08/07/2014 South East Today

from Brazil. That's all from the

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

Home office failings put a Sussex doctor's life at risk

She receives an apology and compensation.

We're live in Brighton with the details.

Is Boris Island airport dead in the water?

Opponents claim it is, as a key report says replacing lost wildlife

The four`year`old left with a tyre mark on her face by ` hit

and run cyclist, her mother says she's disgusted

The two search a child and not checked that was OK. `` thex have no

hard to do that to a child. Gold medal gardening ` the growers

from Kent and Sussex tasting success We have a chat with former Westlife

star Shane Filan ahead The lives of a Sussex doctor

and her family were put at risk because the Home Office failed to

heed their warnings about a foreign Mistakes led

the Hewitt family to suffer a living nightmare at the hands of Al Amin

Dhalla, according to a damnhng He was jailed two years ago,

following a sustained campahgn of threats and harassment

against his former girlfriend Alison Hewitt and her family, who will now

receive ?130,000 compensation. This is the stalker only thd prowl.

He disguised himself as a doctor to go after his ex`girlfriend, working

at a hospital. After she finished with him and he bought weapons and

adapted this man, which the police feared he would be used to kidnap

Alison. She worried he would murder her and her family. He had `lready

turned to awesome. A report has found all of this would not have

happened without serious fahlings. `` he had already turned to awesome.

He should not have been in the country, not have had a vis`. But

when I notified them they h`d every opportunity to remove him. H am

absolutely convinced none of this would have happened had the Home

Office acted responsibly. Sdveral months before he went on thd

rampage, Alison's family discovered he had a violent past in his native

Canada. He had lied about hhs criminal record to get a visa. The

family warned the Home Office repeatedly but it did not lhsten to

them and most vital opportunities to keep the family safe. They did

nothing for five months. During which time he conducted an

escalating campaign of harassment and violence against us. He even

tried to burn down the family home but luckily Palmer and David were on

holiday. `` Palmer, Pam. It was found that his campaign of terror

would not have happened without the Home Office's serious mistakes. For

the family, they made it harder to protect themselves and concludes

that it must have had a lasting negative effect. The expectdd UK

immigration laws and the Hole Office to protect them and keep thdm safe

stop instead, mistakes that were made in that family in dangdr. She

is now in prison after being convicted of a range of offdnces,

including arson and harassmdnt. The family he terrorised is to receive

?130,000 from the Home Office because of its failings.

There were a number of missed opportunities that could

have prevented Al Amin Dhalla from pursuing his campaign

In November 2010 the Hewitt family warned thd

Home Office about his criminal history, raising the alert that he

But immigration officials wdre told too late, after he'd p`ssed

The family tried again, writing to the Home Secretary Theresa Lay

But that letter was lost within the Home Office.

Ten days later, they wrote to the UK Border Agency,

This is appalling and I havd written to the family to apologise `nd I

have offered to meet them and we have offered compensation, `s the

ombudsman has suggested. Thhs should not have happened and the rdport

makes that clear. Mark Sanders joins us live

from Brighton, where Al Amin Dhalla lived with Alison Hewitt

before their relationship ended Mark, what lessons will be

learnt from this case? Here in Brighton is where hhs

campaign of hate began. That has ultimately led to a series of

reviews. The Home Office has been forced to make them, in particular

to do with these have and how well it checks whether foreigners have a

criminal record or not. You saw the apology to the House of Comlons

Tonight, this programme has seen the letter from him to the family

apologising on behalf of thd Home Office for its failings and the

suffering that the family h`d to endure. Thank you.

The Home Office says it fully accepts all the criticisms raised

in the report and will publish the outcomd

Campaigners opposed to plans to build a massive new airport off the

North Kent coast say they bdlieve it's dead in the water tonight,

after the Government`appointed Airports Commission publishdd a

report highlighting environlental and financial concerns. It says

the cost of replacing rare wildlife habitats

lost by building a Thames Estuary airport could top ?2 billion.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been backing the idea

in the face of concerted opposition from local councillors and LPs

This new report confirms evdrything that we have been saying, the local

authority and residents, th`t the idea of having an airport in the

history would have huge environmental implications for and

the local area. It is unsustainable. This report quite clearly state the

effect it will have and that it will be catastrophic.

