12/06/2014 East Midlands Today

reversed. Kim Ghattas, BBC News, New York

And now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Quentin Rayner.

First tonight, the government's Energy Minister has been urged to

safeguard a ?20 million rescue operation to maintain output at the

region's last deep coal mind.UK Coal wants to close Thoresby in

Nottinghamshire by the end of next year, with the loss of 600 jobs The

Government says it will provide ?10 million of the rescue package, but

it has to be matched by ?10 million from the private sector. Thd mining

group Hargreaves Services h`d offered to put in ?5 million, but

Today, on a visit to Nottingham the Labour Party leader Ed Liliband

urged the government to takd immediate action.

The government needs to get stuck in because the jobs that Thoresby are

really important and we need big government talking to UK co`l and

seeing if anything can be done in Europe. They should make sure that

if anybody is made redundant there is proper help and support.

Earlier this evening the Shdrwood MP Mark Spencer had a meeting with

the Energy Minister Michael Fallon and he's with us now.

He told me that the governmdnt is still willing to support it and they

are keen to make it work and the ?10 million is still on the table but we

need to find a new partner to help the company continue to produce coal

and make a profit. How optilistic are you finding a new partndr? It is

very delicate and a tricky situation. I have sat on thd sofa

before and explained what a complicated deal this is and as I

have said we are not over the first line, we need to make sure the deal

comes together before we thhnk about anything else. UK coal has `lways

said in the past that if it does not pull through day, as a comp`ny, will

go into liquidation and Thoresby will close immediately. How close

are we to the collapse of the deal? We are some way off that because the

people at Thoresby are workhng very hard and pulling the coal ott of the

ground and making a margin so there is enough cash to keep the company

going in the short term but in the medium term as it gets more

challenging they will be short of cash but that does not mean they

will not make a profit but they will run out of money at some pohnt in

the future. Wide as the govdrnment not, with a full ?20 million worth

of cash. It is not just abott money it is about the expertise. The

government cannot said the company to run it itself and we need to find

a new partner with mining expertise that will come in and close down UK

coal and we can move forward as we wanted.

Next tonight fire crews frol across the East Midlands ard

about halfway through their latest strike over their pensions.

They walked out at 9 o'clock this morning for

It's the 13th time they've staged industrial action over

At nine o'clock this morning firefighters picked up their

placards and walked out of their fire stations. Contingency plans to

cover emergency is what put into place. Normally we would have 3

fire engines but at the momdnt we have seven and we will remahn at

seven throughout the 24 hours of the strike period. On top of th`t we do

not have the ability to mobhlise our specialist appliances like platforms

that can go up higher and specialist pumping vehicles. We are down to a

skeleton contingency arrangdment. At the clock tower in Leicester members

of the Fire Brigades Union staged a rally to raise awareness of their

fight. Members of the public had mixed views. We are really

supportive and the firefighters do a great job. I think they are entitled

to a good pension but I am not so happy about them being on strike.

Today is the 13th strike in this dispute and there is no sign of it

being resolved. I am not optimistic about an early resolution. @ny

strike is worrying and the fact it has gone on for so long and we are

now on the 13th industrial `ction period is really not good ndws. In a

statement a spokesman for the government believes a soluthon can

be reached but not under thd shadow of industrial action. The strike has

been going on for three years and the firefighters here are prepared

for it to go on for even longer If the dispute is not resolved there

will be another strike in tdn days. Well, earlier this evening Phil

Coates from the Fire Brigadds Union told us the Government could easily

settle this dispute. They have fully costed proposals

that they can put on the table and they are refusing to do it `nd it

could solve the strike. We `re asking them to do it. This hinges on

the retirement age being rahsed from 55 to 60 pension contributions being

raised. Plenty of other workers in the country have had their

conditions changed but what makes firefighters a special case? The

government did report that said that 90% of firefighters would not be

able to pass their fitness test at 60, that is logical. If thex have to

go then they will have be s`cked. Why are you less fit at 60 than at

55? We do not have many Olylpic athletes who run around at 60 years

old. It is a strenuous job, not a normal job. We are not talkhng 8

and 16. How comes you are OK 55 and not at 60? It is the fact is that

are used, you just cannot you pass the fitness test, the majorhty of

firefighters can't and cert`inly women can't because they struggle at

50 so we will lose them. Thhs sceptic 's will say you are trying

to preserve an early retirelent age. We are paying 14% of our wage into a

pension, these are not gold`plated pensions, we are paying for them.

That's your news, so it's goodbye from me, but with your weather now,

It has been a lovely summer 's day but very high pollen levels. The

weather will be settled tomorrow but they will be high before thdy use

towards the weekend. For now it is a fine and settled evening. Wd have

clear skies and temperatures are only dropping around 13 degrees It

is set to be a fairly mild `nd quite muggy night for some. Tomorrow

morning it is the driest st`rt. Plenty of sunshine in the morning

and in the afternoon we start to see the cloud bubble up. There will

still be sunny intervals and temperatures are about 23 ddgrees.

We expect a few showers on Friday evening and Saturday morning but

then on Saturday it will be a cloudy day and a bit cool about st`ying

dry. Here is your outlook for the next few days.

turn pressure with temperatures easing back and here is my colleague

with the rest of the weekend forecast.

A day of contrast today. In the Northwest we saw cloud moving in

which brought a little bit of rain but it also stopped temperatures

from rising too far. 16 or 17 degrees typical, contrasted with 20

degrees in London. We will see the skies clear across the southern half

tonight. Some rural spots might dip into single figures and there might

be showers, mist and fog in rural spots, but that's about it for

England and Wales. Further north, heavy bursts of rain on the west of

Scotland. Not too much on the eastern side, and some rain getting

into Northern Ireland by dawn. In the rush hour across central and

western Scotland, not pleasant, it will be wet but not too windy. And

Northern Ireland is not great.