28/03/2017 Channel Islands News

Good evening, I'm Charlie McArdle - welcome to BBC Channel Islands.

Financial blacklisting - the biggest threat to

We are going to have to ensure that we up our own international

identity. A Jersey politician says

the BBC is discriminating against the over 75s by not offering

free TV licenses. Stargazing Live from Australia -

but there's no better place to admire the sky at night

than closer to home. Financial blacklisting

is the biggest single threat from Brexit -

that's according to guernsey's It comes as a new report

from the Ministry of Justice urges the UK Government to clarify

the position of the Crown Dependencies during

Brexit negotiations. Guernsey and Jersey are neither part

of the UK nor the EU. But they are part of

Europe's Customs Union, allowing But this formal relationship

with the EU will end with Brexit. So work's under way to ensure

the Crown Dependencies are represented in the tough

negotiations ahead. The main priorities

for the Channel Islands are protection of the financial services

from EU blacklisting, retention of the Common

Travel Area and continued export opportunities

in agriculture, fisheries This company in St Peter Port

provides consultancy services Its boss says the interests

of Guernsey and the UK If you look at the investment

management fees being earned in the UK from managing people's money

internationally, approximately 10% comes from Guernsey. And when you

consider how big the industry is, that really does show the impact.

Today Guernsey's most senior politician admitted that financial

blacklisting is the biggest single threat from Brexit.

I think probably the most important is self evidently the point they

make in relation to blacklisting, that the UK will not be at the

table. Instead of there being 28 nations, with the UK speaking and

acting on our behalf, there will be 27. What that is likely to mean is

we are going to have to ensure we up our own international identity.

Today the Justice Select Committee published this report, recommending

the UK Government clarifies what happens in Brexit negotiations

when its interests differ from the Channel Islands.

The Committee's Chairman says it'll be important to keep up the pressure

I think the sense is so far the engagement with the British

Government is very good, one of the key recommendations in our report is

to remind them that has to be kept up right the way through the

negotiations. And tomorrow the Islands will hope

the Prime Minister remembers them when she sits down to begin

to negotiate divorce A car and electrical items

were stolen from a house in Jersey, while the homeowners

were asleep upstairs. Thieves broke into the home

in Gorey Village in the early They stole a number of electrical

items including a Macbook Pro laptop, two guitars,

cameras and car keys. The person's car,

a Blue Nissan Micra, was later found abandoned,

submerged by the sea on Ouaisne Jersey police want anyone

with information to get A fraudster who conned the States

of Guernsey out of ?2.6 million has been ordered to pay

compensation of ?68,000. John Woodhatch is currently serving

a five-year jail sentence for scamming the States Treasury

by pretending to be from Lagan Construction,

who were working on Guernsey's Woodhatch, who made ?261,000

from the scam, has six months to pay

the compensation, or another year Jersey has significantly worse rates

of lung cancer for all ages compared to the average in England,

according to figures released A premature deaths report shows that

for every 100,000 people in Jersey, whereas in England, that

figure is 59 per 100,000. But the Health Minister says

the message is getting through. We didn't get Government support,

for example, on the alcohol side of our strategy last time,

but I'm not giving up because I don't think members really

understood why we wanted to do it. It wasn't about raising taxation,

it was about, actually, So I think we need to do more work

on it, it's not a requirement A plan to make all over-75-year-olds

in Jersey exempt from TV licence fees has been rejected

by the States. A politician said the BBC

should cover the costs, But the move was defeated

22 votes to 19. It's the BBC's first

ever licence fee advert. The fee is no longer ?58 a year -

it's around ?150. But today in the States,

the question was who should In the UK, the BBC will be covering

the licence fee costs for everyone over the age of 75 -

it'll be phased In Jersey, the States

pays for licence fees for those eligible over 75

- it's means-tested. In the Bailiwick of Guernsey,

the States closed their "free licence fee for over 75s" scheme six

months ago, to save money. But after negotiations,

the BBC will pick up the tab from the year 2020 for

over-75-year-olds across the Channel Islands -

only if they're eligible under A Jersey politician argued

in the States today that this It's up to the BBC to apply the same

rules to all over 75s They should'nt be discriminating

against a minority in Jersey, or in the other crown

dependencies for that matter. I'm from England anyway so I was

always used to having free television so I feel for these

people. If they don't get it there missing out. I think it should be

free and available to everyone and less they feel they've got plenty of

money and can well afford it. I suppose at the end of the day it may

be easier, never mind about what you've got what you haven't.

