30/05/2014

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:00:15. > :00:16.And now the news for the East Midlands.

:00:17. > :00:20.First tonight, a teenage neo`Nazi who built lethal

:00:21. > :00:23.bombs has been cleared of terrorism offences after his

:00:24. > :00:27.The court heard that Michael Piggin stockpiled weapons

:00:28. > :00:33.But the jury couldn't agree if he was serious about carrying out

:00:34. > :00:36.a Columbine High School style`massacre in Loughborough.

:00:37. > :00:40.Our social affairs correspondent, Jeremy Ball, reports.

:00:41. > :00:48.This is a crossbow. Just got it.

:00:49. > :00:50.Michael Piggin was obsessed with weapons, guns,

:00:51. > :00:57.This is footage of him testing Molotov cocktails behind

:00:58. > :01:00.the leisure centre in Loughborough, one of a string

:01:01. > :01:05.of home`made video clips showing him ranting about fighting Muslims.

:01:06. > :01:06.We obviously treat this very seriously indeed.

:01:07. > :01:10.Anything of this type, where a person is putting together

:01:11. > :01:15.items such as improvised explosive devices, one has to assume that

:01:16. > :01:20.they can prove fatal, if handled incorrectly.

:01:21. > :01:22.And if someone has a particular mindset to use them

:01:23. > :01:25.against other individuals, it can result in the loss of life.

:01:26. > :01:28.The terrorism investigation was prompted by a search of

:01:29. > :01:31.Michael Piggin's home. But it was the last thing the police expected.

:01:32. > :01:36.They came here to look for a knife he used to threaten

:01:37. > :01:41.They were horrified by what they found.

:01:42. > :01:44.He had an arsenal of weapons, powerful airguns, a machete

:01:45. > :01:51.They found detailed plans to repeat the Columbine massacre

:01:52. > :01:56.In his bedroom, there was a swastika flag on the wall and a copy

:01:57. > :02:00.of Hitler's Mein Kampf and the room was a shrine to notorious

:02:01. > :02:04.plastered with newspaper cuttings about killers like Anders Breivik.

:02:05. > :02:07.He used to come to school with swastikas stitched into his jumper

:02:08. > :02:13.He was someone who stuck to himself. I think people were

:02:14. > :02:17.We were so shocked and I think the shock masked

:02:18. > :02:24.Michael Piggin portrayed himself as a revolutionary.

:02:25. > :02:26.We are against the Muslim invasion of our country.

:02:27. > :02:31.And recorded chilling threats to kill Muslims.

:02:32. > :02:33.This is him spray`painting no more mosques.

:02:34. > :02:38.He named the local mosque at the top of his list of targets.

:02:39. > :02:41.But he insisted his plans were just a fantasy that helped him

:02:42. > :02:45.cope with persistent bullying and the jury could not reach a verdict.

:02:46. > :02:47.They also heard he had a form of autism

:02:48. > :02:54.Awareness of Asperger's syndrome is growing

:02:55. > :02:57.but still many people do not get diagnosed at the appropriate time.

:02:58. > :03:02.It is really important we do pick up these youngsters so that they

:03:03. > :03:07.Almost 20 people were named on Michael Piggin's hit list.

:03:08. > :03:10.They were warned by the police they had been threatened.

:03:11. > :03:13.The jury found the threat was not real but detectives are

:03:14. > :03:19.convinced it is a threat that had to be taken seriously.

:03:20. > :03:21.Our social affairs correspondent Jeremy Ball has been

:03:22. > :03:26.Were there any concerns raised about Michael Piggin's behaviour?

:03:27. > :03:29.There had been several complaints at his school about

:03:30. > :03:32.his extremist behaviour, the school we're not allowed to identify.

:03:33. > :03:35.We actually heard from a former teacher there who said

:03:36. > :03:38.Piggin asked him which gun he would like to be shot with.

:03:39. > :03:41.There are formal processes for dealing with concerns

:03:42. > :03:43.like that through what is known as the Prevent programme.

:03:44. > :03:47.But Leicestershire Police were never told about Michael Piggin

:03:48. > :03:50.and his school says it is because the complaints it received

:03:51. > :03:54.and that, essentially, they did not indicate what emerged

:03:55. > :03:58.This is the second terrorism trial that has collapsed with no verdict.

