22/03/2017 East Midlands Today

You're watching East Midlands Today. developing

Tonight: The East Midlands MPs caught up in today's

Anna Soubry described the police response as Parliament

They have got machine guns and they are everywhere. They are very

fierce, they are getting everybody out. It is not good.

Also tonight: The head of the National Child Abuse Inquiry

tells us she will start to investigate Nottinghamshire

Plus, the vest invested invented by two 16-year-olds

And, Sir David Attenborough has a 430 million -year-old

And, Sir David Attenborough has a 430-million -year-old

First tonight, in the wake of the Westminster attack,

several of our MPs have been telling East Midlands Today how

they were caught up in today's damatic events.

Armed and masked police swept through the Palace of Westminster

as an attacker was shot dead after ramming a car

Several MPs have given us eye-witness accounts of the moment

Parliament was put under lockdown, and their reaction to this

First, I spoke to Broxtowe MP Anna Soubry as she was caught

in a Westminster corridor at the height of the crisis.

Anna, can you tell me, where are you just at the moment?

I am outside Speaker's House and I have got armed police

What was the first thing you knew about what was happening?

When they closed and locked all the doors.

The police are now doing an operation, they are

I am standing here in the corridor with Margaret Beckett.

What is happening, we can't actually hear what they are saying.

They are evacuating the whole building, everybody.

I have never seen cops like this, ever.

To be truthful, I think they have put the wind up everyone.

I can hear a lot of shouting, it sounds very frightening.

Leicester South MP John Ashworth was also at Westminster.

As staff were led to safety, he spoke of the defiance

of Parliament in the face of the terrorists.

People can attack this building, but this building represents democracy.

In the end, freedom and democracy will wind, and I think that is

something we will bear in mind. Lots of people vote for me, but lots of

people don't vote me, and that is the beauty of democracy. We will

never let people like this defeat us on that. Meanwhile, Nicky Morgan

heard the shots ring out in Westminster.

I was walking with lots of other MPs from this Elvin, portcullis house,

towards the main building, the House of Commons chamber, and suddenly

heard the shots ring out. You know, there was lots of yelling, people

shouting to get on the floor, to go back. Yes, a very, very shocking

incident and thoughts are with those who have been injured or killed.

Our own Political Correspondent Tony Roe is still in Westminster,

where he's been throughout today's unfolding drama.

Where are you, Tony and what's the latest?

The latest is I am in a building where the MPs have their offices. I

spent three hours in one MP's office overlooking Westminster Bridge.

There are still five London buses parked on the bridge. We will just

has to leave the office, the police have come and they are taking

witness statements from eyewitnesses who saw the shooting. One office

worker is particularly shaken at events. There are a big mixture of

people here. There are chefs lying in corridors, MPs with the Shadow

Foreign Secretary if you moment a way. They are going through each

building at Westminster, the police, clearing them one by one, making

sure we are all who we say we are. I can tell you, when the incident

started and there was panic at the entrance to portcullis house, people

running in terror away from Westminster Bridge, at that moment I

spoke to someone who said he had been ushered through security

without having the proper checks, so maybe there is that fear that

somebody came through the cord on. We don't know that. As each hour

goes by, it seems less likely, but we have to wait here until we are

given the clearance to go. Tony, thank you.

Well, before today's lockdown in Westminster -

some Parlimentary business was carried out.

Amongst it, a bill called Tyler's Law was tabled

in the Commons by the Leicester MP Keith Vaz.

It follows the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Tyler Thompson

His killer had previously been given a police caution

Today Tyler's mother and campaigners, including

the Leicester East MP, called for those carrying

knives to automatically be given jail terms.

Cautions aren't working, knife awareness courses don't work. There

needs to be a tougher penalty to stop people carrying them. We need

to do more, not just in Leicester, but all over the country. We need to

stop young people carrying knives. They just carry it like it is

everyday, a normal thing to do, but it is not. By pulling a knife, they

are taking their lives the way as well.

Still to come: The local authority operating a library

Plus, we will be meeting the two Leicestershire

teenagers whose award-winning invention could end up saving lives.

Next this evening, an exclusive interview with the head

of the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse.

Alexis Jay has revealed that her investigation

into Nottinghamshire children's homes will finally get

The inquiry's setting up what it's calling a "pop-up office"

here in the East Midlands, for survivors to tell their stories.

