18/01/2012 South East Today


18/01/2012

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Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans. And I'm Rob Smith.

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Tonight's top stories. The prime minister is privately

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backing the idea of a Thames Estuary airport the BBC has learned,

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as the Government announces a consultation on the future of

:00:12.:00:22.
:00:22.:00:24.

aviation. It will be a motor for jobs and growth in the South East

:00:24.:00:29.

and for the UK economy. It is ridiculous. These areas are

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internationally important for the environment and wildlife.

:00:33.:00:35.

Local people, politicians, and environmental campaigners denounce

:00:35.:00:37.

the scheme as disastrous and impossible to fund.

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We'll be reporting live from the Isle of Grain and Westminster.

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Also in tonight's programme: Gone but not forgotten. 19 years

:00:44.:00:46.

after the murder of Kent schoolgirl Claire Tiltman, her sick father

:00:46.:00:56.
:00:56.:00:57.

makes a fresh appeal for justice. have never given up hope. I never

:00:57.:01:02.

have done and I never will do. EasyJet forces a disabled man off a

:01:02.:01:05.

plane at Gatwick Airport because of safety fears. He says he feels

:01:05.:01:06.

degraded. And boxing clever, how the

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Olympics' sporting legacy is already making a difference for

:01:09.:01:19.
:01:19.:01:23.

children in Kent. Good evening. BBC South East Today

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has learned that controversial plans to build an airport in the

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Thames Estuary have the private backing of the Prime Minister. We

:01:30.:01:33.

understand that David Cameron and his Chancellor, George Osborne, now

:01:33.:01:36.

believe there is a strong economic argument to support the so-called

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Boris Island plan for a hub airport off the North Kent coast.

:01:42.:01:44.

Opponents say it would be impossible to find tens of billions

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of pounds to fund the project and claim it would be an environmental

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disaster. But ministers will put it forward for public consultation

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within weeks. He has repeatedly floated plans for

:02:02.:02:07.

an airport in the Thames Estuary in. Now Boris Johnston says the

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Government is increasingly interested. It is an area in need

:02:13.:02:18.

of regeneration. There is potential for growth and jobs. I would say to

:02:18.:02:23.

people, people who are worried about the environment, I believe

:02:23.:02:30.

they can be mitigated. architect Lord Foster has drawn up

:02:30.:02:34.

plans for a �50 billion airport. An environmental groups say they will

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make their voice heard. We have said it before and we will say it

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again that it is a ridiculous idea. These areas are internationally

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important for the environment. Considering the options to increase

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aviation capacity, this is the least sustainable. It comes with

:02:55.:02:58.

promises of job creation in an unemployment blackspot. If it puts

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more jobs out there, it cannot be wrong. It will give people an

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opportunity. Is it something you are interested in? Da no need.

:03:08.:03:15.

There is nothing out there. It is like a fairy-tale idea. Why build

:03:15.:03:21.

an airport in the Thames Estuary? The plan could put David Cameron on

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a collision course with the Lewes MP and transport minister. I want

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to make it clear from the Liberal Democrat point of view that our

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manifesto ruled out development of further aviation capacity in the

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South East. We are sceptical about the practicality of the so-called

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Boris Island. Not least because there are 3000 tons of explosives

:03:46.:03:53.

in the water because of the Second World War ship that went down.

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Grain they are aware of what is at stake. I do not wanted to happen. I

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have a little boy and girl. I grew up here. It is brilliant here.

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not think it will go ahead. I do not think they have enough people

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to buy it. Kent County Council suggested it would be better on the

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Essex side of the estuary. There has been debate about what there

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might be and if we have a consultation, it would give

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everybody an opportunity to state their views. That has to be an

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improvement on speculation about things we do not know could be

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proposed. The consultation is set to begin in March.

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Simon Jones joins us from the village of Grain. This village

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could be wiped off the map if the airport got the go-ahead.

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The battle lines are being drawn. Houses could be replaced by runways,

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talk of 150 million passengers per year. It is not just a local fight.

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It would be the biggest infrastructure project in the

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country and has the potential to affect the South East for

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generations. Medway council wants a meeting with the ball -- government.

