28/05/2014 Look East - West

Nick Clegg tells his supporters to stand firm, dismissing talk

of Hello and welcome to

Wednesday's Look East. Coming up

in the next thirty minutes: A major breakthrough for MS

sufferers, as a wonder drug developed in this region is approved

for use on the NHS. It isn?t a cure,

I can?t say it is a cure. But I have not had MS

for eleven years. A date is set for Cambridge Lib Dems

to discuss Nick Clegg's futtre. And it is all aboard the

Poppy Express for a picnic with a difference

in aid of the Royal British Legion. I will be here later in the

programme live from the Suffolk Show, with the BBC is marking 1 0

years since World War I. Thdre are many re`creations and stands and

even a school in that ten. Over there is a record office whdre

people can trace the involvdment of the relatives during World War I.

Join me later. The new drug,

developed in this region, which scientists say is a breakthrough

for people with multiple sclerosis. It is called Lemtrada and is

the result of decades of research It has now been approved by the

health body NICE and in thrde months Multiple sclerosis is a condition

of the central nervous systdm. It affects more than 100,000

people across the UK. Symptoms start in your 20s or 3 s

and it affects almost three times In a moment, we will hear rdaction

from the MS Society, but first His hands and arms went numb

and he lost sight in one eyd. But for more than a decade now,

he has suffered no symptoms after It does not affect

my day`to`day life. It does not affect my work,

my social life. I only have to think about ht when I

get holiday insurance. Other than that,

I am absolutely fine. I'm healthier now than I was

in the past. Last year, I completed thred

half`marathons in one month. This is the drug `

now called Lemtrada. A fluid injected directly

into the blood stream. Developed in Cambridge over

the last forty years, Prof @laistair The drug is the most effecthve

treatment for multiple sclerosis It reduces the accumulation

of disability and allows a good proportion

of patients to improve over time. MS is caused by rogue immund cells `

these red splodges here, attacking the nerve ending and damaging its

coating around the blue are` here. The drug replaces bad cells with

good cells and then the nerve We treated the first patient

in 1991. At that stage, we were treating

people with rather advanced disease. We learned over

a number years that was probably not There was a switch

in the late 1990s to treating people The drug is now approved

by the health body NICE. Anthony was

among 2,000 people worldwidd who It could help around half those

newly diagnosed with the condition. If it continues for another 11

years I will be happy with that The development of this drug is very

much a Cambridge story, avahlable on Mike Cartwright, BBC Look E`st,

Cambridge. Earlier I spoke to

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, the head of biomedical research at the

MS Society, who explained exactly Some people with MS experience

relapses and then they get Others with MS experience

progression, This drug is helpful for people

with relapsing, remitting MS. So out of the number

of people living with MS at the moment, how many of them ard in that

group that this drug could benefit? We do not have exact figures

on that. There are around 100,000

people with MS in the UK. 85 per cent of people, when they are

diagnosed, are diagnosed with the So most people

at some stage within their journey with MS will be diagnosed whth

relapsing, remitting MS. What are those associated

with this drug? About one third

of people who take this drug develop They can be caught early

and treated but it is something that people have to be aware of

and it should be monitored Do you think that the potential

benefits outweigh that risk? That is a very personal dechsion

that needs to be made by people with MS who choosd to take

the drug in conjunction with advice We know there is a problem hn the UK

with access to medicines and a lot of people with relapsing, rdmitting

MS who are eligible for the current Even though it will be available on

the NHS, and NICE have rubbdrstamped it, you are saying there is

a risk that people who could benefit from this drug still will not be

able to get access to it. There is a risk that people who do

not have the correct inform`tion or access to a healthcare

professional will be unable to We are saying that people should

arrange an appointment with a healthcare professional to

discuss their treatment opthons You are looking forward to seeing

this drug available on the NHS? This is great news

for people with MS and we hope that it is made available to everyone who

would benefit. Dr Susan Kohlhaas

talking to me earlier. The body

of a man has been discovered The remains were found

by a dog walker in the earlx hours of this morning near Tyesdale,

in the Bretton area of the city The police are treating

the man's death as unexplained. They are awaiting the results of a

post mortem examination, whhch has More than 1,600 ex`servicemdn

and women in this region received some form of help from the

Royal British Legion last ydar. The charity exists to support

service personnel returning And today, two young veterans took

a special train journey to promote Fundraising for the

Royal British Legion ` not just here for older vetdrans,

but also for people like Sal Jack who was blinded in Afghanistan

after facing a ricocheting bullet. Once I was shocked, I came round and

help was there. To have that help there was incredible. They came to

my house to make sure that everything was OK and it was safe

meat walk around. The charity will stage a national picnic day in June

to keep pace with the ?2 million that I needed every week and help

those leaving the armed forces. It is very important to us. We need

people to understand that wd are fundraising 365 days of the year.

Something like the poppy picnics is a way for us to show the public we

are doing things. I think it is important that people are aware of

people whose fight for our country and need support when they get back.

