17/12/2012 Inside Out West

Hello from Hinkley in Somerset where we are investigating just how

prepared we hour for a nuclear accident. Tonight with two new

power station has earmarked for the West of England, what do our

evacuation plans look like? there is a nuclear accident, you

have got to move people out of the way, sometimes for ever. We have no

specific plans because of the distance involved. Also: 22 years

on from the murder of Joanna Parrish, we follow her parents on

an emotional journey across the Channel to look for answers.

cannot believe it, it could have been a lead 20 years ago. And I

take a flight from Filton airfield as it enters its last week as an

operational runway. We ask whether the City's aerospace industry can

survive without it. For the sake of a few houses, it is going to be

destroyed - it is absolute madness. I am Allister Mickey and this is

With plans now well under way for the next generation of nuclear

energy, the West of England finds itself in in a very important

position. Two new power stations are planned and the ageing Hinkley

B reactor behind me has had its life extended by another seven

years. In the event of an accident, what evacuation plans exist,

particularly for the hugely populated Bristol area?

They said it would never happen but in March last year, it did. A huge

earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, causing the meltdown of the

Fukushima nuclear power plant. Protesters in the West of England

have long campaigned against plans for a new nuclear power stations at

Old Oldbury and Hinkley. Following the figure she not meltdown, towns

around the nuclear plant are still affected by high levels of

radiation. Here, EDS, who runs Hinkley, says there is no credible

scenario for an accident affecting Bristol. But campaigners are asking

Bristol City Council is its residents would be evacuated if

there is a nuclear accident. For a start, it seemed nobody seemed to

know. Eventually we managed to get a letter stating there wasn't a

specific plan. Bristol City Council does not have an evacuation plan.

What should people do in the event of a nuclear accident? Ros Beauhill

and Jo Baker are worried the City is not prepared for exposure to

radiation. We had an action at Hinkley and be let off a bunch of

helium balloons and the first of those on this still day was seen to

arrive in Bristol just an hour later. If that had been a radiation

plume, it would have taken no more than an hour. Even then, Bristol is

not considered to be in any kind of real danger. That. It then went on

past Swindon all the way to Milton Keynes. It is not being talked

about by the government. Last year the EU looked at UK nuclear

facilities and concluded they were robust. Currently, evacuation plans

cover people living up to five kilometres away from Hinkley. After

seeing their letter from Bristol City Council, I want to find out

who has responsibility it is to look after the city in the event of

a nuclear accident. Do we even need an evacuation plan? There has never

been an offside accident at Hinkley. EDS says the safety of the plant

which is regulated by an independent body is of paramount

importance. But some experts think we should still be prepared. It is

very odd that there are no evacuation plans because if there

is a nuclear accident as we have seen at Fukushima and Chernobyl,

you've really got to move people out of the way, sometimes for ever.

Tom Burke is an environmentalist. He was formerly Executive director

of Friends of the earth and has worked as a government adviser.