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They say Boris Johnson should remember he is the Mayor of London

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and not the mayor of Kent. Nothing has been set in stone.

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Today's developments are the latest twist in a long-running row over

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plans to create extra airport capacity in the South East.

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Campaigners celebrating the rejection of proposals for a new

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airport at Cliffe, near Rochester, in 2003 thought they had won a

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decisive victory. But five years later, we exclusively revealed that

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Boris Johnson had described the idea of building Boris Island as

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the biggest and bravest project he could do. Speaking on this

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programme in 2010, David Cameron appeared to dismiss the idea.

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is a great Mayor of London doing an excellent job. Building airports is

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not his responsibility. I am saying it is not our approach. Our

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approach is no to the third railway. Put in place the railway.

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But Boris Island is not the only option for the Government to

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consider, even if David Cameron has changed his mind. A new runway at

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Heathrow has been ruled out, but that leaves the door open for the

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future expansion of Gatwick. Another proposal is the so-called

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Heathwick plan, a high-speed rail link transferring passengers

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between Heathrow and Gatwick. And in November, the renowned architect

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Lord Foster produced plans for a �50 billion airport on the Isle of

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Grain in Kent, which would be the largest in the world. Critics say

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in these times of austerity it would be totally unaffordable.

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Supporters say there are private investors willing to put up the

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cash without any need for public subsidies. Political editor Louise

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Stewart is in Westminster. All of Kent's MPs are Conservative. Are

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they warming to the idea of a Thames Estuary airport like their

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prime minister? Definitely not. I have spoken to almost all of them

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and there is little support. A couple of ministers' support the

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consultation process. I am joined by the MP for Rochester and Strood.

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What is your reaction? David Cameron appears to be listening to

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the idea. I am disappointed to hear the news. As you say, there is

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little support for this. I have spoken to colleagues today. Also

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Liberal Democrats are opposed. That is why it has not come out as

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policy. The economic environment arguments are so strong.

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thoroughly, the Chancellor and Prime Minister are swayed by the

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economic arguments at the time of rising unemployment. Would this

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project boost the South East? mayor. It would be 20 years before

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it even got started in terms of construction. We cannot borrow our

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way out of a recession. Even those promoting its say it will cost �50

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billion. That is at least another �50 on a plane ticket to build this.

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For that reason, I think the economics do not stack up. It would

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be an environmental disaster, as well. Even if you are at odds with

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the Prime Minister, a new will fight this? Out so clearly I will

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fight this a proposal. Thank you. It has to be said there could be

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political game-playing going on because, of course, senior

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Conservatives, some of them, want to be seen as backing the scheme

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ahead of Boris Johnson being -- standing for re-election as Mayor

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of London. Environmental campaigners fear that new planning

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laws would be in place by the time any final decision was made which

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could speed up infrastructure projects and make them difficult to

:09:24.:09:27.

oppose. The Government's public consultation on the future of UK

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:09:38.:09:41.

airport provision will begin in March. Yeah send your comments.

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Neil Vincent says he is an experience transport plan and he

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said a new airport in the Thames ensure -- estuary would bring an

:09:57.:10:07.
:10:07.:10:23.

influx of jobs. Do you want the Government to back plans? You could

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also read the blog of our political editor to find out how this is

:10:28.:10:32.

developing at Westminster. Later in the programme, we'll speak to our

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business correspondent to assess how a multi-billion-pound Thames

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Estuary airport could be funded. In a moment, she celebrated the

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night he was jailed. But a Sussex rape victim tells us she is still

:10:42.:10:52.
:10:52.:10:56.

haunted by her attacker's face. The father of a Kent teenager who

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was stabbed to death 19 years ago today has made an emotional plea

:10:59.:11:02.

from his sick bed for information that will finally lead to his

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daughter's killer. Claire Tiltman was attacked as she walked to a

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friend's house in Greenhithe in 1993. She had turned 16 just days

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earlier. Ten years later, new DNA tests were carried out to re-

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examine the evidence. The case was never closed, and in 2010 a

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handwritten note was found at a memorial to Claire naming a

:11:18.:11:28.
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possible suspect, but no-one has ever been charged.