It is a good way of sharing awareness. Another Afghanistan

veteran was homeless after leaving the Army. He is now helping the

Legion. It is making people aware of the poppy appeal. The British Legion

have been fantastic with me. Without them I would not be here now. It is

hoped that this latest appe`l will raise at least ?1 million to help

the latest veterans returning from conflict around the world.

The Liberal Democrats in Calbridge have decided to hold a vote

on whether to support the party leader, Nick Clegg.

A meeting has been set for two weeks' time, in which party members

will decide if Mr Clegg is the best person to lead the Lib Dems in

It follows the party's dism`l performance at the recent local

Our reporter, Ben Bland, is at the Guildhall in Cambridge for ts now.

Some of the questions startdd when the Liberal Democrats lost control

of this counsel for the first time in many years. In two weeks time,

the party's supporters in C`mbridge will meet to decide whether Nick

Clegg should continue as le`der on whether they want an election to

choose a new leader. Local lembers what an opportunity to disctss it.

Activists on the streets have had questions and we feel as an

executive that we should get our members at large the opporttnity to

take part in a discussion. Tnder the party rules, is 75 groups c`ll for

an election it would happen. But some people do not want to wait and

have signed a letter calling on Nick Clegg to stand down. Nick Clegg can

be a very good advocate of causes but unfortunately he is so tnpopular

now that he can damage causds. That is why I signed the letter. I do not

think you can be a party le`der when so many people are unwilling to give

you a fair hearing. The MP for Cambridge as a Liberal Democrat but

the other parties will be fhghting for the seat in the general

election. The question for the Liberal Democrat is whether Nick

Clegg is the right person to lead them?

The parents of a teenage girl killed in a car crash

in Northamptonshire have fahled in their bid to have a speed limit

Rebecca Taylor lost control of her car six years ago

Her parents have been fighthng to have the speed limit cut

The Taylor home is filled with memories of Rebecca.

This self`portrait is one of the last paintings she dhd

The 18`year`old was killed six years ago on this stretch of road

Since her death, her parents have been campaigning to have thd speed

One of the suggestions that we have the

One of the suggestions that we have that

may have possibly make a difference for Rebecca would have been a

Rebecca needed a split second, that is all, and it would h`ve been

She may have ended up in thd ditch and missed the other car colpletely.

It would have made some difference, it clearly would have done.

An inquest into Rebecca's ddath heard that on the day of thd crash

Standing water may have been a contributing factor.

Northamptonshire County Council does not consider this to be

a dangerous stretch of road and it has rejected calls to reduce

In a statement, it said a strvey showed the majority of vehicles

travelled "significantly below 0 miles an hour" and most below 5 mph.

In the past three years, thdre had been only "one recorded collision

involving serious injury", which it said was a relatively low ntmber.

It added that there was "no compelling evidence to support

Nationally, more than 1,000 people died on rural roads in 2010 ` twice

Safety campaigners say drivdrs often think rural roads are safer

Yet, speeds travelled are much hhgher.

Chris Taylor says his familx are still coming to terms with Rebecca's

death, but he says they will continue to campaign in her name.

Now, over to Stewart at the Suffolk Show for the rest of the programme.

Welcome back to the Ipswich Showground at the BBC events marking

100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. This has bden one

of the most popular events here You get the chance to be a World War I

reporter. They have two loc`l presenters there, and you c`n go in

and pretend to be a reporter. We will find out what we have been

doing here at the events. A new recruit for kitchen's army.

This one is perhaps a 90% bored stiff, 10% frozen stiff,

10% scared stiff and it was in colour.

The tour includes a seven hour show of music, theatre, poetry and

debate. Today, it was the great wall question Time.

Tell us about world war talk.

We will introduce you to a historian from the area, who was at the

trenches. Just outside the town What effect would it have h`d on the

town? It would have had a massive effect

on East Anglia. A lot of people left the farms. The farming becale

crucial to keep the country fed Even here, partway through the war,

the division come to Ipswich to train. They are put in housds around

the town. Even now, 300 yards away, there are trenches in the fhelds for

training. They are in the golf course. It had a big impact. 30 000

men arrive, and author wrotd about his time here. It was a massive

amount of people in the town. How important were we in thd region

to what was happening in thd war? We were crucial. There is the coast,

there are factories here. Vhew `` the East Anglia Munitions committee

were very important, huge alounts of work going on. Feeding the country,

using farming. And all of the people who went to fight.

I know a lot of people will have seen the film all the play Wall ``

but the British Army used the courses better than the Gerlans

Yes, the Germans used many of their horses straightaway, and thdn their

farming had to be done by h`nd. The British Government use the farmers,

the British farmers were looking after the horses that were `lready

owned by the army. There were many horses left on farms so that farming

could carry on. Such big, heavy horses to move

really heavy guns, the Suffolk horses played a very import`nt role.

We will find out more about that set of courses now. `` horses.

It has been bred here for generations.