:03:59. > :04:03.Essentially because this case was not about what

:04:04. > :04:07.Michael Piggin did, it was about what he was planning to do next.

:04:08. > :04:12.He admitted he was making the bombs, he admitted he had

:04:13. > :04:19.The jurors had to decide whether he was serious about going

:04:20. > :04:24.At the end of the day, some of them believed him, others didn't.

:04:25. > :04:26.That is why the terrorism charges have been dropped.

:04:27. > :04:29.He is now going to be sentenced for less serious explosives

:04:30. > :04:33.Let us leave it there for now. Thank you.

:04:34. > :04:38.After 90 years of mining, Thoresby Colliery in Nottinghamshire

:04:39. > :04:40.has started the slow wind down to closure.

:04:41. > :04:43.270 redundancy notices have been sent out and will arrive

:04:44. > :04:49.The Union of Democratic Mineworkers say there's still a way

:04:50. > :04:54.of keeping the pit open for four years, but UK Coal say it

:04:55. > :04:59.Absolutely gut wrenching for the people who will be receiving

:05:00. > :05:01.those letters tomorrow morning, along with their families.

:05:02. > :05:04.Asking them to come for interviews next week, telling them

:05:05. > :05:09.Nearly ?17 million could be spent on improvements to schools

:05:10. > :05:14.The county council says there is a huge backlog of school repairs

:05:15. > :05:19.Priority is being given to buildings in the worst condition.

:05:20. > :05:24.The proposals will be discussed by the authority's cabinet on Monday.

:05:25. > :05:27.One of our major hospitals is to build a multi`storey car park

:05:28. > :05:30.in the next 18 months to alleviate chronic parking problems.

:05:31. > :05:33.Queues for the main car park at the Leicester Royal Infirmary

:05:34. > :05:36.can stretch hundreds of yards at peak times.

:05:37. > :05:39.Patients and visitors say the time spent waiting to park

:05:40. > :05:45.We have to leave at least an hour in advance to be on time

:05:46. > :05:51.If you come in yourself, you don't stand a chance of getting to your

:05:52. > :05:56.You can queue for half an hour quite regularly.

:05:57. > :06:02.If you are lucky, like we are at the moment, you're straight in.

:06:03. > :06:05.Sometimes you can stop here for three quarters of an hour.

:06:06. > :06:06.The solution is relatively straightforward.

:06:07. > :06:08.It is to build a multi`storey car park

:06:09. > :06:12.on the site you can see behind me. There are a couple of alternatives.

:06:13. > :06:16.There will be some disruption while we do that

:06:17. > :06:19.because we will lose car parking space, but it will be worth it.

:06:20. > :06:22.We are looking at a 600`space car park.

:06:23. > :06:25.Newsnight's starting now over on BBC Two and I'll have more news

:06:26. > :06:40.I'll leave you with Kaye and the weekend weather.

:06:41. > :06:46.And fairly decent weekend. I cannot rule out the odd shower. It is

:06:47. > :06:54.largely dry. There will be more brightness as well. Things are

:06:55. > :07:01.starting to warm up at last. Not a lot changing for us overnight.

:07:02. > :07:07.Staying dry. Quite a lot of cloud. Temperatures could slide into single

:07:08. > :07:12.figures. Most of us, staying in double figures. We kick off the

:07:13. > :07:19.weekend dry. Quite a lot of cloud in the morning. Cloud breaking up in

:07:20. > :07:23.the afternoon. It may trigger a couple showers. Most of us will

:07:24. > :07:27.escape them. A more pleasant afternoon with temperatures up to 17

:07:28. > :07:32.or 18 degrees. The outlook more sunshine and even warmer by Sunday.

:07:33. > :07:40.showers into the early part of next week. Enjoy the weekend, if you can.

:07:41. > :07:46.Now the national outlook. Hello, lots of outdoor plans ahead.

:07:47. > :07:52.By and large, we are in pretty good shape. A quick look back at spring.

:07:53. > :07:57.It was the third warmest on record but the dullest May in Northern

:07:58. > :08:02.Ireland on record. It has been dull across many parts of the UK in

:08:03. > :08:07.actual fact. Scotland had some sunshine and parts of East Anglia

:08:08. > :08:14.and the south-east as well. Under the cloud tonight temperatures will

:08:15. > :08:17.stay well up. But under the clear