18/09/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Is democracy in Jersey dead as a third of politicians have

no`one standing against them? Thai police find no evidence linking

two Jersey brothers to the murder of

Thai police find no evidence linking two Jersey brothers to the murder

of their friend. And are bigger planes better

for business? Pressure mounts on Guernsey States

to extend the airport runway. One third of Jersey's politicians

have been elected unopposed a month ahead of the island's first

General Election. Just one out of 12 parish constables

will face the ballot box, and six deputies faced no challenge. Edward

Sault reports. Meet the 17 Jersey politicians

who've been elected to the island's States

without anyone casting a vote. Constables are the head of each

of Jersey's parishes. Last night,

11 of them were returned unopposed. Only in St Mary, Jersey's smallest

parish, will there be a contest. Most of them were already

current sitting constables. One newcomer though is

Trinity's Philip Le Sueur. I certainly don't feel I've got any

less of a mandate than somebody who has taken on an election.

Parishioners turned out in good numbers last night and if nobody

wanted to stand against me there's nothing I can do about that.

Carolyn Labey, Steve Luce, Tracey Vallois and Eddie Noel don't

need to campaign along with John Le Fondre who said he will miss

an election battle. Were you disappointed? In a way.

Because since I had something to do with the elect of system I have not

`` not had to contend an election. But there's one new deputy,

Terry McDonald. He's the man whose bid to break

a world record firework attempt was pulled by Jersey's authorities

at the last minute. He said it left him out

of pocket and living in a caravan. Now he'll represent St Saviour

district three after no one stood against him, but he said he will

still be knocking on people's doors. Politics is about people and how

they are affected eye the issues. I have a small area to cover of less

than two thousand 500 voters `` 2500 voters so we can all get to know

each other. So, here they are `

a third of Jersey's States elected without any voting.

Is this a sign of voter confidence or voter apathy?

Well, constable of Jersey's capital, St Helier,

was also re`elected unopposed, which means Simon Crowcroft is set

to begin his sixth term of office. He joined me earlier and I began

by asking him why he though no one else stood against him.

Big macro if you want to enter Jersey politics you are

the city comfortable `` Constable and that was difficult. Now,

deputies had to risk their own seat. We are going into a general election

with the vast majority of one section of the states established.

There is a question hanging over us about whether constables should be

in the state Voters in Jersey will go to the

polls in the General Election on the 15th of October and there's a full

list of candidates online at bbc.co.uk/jersey.

Two Jersey brothers who were being questioned by police over

the murder of islander David Miller and British woman Hannah Witheridge

in Thailand have been allowed to leave the country.

Thai Police say they've found no forensic evidence linking Chris

and James Ware to the killings. They were on holiday with David

at the time. There are now growing fears over

the progress of the police investigation. Jen

Smith reports. Chris and James Ware are now

free to leave Thailand. They had been asked to stay

in the country until police had results of DNA tests.

Those tests haven't linked them or any of the 11 Burmese men also

questioned about the murders. They did reveal that there was semen

from two unidentified men in Hannah Witheridge's body.

She was found along with David Miller from Jersey on the

Thai island of Koh Tao on Monday. The Ware brothers, who had been

on holiday with David, are expected to be heading home to Jersey.

But there is growing concern about the investigation.

The police are admitting that believes that they have been

enthusiastic about have gone nowhere and perhaps they were pursuing them

to the exclusion of other possible angles.

A Former British CID officer says the Thai police have

been making mistakes. The scene should be secured and the

evidence collated so it could possibly match with suspects but

that is the important first feature they should look at. If they haven't

preserved the seam and haven't secured the evidence then they are

at a disadvantage. And that won't be much comfort to

those who knew David and Hannah. Earlier, Hannah's family arrived

in Bangkok to meet with Thai police amid fierce media attention.

Their bodies have released for repatriation.

The family are deeply distressed and my role is to support them at this

very difficult time. It's been four days since David

and Hannah were killed. The "strong evidence"

the police first cited hasn?t yet led to the identification

of any prime suspects. Flybe has announced it is

temporarily stopping its weekday flights between Guernsey

and Southampton. For the first three weeks of October

it'll only run two flights a day After that,

it will re`introduce a limited one It's an air link often used patients

travelling to Southampton Flybe says it's not making enough

money Blue Islands also operates

on that route. Islanders in Guernsey are being

asked how they think teenage pregnancies and sexually`transmitted

infections can be reduced. A Chlamydia Screening Programme

and free contraceptives are just a couple of the ideas in the new

public consultation from the Health and Social Services Department.

