21/10/2013 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Natalie Graham. And I'm Rob Smith.

Tonight's top stories: The convicted murderer who killed again on his

first day released from prison ` stabbing a man for trying to stop a

robbery. 40 years in prison for a man who has now been responsible for

the deaths of three men in the course of the last 30 years is

entirely fitting. Is the Green dream over as Brighton's council leader

admits his role may be questioned following a slump in support for the

party? Also in tonight's programme: Seven men are arrested after a

teenager dies following an attack at a flat in Maidstone. We're live at

the scene with the story. She suffered a stroke and woke up with a

Northern accent ` the Sussex woman with a new turn of

And you've heard of coals to Newcastle ` now meet the Kent chef

taking his curries to India. Good evening. A convicted murderer

from Sussex who killed again on his very first day of temporary release

from a life prison term ` has today been jailed for a minimum of 40

years. Ian McLoughlin, who's from Brighton had previously been

convicted of killing two other men. His latest victim was 66 year`year

old Graham Buck ` fatally stabbed while trying to protect a man who

was being robbed by McLoughlin. Today at the Old Bailey, the judge

said McLoughlin wouldn't be released from prison until he is at least 90

years old. Ellie Price has this report. Ian McLoughlin leaves prison

for the first time in 21 years. On his first day release from a life

sentence, and that afternoon he would go on to kill again. Witnesses

described seeing his victim, 66`year`old grey bark, with his

throat slashed wide open. The court heard that Mr Buck was responding to

attacks `` cries from his neighbour who was being attacked by Ian

McLoughlin. We have many questions at this stage and they await the

results of the Ministry of Justice inquiry into day release of

prisoners with interest. I would like to say that the death of Graham

has left a massive hole in many people's lives. He will be missed

but he will not be forgotten. Thank you. Today was the third time Ian

McLoughlin was convicted of killing someone. In 1984 he was jailed

eight years for manslaughter after he hit a man over the head with a

hammer, following a row. In 1992, he was given a life sentence for the

murder of the Brighton barman, the dolls, who he stabbed multiple

times. And on his first day of the release from prison he killed the

pensioner, Graham Buck. He spent days on the run, prompting a

Nationwide manhunt. The level of violence used to cause this death

was completely senseless and disproportionate to the acts of a

man who came to the aid of a vulnerable neighbour. It is on that

basis that 40 years in prison for a man who has now been responsible for

the deaths of three men in the course of the last 40 years is

entirely fitting. The judge said he was barred from passing a whole life

sentence because it reached human rights legislation. Ian McLoughlin

will be in his 90s before he can be considered for parole. They made

history when they took power to become the first Green`led council

in the country, but two years on, the embattled leader of Brighton and

Hove City Council, Jason Kitcat, has admitted that there may now be

questions about his role. His comments come in response to an

exclusive opinion poll commissioned by this programme, which suggests

that there has been a large drop in support for his party in the city,

putting them in third place. Jon Hunt reports. With opinion polls

suggesting his party has haemorrhaged support, that leader of

Brighton and Hove Council now admits his future may come under scrutiny.

The think there was going to be pressure over your position as

leader? This is a team sport and 18 effort and we work together as a

group and is an ministration and we only to reflect on that. There might

be discussions about my role in that. And that is all well and good.

1004 residents of Brighton and Hove were interviewed by telephone, and

asked who they would vote for if the election was held now. The opinion

polls suggested Labour would get the biggest share of the vote with 38%,

with the Conservatives coming second 25%, which that the Green party fell

back into third place with 21%. UKIP and other billable Democrats would

come into fourth and fifth place. What is the reason for this shift in

support? They have done as good a job as you can in the context of

local government. They are obsessed with buses and migraines. The

parking situation, the 20 mile speed limit. I think that they have

started something. And I think we need them. There was a strike by

refuse workers earlier this year and illustrated what the leader

described as a discipline problem within his party. Some councils ``

councillors and the town's Green MP joined the picket lines, expressing

support for the workers. And during the run`up to the dispute, one Green

councillor, Alex Phillips, sent a tweet to the leader of the Labour

group seeking his support for a plot to announce that Mac oust Jason

Kitcat. I was disappointed but it was one councillor acting foolishly.