It's also considering allegations against the former Leicester

Our Social Affairs Correspondent, Jeremy Ball, reports.

CCTV captures a Derby grooming gang, luring girls as young as 12

A former Leicester MP, who died after being charged with a catalogue

of child sex offences, and a Nottingham children's home

where a police investigation has prompted hundreds

Visiting that city today, the professor who is leading

the vast inquiry into child sexual abuse is about to formally

open her own investigation into homes in Nottinghamshire.

We do want to make a difference to the victims, but the other aspect

of our objectives in the inquiry are to make recommendations

We are going to set up a local arrangement for people

to come forward to The Truth Project.

They will be treated in a confidential manner

with support if they do come forward to talk to us.

I do know something about the behaviour of institutions...

She was here to speak at a national conference on child sexual abuse,

organised by Sheila Taylor, who uncovered the Derby

street grooming scandal, and is convinced the abuse

inquiry can make make a huge difference.

It is important to hear their story, their experiences

The one thing that we have to do is we have to create a society

The independent inquiry has already heard from a former

Nottingham social worker, Margaret Humphreys, who traced

children in care who were shipped across the British Empire but,

after so many years, what can the abuse inquiry really achieve?

Many people who have been abused in Nottingham

and elsewhere can come forward and share their experiences with us.

It is not intended to be therapeutic, but it

For the survivors of child sexual abuse, the memories won't fade,

and the professor's independent inquiry won't bring back

The hope is that it can at least protect future generations.

An investigation's underway into whether the police could have

prevented an acid attack on a man in Leicester.

Daniel Rotairo was blinded and disfigured in the assault last July.

His former girlfriend and another man were charged

Yesterday, 52-year-old Katie Leong was jailed for life,

The Independent Police Complaints Commission says it's now looking

into how officers responded to earlier reports that the pair had

breached a restraining order and obtained sulphuric acid.

A man's pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife whose body

was found in a suitcase.46-year-old Kiran Daudia was discovered

at Cromer Street in Leicester in January.

Today her estranged husband, 50-year-old Ashwin Daudia,

appeared via video link at Leicester Crown Court.

His trial's now due to be held in June.

Police are offering attack alarms to runners in part of Derbyshire

after two sexual assaults on joggers in a week.

A female runner was attacked on a canal towpath near

Now police say another woman was grabbed and assaulted yesterday

morning while jogging in nearby Belper.

Detectives are investigating whether the attacks are linked.

A retired teacher from Nottinghamshire has gone on trial

accused of historical sex offences against children as young as nine.

Christopher Metcalfe has denied indecently assaulting two girls

and raping a third at several locations near Mansfield.

Christopher Metcalfe is now 70. It is claimed he took advantage of

three underage girls. The allegations date back to the 1970s,

the first when he was a newly qualified teacher. The Jiri Dvorak

heard he sexually touched a girl during story time, and then after a

swimming lesson. He is also charged with indecently assaulting another

girl aged nine or ten years old, and of raping a third girl, who was 15

or 16 at the time. She was in care here at a residential children's

home. Christopher Metcalfe was teaching rural studies here. She

says he took her back to his home and raped her in his front room,

saying he would get her if she told anyone. Prosecuting Sarah Knight

said Christopher Metcalfe took advantage of his position of trust

and authority. She said the women had not colluded, they don't know

each other, and their complaints are quite separate, she said, and she

described them as courageous. Christopher Metcalfe, seen here at

an earlier court appearance, denies five separate sex offences. The

trial is due to last around two weeks.

Still to come: All the day's sport, plus Lucy is standing

And the growing problem of litter along our roads and motorways. How

one problem tonight is concluding a three-day campaign to pick up the

rubbish. An estimated 600,000 people

in the UK have epilepsy, and two Leicestershire teenagers

have created a device which could make a huge

difference to their lives. The pair have won a national award

for creating a vest which alerts the wearer before they're

about to suffer a seizure. And it's now getting interest

from firms who want to put Navtej Johal has been

to meet the students. A potential, wearable life-saver.

These two may be just 16 years old, but their invention could be a huge

leap forward in helping people with epilepsy. How does this work? It

uses two different types of sensors. You have body sensor damages and

heart rate sensors. The great thing about it is it can predict an

epileptic attack if you met in advance so people can get

comfortable or medicate themselves. I saw someone have an epileptic fit

and this drove me to research ways in which epileptic people are helped

across the country. Last week, the pair won the Big Bang young engineer

UK award, and now there are investors wanting to put the vest

into production. Needless to say their parents are proud. They are

ecstatic. They are over the moon, they can't stop talking about it.