they explained to people what they would have to do in an evacuation

and how it would have to come about, they would turn people off nuclear

power. There is a huge reluctance within the industry to get into any

kind of discussion on this issue and there always has been. There

has been public anger towards the Japanese government amidst

allegations that it didn't evacuate people quickly enough. The United

States recommended that all residents within it 80 kilometres

of the parkland be moved. But after the meltdown, Japan only imposed a

20 kilometre exclusion zone. At the nearby village, residents were only

evacuated after two months of exposure. Following the completion

of a film making MAI at Bristol University, Thomas - a move to

Japan. Since the meltdown, he has been investigating the impact on

the people living near an for consumer. -- for consumer. I caught

up with him via a Web cam. From what you have heard, how far has

the radiation spread? In parts of Japan, it sounds as if the

evacuation was really chaotic. Would it go any smoother in

Bristol? In a Bristol City Council's letter, it says there is

a command and Co ordination structure in place with Avon and

Somerset police. So the campaigners have decided to contact them

instead. They cannot tell us, basically, please be assured that

the police work alongside our emergency service colleagues and

everything is tested on a regular basis to ensure that all agencies

both nationally and within the force area are able to respond in

an integrated manner. Again, it is nothing very much. Bristol City

Council and suggested the campaigners speak to the police for

answers but they came not have details about as a civic evacuation

plan. Neither Bristol City Council or Yvonne and Somerset police could

answer the campaigners questions. Although a recent government report

find her there were no fundamental weaknesses in any UK nuclear

facilities, it seems that nobody is responsible for Bristol's welfare

in the event of a nuclear accident. I have checked Avon and Somerset

police's risk assessment for an industrial nuclear accident and it

says Bristol City Council should manage that risk. We also received

an e-mail from the police confirming that the local of 30 is

the lead agency for co-ordinating any evacuation. We thought we

should ask the man who replied to the initial request. Simon Creed

from Bristol City Council. The risk from a nuclear static accident is

not one that is seen as a foreseeable risk at this stage. The

nuclear power stations proximity to Bristol, the Hinckley Point is

beyond 30 miles and the old brie one is a lot closer. So we have no

plans at this stage for nuclear threats because of the distances

involved. So at the moment, Bristol is not legally required to have an

evacuation plan. If an accident at Hinkley occurs, we are told by the

council to stay indoors and tune in to local radio. But a year after

Japan, a new paper was published in the UK, suggesting that exclusion

zones around our nuclear stations should be increased to 30

kilometres. If this was the case, we would not be affected by Hinkley.

But we may be affected by the side at all agree on seven. That has not

gone through a process is at this stage and we would have to review

our thinking and the greater planning. Since we spoke to the

consul, it has been confirmed that a Japanese company now plans to

rebuild the old Greek nuclear station to four times its current

size. It is likely that Bristol will need an evacuation plan if

this goes ahead. We are assured by the industry and the government

that nuclear power is safe. But a sense the Fukushima meltdown,

Japan's government has announced it will abandon its programme. Germany

and Switzerland are doing the same. The UK is continuing with nuclear

regeneration but some experts are unsure whether new guidelines are

enough to prepare Bristol for an accident, whatever the chances of

it happening. At one point during the figure she map incident, the

government in Japan was within a very short time of ordering the

evacuation of Greater Tokyo. That is 30 million people, a lot further

away than people of Bristol are from Hinkley. So what would have

happened if they had had to do that was complete chaos. You cannot have

an evacuation plan that he could expect to work unless people know

what they are supposed do. In May 1990, Joanna Parrish, a young

student from Gloucestershire was murdered while at university in

France. No one has ever been convicted for her killing. But now

a fresh investigation has identified and you suspect. Our

reporter joined a Joanna's parents as they travelled back across the

Channel to look for answers. The question of who married a

Joanna Parrish has haunted her parents the 22 years. Tonight we

follow them back to France on an emotional journey. It is very hard.

It is like saying to her that we are thinking of her. There is a

startling discovery about new evidence. I cannot believe it, it

sounds as if they could have been a lead of 20 years ago. At home in

Gloucestershire, Roger and Pauline are preparing to head a to France

to put pressure on the authorities to finally unmask Joanna's killer.

It is difficult, my stomach has already started churning. We did

get apprehensive and nervous and worried that we are going to meet

people at certain times, that all comes into it. But we feel we have

got to do it. It is one of the reasons why the investigation has

The investigation has been hit by a catalogue of errors but this summer,

French investigators announced they are now considering a new suspect

for Joanna's murder. He has only been identified now as TV. Joanna

was on a university placement -- placemen to France as a teaching

assistant. Weeks before she was going to come home, she placed an

advert in a newspaper to be an English teacher. She was then seen

waiting to meet someone who had answered the at for it. The next

morning her body was found four miles away. She had been raped and

strangled. Her parents stare into the same stretch of water where

their daughter was found. In a way it is my favourite place because it

is the one that brings me closer to Jo I think. We know it that she was

here. I just sort of feel I wanted to know. We have come back.

Obviously we don't come back very often, it is not like in your own

country, but to me it is very important. It is the one that hurts

the most. Despite the police announcement early this year of a

new lead, this infamous serial killer and his wife remain the main

suspects of dog Olivier once admitted to the murder but then

retracted it. This is a place where Jo was happy. Since then, Pauline

and Roger have made strong links with the town and many friends.

is great to see you! Stefan was an English teacher at the same school

as Jo or. She was a lovely girl. They really lively and very pretty.