She has apologised profusely. And that apology has been accepted and

we have moved on. She said that she had a lot of support for her attempt

to oust you. How much support you think you have, or now have? She

said that but it was not reflective of the reality. I was elected

unopposed and continue to lead the group. Jason Kitcat

unopposed and continue to lead the group.up.%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%up.%%%%%%%

unopposed and continue to lead the group. Jason Kitcat said that they

know that a publicly divided party is doomed to fail and they have

learnt from their mistakes, but others say that the damage has been

done. What we are hearing on the doorstep is that the public's view

is that the Green Administration is divided and they want them out. They

just do not seem to be in harmony with the general feeling in the

city. This is Matt down. There have been moments of ill discipline which

have not put us in the best possible light, but if you dig down into the

detail of that opinion poll, you will see that six out of ten of the

key areas of council activity, the majority of respondents thought we

were doing a good job, we were successful. It is normal for parties

in power to take a hit in the opinion polls midterm, but Jason

Kitcat knows that he and his councillors face a challenge ahead.

Let's take a closer look at the results of the opinion poll we

commissioned. We asked people to rate the overall performance of

Brighton and Hove City Council since the Greens took control in 2011. It

was rated as poor by 53%, compared to 43% who said it's been good. The

biggest success was in making the city a nice place to live ` almost

two thirds of people polled said the Green`led administration had done

that. But the least successful area was transport, with almost two

thirds saying the council's done badly in that area. If there was an

election tomorrow they would not get in, so they have got a major task

interning at Brown. `` a major task in turning it around. Perhaps the

only thing that can give them comfort is that they know that

through campaigning for Green issues, they have influenced the

other parties and made them Green. Jon Hunt's live in Brighton for us.

The Greens will be disappointed that transport came up as a big area of

contention in the poll ` yet it's transport the Greens seem to have

been focusing most of their efforts on? Yes, they have introduced 20

miles an hour zones, and opened up new bus and cycle lanes, which have

divided opinion in the city, but the biggest gripe is parking, the

availability and the cost of it. This car park is one of the most

expensive car parks in the city costing ?20 apart their day. But the

Greens are not the only story. There is some interest in terms of UKIP,

who have seen support wise, up nine percentage points if this survey is

to be believed, putting them in fourth place, ahead of the Liberal

Democrats. For a full breakdown of our survey results, go to our

website. And for a look behind the scenes to see how Brighton and Hove

City Council's leader is coping under pressure, don't miss Inside

Out ` here on BBC One ` at 7:30pm. In a moment, curtain up ` the

theatres which say less council funding is a good thing for their

shows. Seven men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a

teenager was attacked in a flat in Maidstone late last night. The

19`year`old victim was taken to King's College Hospital in London

but died from his injuries. Lets talk to Simon Jones, who's at the

scene. What's been happening there? The police have

scene. What's been happening there? The p I The p%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

scene. What's been happening there? The police have been here all day,

searching through drains and rubbish bins. This remains an active crime

scene. The attack took race in one of the five bed sits above the

Italian restaurant behind me. People pay 70 founts per week to live there

and many in the area had been speaking of their shock. Drains are

searched in the hunt for clues to a killer. The man who owns the flats

where the attack took days says he rents out to a number of different

nationalities. Italian, one man is from Poland, and That's all from the

team here for now. Goodbye. With Iranians. And there was like a

Scottish. `` four with Iranians. `` Lithuanians. The victim was taken to

Kings College Hospital in but later died from his injuries. People who

live and work in the area were shocked to find out what had

hones I hones%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% honest this morning. I walked down

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hones I hones%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% to the office about 20 to eight, I

saw the white tent, and I went online to see what it was. Pretty

shocking, to be fair. And yes. Pretty unusual. He is literally just

not that old. He is still a kid. We think that it is shocking. I don't

see how anybody could do that to a little kid. Seeing this busy street

become a crime scene has left many people feeling concerned. It is

scary that somebody has been murdered. We have got to live around

here. I have got two children myself. It is quite scary. We do not

go out of an evening in Maidstone, here. When it is getting dark. Just

to be on the safe side. Seven men remain in custody. The man who was

killed has not yet been named because police are still trying to

trace members of his family. Five of them are in their 20s. One of them

is aged 30, and one is aged 45. They were arrested around midnight, so

the police have a number of how was that the question them and after

that will have the life for more time, or release them. `` they will

have to apply for more time. A renewable energy power plant has

been given the go`ahead to be built at the Discovery Park in Sandwich.

The ?65 million project will create 100 jobs during its construction and

a further 40 after. It will use wood from local forests for fuel.

Shipping containers which will provide temporary accommodation for

homeless people in Brighton have arrived in the city. Six containers

have been brought over from Holland by the Brighton Housing Trust.