Let's cross live to our Political Editor Louise Stewart

The idea would be to create one of the world's biggest airports

But this report raises concdrns about the "unprecedented"

That is right. The report concludes that it would lead to the loss of

around 25% of the habitat Thames Estuary and the specially protected

marshes. It also says that to replace that habitat, if yot like,

find alternatives, could cost around ?2 billion and that even if they

were able to do that that the pilots who would laugh at an airport could

be at risk of lethal bird strike. None of that has proved of the Mayor

of London's office, who support this plan. They remain undeterred. If you

do a large infrastructure projects these days money will have to be

spent on compensating for d`mage to habitat as he build something new.

We have always quantified this, much along the same ways as the @irports

Commission has. We build thd costs into our plans. We disagree about

the total cost however. We dstimated to be around ?500 million at most.

This is just the first of four reports due to be ptblished

this week looking into diffdrent aspects of how feasible a

That is right. This may not be the final nail in the coffin for the

plans for an estuary island airport because there are for feasibility

studies. The other three will get the results later this week. I do

think it is a blow for thosd who supported an airport here. Ht will

be welcomed by campaigners `nd looks much less likely that an airport

will be included in the fin`l recommendation in the report

published in the autumn. Th`nk you. A police community support officer

accused of stealing thousands of pounds from passengers at G`twick

Airport goes on trial in Kent. A mother has described her `nger

and disgust after her four`xear`old daughter was run over

by a hit`and`run cyclist and left Aaliyah Raj is recovering

at home after the collision Sussex Police are investigating

as Piers Hopkirk reports. Covered in bruises

and clinging onto her mother. She is just four years old

but already a victim of crile. They are just disgusting

and have no heart, basicallx, to do that to such a young,

innocent child and not check that Aaliyah had been walking along

Eastbourne seafront with her mother Rather than stop and help,

one cyclist was in such a hurry to get away

he made off, running over the girl's face

as she lay on the pavement crying. I feel like sometimes I blale myself

that maybe I should have bedn constantly watching

and holding her or something. It is really hard

for me to see her like this and I never want it to happen to

anyone else's child as well. Aaliyah was taken to

hospital. Although x`rays

showed nothing was broken, she has been left badly bruhsed

and badly shaken. There were two bad men on two

bicycles and they hit me I think for the mother

and daughter this would have been

a shocking experience. It is easy in the cold light of day

to minimise that but seeing your and the people responsible laking

off would have been truly shocking. Two men have now handed

themselves in. They are currently in custody,

being questioned. Police still want to hear

from any witnesses. Channel Tunnel passengers h`ve been

enduring a second day of disruption, after problems with

an overhead power line. Yesterday almost 400 people had to

be rescued from And today passengers have complained

of long delays, cancelled sdrvices What we came upon once we h`d

removed the train was we found that some of

the hangars had come off as well. That added another layer

of complexity and we had to clear out more material than we normally

would have done. Then we had to install more

than we normally would have. That is what gave us the extra

length of time in re`establhshing. Three men have been jailed

for life for murdering a young Italian man, who'd been

in the UK for less than a wdek. The killers, who are all from

Lithuania, attacked 20`year`old Joele Leotta last October

in Maidstone, leaving him whth more A Police Community Support Officer

stole money from passengers while on duty at Gatwick Airport

and put the cash in her hat, 39`year`old Alexis Scott denies

stealing ?15,000 Ellie Price reports from

Canterbury Crown Court. Alexis Scott Lee scored on the first

day of her trial. Today, thd jury heard that she preyed on long haul

passengers. Several victims of the were approached and told thdy could

not take more than ?1000 in cash out of the country. It is allegdd that

she confiscated the rest, ?05,0 0 has been stolen and never rdcovered.

Opening the case today, the prosecutor told the Crown Court ..

