28/11/2013 Look East - West

Louise, thank you. That's all from the BBC

Hello and welcome to Thursday's Look East. In the programme tonight:

Jailed for life. Anxiang Du will serve a minimum of

40 years for murdering a family of four. Today, justice has been

served. The murder, Anxiang Du, will spend the rest of his life in

prison. Idiots, not terrorists. The two men

at the centre of an emergency landing at Stansted Airport are

cleared of any wrongdoing. We will be here later, hearing about the

plan to create 65,000 new jobs and targeting training to prepare young

people for the world of work. And we meet Laura Banks, four months after

the transplant changed her life Good evening.

First tonight, a man who murdered an entire family has been told it is

almost inevitable he will die in prison. Anxiang Du has been jailed

for a minimum of 40 years for killing Jeff and Helen Ding and

their two daughters at their home in Northampton. In sentencing the

54`year`old businessman today, the judge said he was clearly carrying

out pre`meditated acts of revenge. Neil Bradford was in court today and

joins us now. Neil, it was always going to be a long sentence.

That's right, in case this CD is the judge has no option but to impose a

life sentence, and I think many people were hoping this would be one

of the red occasions where life really does mean life, but Judge

says that despite the gravity of this case he said he did not think

that would be appropriate. But by imposing a minimum tariff of 40

years he is saying that Anxiang Du will spend the rest of his life in

prison. He would be eligible for parole until his 94th birthday.

Anxiang Du showed no emotion as the judge sentenced them.

Alice Ding was just 12 years old, her sister was 18. Anxiang Du

moderate them both, just minutes after killing parents. On the day of

the royal wedding two years ago he travelled to Northampton seeking

revenge. After losing a long`running legal dispute, he was facing

financial ruin. The judge said he was calm and methodical, a man on a

mission. Today he was jailed for life. The family have asked me to

see the following on their behalf. Today, justice has been served, the

matter Anxiang Du will spend the rest of his life in prison. No

sentence, however long, can ever replace our loved ones. Nothing the

judge could have done today would remove the pain we feel. Near where

the family lived, there is relief among their friends and neighbours.

It is closure. My daughter had months of sleepless nights,

psychologists getting involved, and then when we went through the trial

process, reading on the Internet what happened at court, it affected

her. Now that justice has been served she hopefully has drawn a

line under it and can move on with her life. Sentencing of a minimum

term of 40 years, the judge said that these were cold blooded

murderers which in my judgement were premeditated and were considered act

of revenge in which you wiped out the entire family of the couple

would you consider how rude you financially. He told Anxiang Du that

it was not his mental health, as he had claimed, but he could and anger

and a desire for revenge that motivated him to kill.

Helen Ding's mother and father had followed the trial, but Julie

translation was not necessary as they give their reaction. The

emotions they are suffering are the same in any language, I met with the

family earlier this week and it is clear what the devastating impact

this few weeks has had on them. They have had some harrowing and

distressing evidence. It is clear that they have taken straight from

the neighbours in the area and other members of the community. Tomorrow,

it will be two years and seven months exactly since the family were

murdered, their relatives travel back to China knowing that justice

has been done at last. Campaigners against plans for a toll

road on the A14 say they believe they're winning the argument. MPs

and business leaders lobbied the Transport Secretary this afternoon,

telling him the proposed new road to the north of Cambridge would stunt

the region's economy. A decision on whether or not to go ahead with the

scheme could be taken as early as next week. Our political

correspondent Andrew Sinclair is at Westminster ` and the opposition to

this scheme just seems to keep growing. Yes, motoring

organisations, local councils, hauliers, business organisations,

today we had MPs and business leaders from Suffolk in at the

Department of Transport, lobbying the Transport Secretary, telling him

that they believe a tall in such a vital road to the region's economy

was wrong. If the coal is imposed it will be damaging on the Suffolk

economy and of the economy of the country as a call. Some businesses

are talking about leading software for other counties. Well this thread

hangs over us. We are making headway, we are putting together a

very articulate ration Alan Whitehead is wrong for the Suffolk

economy and to remind ministers that we should not be restricting our

growth areas with arbitrary halls. Is the government really going to

change their mind? Officially we're being told nothing,

but the feeling among campaigners is that things are moving the way. This

has become a big issue, there have been meetings with the Prime

Minister, the Chancellor, transport managers. The issue gets raised in

Parliament. My experience from things like this is that if the

government was not going to do anything he is campaigning MPs would

have been taken to one side by Miller that all very quietly, please

pipe down. Nothing will happen. On top of that, the language from

ministers has changed, we are listing, we understand, we share

your concerns. That is what is making people think that we might

just be about to see some sort of change of heart, perhaps in the

Autumn statement, which is next week. What will that be? Erode like

this is such a key plank of government policy, it would be a

larger U`turn if they change their mind altogether but we are told the

economy is improving. Perhaps the Chancellor can complete the road

without having to impose the tall. Watch this space.