Another 30 are due by the end of the week. They've already been converted

into studio flats ` each with a bathroom and kitchen. A woman from

Eastbourne has developed a Northern accent after suffering a stroke

earlier this year. It's believed Debbie Ballard has what's known as

foreign accent syndrome. It more often occurs following a serious

head trauma ` Debbie says she has no links to the North, and has only

been there a handful of times. Rebecca Williams has been to meet

her. But it is embarrassing, and that. For Debbie Ballard recovering

from a stroke has been particularly difficult. Her voice has changed

from a strong London a northern one, as a prize, she says, because she

has never been past Watford. I did get tearful about it, and that, but

that has been about over a week and that now, but I want my London

accent back, now. Doctors believe that Debbie has developed foreign

accent syndrome. There are 159 cases worldwide. They are caused usually

when someone experiences severe head trauma. Past of the brain control

wing rustic function and when these are damaged, tone and pitch can be

affected. With her accent, I could not make it out. I thought she was

Welsh or Scottish or something like that. She said she had acquired it

the day before. She came to see me. And she was speaking in this for the

language. And I was very surprised. You can get an idea how Debbie

Ballard used to sound by listening to her identical twin sister. She

said that the accent change has been a shock to the whole family. She was

cheerful over the phone so we asked her to say a few words. And I had to

put the phone down, because I was laughing so much. This is not the

first example. In 1999 reported on a woman from Sevenoaks developer

French accent after suffering a stroke. There is no cure for the

condition. Debbie says that it will take some getting used to, but she

will just have to learn to live with her new voice.

Our top story tonight: A convicted murderer from Sussex who killed

again on his very first day of temporary release from a life prison

term has today been jailed for a minimum of 40 years. Ian McLoughlin,

who's from Brighton had previously been convicted of killing two

Also in tonight's programme: Going for an English ` the Kent chef who's

taking his curry dishes to India. And it is looking wet and windy. It

is going to be staying pretty wild with those south`westerly winds.

Join me later in the programme for the forecast. As councils look to

make savings, many of our theatres and arts centres are facing

significant cuts to their funding ` but perhaps surprisingly, many of

them are actually welcoming the increased independence that taking

less public money gives them. Last year, councils in Kent and Medway

spent over ?3.4 million on theatres. Next year that's being cut to ?2.7

million. It's not uniform across the region ` the White Rock Theatre in

Hastings will actually see their funding go up to ?579,000. This

morning people from theatres across Kent met in Tunbridge Wells to talk

about the future of their venues. Chrissie Reidy is at the Assembly

Halls now. The people you spoke to were remarkably positive. Yes,

people thought it would be a picture of doom and gloom losing that

council subsidy, but that has been the opposite. Theatre managers must

welcome it because it gives them more autonomy. They will have to

find private funding, for example, but they welcomed that and said they

aren't ready for the challenge. `` they are ready. It is a world of

make`believe. The harsh reality is that theatres across Kent might soon

have to generate their own funding. Many welcome the news. We can

survive without that, we cans of live with it being lower. It has

been healthy, forcing us to look at how efficient we are. Some say that

less public funding means more creative autonomy. It is about

trying to provide what is called a balanced programme, which is

ensuring that you put on a very commercial product that can make

money, and I money, and money, and stuff which is less

commercial which you might not get 80 or 90% attendance at, maybe 30%

40%. Why that not good? This theatre and Sevenoaks is 90%

self`sufficient. It says that when council budgets are stretched it is

the only way to survive. We have to say to people, come to us with a

successful show and take the vast majority of the ticket money

yourselves and then come back. We are theatre venue. We want to see it

all, 364 days a year. One actor who appeared in Howards end said that

the loss of council money could be crucial. It often mix the difference

between these theatres surviving and go to the wall. Theatres are not

very wasteful. It is about 10% of their funding. It allows them to

keep things cheap, and favour actors. `` pay their actors.

Ultimately, it comes down to bringing in the right shows that can

bring audiences. It is a risk, but a risk that they are not afraid to

take. They say that they have had plenty of time to prepare for this.

There funding has been sliced and sliced over the years, so they have

adapted already and are ready for what is ahead of them. And you can

hear more about the future of Kent's theatres all this week on BBC Radio

Kent in a special "Curtain Up" series. Coals to Newcastle. Ice to

Iceland. Curry to India. Some ideas just don't seem to be worth

pursuing. Unless you are Dev Biswal from Kent ` who runs two successful

Indian restaurants in Margate and Rye. He's a man of ambition ` and

has won the backing of a consortium of businessmen to open a restaurant

on the sub`continent, and front a TV cookery series there, explaining how

to cook curry, British`style. Peter Whittlesea has been to meet him. We

are going to travel the country to see how spices can make British food

even more delicious. Fish and chips with spicy batter. They have brought

an Indian zing to British cuisine. Now, a chef from Margate plans to

take British Indian food that to its homeland but with a British twist.

