22/12/2016 Look East (West)

Prisoners won't return to Bedford prison

until more staff are recruited - that's the assurance given

The villagers raising money for their shop keeper,

attacked by an armed robber who stole his takings.

And how thieves are targeting butchers in the run to Christmas.

Prison wings closed after a riot at Bedford prison won't re-open

That's according to the local MP who visited the prison today.

Richard Fuller says he was reassured that prisoners won't be moved back

Our Home Affairs correspondent Sally Chidzoy reports.

The riot at Bedford jail last month will

go down as a key date in the crisis afflicting jails

Hundreds of inmates took control of two wings and used

mobile phones to send images of their rampage

Privately, many governors and prison officers have

said that incident finally made the governments

sit up and listen, as they'd been warning

that staffing levels were so low, prisoners

There are now 200 fewer prisoners at Bedford.

They were shipped out after the troubles.

Today, MP Richard Fuller met the governor and the head of the

national offender management service.

The focus was on safety of prisoners and officers.

I don't think it is the plan to return prisoners in the short-term.

Remember, part of the issue here is

the stress that prison officers are

under because there are not sufficient people in prison officer

officer roles looking after the number of prisoners.

to bring prisoners back until the issue

The prison is trying to attract more staff but many officers are leaving

because of the unsafe working conditions.

Bedford jail is being designated a so-called red site,

that means more pay and perks can be offered to drive recruitment.

new staff and officers on new terms and conditions

It is only temporary but it could help bring

new staff and prisoners on a par with Woodhill

offering increased pay for a long period, which has dragged staff away

The local MP said he plans to closely monitor prison movement

This will involve regular meetings with the governor.

The Government is keeping the door open to prisoners returning

to Bedford but said the damaged wings

will not open any time soon unless there is

Today, prison officers rejected the governing's latest pay

and pension package which would have enabled them

It means there could be prospect of future

We have already had a degree of action by prison officers.

It's not just about pay, it's about safety.

Here, number of prison officers are haemorrhaging out of the jail

because they are worried about their own safety.

They are going elsewhere are quitting the service altogether.

It means more are leaving them being recruited

by the Government, it is a

problem for the Government who have not got it right yet.

The leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, Conservative Steve Count

is the latest to step forward as a candidate to be the county's

He joins Heidi Allen, the South Cambridgeshire MP,

and James Palmer, the leader of East Cambridgeshire

Labour today short listed its contenders.

Fiona Onasanya, a Cambridgeshire County Councillor, and Kevin Price

Earlier Steve Count told me why he was standing.

The reason I want to stand is because I believe I have the right

skill set do a good job of being mayor.

I've been driving this for three years, I've chaired

boards and I now chair the shadow authority and I will be the chairman

I looked at the skill set needed to make this

the right thing and I believe I hold those.

But as a mayor, what would actually do?

I'd be involved in the decision-making and the

decision-making in this involves and touches

We will have ?170 million to spend on affordable

We would be looking at the money invested in a

housing, delivering the right places.

We have ?600 million to deliver infrastructure with the need to

prioritise and with the right projects off as quickly as possible.

I have been heavily involved with governments iun this

Part of this is liaising with governments

and actually asking for more expansion on the panel is we need

and then something I want to move forward with.

Is this a good use of taxpayer money?

We have spoken the Government we want streamlined

With the mayor in place and the combined authority, we

will be able to make decisions much quicker than we ever have

That's one of the hold-ups with why we are getting on with

A shop keeper from Cambridgeshire has been describing how

he was attacked by an armed robber - who hit him in the face before

Now people in the village of Elm have come forward to try and raise

money so Kuldip Sekhon is not left out of pocket.

Less than 24 hours on and back where he was left fearing

After a robber burst in wearing a Halloween mask, demanding cash.

He said to me, empty your register, and then he cocked the

Then he smashed the barrel into my face.

I then fell to the floor and I realised it was a robbery.