Two men have been cleared of threatening to blow up a plane

forced to land at Stansted Airport. A judge at Chelmsford Crown Court

has ruled there's no case to answer. Tayyab Subhani and Mohammed Safdar

were arrested in May after a Boeing 777 heading from Pakistan to

Manchester was forced to make an emergency landing. Our chief

reporter Kim Riley was in court It was an emergency in which no one was

injured, amidst a big security operation, all passengers and crew

were safety `` safely taken off the plane. A detailed search of the

aircraft revealed nothing significant. One of the suspects was

held in custody for 73 days. The airline did not disclose the

findings of their internal investigation into the incident to

the British authorities until ordered by the court. The

prosecution originally claimed that the court accused had made threats

to kill passengers and crew and blow up the plane. During the trial a

different picture emerged. One passenger, the trivial incident The

prosecutor said that together with the police and Crown Prosecution

Service would have considered whether it was appropriate to seek

to resist a defence application of no case to answer. In the light of

some of the evidence he said, and issues of disclosure, the decision

was made not to seek convictions in this case. The judge said that some

of the evidence before the Julie against the two men have been

tenuous and peppered with inconsistency. He instructed them to

return a verdict of not guilty on both men. Outside court, solicitors

for the parent redshirt statements. On behalf of my client, he is

relieved his ordeal is over. Due to the misinformation is applied to UK

authorities by members of the crew of the flight, the UK was put to

considerable expense. My client was wrongly vilified as a terrorist

based on this information. This is a victory for us, his loved ones and

those who knew he was innocent of the allegations he was facing. This

case has collapsed after it became clear that witnesses against them

had not told the truth. It is also clear that have the documents held

by the airline 's been disclosed to the prosecution at the outset then

these two men would never have had to face this protracted ordeal of a

crown Court trial. The defence said they were gaping holes in the

evidence against the two men who had endured months of stress well being

falsely branded as terror suspects. A specialist in airport planning has

been appointed to carry out an independent review of plans to

expand Luton airport. The move comes as a new company takes over the site

in a ?300 million deal. The airport's managing director says the

new owners Ardian, have an impressive track record in the

industry. The country might have emerged from

recession, but councils across our region are still having to cut

millions of pounds from their budgets. In Cambridgeshire alone,

the county council is trying to save ?149 million over the next five

years. It is on target to save 7 million in the next financial year.

However that means one famous attraction is in the firing line,

the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon. It costs the council just ?20,0 0 a

year to run. Campaigners say it s a huge sacrifice for very little

savings. Stuart Ratcliffe reports. Cromwell's government papers, his

boots and even his death mask, everything from oil is here in the

building where he went to school, in the town where he was born. He left

over half his life year, his family were rooted here, Cromwell was MP

for Huntingdon in the late 16 2 s. But it is truly his role as a

national figure where he becomes most significant. The museum

attracts 11,000 visitors per year, and with annual running costs of

just ?20,000, campaigners say the museum does provide value for money.

Such as from abroad will spend here and may even stay here and they will

contribute to the local economy and none of that seems to be factored in

to the county council's decision about the potential closure. The

council says the size of the museum's grant is irrelevant,

savings must be found. We are clearly looking at the very small

figure with regard to the museum. All services are looking at small

sums of money and those are small sums of money at up to much larger

sums. It is a non`statutory service we are talking about. The statutory

services together with her priorities must come first. No

decision has been made in the council says it is now urging the

museum to find new finance and new ways to operate. If it does not

this priceless collection could be sold off at Cromwell's heritage lost

forever. Staff at Addenbrooke's Hospital have

written a letter of complaint to the University of Cambridge after it's

A department was inundated with a group of drunken students. It is

understood the group in fancy dress arrived at the hospital at around

6pm on Tuesday night in a drunken state and some with injuries. The

hospital says doctors continued to treat students until around 4am and

their behaviour was rude and disruptive for other patients. A

spokesman for the university said an investigation is underway.

