24/09/2014 South East Today

Friday to discuss joining the US air strikes against Islamic State in

Iraq. Welcome to South East Today,

I'm Polly Evans. The Foreign Office is investing

reports that a Sussex teenager has been killed in an air strikd on

Syria. A victim of sedation `` sexual harassment, we speak to Carol

Howard who says she has been targeted by a spear `` smear

campaign. It has been many lonths of hell.

Bursting at the seams ` 130 asylum seekers are moved

into a Hotel in Folkestone to alleviate overcrowding in London.

We're live in Folkestone with the latest on the situation.

Labour leader Ed Miliband on his fight to win back voters

And how ballet big`hitter Matthew Bourne chose local

youngsters to perform in his unique take on Lord of the Flies in Kent.

The Foreign Office is investigating reports a teenager from Brighton has

been killed by an air strikd on Syria. The mother of the 19`year`old

says she believes the teenager died within the last 48 hours following

air strikes on the city of @leppo. Yvette Austin is with me. What more

do we know about this? Detahls are very sketchy. A man understood to be

Ibrahim Magag, he is believdd to have been killed. His mother said

she had seen a post of him that he had been killed on Facebook. She was

angry that she learned that her oldest son had gone to Syri` in

February. She has three othdr sons and said he was a normal box who

seemed to have met the wrong people. Ibrahim Magag 1`macro is described

by being in an affiliate group which has fought against the forcds. There

are reports he died in a US raid. He is aware of reports that a British

man has died in Syria. This follows the death of another teenagdr we

know from Sussex which happdned earlier this year. 18`year`old

Abdullah was reportedly fighting with a militant group when he was

shot back in April. His two brothers are still thought to be in Syria,

having gone there with an ahd convoy. Abdullah, like Ibrahim Magag

left without telling his mother and his family are urging the rdmaining

brothers to come home. 130 asylum seekers have bedn moved

into temporary accommodation in Kent,

to reduce overcrowding in London. The migrants were moved to

a Folkestone hotel last night and are expected to stay for

about two weeks. But it's angered some residdnts

and local politicians say they're seeking assurances that

the move will not be permandnt. Piers Hopkirk is live in Folkestone

for us. These people were brought hdre at

short notice. What's local people are worried about is that sdaside

towns like Folkestone with `n abundance of accommodation could

be. I would rather see them go back to their own countries but hf they

can't do that is, they shouldn't be housed in luxury hotels in the

middle of seaside towns. Thd asylum seekers were moved here overnight by

the Home Office to the surprise of other guests. I am disgusted to

think that the hotel is turning into a hostel for immigrants. Thdy have

to go somewhere but they should stay put. A holiday does not include that

inside of it. I wouldn't be able to rest. The Home Office says ht was

only acceptable as a short`term measure. We would have liked more

notice. We are trying to find out more detail about how the ddcision

was made and why they chose to bring them to Folkestone. We have been

reassured by them that this is a temporary measure and they will be

gone within two weeks. This man is an engineer from Iraq seeking

sanctuary. I asked him what he thought about the controversy. I ask

them to deal with us as hum`ns. We are human. This is the situ`tion in

our country that forces us to come here to get protection. Ple`se,

please call, help us. What they need is our support. They need otr

understanding and possibly our help for the brief time that thex will be

in Folkestone. While their stay in Folkestone may be temporary, it will

be down to the Home Office to decide whether they can call England home.

Some of the asylum seekers H spoke to were bemused that the controversy

that their arrival has causdd. I spoke to three men and argu`bly they

have fled rather bigger battles than the one they face here. Latdr, we

will report from southern in it `` from southern Italy where 120,0 0

migrants have entered the ET since January.

A police firearms officer who suffered racial

and sexual discrimination at the hands of a colleague

from Sussex says she's conshdering further legal action tonight.

PC Carol Howard believes shd's the victim of

a smear campaign aimed at ddstroying her reputation, after an employment

The Metropolitan Police responded to that ruling in July

by revealing that PC Howard was under police investigation

for a string of serious offdnces but she's now been told she will

She won her discrimination case that Carol Howard still faced a possible

criminal prosecution. Now, no action is to be taken against the firearms

officer. It has been 30 months of hell. I felt my life was put on hold

for offences that I have always maintained I didn't do. In @pril,

her tribunal hearing against the Mets began. She claimed she had been

sexually and racially discrhminated against. In July, the tribunal

boomed `` ruled in her favotr that she had been targeted by Acting

Inspector Dave Kelly from Stssex. Just days later, The Met released

details linked to the rest of Carol Howard by Sussex Police on suspicion

of a string of offences. Shd is angry at how The Met gave ott

information. It was very malicious. A smear? The tribunal recognised

that recognised it was malicious and they did was spiteful. One of the

allegations was she possessdd an indecent image of a child. Ht was

just a pinch of her daughter. To find myself arrested for a picture

of my own child on my phone was deeply upsetting. Especiallx as a

result of that, being labelled as a child predator. It is wrong. Her

legal team hasn't ruled out further action against the mat. We `ll

considering all considerabld options. I expect there will be more

developments in due course. You haven't ruled out further action?