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In bed in a nursing home, Cliff Tiltman is the last remaining

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member of a family devastated by murder. He believes the terrible

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death of his only daughter destroyed the health of his wife

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and her grandparents. They have all died. If she was here, the mother-

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in-law and father-in-law were here, they would all be here. It was here

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that Clare was stabbed 19 years ago as she walked to a friend's house.

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She almost certainly did not know her attacker. Police are convinced

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that somebody other than the killer has the crucial information. It is

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that person detectives hope will have some pity for Clare's father

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and come forward. We know there is more information that could come in

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at any time. There are forensic techniques we could to use. We will

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not give up on this case. Come forward. This officer ran the

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investigation in the years after the murder. I want the person who

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did this not to sleep at night. One day they will have a knock at their

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door and hopefully that will be soon and they will be brought to

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justice and pay for what they did, not just to Claire Tiltman, but for

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their mum and dad. There have been appeals and reconstructions and

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snippets of information over the years. Cliff Tiltman hopes to see

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the case sold. It would mean everything. -- solved. I have never

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given up hope. She would have turned 35 this week. Instead, a

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family has been destroyed by a killer who has yet to face justice.

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A woman from Dartford has been sentenced to 18 months in prison

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after admitting child neglect. 28- year-old Natalie Terry left a six-

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year-old girl on her own for five days. The child eventually went to

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her next-door neighbour to plead for help.

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Thanet District councillors will decide tonight whether the three

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landmark cooling towers and chimney of Richborough Power Station can be

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demolished. The plant closed in 1996 and its owners want to build a

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green energy park there. But campaigners fighting to keep the

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towers say they're a monument to 1950s industrial architecture that

:14:08.:14:18.
:14:18.:14:19.

should be preserved. There is a shortage of family homes being

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built in the South East according to research by Home Builders'

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Federation, which says building is at half the rate it needs to be. A

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Brighton University student he was raped by her former boyfriend say

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she is still haunted by the image of his face. 24-year-old Victor

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Agada was jailed for four years. His victim said she celebrated the

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night she -- he was convicted, but she is struggling to come to terms

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with what happened. She does not want to show her face,

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but Andrea has decided to speak out about her university romance that

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ended in rape. He was so strong. He was on top of me. I was trying to

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use my hand to stop him but it was impossible. Victor Agada was jailed

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for four years. The court heard he did it because she refused to have

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sex with him before he was tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

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What was it like to give your testimony in court knowing he was

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there? Some times I felt like I wanted to go where he was and

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punched him so many times. I could not do that when he was on top of

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me. So, all that rage is still inside me. He was supposed to be my

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boyfriend. It is so hard. Now, after over a year, it is difficult

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to trust people, even my friends. Because of what he did. Some women

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find it difficult to admit to themselves they have been raped,

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and also to talk to the police about it. What I thought is that he

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had committed a crime and he could do that with other women also. Some

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women feel guilty, I do not know why. I have never felt guilty.

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she did was very brave. It sends a message to offenders of domestic

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abuse that they will be held to account and justice will be done.

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Andrea is looking forward to going back to university and to leave the

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memory of what happened in the past. Our reporter joins us from Brighton.

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It is hoped that Andrea's coming forward will encourage other

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victims to do the same. Speaking to a Sussex Police, they say rates of

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conviction for this crime are remarkably low because it is often

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one person's word against another. They hope Andrea's decision to

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speak about it and to prosecute this will encourage other people to

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get the help they need. Andrea wants to prove to her attacker she

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will not be beaten by what he did. BBC South East Today has learned

:17:30.:17:34.

that plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary have the private

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backing of the Prime Minister. We understand David Cameron and tools

:17:39.:17:44.

-- George Osborne believe there is a strong economic argument to

:17:44.:17:48.

support the Boris Island planned for an airport of the Kent coast.

:17:48.:17:54.

Also, that children Boxing clever as the Olympics sporting leopard --

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legacy stars to have an effect in Kent. Not much chance of star-

:17:59.:18:05.

gazing tonight. It will be cloudy. There will be a change tomorrow.

