14/10/2013 Look East - East

Shock tonight as this chicken processing factory says it's closing

down with the loss of 600 jobs. It is disappointing that of the best of

my knowledge the government made no approaches to the business to say,

can we actually talk about a grant to perhaps redevelop the site and

make it sustainable. Hello and welcome to Look East, with David and

me. Stay with us for the news from Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Suffolk

looks set for a new generation of nuclear power stations but we're

relying on the French and the Chinese to deliver them. England

Under 21 boss Gareth Southgate urges clubs like Ipswich to limit their

reliance on foreign players. And I will be looking ahead to a fairly

mixed week of weather. Hello. 600 poultry workers in

Suffolk were told today that their factory is closing next month. The

two Sisters Food Group said its production site beside the A14 was

no longer viable. The factory at Haughley Park processes roast

chicken products. The company employs 2,500 employees at its other

sites throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Today's announcement has

been greeted with deep disappointment by unions and the

local MP. Let's get the details now from our Suffolk reporter, Kevin

Burch. Often we do stories like this where we stand outside factory gates

and this is about the people who go through the factory gates, and

tonight we have several hundred people looking for work only months

before Christmas. Now this human cost us to take a back seat. Many

knew it was coming but nonetheless this news has been hard to take. I

am 37 now and I have a young family so it is important, I need to get a

job and I have a mortgage as well. This man has worked here for five

years, originally from Portugal, he has a wife who also works at the

factory and will lose her job, and they have two migrant children. For

a long time now we have known there are special financial issues in this

company and people on the shop floor never knew this happened.

The company says it has looked for alternatives to shutting the site

but the inescapable truth, it says, is that the company is unsustainable

and not viable. It is loss`making and being a remote site is difficult

to bring adequate power to make the site viable. It is disappointing

that the Government made no approaches to the business, to the

best of my knowledge, and we will end up with people claiming benefits

from the Government which is not ideal, and it is hurtful to the

members who are very hard`working. The company says it will do

everything it can to redeploy as many staff to other sites as

possible, but this factory will shut for the final time on the 15th of

November. This is an employer which remains a

key player in the economy, employing hundreds of people at these other

sites, but here is the end. As one worker said, this is my family, but

it is a family which is about to be split up. This afternoon I spoke to

the local MP David Ruffley and started by asking for his reaction

to the news. This is a deeply uncertain time for families who have

relied on the site for work, to put bread on the table. The task is to

make sure that as many as those workers get offered alternative

work. That is not a total solution but that is what we have got to work

towards as hard as we can. Were you expecting this news? The

company said it is to do with the site not being viable. I heard that

argument from management. I think the real focus has got to be that

this is an international company, reducing from six sites to five

which it has in the region, there are other jobs not far away which

are also under threat and we need a strategy in our part of Suffolk to

make sure these jobs are not taken to other counties. In this case, my

constituents are being offered jobs in South Suffolk. Do using the

workers will get jobs elsewhere, or do you think there will be a real

impact locally? The management are talking about 200 job offers at the

Essex and South Norfolk site as an alternative. I want to make sure

that as many people as possible get the offer of work. It is not a

fantastic alternative to losing work in this site but I want as much as

possible for it to be avoided. It is only a fraction though, isn't it? It

is, and it is of course the case that not all the workers necessarily

want to continue in full`time work but as many people who want

alternative employment in this group should be given that alternative and

I will be working hard with the management, going to see them

again, I called a meeting at the beginning of last month about this

and sadly what they told me then with the unions was that it was

horribly inevitable that the rather depressing announcement today became

a reality. Thank you. There's growing speculation tonight that

money from China could pave the way for a new nuclear power station in

Suffolk. Plans for a station in Sizewell have been dead`locked for

two years. But it's thought the French operator EDF may go into

partnership with the Chinese. The deal could be signed as early as

this week, to tie in with a UK trade delegation to China. Alex Dunlop has

more. Two nuclear double reactors planned by EDF, but on the drawing

board they stay for now. The French energy giant says it will start

construction next to Sizewell only if the Government guarantees a price

for the electricity they generate. Now after months of deadlock, there

may be a breakthrough. We are extremely close to a deal with EDF.