We feel it is a key to tackling teenage pregnancy rates. Our rates

are about just under 28 per thousand, roughly in line with the

UK but considerably higher than what is seen in Jersey.

Coming up later: An exclusive and intimate performance from the

world`famous tenor, would a long runway be better for

business in Guernsey. More than ?80 million has been spent in upgrading

the airport. The low cost airline Easyjet has

recently begun flying to Jersey. But it doesn't see Guernsey

as viable partly due to the commercial limits imposed

by the length of the island's runway and also while the Gatwick

route is protected for Aurigny. And now a Guernsey`based former

board director of the British Aviation Group, which represents

British aviation companies, says the runway needs to be extended.

The fleets in the sky is now are full of well`heeled individuals

going to destinations in Eastern European countries in cold

alignments full of well`heeled individuals on short breaks days. If

we had the ability for that market to come here then certainly there is

a significant income stream to tap into. It is something we can't

ignore. But the Minister responsible

for the airport says there's no business case for it.

Politically it would be an uphill task and it would be a struggle.

More importantly, there is no business case. No airline operator

or commercial operator asking us to have a longer runway and if we did

they would fly to us. Guernsey's Deputy Treasury

and Resources Minister used to be a British Airways Captain flying

jumbo jets. He says he's going to take political

action to prove there is a business case for a longer runway.

A business case can be made and I have already talked to people in the

business world and I've said I'm willing to keep this going forward

if I get complete support from the whole business community and, in

particular, the tourist industry. So

while some feels there's no business case for a longer runway it could

now be up to the business community to persuade the States otherwise.

And now to the weather. What is coming next? Certainly the risk of

further showers and the odd rumble of thunder too but it gets better

towards the recount. But still very humid overnight tonight `` towards

the weekend. We are close enough to the area of

low treasure to continue in the same vein but I think things get better.

This swirl of cloud in the Bay of Biscay is the area of low pressure.

It moves closer towards us over the next 24 hours. This is the middle of

the day tomorrow. One weather system has moved across more central parts

of the UK. This then moves southwards. High pressure comes back

and we get a fresh airfield to the air with north`east winds. So clean

air and better visibility and it will become cooler. Tonight, mainly

dry with the small chance of a shower. A bit misty. Another warm

night. Tomorrow, after the mist has cleared we get a bit of sunshine but

there is the chance of a shower at any point tomorrow. Fairly isolated

and much of the day dry and warm. We will see a few showers around

through the day tomorrow. The possibility of quite frequent

showers overnight but that is a long way away. But the weekend, birthdays

are largely dried and a bit fresher on Sunday.

Thank you. That is your news and weather in the Channel Islands. I am

back at eight o'clock. with our know`how. Plenty of new

possibilities on the Verizon. `` horizon .

Now how's your trigonometry, calculus or geometry?

Perhaps some branches of maths are better left to a new specialist

mathematics school in Exeter which officially opens its doors tomorrow.

The sixth form college has already started lessons for

Johnny Rutherford has been along to meet some of them who've already got

I want to be a number theorist. Particle physicists. Astrophysicist.

That?s what they want to become, if their numbers add up they may

The aim is to take students who have a huge amount of potential in

mathematics that are keen to learn and wants to embrace a new world

working `` a way of working. The sixth form school takes students

from all corners of the South West. There's also physics

and next year they plan to include Classes are small. You won't get the

same attention anywhere else. You will get things that are tailored to

you. Because you earn in an environment where everyone wants to

learn the same things as you, it is a stretch to learn it, but when you

do it forces us together. A real sense of achievement when you

complete something. It is quite different here. Lectures are quite

laid`back. Even their canteen area is geared

for creativity and problem solving. three A`levels from the school

and a fourth personal choice which Who along with The University

of Exeter sponsor the school Teachers feel relaxed mind is a

focus mind. Can you help me with my son's maths

homework? If you read Lord of the Flies when

you were at school, you might just find your children or grandchildren

are still studying it. And while there has been a debate

over whether there need to be more books on the curriculum, the family

of William Golding, who's from Cornwall, have been marking the

anniversary by loaning his literary A literary classic read

by millions all over the world. There have also been

two film adaptations. It was also a stage play

and a recent contemporary dance tour The story of a group of English

schoolboys marooned on a tropical island started life

like this, hand written by It was rejected by ten publishers

and one literary agent. When we read

a good novel we are impressed by the polish and the finish and

what we do not see is the struggle I think you could see that in Lord

of the Flies and the added drama of trying to get the thing

published and having readers writing things like ?rubbish?