:18:05.:18:15.
:18:15.:18:16.

Join me later to find out what it A disabled businessman says he was

:18:16.:18:23.

humiliated and degraded by easyJet staff who refused him to allow --

:18:23.:18:29.

refused him to board a flight it that work at -- Gatwick airport. Dr

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Martin Sabry who is paralysed from the chest down, was told he could

:18:32.:18:38.

not fly because he could not walk to the emergency exit unaided.

:18:38.:18:44.

Dr Martin Sabry flies every four to six weeks on business. He was

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thrown off the easyJet flight because he was disabled. I was

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asked to get off the aeroplane because I could not walk unaided to

:18:55.:19:02.

the emergency exit. I explained I was paralysed and I could not walk,

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but that was not enough. He was taken back to the terminal. The

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ground crew then decided he could fly but the plane had left. I have

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been in a wheelchair for 17 years and have never had anything like

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this with EasyJet or anybody else. Come pain us believe he has grounds

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for a case against the company. -- campaigners. It looks as if this

:19:29.:19:34.

was done on the basis of his disability, which goes against the

:19:34.:19:41.

European legislation. Campaigners say it is the latest in a series of

:19:41.:19:44.

cases where disabled passengers have been poorly treated. Last

:19:44.:19:49.

month, Joanna Jones was prevented from boarding have liked because

:19:49.:19:55.

EasyJet said her guide dog did not have the paperwork. And the chief

:19:55.:20:00.

executive of the Society for the Blind was left on a train at

:20:00.:20:07.

Brussels. In 2010, a wheelchair user was forced to take a 30 mile

:20:07.:20:11.

round trip to change plat forms because the lift at stable has

:20:11.:20:21.

station was closed for safety reasons -- Stapleford. I am

:20:21.:20:26.

disappointed. We gave him a bad experience. We are sorry that

:20:26.:20:34.

happened. We have tried to posit Riyait, by flying him out to France

:20:34.:20:40.

-- we tried to put it right. Martin Sabry says he will follow up

:20:40.:20:44.

with easyJet to make sure their policy changes and this will not

:20:44.:20:51.

happen again. In football, Brighton's FA Cup

:20:51.:20:56.

third-round replay kicks off at 7:15pm tonight against Wrexham. It

:20:56.:21:02.

was postponed yesterday. They will secured a home tie against

:21:02.:21:07.

Newcastle if they win. Craig Mackail-Smith has recovered and is

:21:07.:21:13.

included in the squad for tonight. A heart of this summer's London

:21:13.:21:19.

Olympics is a pledge to leave a sporting legacy. Critics say it is

:21:19.:21:24.

a tough challenge, but children from deprived areas of Thanet are

:21:24.:21:30.

benefiting. Thanks to a scheme to inspire young people called Street

:21:30.:21:34.

Games. In deprived areas such as Ramsgate,

:21:34.:21:41.

boxing clubs like this one are few and far between. That does not mean

:21:41.:21:48.

there is no demand for them. Street Games was set up in 2007 to ensure

:21:48.:21:53.

teenagers who live in these deprived areas do not miss out.

:21:54.:21:57.

This 19-year-old has shown so much potential he has been offered a

:21:57.:22:04.

place at the Frank Bruno boxing club. I want to do the Olympics.

:22:04.:22:11.

After that, I would be able to get into the England squad. When J

:22:11.:22:16.

Holloway got on the wrong side of the law, he had an anti-social

:22:16.:22:20.

behaviour order. He says this has taken his life to a positive

:22:20.:22:26.

direction. I do not know where I would be if it was not for James

:22:26.:22:31.

and Colin. They have given me an opportunity and I took it. Young

:22:31.:22:36.

people who have lived on the local estate, gone through this College,

:22:36.:22:41.

who have been involved in knife crime, in drug culture, and have

:22:42.:22:47.

turned their lives around, thanks to the disciplined, the support,

:22:47.:22:54.

that this project gives. It enables young hopefuls to embrace bought

:22:54.:22:57.

regardless of where they live in the run-up to the Olympics and

:22:57.:23:03.

beyond. We are starting to get excited

:23:03.:23:05.