That is because China wants a slice of investment. The Chinese are very

interested in the opportunity in Britain's nuclear sector. We could

have a scenario where local British consumers would buy electricity from

a French electricity group which would be in partnership with the

Chinese nuclear power company. We are told consumers will benefit but

what about suppliers? EDF is very close to agreeing a wholesale

electricity price with the Government of around ?91 per

megawatt hour, twice the current price of around ?46. There is no

doubt local firms would profit from Sizewell, and EDF say it would

generate ?140 million locally. The Chinese have been investing in

Suffolk and the south`east of England for some time now and if it

helps Sizewell get going, I am all for it. With China there as well, I

think they are very important in the whole discussion but I don't think

it is all over by the shouting, we have a long way to go because their

new design has got to go through a rigorous process and it may be found

wanting. With the Chancellor in Beijing this week, an announcement

is expected imminently. If China take the nuclear option, it would

create thousands of local jobs but also a good deal of local

opposition. The impact of Chinese growth on our

economy is the subject of tonight's special report, later in the

programme. Campaigners against a second runway

at Stansted Airport have begun a new High Court action. The Stop Stansted

Expansion group says a former member of the Government's Airports

Commission had been chief executive of the company which now owns

Stansted. It claims this means any decision on future airport

development could be biased. The Olympic javelin thrower Goldie

Sayers from Cambridgeshire is one of a number of high`profile GB athletes

to lose their lottery funding for next season. Sayers came fourth at

the Beijing Games in 2008 but struggled with injury at London

2012. Mike Souter, the former radio

presenter, was described in court today as a serial child abuser and a

wolf in sheep's clothing. The comments came from the prosecution

as his trial at Norwich crown court entered its final stages. Mr

Souter's defence barrister said allegations that he had abused young

boys over a period of years were "absolute rubbish". Our chief

reporter Kim Riley was in court. Prosecutor Andrew Shaw said Mike

Souter's answer to allegations was that they had all lied. He had spent

days in the witness box furiously rowing against the tide, when it

came to proving his innocence he had fallen short by 1 million miles. His

position, he said, preposterous. Mr Shaw said Mike Souter was a man who

could open doors, but he was a wolf in sheep 's clothing. He likened him

to characters from the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Andrew Hill

defending said the prosecutor was a fantastic storyteller but much of it

was fun to see. His cross`examination of Mike Souter had

concentrated on his character, his sexuality. My client was publicly

humiliated in this court, he said. Mr Hill claimed there had been

collusion between a number of alleged victims, their delay in

coming forward to the police by a number of years was significant, he

said. Some of the allegations he labelled absolute rubbish. He asked

the jury to decide with caution. Do not be carried along on a bandwagon

of prejudice. The judge will begin summing up the case tomorrow

morning. There is a lot more to come on Look

East tonight. We will have all the action from the world conker

Championships. As you may have seen, the Chancellor

George Osborne is leading a delegation of political and trade

figures to China. The visit is designed to encourage more trade

between the UK and the world's second biggest economy. Here in the

east, we're the main route for Chinese goods into the UK through

the port of Felixstowe. But as our business correspondent Richard Bond

reports, the challenge now is to sell British products back to China.

We think of China as a source of cheap imports, it is and they flow

into the UK through Felixstowe on their way to our shops, but China

also buys from Britain. Ransomes Jacobson in Ipswich makes commercial

mowers for golf courses. The growth of the sport in China has opened up

a whole new market for this long established business. We already

sell millions of pounds worth of machines into China. It is predicted

to be a growth market with over 1000 courses in the next ten years,

potentially. We think we are well positioned to capitalise on that so

China could become one of our largest markets. Exports to China

from the Eastern region are growing fast, up 9% in the last year.