When might we see this being used by people with epilepsy? It is a slow

process getting things into manufacture, but we are looking at a

year or two before it reaches the market, but I think it will

definitely be there. This is great for us because it means we can get

involved with making it a reality as fast as possible. The charity, the

epilepsy Society, says the invention could be a game changer will stop

what is different about this technology is that it seems to have

the ability to predict a seizure up to eight minutes before, and that is

quite new. If that could go into production, I think people with

epilepsy would really welcome that. But, before they potentially go on

to save lives and improve the world, these 216-year-olds have the small

matter of their GCSEs to tackle first.

Almost ?1 million has been awarded to Nottingham

The Government cash will be spent installing more than 30 charging

points around the city for private hire taxis and hackney cabs.

The city council's already said it wants to see local taxis replaced

It already owns the UK's largest fleet of electric buses.

The owners of a Derbyshire static caravan site have been warned

they could face jail if they continue to cut

Amber Valley Borough Council says it's served an injunction

on Haytop Country Park in Whatstandwell after tree felling

took place last week, despite tree preservation orders.

Last month, owners Countrywide Park Homes evicted dozens

of people living at the site, claiming safety concerns.

The firm won't comment on the injunction.

For the first time in the East Midlands a local authority

is giving people access to a library building without any staff on duty.

A trial is beginning at Syston library in Leicestershire.

It could be a way to save money, but what about people

And will staff lose their jobs as a result?

I just need to swipe my card and put in the code. I am in, but what about

security problems without any staff here? We have done a range of

security assessments and we have briefed customers who have two

register before they can access it, and we have given them information

about what they should do if anything did happen within the

library. Down the line, there will be staff losses, won't they? It is

too early to say, we want to look at what this pilot does for us, and...

But that is the future library staff will lose their jobs because they

will all become self access libraries. What we will have to do

is to look at the case for this to see whether the numbers stack up and

whether we can make a saving. Yes, if this were to be rolled out, we

would be looking at staff savings. They say council staff will monitor

security cameras in the three-month trial, which adds extra opening

hours each week. It is a great idea. I like to speak to hear when we come

here, that is nice, but I understand the limitations of that. A little

bit nervous about the security. Barbara and Keith has signed up to

the scheme. Both give it a cautious welcome. It is better doing this

than closing the library. What will we do if the library is closed?

Probably go to one further, but not everyone has a car. It does concern

me if you are a woman in here on your own. You probably would be a

little apprehensive. And possibly in the evening I would be apprehensive

as well. The Unison union has concerns, including about potential

staff cuts, but welcomes the longer opening times. If successful, the

scheme could be used in 15 larger libraries across Leicestershire.

For a third consecutive night tonight, part of the A38

in Derbyshire will close to traffic to make way for a mass litter pick.

It's being carried out by Amber Valley District Council

to try to rid the busy trunk road of some of the rubbish

which somehow finds its way onto miles of embankment

But a bigger problem, surely, is how to tidy it up?

Absolutely, that is right. As you say, I am near Alfreton just above

the a 38. If our cameraman looks over the balustrade, you can see

some of the litter along the side of the road. Earlier on today, we went

and filmed along the road. These shots show a lay-by which is full of

rubbish, even despite the signs saying a ?100 fine. Further along

the road, you can see the amount of litter that is stuck in the bushes,

which are really difficult to get out. The borough council has been

doing a litter pick and with the now is Simon battering from the borough

council. Hello. How many bags have you picked up so far? This is your

third night. It is between 450 and 500 at the moment. Why do you need

to do it question but that is bubbly a daft question. If you have got 500

bags so far, you can imagine the volume of litter. It is unsightly

for people who live in the borough and people who drive through. It

looks appalling to leave it. Tonight is the third night, but it is

dangerous, isn't it? It can be dangerous, we has to put in place

lane closures and slow the traffic down, which is why we have to do it

in the middle of the night as this is a major trunk road. Litter

picking at night is not ideal and we have to use lights, but this is how

we must keep on top of it. We'll be joining that litter pick tonight, so

we will have more on this tonight in our late news at 10:25pm.

