the summer Tory leadership battle – including a commitment to "the full construction" of NPR – to see if they were still "deliverable" amid severe economic pressure. Transport Secretary Mark Harper suggested the final decision on how NPR is delivered would come after the Autumn Statement, which is expected to contain significant spending cuts to fill the black hole in the public finances. But he indicated Ms Truss's promise to build it in full had lapsed as he told Sky News: "Things that the former Prime Minister said – Rishi Sunak made it clear when he became Prime Minister that for all the best motives, a number of mistakes were made and he was elected as Prime Minister in part to fix them." 
In equally bleak transport news, a West Yorkshire bus chief has admitted his firm is providing its "worst service" in decades. Local Democracy Reporter David Spereall has the story here.
Paul Matthews, managing director of First Bus' West Yorkshire arm, said passengers were unhappy with the current state of the network, following repeated cuts and changes to services since the pandemic. But he claimed operators were in a "no-win" situation and faced criticism regardless of how they reacted to the industry's driver shortage, which has been blamed for the cuts. Unite, which represents bus drivers in the region, have called for better pay to help address the problem. But speaking to Leeds councillors at a scrutiny meeting yesterday, Mr Matthews said it was "not as simple" as just hiking pay.
And in South Yorkshire, any hopes that the closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be averted with the prospect of a credible buyer for the site were dashed yesterday. Last week Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said a "credible offer" had been made to owners Peel, who plan to close the site this weekend after claiming it was no longer financially viable. But yesterday the firm said it was "currently not in possession of what could be considered a credible offer", sparking fury from political leaders who now believe Peel has no intention of selling the airport. A spokesperson for Peel said: "We have not been provided with the identity of the members of the proposed consortium. We also have no evidence as to the source or credibility of the interested party's funding."
Arena bombing victim's mother says public safety still being put at risk  Floral tributes left in St Ann's Square, Manchester, following the attack (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Today looks like being a huge day for Greater Manchester's emergency services as report examining the emergency response to the Manchester Arena bombing and whether any inadequacies contributed to individual deaths is published. Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds were injured in a suicide attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017. The latest report by Manchester Arena Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders comes out at 2.30pm - you can read an explainer about the investigation by Sophie Halle-Richards of the Manchester Evening News here. This morning, the mother of a Stockport man killed in the bombing said the public was being put at risk by delays to new legislation. Figen Murray has campaigned for a Martyn's Law, in memory of her 29-year-old son Martyn Hett, which would require public venues to take measures to safeguard customers from potential attacks. Earlier this year, the Government announced proposals for a so-called Protect Duty for venues, but no legislation has yet been tabled. Ms Murray said: "I keep getting told we have the support of the Government, yet legislation is being consistently delayed. Martyn's Law would save lives and every day it's not in place is another day we are putting the public at risk. I know that politics has been in turmoil in recent months, but there is no excuse for delaying or weakening legislation that could save thousands of lives."
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"Our beautiful girls should not have been failed in this way"  Teenagers Christie Harnett (17), Emily Moore (18) and Nadia Sharif (17) all died while patients of the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Christie Harnett, 17, Nadia Sharif, 17 and Emily Moore, 18, had all been diagnosed with complex mental health needs and had been patients at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough. And yesterday an independent investigation found the three teenage girls - who took their own lives between June 2019 and February 2020 - died after "multifaceted and systemic" failures in NHS mental health care. As Poppy Kennedy reports for GazetteLive, the report found that more than 100 episodes of self-harm were recorded in the month before Nadia Sharif took her own life but an increase in risk was never recognised. Investigators uncovered CCTV footage of Nadia, from Middlesbrough, being 'dragged' down a corridor backwards through access to a separate serious investigation report. There was no reference to the inappropriate restraint used on Nadia in her clinical records, nor was there any additional scrutiny into the incident. The families of the three girls are collectively calling for a public inquiry into the Trust, and after the publication of the reports they said: "Our beautiful girls should not have been failed in this way, and we need the answers to many more questions." The lawyer for the three families, Alistair Smith, from the law firm Watson Woodhouse, said he believes the problems "persist to this very day and are far more widespread" affecting many more families in the North East.
Elsewhere in the NHS, a Manchester health boss has revealed the city's surgeons are 'really skilled in amputations because of the number of people suffering from type 2 diabetes. Kathy Cowell, chair of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, came up with the grim comment during a discussion about soaring obesity rates in the city, as Local Democracy Reporter George Lythgoe writes. It comes as the director of public health stated 'obesity is a bigger epidemic than smoking in the city'. David Regan told Manchester City Council's Health and Wellbeing Board how unhealthy weight is a serious public health problem that increases disability, disease and death and has substantial long term economic, wellbeing and social costs.