China's new rich want to buy cars like Jaguars and land Rovers, good

news for staff in this factory who make suspension units. They have

just introduced a night shift to keep up with demand. I think in the

Western countries we have heard for a long time there was a growing

middle class in China and that market would be opened up and the

middle class would be able to afford some of the products we have enjoyed

in the west for quite a while. I think that is driving sales growth

now. It is not just suspension units that end up in Jaguars and land

Rovers bought by prosperous consumers in China. This British

factory in Linton is owned by the Chinese as well. Chinese investors

owned quite a few of our regional assets. UK power networks which

distribute electricity to our homes, the port of Felixstowe, Essex

and Suffolk water. In trading terms, China holds the advantage

over us, they sell a lot more to us than we sell to them. This mower is

going to Felixstowe to be shipped to China.

Just to let you know, Look East is planning its own broadcast from

China to report on that growing trade link. If you are currently

doing business with China and you'd like to tell us about it, do get in

touch. You can phone, send an email or contact us through social media.

We look forward to hearing from you. Churches in Essex are to help

villagers get better access to the Internet by having transmitters put

on their steeples. Up to 100 churches in the Diocese of

Chelmsford could be used to boost broadband speeds. For hundreds of

years, village churches have given solace and sanctuary. Now some are

about to provide something thoroughly modern as well. This is a

village near Colchester and the Internet connection here is

painfully slow but the church could be about to bring the village

superfast broadband. The Government aims to get superfast broadband to

90% of us, but more raw rural areas might miss out. This company aims to

put transmitters on the steeples of churches making it available to

everyone. The equipment we use is about the size of a child's pencil

case. It should not have any impact on the church and in some instances

we even pop facades around the equipment so it will blend. I think

this is a case of the church keeping in step with modern times. The

church warden here says the village's broadband signal does need

to be improved. I always call it narrowband and that is what we have

got. A lot of people in the village are running businesses, very often

small businesses from home. There is also the farmers and these people

desperately need broadband. Up to 106 churches could eventually have a

transmitter on the steeple. Next tonight: Food. And, more to the

point, just how safe are the products we buy from the

supermarkets? It's a subject being covered on tonight's Inside Out

programme. Simon Newton's been looking at the findings.

Thanks David. The recent horse meat scandal focused attention on where

our food comes from. Tonight, Inside Out looks at the growth of so`called

food fraud. The team look at how it's on the rise and the East

Anglian scientists at the forefront of combating it. We talk to Tesco

about the horse meat scandal and the chances of it ever happening again

and we discover how even humble honey can be tampered with. There

are three different ways you can fraudulently sell horny. One is

using imported honey and selling it labelled as British when it is

clearly not. You can also mix honey with corn syrup. There have been

reports of honey detected with corn syrup and on each so it is actually

a mixture. The third way is actually just feeding these sugar syrup,

which creates a kind of honey like substance but it has no pollen in

it. Well the programme also examines how Trading Standards officers like

the one I met today are under increasing pressure to test the

provenance of food at the same time as their budgets are being slashed.

We have to be intelligence led to make sure we can do more with less

resources and that means looking at the intelligence in the

marketplace, the history and the trends that we have dealt with. We

have liaised with the food standards agency to identify areas where food

fraud is likely to be occurring. Commodities markets where there is a

big incentive for food fraud to take place and we need to be more

effective in making sure the samples are more likely to identify

problems. So find out how confident you can be in your food in Inside

Out at 7.30. Gareth Southgate, the manager of

England's Under 21 side, has today urged clubs in the Championship to

reduce their reliance on foreign players. In effect, he would like to

see clubs like Ipswich Town introduce a cap on overseas stars.

Gareth Southgate was speaking in Colchester where the young England

side are training ahead of tomorrow night's international against

Lithuania. The match is being played at Portman Road, the home of

Ipswich. Our sports editor Jonathan Park reports. This is the future of

English football, the under 21s being put through their paces.