The first time we came when Jo was there, we arrived very late and

this head came out of the window right up the top. Where have you

been? Dinner is in the oven! This man is a campaigner for justice who

has already successfully helped convict another serial killer when

local police were reluctant to investigate. He understands just

how frustrated Pauline and Roger R. The people responsible for

investigating these crimes, the police, the magistrates, they

cannot escape criticism. TRANSLATION: I think that Roger and

Pauline have a lot of courage as things have taken far too long.

Million lines of inquiry should have already been investigated.

Poor William and Roger have travelled to Paris to meet with

their legal team -- Pauline. They are trying to find more about the

new suspect, who is currently in prison for rape and was living in

the town at the time of Jo's murder. At the time of the murder, he

apparently came home with scratches on his face and a bag similar to do

one Jo had. But it appears this information is not new. Do you mean

you knew this information before? He was taking in in 1992 for rape

and a woman made a statement at the time and the police thought

everything was finished. The statement is not in the file.

Roger and Pauline, this is a shocking revelation. I am very

frustrated. If that new lead had been investigated 15 or 20 years

earlier, we might not be in this position but this is another

example of things not being investigated properly. It would be

nice to think we are going to get some more knowledge or whatever of

the new lead or the Olivier lead. I am nearly 70, now! I would like to

know before I die. The final stop for Roger and Pauline, but just

discords in Paris. The magistrate has agreed to meet there. -- the

Courts of Justice of stock I am a bit nervous but we are human beings

so we can show emotions and tell the individuals what we feel and

put our case forward for. They are meeting the magistrate

with their lawyer behind closed doors. The magistrate will oversee

the new investigation, an opportunity it is hoped for

progress, but as Roger and Pauline emerges, all is not well. When we

mentioned the names of the serial killer and his wife, who we are

still deeply suspicious of, she seemed to be willing to dismiss

their possible involvement in Jo's case, so we had to make absolutely

clear that despite the fact that there is a new lead which is

interesting and we want to be followed up, there is no possible

way that we feel the other lead should be dismissed or even put in

the back row and. Had we not come, I am pretty certain they would try

to close the case. Their lawyer fought for the investigation to

stay open and believes the French justice system has let the couple

down in the past. He is also concerned that the focus seems to

be straying from the main suspect. The new suspect has a criminal past

and a history of violence towards women so he is of interest but we

do think it is important that we do not drop the Olivier and Michelle

line of inquiry. Despite a number of requests, no one from the public

public -- Paris public prosecutor's office would talk to the BBC. This

could prolong the process for Roger and Pauline. But their resolve to

get justice for their daughter is still strong, despite the 22 years

that have passed since her death. For the last one hundred years,

Filton Airfield has been at the heart of Bristol's aerospace

industry. But on Friday planes will take off from the runway for the

last time before it's officially closed at the end of the month. In

our final film tonight, I've been looking at Filton's extraordinary

history. And asking what future the aerospace industry has there

without a runway. It's a cold December morning - a

perfect day for flying. I'm with Deb Ford, a flying instructor with

the Bristol Aero Club. The club has been based here at Filton Airfield

for the last 18 years. But not for much longer.

We're up in the air for what is probably one of the last times for

you. What is it that's so special about Filton to you? I was born

here and have spent most of my adult life very close to the

airfield and what really inspired me was April 1969, walking down

here with my dad and sitting on the edge of the runway and watching the

Concorde take off the very first time, I was a very little girl then

and I announced to my dad that I was going to learn to slide planes.

At the end of the week, Filton Airfield will close to air traffic

before its owner BAE Systems sells the land for redevelopment. It is

very sad actually that we are looking at this beautiful historic

airfield and it will be sold off for houses when there are so many

other places where houses can be built for.

More of my flight with Deb in a moment but back on the ground I'm

with Sir George White, great- grandson of the founder of Filton

Airfield, also called Sir George White. He's taking me for a ride

around the site in his vintage Bristol motorcar.