But the States narrowly voted against renegotiating the BBC deal,

with Ministers arguing the deal is likely to change in the UK

A Jersey secondary school has defended its plan to limit student

Several schemes are being trialled at Le Rocquier School

to stop students using them when they should be learning.

The head teacher says the move is with full consultation

with the staff and students, and everybody has access to toilets

if they need them, especially those with medical issues.

A number of people have criticised the scheme on social media.

Lina says, "This would surely be a violation of human rights.

It's not a choice to go to the toilet, it's a human need!!"

As a Crohn's sufferer I would be embarrassed to have special

dispensation as it would have put focus on my condition."

Hugh wrote, "You will always get children who will push

the boundaries and take advantage but a good teacher should be

While Neil believes, "Yes, they should go during break time."

Now did you know that you can currently see the planet

The island's astronomers say now is the perfect time to head outside

and explore what our skies have on offer.

It comes as the BBC's Stargazing Live is due to return

to our screens tonight, as Jessica Banham reports.

Guernsey's night sky has been captured on camera

And the experts behind the lens say there's no better

We have a lot of visitors coming to the observatory

during the year from England, anywhere from the south east

of England or in the Midlands, and they are amazed at the stars

they can see here, that they can't see at home,

just because of light pollution and haze and so-on, so we are really

quite blessed with good skies here, and when the skies are good

And recently our skies have certainly been living up

These pictures were all taken in Guernsey over

the past few months - some simply taken using

And we're all being encouraged to get involved as BBC's

Stargazing Live programme returns to our screens tonight,

The milky way for us is the "wurum boorol" -

it's the big river in the sky and when we look up there,

We can show you where that river is on the Earth and we can

show you where it starts and where it finishes.

But you don't have to travel all the way to Australia to get

In 2011 - Sark was declared the first dark sky island

in the world thanks to the exceptional blackness

of its night sky, which makes for spectacular stargazing.

But for anyone worrying about the cost of extravagant

You can see a lot of wonderful things with binoculars.

Look at the moon, look at certain star clusters,

look at the Orion nebula, look at the Andromeda galaxy,

which is the furthest thing you can see with the naked eye,

and with binoculars it really stands out.

And if you decide to take that step into your garden,

the society will be hosting an open day in May.

Jessica Banham, BBC Channel Islands News, Guernsey.

I didn't realise you could see all that, and I know some of it is

available online. Not so sunny today, but it's

the night sky that you may be David, could it be good night

for a spot of stargazing. David, could it be good night

to see into outer space? I think we'll be lucky to be honest.

There's an awful lot of cloud coming in. It is rain bearing cloud so it

will be quite a cloudy night ahead and capable of producing a few spots

of rain. First thing this morning we had glorious sunshine. Now there is

more clarity. It could produce some showers tomorrow. That might be

sunny spells in the afternoon. There is the risk of sharers in the

morning and generally feeling quite mild. You can see one line of cloud

moving through us today. This is the next one, and has some rain

associated with it. It's not physically heavy by the time it gets

to us but with spots of rain through the evening. That moves out of the

way and we have high pressure just on the edge so there is the charms

of some breaks in the cloud and some sunshine. Perhaps tomorrow evening a

good chance to glimpse the stars, but the cloud will not be reliable

and will come and go. This is there's a's forecast. The area is

coming from Spain and Portugal. It means we will see some quite high

temperatures, possibly 17 or 18 degrees. At the moment we have a gap

and then this band of cloud and rain will arrive. It will take its time

to get here but a few spots of rain are possible this evening and

through the night to come. A lot of cloud is coming and a mild night.

Tomorrow is a bit dreary to start with, quite grey, possibly a shower,

and then through the morning and into the afternoon the skies begin

to Brighton. It will feel quite warm tomorrow. 14 or 15 degrees will be

the maximum temperature. Here are the times of high water.