Then I did what he told me to and gave him what I had.

Kuldip had been a shopkeeper in Birmingham

He hoped coming to Elm, he had a similarly quiet life.

The man who robbed his shop is described as being:

Since the attack, villagers who raise money with their Christmas

lights have launched an appeal to help him.

It has probably saddened the Christmas spirit so close to

Christmas that such a brutal attack has been taken on a nice gentleman.

I'm sure the community will help me to show him how much we appreciate

what he does for us in our community.

The support I've had has been overwhelming.

I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of people

who have come in to express their shock and horror.

Also, their good wishes and people have been bringing

The people here are absolutely amazing.

Villagers hope soon to raise the money lost in the robbery

and hope police will track down whoever carried out the

Police are warning business owners who sell meat and poultry

that they may be vulnerable to theft.

This comes after over thirty thousand pounds worth was stolen

Much of the haul was Christmas orders.

Staff in this Fulbourn had been working round the clock to prep

On Tuesday night, ?15,000 worth of that meat was stolen.

My first thought was actually, have one of the guys been

Because the lock sticks and we've had 20 minutes

And so, it was like, no, no, none of us have done this.

So, I thought, oh, I better check the fridge.

I opened the fridge and the contents were

Security is now being tightened up and every effort is being made

to ensure people's orders are met, if a little later than planned.

A nice big rib of beef I was going to serve on Christmas Eve,

I trust that they will get some more in but, yeah,

it means added shopping at this time of year, which is not good, really.

When I came in this morning to pick up a whole gammon for Christmas,

because we are going to family and I was bring it with me

I was just very sad and sorry for them to discover they had been

It is the third meat theft in South Cambridgeshire this month.

The following week, ?12,000 of meat, including turkey, was taken

Rogue traders tend to approach people in pub and supermarket car

But Trading Standards is warning people not to be tempted

by offers of cheap meat, which won't have been

The risks are really high for contamination with pathogens

Some of those microorganisms can't be killed by cooking.

If you don't cook things sufficiently, you end up with some

For the very old and very young, they can be fatal.

For anyone in between, it would ruin Christmas and it's

Police are urging butchers and farm shops to be vigilant,

and customers may have to be patient.

Small business owners in the region have welcomed the Government's

announcement that more money will be spent on faster broadband

The Federation of Small Businesses in Cambridgeshire,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire says poor internet connection is one

of the biggest barriers to commercial growth.

It claims nearly half a million small businesses in the UK can't

A windy forecast expected for the Christmas weekend but, the

moment, calm conditions and cold conditions across much of the region

Some mist and fog patches but it is possible that

there could be a widespread fraud across many parts of the region as

Now, tomorrow's weather is going to be shaped by Storm Barbara,

moving to the north of Scotland so, for us here in the east,

the wind will continue to strengthen through the day.

Eventually a band of rain crossing the region from

But the bulk of the day, for us, looks dry.

The temperatures are on the mild side at around 10-11 C.

Average wind speeds recorded on the map but,

as that rain band moves through the evening and overnight,

A gusty night expected at around 40 mph are quite possible.

The national weather's coming up but here is the

Still windy for the Christmas weekend.

I suppose you could say today was the calm before the storm. A winter

chill, plenty of sunshine, but more wintry showers in Scotland, more

snow over the higher ground. Some of this snow will melt for a time

tomorrow because there is wind and rain coming in from the Atlantic. So

we'll leave the Highlands behind, head out and look at the cloud here,

this tell-tale hook of cloud, signifies a storm is developing,

this is Storm Barbara, of course, it is a deep and deepening area of low

pressure, rushing towards the north-west of Scotland.

Steppingening the winds and bringing rain into the north-west by tomorrow

morning. Ahead of it fairly quiet. Already the showers in the north

less wintry. Fewer and clearer skies, across England and Wales for

a time, it could be chilly. One or two mist and