Certainly not. As for releasing details links to her arrest,

Scotland Yard said there was no malicious intent. They deeply regret

the upset this has caused. Mark Sanders joins us live

from central London. Mark, this has been a compldx case `

where does it go next? The minute Met is not saying much.

As for the legal teams, futtre legal action is in the pipeline against

The Met. The firearms officdr is on sick leave but she has told me she

is keen to return to work. The police are warning people not to

approach a convicted murderdr who's on the run and has links with Sussex

and Surrey. 63`year`old Albert Stanley failed to

return to prison yesterday, He was given a life sentencd in 1980

after committing a murder in Sussex. A planned strike by refuse workers

in Brighton and Hove tomorrow has been called off, to allow ftrther

talks to take place between union Bin men walked out earlier this

month in a dispute over pay Rubbish was left piled up

in the streets of Brighton following The Medway Maritime Hospital

which was put into special leasures by the government last year is

still failing, according to The Care Quality Commission says

further action is needed to meet required patient care stand`rds

after an unannounced inspection of the Accident and

Emergency Department. It is worrying and disappointing. I

join all the doctors and nurses and patients to who are going to be very

disappointed with this report. Stability of leadership and staffing

has been a big thing since this CQC put the hospital into speci`l

measures. It looks like there is still loads of things to get right.

Simon Jones joins us live from the Medway Maritime Hospital.

Inspectors say they found no evidence of improvement at @

It says the department is in a state of crisis with poor clinical

leadership. It found that one patient had been waiting for over 20

hours. Another patient had come in with a potentially life`thrdatening

infection that hadn't been given antibiotics for four hours `nd 0

minutes. This report relates to an inspection at the end of July but

this is `` but the inspectors have been back at the end of Julx but

this is `` but the inspectors have been for the hospital, they say they

have brought in expertise from outside to turn things around and

recognise their remains a lot to be done but they are committed to

making progress. At the last General Election Labour

were quite literally wiped off the political map here

in the South East. In 2010, Labour were defendhng nine

seats, the Conservatives 18, All those Labour seats were lost,

with a big swing to the Torhes So if Ed Miliband's to becole

Prime Minister next May, he has to win back key

constituencies like Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Hastings,

the Medway Towns and Dover. Our Political Editor Louise Stewart

joins us live from Westminster. Louise, as the Labour conference

closes does Ed Miliband look like a man who can win back voters

in places like the South East? Ed Miliband wanted to show he is a

prime minister in waiting ydsterday with his conference speech, the last

before the May general election He chose to deliver over an hotr's of

speech with no autocue. That is an impressive feat but a risky strategy

and he has been forced to admit that he forgot to mention one of the key

areas he should have spoken about, the deficit and the economy and he

to mention immigration, an hssue so important to people living hn the

south`east. You gave

your conference speech yestdrday, one thing you didn't mention was

immigration and one of the lost I did mention it and I said

when firms bring in workers from outside the European Union

they provide apprenticeships to We are determined to maintahn

a firm approach to immigrathon. We think immigration has benefited

our country but we have to have tough controls and people ldarn

English when they come here. That is part of our plan

for the future. Immigration is one

of the key concerns in the south east and one thing you

admitted Labour got this wrong. UKIP are making big gains

in the south east because of it We have to underline deal whth

the underlying concerns people have about immigration but also

about wages. We will raise the minimum w`ge to ?8

an hour, the health service, we will tax those at the top to fund the

health service, more doctors, more That is our plan for the future

to make the country work One thing you did talk about in

your speech was this mansion tax. Overwhelmingly it will affect people

in London and the south east and that will not be

a vote winner for Labour. I understand why people would prefer

not to pay the tax but the reality is we have to find

ways in which we can get th`t By having a slightly higher tax for

people with homes above ?2 lillion, we can fund more doctors, more

midwives and more care workdrs. We need to fund our NHS

and people in expensive properties are in a position to pay th`t bit

more to do that. It seems like old Labour,

a tax on the rich to pay The NHS is the pride of Britain

and is funded by people You don't have a single MP

in our region at the moment in Kent Do you think you are

making gains you need to? You don't seem to have made

the breakthroughs. We have further to go

and we have an important message for people across the region whhch is we

know this country doesn't work for you, we will change it so it doesn't

just work for the few at thd top. We have to make sure hard work is

rewarded, we build homes and rebuild Ed Miliband saying they havd made

gains a Labour will acknowlddge they haven't made the kind of gales that

they would like to this close to the next general election. He h`s two

hope his message resonates `nd people in the begin to return back

to Labour. They will want more flesh on the bones of policies like

immigration. The Foreign Office are lookhng into

reports that a teenager has been killed in Syria.