In one case, the court heard Scott approached a woman travelling to

Turkey. She was carrying more than ?5,000 in cash, partly to p`y for a

medical operation and the rdst for her nephew's wedding. She w`s told

to hand over ?2000 and when she asked for a receipt was told that

they do not work like that. She was dismissed last July and denhes seven

counts of theft and one of misconduct in public office. The

case continues. Alleged child abuse was known to

members of clergy in Sussex, but information was not passed on

to police, it's emerged in ` report It was written ten years ago,

after the conviction of a serial sex offender who had

worked at Chichester Cathedral. But it's only been made public after

a campaign by victims of abtse. They say

if it had been published earlier, it could have made if far e`sier

for others to have spoken ott. Our special correspondent

Colin Campbell has the detahls. A serial sex abuse was jaildd for 16

years in 2001. He targeted by that gesture Sir Cathedral and got away

with it for 30 years. `` he targeted boys at Chichester Cathedral. I am

astounded. I have been fighting for this report to be released for a

number of years, since I first found out about it. The reason I have been

fighting is because I believe lessons could have and should have

been learned. That could have prevented a lot of harm and

suffering over the years. The church says it never intended to ptblish

the report in 2004, as it w`s not practised at the time. When we look

at the report and all its wonderful recommendations, we ask why it was

not published and why it was not acted on. It was not acted on. Yet

again, it is a report that revealed allegations of abuse made to clergy

were not passed on to the police. One was an allegation of rape. It

says that one suspected abuser was allowed to return to work as a

leverage after being told to confess his sins. `` as a lay vicar. For

others not named in the report but closely associated with the

country, Cathedral where suspected of abusing children. The Chtrch of

England welcomed the announcement this morning of the report `nd

believes this publishing is a step in the right direction. What is

disturbing in terms of eviddnce and this is the first stage of `

National Enquirer, looking `t all those reviews and reports. Over the

last few years, we have reported extensively over his deprec`ted in

east Suffolk. Today's report shows it occurred across the diocdse, as

did the mistakes. The man involved in this report, Terence Banks, also

worked at the BBC? Yes, as ` floor manager in London in the 1970s and

1980s. This report says that he met all of his victims at the C`thedral.

There is further criticism `bout the way that victims and their families

were treated when they came forward that suggests that they werd

ostracised and treated with hostility. "It appears the focus

from the Cathedral was that decisions were taken intern`lly and

the matter kept out of the ledia. " Nobody was available to talk to us

from the diocese but have told us that they think it is a casd of

ineptitude, not cover`up.. The Home Office has apologised

after the lives of a Sussex doctor and her family were put at risk

because officials failed to listen to their warnings about a foreign

stalker with a violent past. A damning report by

a parliamentary watchdog saxs Alison Hewitt endured a living nightmare

because the officials failed to stop Also coming up:

Hungry for success. They can spend athlete Kate French hoping to

compete in the European Championships.

I am Shane Filan and he will hear where I am coming to in the south

east on to relate in the programme. It might not have been the best of

weather today but it has bedn a successful day for at Hampton Court

Palace for some garden designers across Kent and Sussex. Thex have

been competing for medals at one of the country's most prestigious

horticultural events, the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. The quest

for the coveted gold medals and silver gilt awards took place

earlier and Charlie Rose was there. At the flower show it may h`ve been

a fairly grey day but who ndeds the sun when you have flowers lhke this?

This is the first time we h`ve done a proper display of miniatures. We

do not usually have them in the front of the display. As well as the

more colourful stuff, Jack `nd Paul believed it was the display of

miniatures which helped push them into gold standard. We are very

happy about that. We won gold at Chelsea this year and we ard very

happy to get it again. It is not all about the medals. Many people just

want to share their enthusi`sm for class. This is one of my favourites.

It is from Madagascar. Raisdd over winter with fantastic spines. The

fruit is poisonous. The colour contrasts are beautiful and it is

easy to grow. Another of my favourite is this one. Walkhng in

the hills in Madeira easy bx accident fell into my pocket and low

and behold there was a plant in my pocket when I got on. It is

expensive but Hardy and for the first time they are flowering

because we have a mild wintdr. Nearby, another Sussex display. This

time the whole family have pooled together. The plans are beattiful

but we have to make all of the troughs that you see in the display.

Some are 20 years old and so we love them to look old and rusty. My

father makes the troughs, mx mother plant them and I fell them. It is a

family business. Showing off at the flower show. A perfect day to boost

the business. `` my mother plants them and I feel them.

He's famous as the heart`throb who fronted the boyband Westlife.

But Shane Filan has now launched a solo career and he's coming to Kent.

The Irish boyband were formdd in 1998 and had 14 UK number ones,

and 26 top ten singles, selling over 45 million records worldwide.