Why did your great grandfather decide a hundred years ago that he

wanted to build aeroplanes? great-grandfather's vision was to

take the name of Bristol to the four corners of the world. He

entered aviation very early on. He clearly thought there was an

enormous future for it. Recognising an opportunity, Sir

George set about building the box kite, little more than a paper

aeroplane with an engine. To test it he established a small flying

Within ten years, the airfield had moved to land north of the railway

line and become bigger. Here the Bristol Fighter, mainstay of the

RAF during the First World War, was After the Second World War, the

Bristol Aeroplane Company embarked on its most ambitious project yet:

the Brabazon. The world's largest airliner. The Brabazon's height is

three times that of a double-decker bus. Each wing is big enough to

hold five tennis courts. production required the building of

the world's largest aircraft-hanger. And the runway was extended,

flattening the nearby village of In the second half of the 20th

century, Filton Airfield was at the heart of an even more ambitious

project. Concorde - the world's only ever supersonic jet-liner. The

first British prototype and all subsequent British-built Concordes

The red white and blue of Britain's supersonic jet... In recent years,

while Filton's aerospace industry has continued to thrive, the

airfield has fallen on harder times. And last year its owner, BAE

Systems, announced it would be I find it absolutely extraordinary.

I am told that 250,000 people are involved in the aircraft industry

in the West of England and this is the epicentre, it always has been.

This is the goose that lays the golden egg, year after year for 100

years, and suddenly for the sake of a few houses, it is going to be

destroyed. It is absolute madness. Up in the sky, Deb and I are flying

high above the north-west edge of Bristol. From here I can see why

Filton Airfield, surrounded by housing, can't be a fully-fledged

passenger airport. And also why it is so attractive as land for

redevelopment. South Gloucestershire Council now has

approved advanced plans for 2,500 And a business district. But the

plan doesn't leave any room for a change of heart in the future. Once

the airfield is gone, there's no getting it back.

One person actively trying to stop it closing at all is campaigner

Paul Lee. He's not convinced by BAE System's argument that their

airfield is no longer commercially They have produced a report where

they say all these things but there is no real figures to back it up

and you have to bear in mind that they are looking to sell this

airfield for houses. There will make hundreds of millions out of it.

I don't think their hearts are into trying to make it viable a as an

airfield. But it has been making a loss? No, for the last two years it

has been making the profit. At present, one of the major users

of the airfield is Airbus. They build the wings for their military

aircraft the A400M at Filton, and fly them to Seville for final

assembly on a giant Beluga transporter. In the future Airbus

will ship by road to Avonmouth. Then they will have to be loaded up

on a ship. That ship will go to France, where they will be unloaded,

then they will be loaded onto the same plane that would take them to

Seville, and that will clearly cost them more money. If it costs them

more money, it will be less competitive. So Airbus in the

future may not place further work here for.

Airbus insists it's fully committed to the Filton site, that it has a

lot of experience moving wings by land and sea, and that the closure

of the airfield will have no significant effect on its business.

But I still want to hear from the airfield's owner BAE Systems

exactly why they are so convinced of the need to close the site.

For 20 years we have tried to make this viable. We have tried various

schemes, a low-cost airport, freight services, airport

maintenance. In each case we will either constrained by planning

issues or the market was not viable or disappeared. So it is with great

regret that we had to announce the closure of the airfield. But it

made a profit last year? But it is still not viable as a long-term

concern. The traffic figures have dropped by over 20% in the last

couple of years. But Inside Out West understands

that one reason for air-traffic falling was the decision two years

ago to close the airport at weekends. A decision made by BAE

Systems. All the service we have done and an independent assessment

indicated that the air field was not viable and it was a greater

economic benefit to the area to restore it to other areas. With so

much at stake, concern that BAE Systems could be making the wrong

I have a terrible feeling that they are taking the short-term economic

option rather than thinking long- term about it. What would be the

worst thing is if we lose some of that expertise and some of that

pioneering industry from Bristol because of the loss of the airfield.

I do think from the city-region's point of view that it is vital that

we get this right and that we do drill down into what the real

economic impact might be. Back in the air we're approaching

the runway for what is likely to be my only ever flight out of Filton.

So how does my pilot feel landing for the last time?

It's very, very sad for all the people who will never have the

Whatever happens next, the great history of this runway will live on

forever. But could future generations regret that Filton

Airfield is nothing more than a That is just about it for tonight