We are starting to get excited about the Olympics. We can check

:23:05.:23:10.

the weather. There is no chance of star-gazing

:23:10.:23:15.

tonight, unless you have a jet to get above the cloud or up in

:23:15.:23:20.

Scotland, where there will be unbroken cloud. We will have Mark

:23:20.:23:27.

Webber over the next few days, and then it will turn colder -- we will

:23:27.:23:37.
:23:37.:23:39.

have mild weather. Tomorrow, outbreaks of rain. After that, we

:23:39.:23:45.

are all well sheltered and it should be dry. That is the rain for

:23:45.:23:50.

tomorrow coming our way. Northern Ireland and much of Scotland is

:23:50.:23:56.

under broken cloud and they will see the stars. If you look at our

:23:56.:24:01.

area, you can see how thick the cloud is. Nothing will change this

:24:01.:24:08.

evening. It will stay that way. It will be misty with fog around.

:24:09.:24:14.

There will be drizzle to begin with. It will get heavier as the day goes

:24:14.:24:23.

on. It will be a wet night. It will be mild. It will be above the

:24:23.:24:28.

average for daytime temperatures. Tomorrow starts Ofwat, and still

:24:28.:24:35.

the fog on the hills and coast -- it starts off whacked. In the

:24:35.:24:43.

afternoon, as the rain clears, it will become brighter. These are the

:24:43.:24:50.

highest temperatures tomorrow. They will probably be in the morning.

:24:51.:24:56.

Tomorrow evening, it will be a dry night with broken cloud and colder

:24:56.:25:01.

of late. Temperatures down to three degrees. After we get rid of the

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rain, it looks like brighter weather at the end of the week, but

:25:05.:25:11.

a chilly breeze to go with it. We will go back to the top story.

:25:11.:25:15.

The news that BBC South East today has learned that controversial

:25:15.:25:20.

plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary has the private

:25:20.:25:24.

backing of the Prime Minister. We understand that David Cameron and

:25:24.:25:28.

George Osborne believe there is an economic argument to support the

:25:28.:25:34.

plan. Our Business correspondent his at

:25:34.:25:39.

City Hall in London, where Boris Johnson has developed the plans for

:25:39.:25:43.

the so-called Boris Island airport. Do we know if anybody has the

:25:43.:25:47.

billions of pounds needed to pay for this, and how would they get it

:25:47.:25:52.

through planning? It would probably come from

:25:52.:25:56.

something called sovereign wealth funds, money held by countries

:25:57.:26:01.

looking to invest. It could be then be leased and China. These are

:26:01.:26:06.

countries that David Cameron has visited recently. The planning

:26:06.:26:11.

process has been streamlined for big projects. They could get that

:26:11.:26:14.

through in around 12 months. It would fit in with the Government

:26:14.:26:21.

plan to build our way out of economic difficulties. Think of a

:26:21.:26:28.

high-speed rail plan. Boris Johnson and those working on the plans

:26:28.:26:34.

believe it could be possible. Possible within a decade. People

:26:34.:26:39.

are opposed to the ideas in North Kent. This is not the last we will

:26:39.:26:40.

Kent. This is not the last we will Kent. This is not the last we will

:26:40.:26:44.

hear from the plans to build an airport.

:26:44.:26:48.

Earlier, we ask did you thought the Government should back the plans

:26:49.:26:54.

for the airport. I have to say, looking at Facebook, most comments

:26:54.:26:59.

are negative but on the e-mail we have a balanced view. Richard says

:26:59.:27:03.

being a local rate cannot understand the objections. The area

:27:03.:27:12.

has needed better links to London and jobs. For the supposed and run

:27:12.:27:16.

riot -- environmental impact, this is Medway not the Galapagos Islands.

:27:16.:27:22.

Another says what is wrong with using Manston airport? Other people

:27:22.:27:29.

say that. They say it needs a decent rail infrastructure. Ingrid

:27:29.:27:34.

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