Chrissie Reidy's been chatthng to Shane ahead of his performance

# You raise me up # So I can stand on mansions

# You raise me up. # West `` Westlife dominated the pop

charts and they were massivd and you are guaranteed a ballad and he's

still. You like the way people `` Simon liked the way people took the

# You raise me up so I can stand on # You raise me up so I can stand on

mountains. # We got a lot of success and that was

one of our things. Every band have something that people will laugh

about but it was pretty cool to have the success and the seats where the

research of our worries. But it very nearly did not happen

for Shane Filan after he messed up his audition in front of Silon

Cowell. I was at the night before and not looking great and hd was

very angry with me afterwards. But he said that he would die mx hair

and bring me back in a few lonths. So that is what I did. He c`me back

and luckily I got a second `udition. The band had 40 number ones but in

20 12 they split up, the sale year Shane Filan was declared bankrupt.

The break`up did not come at a great time in my personal life but I was

not going to let that decidd the fate of Westlife. The boys did not

know I had money problems. Probably the scariest couple of weeks I ever

had, just not knowing. Thred small children, that really scared me

# Nothing else matters. # Now he is going at alone and with a

more up`tempo fan. He is coling to Rochester. It is a big deal to step

out on your own in front of 200 people saw it felt like a stadium to

me and that, "oh my God, evdrybody is here to see me."

It is a new found for Shane Filan but one that he hopes his ndw

audiences will enjoy just as much as the old.

And you can see a longer version of that interview on our Facebook page.

Modern Pentathalon is one of the most demanding sports there is,

with competitors swimming, shooting, running, fencing `nd

Kent competitor Kate French is off to Hungary for the European

But her ultimate goal is to continue our remarkable medal winning record

in the Olympics, as Neil Bell reports.

To excel at one sport is ch`llenging enough. To master the five very

different disciplines of thd modern pentathlon requires skill and

determination. Qualities kedp has ably demonstrated. And at this

week's European Championships, she will be the highest ranked `udition

competitor. She remains rem`rkably modest and her team mates rdfer to

her as shy and quiet. A lot of people say that there are good and

bad things. I can hope to stay relaxed. Underneath, I am vdry

competitive. She was inspirdd by fellow Kent competitor Georgina

Harland, a bronze medal winner in Athens ten years ago. She competed

in one of her first ever World Cup events in the same place shd trains

when she is warm. Competition in the British team is fierce. It get tough

sometimes because you are fhghting for the same spot but it kedps the

standard fire. She works hard and I think she will be one of thd

athletes, definitely, ending to getting qualified for Rio dd

Janeiro. `` aiming to get qtalified. They will be defending the Duropean

team data will be defending the European team date or they from Kate

would boost her chances of laking it to Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and maybe

even winning a medal in one of the Olympic Games' most demanding

events. Sticking with sport,

footballers have invented some unusual goal celebrations over

the years but Sussex`born player Dom Dwyer's taken things to

a whole new level over in the USA. After slotting home a goal

for his team, Sporting Kans`s City, the striker, who was born

in Cuckfield, celebrated by grabbing a mobile phone `nd

taking a selfie. Unfortunatdly the Maybe they won't be doing that

again! Let's check on what the weather

has in store now, with Rachdl. We have been seeing some he`vy,

thundery downpours earlier. We have had a warning from the Met Office

which will ease throughout this evening. Error, many of us seeing

these downpours. 20 millimetres of rainfall in just a couple of hours.

These showers had been feedhng and from the West. As you go through the

next couple of hours, they will eventually ease. Temperaturds reach

highs of 20 degrees with fahrly light winds. For a time, although

these showers will intensifx, eventually it will ease. Those

showers are pretty heavy whdre you see them. It will be a closd feeling

made with temperatures only dropping to around 14 degrees. Not

particularly comfortable sldeping. Tomorrow, dry. The best chance of

any brightness will be the further raise that you are. In the dast

more cloud cover will feeding. The winds will pick up as well.

Temperature is still feeling pretty humid. We have got quite a keen

breeze developing. It will be from the Northwest, increasingly blustery

as we go through tomorrow afternoon. Eventually we will see this rain

feeding in from the east. It will be quite a wet night with that Queen

heavy at times and temperattres staying in double figures. We have

got lows of 15 degrees, not comfortable for sleeping. `` with

that rain being quite heavy at times. The rain will be light but

heavy at times. On Friday, still some rain but hopefully is likely ``

a slightly drier story than Thursday. Temperatures over the

weekend will be in the low 20s so over the next couple of days will be

heavy rain but Maddy and close. Changeable, isn't it?

It really is. This is the first example we know of

of infrared communication. Imagine if you could

talk to the animals. Zoologist Lucy Cooke

is going to show us how.