A major route into and through the centre of Peterborough could be

transformed over the next year. If plans by the city council are

approved, Bourges Boulevard is set to become a pedestrian`friendly

tree`lined avenue. The work will cost ?4.5 million and could be

complete by next October. It will include creating two pedestrian

crossings and planting 30 London Plane trees. Those

escaped from their enclosure escaped themselves. Management say they are

struggling to understand how they got through the fence.

Still to come: The UK Snooker Championship. We speak to the world

number one. The extraordinary bond between a mother and daughter. Four

months after a transplant changed both their lives.

Here's the problem ` our workforce is getting older, we lose lots of

skilled people to jobs outside our region and training courses for

young people don't prepare them fully for the world of work. But

what is the solution? According to the New Anglia local Enterprise

Partnership, one solution is to get businesses, schools and colleges

talking to each other to make sure courses are tailored to provide the

right training. It wants to create 65,000 more jobs across Norfolk and

Suffolk by 2025, where more than 60% of the population is of working age

and more than a quarter of those have a degree of some kind. They

have been welding, bricklaying, even operating a bigger. Organised by

Norfolk county council, this event was designed to give students some

ideas and to get the firms involved with people they need for the

future. It is good to see the opportunities around this area. Lots

of stuff to look at. What advice have people been giving you? It is a

good thing to choose when you leave school. It can get your lot of

money. 1200 schoolchildren, 70 exhibitors. Among them is this man

who started his company 24 years ago. They made a robot for the take

that tour. He says it needs to be much easier for small businesses to

employ young people. They need to support and engage with them more.

The colleges and providers are not delivering what the businesses

need. That is the problem and today in Ipswich the start of the

solution. The new partnership launched what it calls a skills

manifesto. We need to do more to get business and educators working

together. That way, the educators understand that business is

required, businesses understand the challenges that educators face.

Talking to companies here, it is clear that more needs to be done

with youth unemployment. More help from government, more coordination,

less red tape. Get all that right and the future is good. This

afternoon, I spoke to the skills Minister Matthew Hancock. He

believes in better education and giving young people what he calls

get up and go. Is that something you can teach? You can teach those sort

of character traits. It is about making sure they know what it takes,

lots of it comes from doing work experience, making sure people know

what it is like in the workplace. The big complaint we are hearing is

there is too much red tape. I understand that concern. I was in

small business before I came into politics. That point was raised. We

have made it easier. You cannot be taken to a tribunal for two years

rather than one year, which helps, and we are simplifying those rules

by making the insurance clearer and the guidance simpler and removing

some of the regulations. I completely accept that there is more

to do, and it is my job to do it. I listen to business because I want to

make sure life is easier for them. Ultimately, it is small businesses

who create prosperity. You have been in power for three years. Why have

you not done it? This is a never`ending process. We have done a

lot. We have also made sure it is easier to comply with health and

safety regulations, so as long as you are not negligent you cannot be

done for health and safety. It is an important change that only came into

force six months ago. Communicating to small businesses that as long as

you behave reasonably you will get through, they will not hold you

back. You accept that business and education do not work together as

well as they should. How do you solve that? There is a number of

things you can do. The first is making sure colleges and schools

interact with the local business community so there is more work

experience, but one very direct way is through the growth of

apprenticeships. They are training and job. There is a series of ways

we can do it, and I am very keen to make sure that we do. It has

benefits on both sides of the fence, motivating kids in schools, making

sure when they leave they are ready to take on the jobs that are

available. Thank you. The UK Snooker Championship is underway. The

sport's undergone a period of radical change and it's also had to

deal with a match fixing scandal which led to one of the top players

being banned. Two players who have not let all of that spoil their form

are Neil Robertson and Joe Perry. They're good friends and practice

together in Cambridge. Tom Williams has been to meet them. A final few

frames. They are friends in practice and rivals in games. There are more

tournament, more travelling, and more opportunities, but both have

claimed titles, demonstrating change has not snookered them. We did at

the start of the season... It is probably the first time in a few

seasons that we have started off the season really well together. I think

it is great for the snooker clubs to have both of us doing really well.