MPs hope to quiz Environment Secretary live at Great Yorkshire Show  Scarborough and Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill speaks at the 2022 Northern Farming Conference
Farmers across our region face "massively volatile times" and a "lack of clarity [that] brings with it a lack of confidence," guests at the 2022 Northern Farming Conference in Hexham, Northumberland, were told yesterday. Andrew Robinson, Head of Agriculture at Armstrong Watson Accountants, issued the warning at the event organised to give farmers and those advising them information on developments across the agricultural industry to aid farm business planning. Read all about the highlights here courtesy of The Country Land and Business Association. Changes to the subsidy system, labour shortages and climate change are among the many changes causing farming families sleepless nights. Defra's Director for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme, Janet Hughes, told the conference the current situation was the biggest shift in decades to the agricultural industry. And at next year's Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, one of the highlights of the agricultural year, farmers may be able to see MPs challenging government Ministers on the issues first hand, Scarborough and Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill revealed. Sir Robert, who chairs the Commons environment, farming and rural affairs committee, said he was in "advanced negotiations" for his committee to meet on the Tuesday of the show and quiz a Minister or even the Secretary of State live. He said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an MP in his neighbouring rural patch of Richmond, North Yorkshire, "has more farmers than any other Member of Parliament and he understands agriculture," meaning the Government understands the issues. But he added: "That may not be the case in the future."
MP blasts 'stupid' ITV show dramatising neo-Nazi plot to kill her  The Walk In - starring Stephen Graham - aired on ITV (Image: PA)
On the same day Rosie Cooper announced she was standing down as MP for West Lancashire last month, a new TV drama was launched telling the story of the neo-Nazi plot to kill her. And in the Commons yesterday, the Labour MP criticised ITV's decision to turn the plot into a "stupid, stupid, stupid" drama series, accusing the broadcaster and anti-fascism campaign group Hope not hate (Hnh) of using her as a "marketing tool". As Jamie Lopez reports for LancsLive, she urged ITV and the advocacy group to donate all the money generated from the TV series to the Jo Cox Foundation, which was set up following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016. The Walk-In, which launched on October 3, chronicles the story behind the neo-Nazi plot and how it was foiled by Hope not hate. Jack Renshaw, now 27, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, is currently serving a life sentence for preparing acts of terrorism. An ITV spokeswoman said: "From Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday, Appropriate Adult, Little Boy Blue, A Confession to The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jeffries, ITV has a long record of broadcasting factual dramas based on or representing real events. "Like these, The Walk-In is an important story which we believe it is overwhelmingly in the public interest to broadcast. We always conduct the making of these series carefully and responsibly." 
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Northern Stories  LJurgen Klopp receives the freedom of the City of Liverpool (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
- Football manager Jurgen Klopp has vowed to defend Liverpool "forever" as he received the freedom of the city. The Reds boss received the honour last night at Liverpool Town Hall. Referring to the right to drive sheep through city streets which comes with the honour, he said: "I'm not 100% sure, but one of the duties is to defend the city, or in the past it was. I know they meant it differently but I will, with words, forever." Read more on the ceremony here.
- A woman who has experienced "horrific" racism since moving to York is working with university experts as part of a project to make the area the North's first anti-racist city. Haddy Njie is the chair of new organisation Inclusive Equal Rights 3.0, which aims to tackle unfairness, inequality and injustice across York. Last year, City of York Coucil passed a motion declaring its ambition to make York an anti-racist and inclusive city. The council has backed the project to the tune of £25,000 and last week IER 3.0 was officially launched at York St John University.
- A decision on whether to approve plans for a controversial coal mine in Cumbria has been delayed again as ministers are said to need more time to consider the case. The latest deadline to decide whether or not to grant planning permission for the coking coal mine on the edge of Whitehaven was early November. It's been pushed back several times from early July to mid-August.
- Middlesbrough Council says it does not have any record of how many days of work were completed by an adviser to the mayor despite paying him nearly £2.5k a month. Local Democracy Reporter Emily Craigie submitted freedom of information requests to Middlesbrough Council after an audit report found the appointment of Dave Allan as Independent Mayor Andy Preston's adviser was unlawful. The local authority did not follow its proper recruitment or procurement procedures meaning it was unable to prove the payments represented value for taxpayers' money, according to the review by finance firm EY.
- A £20m link road connecting the M62 with key industrial and distribution hubs in Greater Manchester has officially been opened. Named 'Queen Elizabeth Way', the 2.2km stretch between Junction 19 and Pilsworth Road is expected to remove thousands of HGVs from Heywood town centre every year. As well as paving the way for future investment in the area – including the 'Atom Valley' mayoral development zone and Russell's 1,000 home South Heywood Masterplan - local leaders say it will slash journey times and business costs.
- A Lancashire council is to hold a standards hearing over allegedly offensive and disrespectful comments apparently posted by a town councillor on social media in a row with locals about how the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee was marked in Nelson this summer. Yvonne Tennant, a councillor at Nelson Town Council, is accused of describing one local Facebook community group as 'a***holes' and suggesting another group wanted a 'flag-shagging orgy' in the town centre, according to a report by Pendle Council, which is holding the hearing on November 8. The comments amid criticisms from some people that local jubilee celebrations in June this year by Nelson Town Council were not enough.
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