The man behind Swan Lake brhngs his Lord of the flies to Kent. Hs the

weather going to brighten up? Join me for the forecast.

There's a growing crisis in Calais, where hundreds

of migrants are sleeping rotgh, and risking their lives,

in increasingly desperate attempts to cross the Channel into Dover

Many have travelled from distant war zones like Syria, Eritrea

and Afghanistan but how do they get into Europe in the first pl`ce?

Since January, more than 120,00 migrants have entered

Our Special Correspondent Colin Campbell has spoken to

a group who arrived in the port of Reggio Calabria earlier today

Migrants Olivier `` leaving Libya across the Mediterranean. Bdcause

the boats are sinking, the Htalian Navy bringing them ashore hdre.

Rescued by the Italian Navy from the Mediterranean.

It is an endless flow of migrants arriving here.

Amongst them, pregnant women, the sick and elderly and many young men.

Some shoeless but with dreals of a better life.

When I go to England, I can afford my education there

Here, they are not speaking from the Gambia.

They are being rescued from overcrowded boats that leavd Libya,

How much money did you pay to get here?

Wars in Iraq, Syria unrest in the Horn of Africa and chaos

in Libya since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi.

They have got the mass exodus.

There are many entry points to Europe from land and sea.

The overwhelming majority are arriving in Sicily and Htaly,

12,2000 arrived here in the last eight months.

It is predominately Eritrean's but Syrians also making

journey. A few years ago, Italy was actively trying to deter

It is now welcoming them with open arms.

It was the drowning of 400 ligrants last year which started

the Italian Navy to launch this rescue

mission. They come anyway and the situation would be worsd because

there would be many more shhps sinking and more people dying.

Today, those arriving here told me of the tragedy.

While there is clear relief, there is concern this Itali`n

rescue mission is attracting migrants to Europe.

Some, who want to travel to England via Calais, the next port

Approximately 1500 migrants arrived in southern Italy but across the

water in Sicily today, many more migrants are expected to arrive

later this evening. When thdy arrive, they are given the

opportunity to claim asylum but we have discovered many are choosing

not to do so and choosing to travel on to parts of northern Europe

including the UK. There is pressure on Italy to provide a humanhtarian

response and that is what they say they are doing here.

He's been credited with changing the landscape of dance forever.

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Mathew Bourne was the

person who cast male swans hn Swan Lake and he's pushing bound`ries

For Lord of the Flies, which is on stage tonight at the Marlowd Theatre

in Canterbury, he's encouraged local youngsters to perform alongside

professionals, including sole who've never danced before.

Matthew Bourne is known for creating theatre that challenges our

expectations of dance. For his latest production, the focus is not

just on them magics but getting boys involved to read previously shunned

arts. Finding like`minded young man and meeting professionals in the

company and finding out how they got into dance and finding out they are

pretty ordinary guys, getting on with them and learning about a

career in dance from them h`s been really inspiring for them. For his

latest work, Lord of the Flhes, finding boys with little or no

experience meant opening auditions. Calum got his first taste of ballet

six months ago. Whatever yotr friends said? They mostly think it

is the girls. They are wrong. Working alongside professional

dancers is 14`year`old Ashldy and it is a dream come true. I scrdamed.

This is where it all starts for me now. It is starting to hit le and

get me in the spotlight. Matthew Bourne has spent 20 years as a

choreographer and says he h`s always tried to push the boundaries. I like

to experience what the audidnce feels and that is where you get the

buzz from. I like watching developers in performance and young

people in the shows and seehng them do well. Actually, the audidnces

what gives you the buzz. Whdn they are having a great time, I'l having

a great time as well. As thdse novice dancers step right for the

first time, it is hoped it lay inspire them to keep dancing.

We are going to get a check on the weather with Rachel. Things are

looking up. We have quite an autumnal fdel

today. For tomorrow, there will be plenty of sunshine around and the

wind is picking up a little bit As we get through to Friday, wd have

some rain first thing. Therd is plenty of sunshine this aftdrnoon

and temperatures around average If feels warmer where we saw the

sunshine. Many of us will hold onto those clearer skies. We havd lighter

winds and some mist and fog around. Temperatures retailing `` rdturning

to some core values. Potenthally we could have a touch of frost. It will

be bright and any mist and fog will be burning back. The wind whll

increase throughout the day. We will see more cloud cover as we head

towards the tail end of the afternoon. By the afternoon, a bit

more cloud cover around and we should be staying dry with some

sunny breaks around. Similar temperatures to today. As wd go

through tomorrow night, we will start to see more cloud covdr and we

have some light and patchy drizzle. Temperatures not quite as Chile

Temperatures down to 14 Celsius It will be cloudy and potentially quite

damp but it will be brightening up. High pressure stays with us as we

head towards the weekend. Temperatures feeling pretty warm for

the time of year. Linda will be back at eight o'clock

and 10:25pm. We will see yot tomorrow. Goodbye.