Tomorrow they face Lithuania in a European championship qualifier at

Portman Road followed by the senior team's make or break clash with

Poland at Wembley. The impact of qualifying or not qualifying is

enormous to every aspect of our society really. I was discussing

this with Roy last week. You get a feel of exactly what it means and

feel of the pressure the team are under and maybe when I was playing I

didn't quite realise that so much, which was a good thing! There is a

lot of talk over the new chairman's commission, examining the state of

the national game. He has been criticised for lacking punch.

Southgate has called for a cap on foreign players in the championship

where many are turning to cheap imports at the expense of young

British talent being given a chance. We are reviewing how the Academy is

wrong, we are reviewing grass roots football, but if at the end of that

path there is no game at the weekend and no game under pressure, then

that is an experience that 17`23 `year`olds are missing out on. Many

of these players are in and out of their prospective club teams,

including Redmond who started his career with a flourish. There is a

lot of talk recently about how we don't have players from the future

and if you look at the under 21 teams, as the list goes down to the

under 16`year`olds, this shows he has faith in the players and it is

therefore us if we work hard. Nathan Redmond has already been a

matchwinner for Norwich this season, and with his England colours

on, should get a warm reception tomorrow night at Portman Road. It

is said to be an exciting night, starting in Ipswich, ending in

Brazil, hopefully. Now as you know we have some world

class sporting venues in our region. Silverstone for motor racing,

Newmarket for horse racing, and Stadium MK, soon to host World Cup

rugby of course. But what about the village of Southwick in

Northamptonshire? For the first time yesterday the village played host to

the world conker championships. Mike Liggins has been watching the

action. Some people even came from Venezuela to take part. Each

competitor gets three strikes, and after that it goes to sudden death.

This year it was Southwark for the first time. We were at the beautiful

village green of Ashton but it got a bit small and we were even turning

people away from the car park. The way to another venue but it was too

windy. Fancy dress plays a big part, here we had the pink Panther.

It was decided on this mishit, or quarter snacks for the conquer

initiate our `` conquer experts. As the new king of conkers Simon got a

crown, he didn't seem all that pleased to be world champion. I am a

bit overwhelmed really. I was having a quiet Sunday afternoon and this

happens, a very strange feeling. It is quite tense, but as soon as it

cracked I went for the kill. There was no practice involved, it was

pure luck. Since it started in 1965, the World Conker Championships has

raised ?400,000 for charity and much fun had by all. Congratulations to

this all conquering Duro. `` duo. I love that, I was having a quiet

weekend and this happened! I think next year they should all wear

onesies! We have had everything today, a real

mixture of cloud but some sunshine as well for some people.

Around the centre of this low pressure we have had showers

rotating around and they have been pushing into our part of the world.

We have a fair few out there as we speak, they will tend to pull away

to the east, some of them on the sharp side, and the rest of the

night after midnight should be largely dry. If we get any breaks in

the cloud, we are likely to see some patchy fog developing and quite a

lot of mist and low cloud out there during the second part of the night.

In moral sports we could be down to around five degrees, which is really

chilly. Tomorrow, and misty, murky start of the day, some of the fog

will be slow to clear. We cannot rule out a few showers but it is

looking largely dry. Temperatures looking around 13 Celsius at best,

and we are looking at mainly light west to north`westerly winds

throughout the day. We finished the day with a few showers, but largely

dry skies. As we head into the rest of the week, is what ahead?

Wednesday will probably have a dry start but then we are expecting some

rain to push in from the south`west. On Thursday, probably

largely fine and dry, I think. We cannot rule out some showers but

hopefully some brightness coming through as well. On Friday, as it

stands, it is looking a similar day. A fair bit of fine, dry weather with

some showers likely in the afternoon. It looks like most of the

rain should stay to the west of us but that is subject to change. On

Thursday and Friday, you will notice much milder days. We could see 17

Celsius in the sunshine so very mild, and these are your overnight

lows.