Fully can continue. You help each other? We picked little bones out of

each other's stuff. I have all was been critical of his preparation but

this season I am learning from him. Snooker has gone a long way to

enhancing its appeal. Its reputation has been tarnished in the worst case

of corruption in the sport's history. Stephen Lee was found

guilty of match fixing, and given a 12 year ban. Devastated. Absolutely

devastated. I have done nothing wrong. They said, if you want to fix

matches, go against the rules of the game, you will be suspended and it

will cost you a career. Do you think integrity has been restored?

Definitely. It is showing the public that they are not going to stand for

it. Both players want to win. Jonathan Trott's decision to quit

the Ashes tour once again highlighted the strain on our top

sports stars. Other snooker players have battled depression. We can be

away for six weeks. It is tough to spend time away from your family.

There is no middle ground in sport. You are either really happy when you

win really sad when you lose. If you are missing your family, who knows

what is happening? Only one will pop the winning ball this week. Revamps

snooker hopes it will be the major winner. `` the revamped snooker.

Under five months ago I went to meet a mother and daughter in the centre

of the next story. Laura Banks badly needed a kidney transplant and her

mum Felicity was going to be her donor. We're pleased to report the

operation was a success ` now they are both looking to the future. We

sent Mike Cartwright back to see them. Wishing you all the best. Four

months after her transplant, Laura Banks is healthy, happy and here.

That is thanks to her mum, who brought her into this world and

prevented her from leaving it. To have done what she has done is

really amazing. Hopefully life can carry on as normal because she

accompanied me to the hospital with all my appointments. Hopefully

things can change for her as well. She will be less worried about me.

Laura was five when Doctors discovered kidney problems. 22 years

after her first transplant, she needed another. Her mother was the

perfect match. I remember it being a beautiful summer as I woke up, it

was very hot, and I was worried about getting across to the main

building. I was on time, and I got there, but I felt very calm, which

is amazing for me. And I knew that everything that I was doing was

right. I tried not to be too nervous. There was a lot of waiting

around, moments before going to theatre. I remember being quite

worried about those who were waiting for the news of me. Laura is looking

to build a life with her partner and continue to build her career back in

HR. I love being back in work because I enjoy my job but it also

means a sense of normality for me. It is lovely to see her full of

energy and laughing and joking. Normality, really. That is the thing

you forget. You lose track. You go to hospital appointments, you seem

to be at the hospital so much. We are free of that now. We have

normality in our lives. The bond between most mothers and their

daughters is strong. The bond is unbreakable. It is lovely to see

them looking well. Now the weather. unbreakable. It is lovely to see

them looking well. Now the If you got fed up with the cloud today the

good news is the weather is changing tomorrow and it will be much

brighter but will also feel quite a bit colder. The current situation is

we have quite a lot of widespread mist and fog patches forming, and if

anything, visibility is not great. With this blanket across us, it will

not get too cold tonight. Temperatures overnight anything

between four and seven Celsius. The wind will be south`westerly. They

will be coming from the north. By the end of the night, these light

south`westerly winds will see us with the current conditions. This

will bring a brisk north`westerly wind which will make it feel a lot

colder. At the day progresses it will be brighter. We should see some

sunny spells. Quite a different feel. The mist and fog will clear

first thing, showers will be isolated. They will affect coastal

parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Sunny spells will develop into the

day and afternoon and it will be quite bright. Factoring in the

north`westerly wind, it will feel quite cold. This wind will be

particularly gusty around the coast. Into the afternoon, it is

looking largely dry. Perhaps the odd coastal shower but plenty of

sunshine. It will be so windy overnight that it should be free of

frost. This is the pressure pattern by the end of the weekend. I

pressure moves back in. This is what we have had for the last week. ``

high`pressure. By the end of the weekend it will be cloudy. We will

be back to the conditions we have been experiencing when wind is

light. Before then we have some brighter weather. For Friday and

Saturday expect some sunny spells, expected to the bit colder. It will

get lighter in the afternoon and there is a risk of frost. Cloud will

return on Sunday and Monday. Quick barometer check.

Just before we go, time to tell you about a chance to see a special

programme made by the BBC. The flying archaeologist who's a former

policeman from Cambridgeshire has helped reveal that people lived

around Stonehenge 5,000 years earlier than first thought. You can

see the full story tonight in Stonehenge: The Missing Link at 8:30

on BBC Four.