and ?dull? along the top of it. Absolutely, the draft brings to life

the process and reminds us that art Golding persevered and eventually

one agent took a chance. So to

a certain extent he was confident. But I don't think he imagined that

it would become the sort I mean, 60 years later, and we

are still receiving the benefits. And now fans

of the book can benefit, too. The manuscript is going on show

in the South West. I still meet the grandchildren of my

friends who are doing it at school. It is an extraordinary thing

and he couldn't have imagined that. Everyone from Stephen King to

The Simpsons has been influenced There are TV series like Lost that

are clearly influenced by it. You can look through this unique

piece of literary history by contacting the Special Collections

Team at the University of Exeter. From railway lines reopening,

to people finally moving back Recovering

from last winter's weather has Truro Cathedral was hit by high

winds which sent some of the David George reports

on the work being carried out to repair the Victorian building's

north`west tower. Truro Cathedral, once again

partially cloaked in scaffolding. While the camera gets a ride up

in the lift we have to walk the 200 Below, shoppers go

about their business unaware Stonemasons are using traditional

techniques just like the men who built the cathedral

more than a hundred years ago. It is a mallet and a chisel.

Traditional tools. In the New Year storms, high winds

sent parts of the stonework crashing to the ground, this is one of

the bits that fell onto a footpath. It was very serious. It happened in

the middle of the night and thankfully no one was around when it

fell. But you have to take immediate action, so close off area around

Weatherstone fell and we managed to get the scaffolding and the work

under way. `` where the stone. They are pieces of stonework that were

here, sitting in the middle of this arch and that is what crashed down

earlier in the year. Instead, a new trace route stone has been put

here. Right next to it, you can see a sample of the type of erosion we

are talking about. The cathedral has a historic problem. The original

architect used Bastogne for a lot of the high`level stonework. `` Bath

stone. He was advised against this. But he went through. The key feature

has had a problem since 1920 with stone a religion. `` the cathedral.

We have tried various different stones in the cathedral.

Once worked, the new stones are carefully fixed

The work is costing ?130,000, the scaffolding alone costs ?80,000,

and it?s being paid for from the Government?s World War One

They say they have another three weeks of work to do. It will be

mid`October before people start to see all of this scaffolding coming

down. That's an incredible sight, isn't it? What do the Royal Albert

and BBC Radio Cornwall have in common?

Well, singer Alfie Boe has sung in all of them.

The tenor paid a flying visit to our Plymouth and Truro studios today.

He's used to the bright lights of the West End and Broadway,

and singing to his legions of fans at sell`out concerts

across the world at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal

But today it was the more humble setting of

BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall in which we found Alfie Boe

Serenata is described as a revival of the golden era of Italian song

and features well known hits such as Volare and Mambo Italiano.

For Alfie, it's been a labour of love.

I love these songs. I grew up listening to them, I studied them,

I've heard a lot of different artists throughout time sing them

from people like Elvis and Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to

Pavarotti and Domingo. These are songs that are natural and

beautiful. They are very romantic. Everybody has grown up listening to

them . Alfie is also in the South West

promoting his latest UK arena tour, which takes place in November

and December. Sadly, for his army of fans here,

it doesn't include a date Cardiff is the closest.

Unfortunately. Saying that, there is no reason why we shouldn't plan some

sort of showdown here for you guys. `` show down.

So it seems Alfie will be South West bound again sometime in the future,

That is good news, isn't it? Time for the weather now. One question

for you, what is it all about? See what I did? I get it. He is

underwhelmed. Anyway. Good evening. activity for us is tonight, because

tomorrow move away and north. Warm and humid tomorrow, some sunshine

and the risk of an isolated shower. The risk is a high one tonight, Met

Office have put a warning out for hefty downpours of rain and flashing

of lightning. `` flashes of lightning. It is mainly a feature

for the middle of the night. Some showers crossing the Channel in the

small hours of the morning. Lots of cloud on the satellite picture.

There should be some sunshine in between. This area of low pressure

Not much for the surfers. Coastal next 24`hour is.

Not much for the surfers. Coastal waters forecast, the winds are

mainly from the East tomorrow, showers and a bit of sea mist

around, moderate or poor Ms ability, improving the West Cornwall and the

Isles of Scilly. The outfit has a go through the weekend, it gets better.

`` poor visibility. A risk of showers, slightly cooler and

certainly fresher. Perhaps better visibility, as well. Have a good

evening. We are back from ten tonight, big

night here on BBC News. Stay tuned. For now, have a lovely evening,

MENACING VOICE: You will rob the Bank of Karabraxos.