Thank you. It is that time of the night when we

cross over there. Thank you. First from me, news that

Leicester's Jamie Vardy will almost certainly start for England tonight

in their friendly In a week when his goal helped

Leicester through to the quarter finals of the Champions League,

and he revealed he'd received death threats

following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, Vardy looks

like he'll lead the front-line One of the new East Midlands riders

in this year's British Superbike campaign says he's going to have

to "calm his friends down" before The circuit was the venue

for the official season launch today and on track testing featured

lots of local talent. That includes last year's runner

up Leon Haslam, former World Champion Sylvain Guintoli,

and also Ashby's Taylor Mackenzie, getting a chance in Superbikes

after winning the Superstock I mean, there's that many

World Championship level riders now it's almost

like a World Championship race. I've got all my friends coming

next week to say hello, so I'm trying to keep them a bit

calm because it will be a lot more Leicestershire have

been to South Africa. But Derbyshire's cricketers

pre-season has been less glamorous. They're training in

a giant tent in Derby. The structure's been put up

at the County Ground, and they think it could be their secret weapon

to make a good start Nikesh Rughani's

been to have a look. These are very different conditions

to the Caribbean or UAE. Derbyshire have decided to stay home

this pre-season and practice in a purpose-built marquee

on the square at the County Ground. The thought behind it is to get

them ready for the early English season conditions,

but the decision did initially The most important question is,

what conditions and facilities are most going to replicate

early season wickets? It would be nice to be

in 35 degrees in Dubai, but we feel like this is the best

way to go about the early-season games, and then hopefully we can try

and push on early-season and take On wet days like this,

it also puts Derbyshire at a huge advantage over other counties,

according to their We will be in here and other people

won't be able to get outside, so certainly, as long as we can stop

the water coming through and flooding it,

we have a significant advantage, Kim Barnett says this

kind of preparation, with the ball swinging around,

is much more beneficial than playing on the slow,

low wickets of the UAE. The guys have been on pre-season

tours over the last few years, and we felt that we needed to be

practising on grass There is heating in the marquee and,

with a couple of weeks to go until the start of the season,

there's still time for You have to get a passport, it is

long haul travel, it is just not worth it.

Derby every time. He's won Baftas, Emmys and been

knighted by the Queen. He even has a polar research ship

with his name on it. Now Sir David Attenborough has

received the ultimate accolade And for a man whose love of nature

was started by searching for fossils in the Leicestershire countryside,

it couldn't be a more I take this as a very

great conpliment. I mean, they are kind enough

to think I was once a scientist, but I have left these things behind,

left science behind, so I'm very honoured and flattered

that the professors should say such The actual name is called

Cascolus Ravitis. The excitement surrounding this

fossil is that it has got what we It contains things like eyes, limbs,

and other parts of the body, and it allows palaeontologists

to look at the morphology of the animal and to assess

its place in the evolution And you can see that again

on our Facebook page. Now it is time for the weather.

It has been horrible today. I know, it has not been great with

outbreaks of really heavy rain to this afternoon, but the good news is

we have got improvements as we move into tomorrow. There will be a

fairly and start but things will brighten up into the afternoon with

some sunny spells developing. In the bigger picture, it is this where the

fun that has made its way up from the south-west and will stick with

us through tonight, and then start to make its way back to the

south-west. It does mean we will see some outbreaks of rain as we move

through this evening and overnight. They could be quite heavy, becoming

increasingly patchy, and then we will start to see that band of rain

pushing back in a cross towards the West into the early hours. A view

clear skies, temperatures down to four Celsius. You can see one or two

patches of fog developing for a time but they won't linger too long. A

damp start to the day. Things will brighten up into the afternoon,

sunny spells developing. Temperatures in proving on what we

have seen today, with a maximum of 11 Celsius, but that north-easterly

breeze taking the edge of. Feeling chilly to the afternoon tomorrow.

Into Friday and high pressure begins to take charge, building down from

the north. It does look like it will be a fairly dry day with sunny

spells around, and temperatures reaching 11 Celsius. That high

pressure stays with us as we move into the weekend, so we are looking

at a fairly decent settled weekend, some sunny spells around,

temperatures doing fairly well by day, but as we get into the night it

will be quite cold. We could see a view patches of frost to start the

day as we move into Saturday and Sunday. An improving story as we

move through tomorrow, and improving towards the weekend.

Thank you. We sign of a little later than usual because of the terrible

events in London, but we will be back with the late news, again later

this evening. To join us then. Good night.