That is the coastal waters forecast. And some fine, bright weather around

on Thursday, showers and cooler conditions as we move to the

weekend. No seeing the stars tonight above

our skies. I will be back just before 8pm. Good night.

a "betrayal" if the government fails to ban foreign fishing boats

from within 12 miles of the shore after Britain leaves the EU.

The government, though, is refusing to confirm it will treat

this as a "red line" in the Brexit negotiations.

Here's our Political Editor Martyn Oates.

This thing, like a miniature polystyrene bodyboard

is all that many people in the UK will know about cuttlefish.

You may think that whoever is in the business of producing

these is involved in the most niche of niche industries,

Dressed in his juicy flesh, the cuttlefish is one

of the south-west fishing industry's star turns.

It is the most important species landed in terms

If that fact has passed you by its probably

because like so much British fish it is whisked away for sale

After Brexit, British fishermen want to be able to catch more fish,

principally by clawing back the quarter currently

They also want to carry on selling the vast quantity of species

like this into the European single market as easily as they do now.

I have come to the Legion's great fishing port to meet

the chief executive of the Cornish fishing organisation.

I asked him what losing tariff free access to the European

Most important would be the nontariff barriers.

If we have problems logistically getting your product

into the continental market it causes a headache.

Slow down at the borders causes problems with dealing with

Early indications suggest that other EU states will be wanting continued

access to fresh in British waters in return for British fishermen

Access for foreign boats within 200 miles of the sure will involve a lot

of haggling but fishermen pointed out that before Britain even joined

the UDP and community, the British government unilaterally

agreed foreign boats within just 12 miles.

They see that agreement can and must now be revoked.

Only last week the fishing minister wouldn't confirm

that the government intends to do that.

There are many things we are looking closely at and have not made final

decisions yet which is why that is no announcements will people

will have to be more patient but rest assured we are looking

closely at these issues including the 1964 convention.

It is slightly worrying they are not prepared to commit

Maybe it is about negotiating strategy, maybe they are genuinely

not sure, but one thing is sure, we do not expect that same degree

of negotiation for the beach to the 12 mile limit.

That is for the inshore fleet and should be managed

for the benefit of those guys and anything less than complete

exclusivity would be seen as the trail, not too strong a word.

Recent reports say the Prime Minister is now planning to revoke

the 1964 agreement but many are now wondering just how much influence

and industry employing 11,000 people nationwide will be able to wield

once Brexit negotiations begin in earnest.

Volunteers are being trained this week to help catch,

count and control the number of foreign crayfish infesting

The Signal Crayfish from America were brought to the moor to be

But as Spotlight's John Ayres reports things didn't turn out

It's a painstaking process monitoring

Twice a week, volunteers are donning waders to check the traps and keep

So what we do, we remove these pods which facilitate breeding,

and this guy was done at some point last year.

We also mark them for their site of origin.

They need the numbers to come down because they are causing huge damage

One example you can see behind you is burrowing into the river

They also have an impact on fish populations

They have been responsible for reducing the number of native

It was back in the 1970s that the government department

at the time decided it would be a good idea

to give farmers a chance to diversify and have another

industry and they could try and raise money.

What they didn't know was just how invasive it would become

and the damage it would do to the local environment.

What they didn't expect at the time was that the crayfish would walk

on land and could survive outside of water for up to six months.

They left the ponds and made their way into the rivers.

It is actually a criminal offence to return them,

they are so damaging and it is illegal even to transport

them alive in case they escape and get back into another

To do this work they need volunteers.

I love anything to do with the great outdoors especially where I live,

and also with doing a degree anything that I can find out

The larger males are cannibalistic and are being sterilised and put

back under a license to help control numbers.

All others are being trapped and destroyed humanely.

An animator turned puppeteer has won ?50,000 in a competition in Germany.

Barnaby Dixon has created his own puppets and films

He's already getting interest from international programme makers.

This is the unique creation of Barnaby Dixon and he has got his own

U-tube CDs. First we have to cross that bridge and if it collapses and

I die I would like you all to write letters to Somerset County Council.