In 1914, it was providing horsepower in its purist form.

A tractor would have been a rarity. They were coming through and farmers

who had them a lot. But the horses ruled the fields.

With their plodding power, they were untouchable. The war effort was

critical, a decision was looming. Food production was very reliant on

men and the power of horses. But these were also needed for the wall.

There was a big debate about how many horses and men should be taken

to be used on the Western front or should they be used to help the food

situation. That period has been well documented

as part of a drive during food production, this land was alongst

swathes of countryside that return to farming. The country had little

choice. Germany was trying to blockade Britain, which relhed

heavily on imports. It proved a turning point, not least

because it gave fresh impetts to the development of new machinerx.

The necessity was the mother of invention. That happen in the Second

World War, as well. When you look back on the changes

that we have seen, where will we be on 100 years time? I have no idea.

When you look at the machinds of today, it makes you wonder what they

can do next. As for the punch, it has gone from

being essential to endangerdd. But it is still hanging on, strong,

sleek and a survivor. We have been learning about life

here for ordinary people. How did it change from 1914 to 1918?

There was a big change. People thought it would be a short war but

they became aware. One of the problems for agriculture was, when

the war broke out, we imported 0% of all our food. 80% of our wheat

and 40% of our beef. The Germans started to cut the supply is off

with their boats by 1915, and with conscription in that same ydar, the

men were going off and the women had men were going off and the women had

to do all the work. It had to be all hands on deck.

So the lives of women changdd massively? Yes, that is right. They

had to leave being in service and either work in agriculture or

factories. After the war, service ended, if

people had gone into it? They did not want to go back to it

after the war. They did not want to go back to being servants. @fter the

war, the men had to have thdir jobs and the priority was given to them.

The women were encouraged to go to the home and have families.

So women had a life that ch`nged so much on them they were expected to

forget it? Yes. That women could not forget it totally, because they were

given the vote. Not everybody, if you were under the age of 30, you

did not get it on 1929. But there was that step forward. And, of

course, socially. Britain w`s a more equal country after the Second World

War. Before the First World War the population, 90% of the wealth was

aimed `` earned by 4% of thd population. That changed gr`dually.

The men went off and they fought in some horrible conditions. They were

expected to come back and gdt on with their lives. And imagine that

nothing had happened. How dhd they do that?

I think a lot of men were lost, psychologically. For four ydars of

their life, they had had th`t new existence and they had a calaraderie

of an all`male environments. It was very extreme circumstances.

Suddenly, they have lost all of that they had to come back to thdir

families and to a country that they felt to did not understand them

And East Anglia would have looked very different to them?

Yes, that is right. And lifd would have continued what they were way?

Yes, but with being geared tp for the war effort. Factories change

what they were producing, more people were working in agriculture.

The government had a bigger role. We have been looking at the sky The

temperatures had fallen slightly and there is a cloud above us. Here is

the weather. Tomorrow, there could be sole

showers around. There has bden low pressure today, a a lot of cloud.

Some of that cloud has prodtced rain and drizzle. Misty conditions

throughout the region. A further risk of light rain and drizzle

overnight. For many of us, we should end the night with dry condhtions.

The temperatures will not f`ll very low, because there will be cloud

around protecting us. Down to 1 Celsius at the lowest, and ` light

easterly breeze. Tomorrow, we start off with a a lot of cloud around,

but it will improve with thd brightness and was in sunshhne

breaking through the cloud. That will bring with it the risk of some

sons `` showers. It could bd heavy and slow moving. If you catch a

shower, it could be a heavy downpour. In between those showers,

that is the prospect of somd sunshine, especially across the

southern counties. And wherd we get sunshine, the temperatures will

maybe climb to around 16 or 17 degrees. There will be a moderate

easterly winds, and that will have the effect of making our

temperatures are little cooler, especially on the coast, highs of 14

or 15 degrees. Be aware of the showers, you may get away whth it,

but if you catch one, you whll know about it, because they could be

heavy and long, possibly with some thunder.

Those showers will clear through the Those showers will clear through the

evening and overnight, so bx the time you get to Friday, it hs

looking more dry. This is a promising pressure chart for the

weekend, high pressure from the south`west. This weather front is

moving from the West, that could bring some wet weather, but it is

not expected to arrive until the end of the weekend. So when improving

forecast. If you get to the end of the showers at the weekend, there

will be some sunshine, with temperatures around 17 degrdes. The

weekend is looking dry, you cannot rule out an isolated shower, but

there will be sunshine to come on Saturday. As the weather front

approaches by Sunday, it cotld turn our clouds `` skies cloudy. And we

will go back to Stuart. Before we go, let me tell you about

this stand. It has been one of the most popular. It is done with the

Imperial War Museum. People can come in here and they get access to of

the Imperial War Museum. Thdy can log on with details of their

relatives and they can get, if they are lucky, the military records of

somebody and find out more `bout them, things that they did not know.

It has been a fascinating d`y. From all of us, good night.