Now, I am going to start sealing my venison. Dev Biswal has been

approached by investors who want him to set up a restaurant in Mumbai

Delhi. It has the elements of Indian cooking but the soul of it is

British. How do you take that from Margate to madras? I am very

confident. It is claimed that chicken tikka masala was invented by

an Indian chef in Glasgow. Last year, chess apply to make the

Birmingham balti a protected name. Dev Biswal is doing the culinary

equivalent of taking coals to Newcastle. Would you normally have

venison? No, it would be something I was nervous about ordering. Dev

Biswal says that the key to his food is Kentish bodges. And he says that

in India it would be a cut above the rest. `` Kentish produce.

The work to save the extraordinary gothic folly that is Hadlow Tower

from literally falling down has been recognised with two awards at an

English Heritage ceremony in London today. After decades of neglect the

Grade one listed structure was in real danger of being lost. But local

campaigners managed to raise the ?4 million needed to restore it to its

former glory, and today the group ` along with the organisation which

helped them ` won the award for best craftsmanship and the people's

award. Fiona Irving reports. And the winner is, if I can find this the

right way round, Hadlow Tower. Local people saving their heritage. That

is what the awards were celebrating today. Hadlow Tower came away with

two awards. It took 13 years of tireless work to restore this

19th`century folly. We could not afford to let this beautiful

building fall down. We wanted a restored to its former glory. When

you see it, wherever you drive, you can seek with the sunshine in Garnet

and it is beautiful. And it is here to stay. Hadlow Tower at Hadlow

Castle was completed in 1838. In 1987 it was damaged by the great

storm, which led to a series of an aged `` major problems. In 2011 the

keys were handed over to a trust, and the restoration project began.

That was finished this April. Along with the People's choice award,

Hadlow Tower took the craftsmanship award, for using Roman cement, which

covers the whole tower and had not been produced in this country for

around 200 years. Roman cement is very seldom used in the UK any more.

It is too hard. With normal, lime plaster, you have a long time to

work the cement, what the plaster, but Roman cement goes off and sets

very quickly. It may be a Gothic folly, but it is also a 21st`century

success story. Football now. Goals were hard to

come by this weekend. The South East's leading teams only managed

three between them. However there were wins for Charlton and Crawley,

and Brighton picked up a point ` but Peter Taylor's first game back as

Gillingham manager ended in defeat ` as Neil Bell reports. 13 years after

living in triumph, Peter Taylor was back at Chillingham. But there was

to be no instant fix. Preston took the lead immediately after half`time

thanks to a smartly taken shot from Steve Keane. Six minutes later the

Chillingham defence was caught out again as Josh Brownell scored with a

well`placed, low strike evading Stuart Nelson. Chillingham port

back. Danny Caddell headed home a free kick, giving Peter Taylor some

grounds for optimism. I asked them to be a little bit unpredictable

when they have got the ball, and not to play the same way all the time.

Pass it short, pass it along, and at times, they did that, they passed it

with a little bit of patience. Sometimes they could have gone

forward a little bit quicker. Crawley's recent good run continued.

They extended their unbeaten run to seven games. Brighton continue to

struggle, although they had a number of half chances at Yeovil. But there

was better news for Charlton. Simon Church gave them the early lead at

Blackburn, and they held their nerve for their first away victory of

season. Rachel is here with the weather. Goodness, it has been wet.

Spare a thought for the people in this very, battling its way out of

Newhaven harbour. That was taken by David from Surrey, earlier in the

year, and this photograph has won a national award. It makes me seasick

looking at it. And it gives a context for this week were weather.

It is going to be wet and mild to the time of year. We saw some

outbreaks of rain, but look at the temperatures, several degrees above

the seasonal average, always windy, and as we go through tonight, most

of us staying dry. Cloud will clear, with clear skies as we get towards

dawn. Temperatures only dropping to around 15 Celsius. First thing

tomorrow, a little bit of brightness, then we have a deep area

of low pressure. It will be very wet tomorrow afternoon. The wind, and

increasingly turning wet, with high temperatures of 17 Celsius. That

rain will eventually ease tomorrow night. Another mild night with

temperatures in double figures. For weapons, initially dry, then we see

another band of rain, it will become wet and windy for Thursday, and for

Friday, remaining mile. `` mild. I will be back with inside out in 30

minutes. And I will be back with the late bulletin. Goodbye.