He went to the carnival last year and goes for lots of walks around

the river and canal and is various levels of an appropriate. Barnaby

Dixon studied animation and decided to build puppets and his hands so he

could make films for the Internet. You work all this stuff out as you

go along so not only does the puppet get built, you build its range of

motion at the same times when it is finished you are nearly there. I

have finally the puppet. His film went viral. To do that motion, that

is eBay's work and stop motion, whereas this happens as quickly as

you can perform it. He won the German TV competition. I won ?50,000

which is a lot of money, but that will go towards equipment, towards

lawyers fees in terms of patent thing and it is just terribly

expensive. So far he has relied on crowdfunding to support his work

meaning he can spend hours creating characters like this dinosaur. When

you are in control of every aspect of creation, you are the authority

and it is very freeing. With offers from the US to make a TV series, his

self belief is paying off. If you are good enough at anything and you

like it and other people like it you can make a living doing anything. If

you find a way to make it viable, but that is the tricky part.

Some of the oldest film footage of Plymouth features

It's been put together by a Plymouth historian who's been collecting

There's some lovely pictures - this is the area around Derry's clock -

look how busy it is - and hardly recognisable today.

David George has been watching "The Story of Plymouth City Centre".

If we had ambled across what was you rode in 1925 would have been knocked

flying by all those horses and trams, the only thing left is the

clock itself, built by the mere of Plymouth in honour of the 1862 royal

wedding. He got it built as a public water drinking fountain but the taps

never worked. The clock does, more or less. It was referred to as the

four faced deceiver because wherever you stood told a slightly different

time so people could always complain if they were late or not plate. This

footage came from the police, the first ever CCTV? They filmed it

because in 1925, this was said to be the busiest junction outside London.

Not many people had cars but there were trams and horses and carts and

this was a familiar scene on the streets of Plymouth right up until

the Second World War, and in fact the Co-op run their last horse and

cart in 1954. The clock is one of the few features in Plymouth to

survive the wartime bombing and the city planners. Plymouth took the

unusual decision to start again. The Duke of Cornwall Hotel is one of

those buildings to survive both. The railway station, which used to be

just across the road, plainly did not. It is said the rich and famous,

including Walt Disney and Bing Crosby, would get off transatlantic

liners in Plymouth and catch the train to London from here because it

was quicker than staying on board until Southampton. They say

nostalgia isn't what it used to be but will historians look back on our

2017 footage with a misty eyed and say, didn't Plymouth look quaint?

Answers on a postcard. Love seeing how places have changed, some almost

recognisable still. Now looking ahead to the weather.

Good evening. Some sunshine over the last few days, it is now all change

as the rain turns up. Some time yet to be quite heavy. First thing this

morning we had a lovely start to the day, the Channel Islands saw some

glorious sunshine to greet everyone first thing. That is now changing

and the rain is coming and it could be around tomorrow, mostly in the

West, some patchy rain and rather cloudy and breezy. Breaks in the

sunshine now and then. A lot of cloud queueing up, currently over

most of southern England, producing outbreaks of rain, some heavy. One

weather system moves away but another follows. It stays just to

the west and although the area of high pressure has been moved across

to France it is still close enough to keep southerly winds calling for

this week, drawing up warmth from Spain and Portugal and from

Thursday, we could have pretty high temperatures, possibly even 19, and

all change on Friday as a cold front comes through. This is the satellite

picture from this afternoon and you can see the brighter colours. Before

that, there was some hazy sunshine but already a feel of cloud with the

daffodils looking fantastic. And along the coastline, pretty good

although the breeze has whipped up, a fresh southerly breeze. Further

inland, this is Exeter with plenty of blue sky. For the least the

sunshine has held on for longer and is producing some effects. Some wet

weather for this evening with this band of rain fast moving, sweeping

through accompanied by some strong winds for a time. Once it gets

through, things start to calm down and a lot of cloud, a mild night,

misty over high ground and the overnight temperature down to 11. A

head start with the temperature first thing tomorrow and some rain

but persistent rain to the west of us. Some breaks developing in the

cloud particularly afternoon when the sunshine comes out for an hour

or two, giving temperatures of 14 Celsius. Cloudy with rain off and on

through the day. Finally, very messy conditions along the south coast but

clean socks to be had along the north coast.

It is your fault it is raining. Thanks for watching, see you

tomorrow, good night.