04/07/2011 Look East - East

In Look East tonight. It's the exit door for Britain's most

controversial council boss. Andrea Hill is cleared of wrong-doing, but

leaves her job in Suffolk with a six figure pay-off. I think that is

the most brilliant news I have heard today. I do not think she has

done anything for Ipswich at all. Hello from Susie and me.

Also tonight. Europe's biggest illegal

travellers' site erects the barricades as bailiffs hand out

eviction notices ordering them to leave the site We are using gas

cylinders. We will turn them on and set them on fire. Petrol bombs,

generators. Whatever it takes to try and defend our homes, we are

going to do. It is the end of an era at Papworth

as the surgeon who pioneered heart and lung transplants around the

world retires. And a special interview with

Strictly stars Vincent and Flavia Hello. One of the most turbulent

episodes in local government came to a close today as Andrea Hill

stepped down from her post at Suffolk County Council. Three years

after leading the council through a controversial shake-up of services,

she leaves with a six-figure pay- off.

The trouble began for Andrea Hill when she and not the council became

the story. From the beginning to the end, she was dogged by

complaints about her salary and her style of management.

She was appointed to her post in March 2008. Her salary - �218,000.

In September 2010, the council announced plans to outsource, what

she called divesting, most of the services, including libraries. A

month later, Local Government Minister Eric Pickles called on all

council chief executives earning more than �200,000 a year to take a

�100,00 pay cut. A call backed by the Prime Minister. In January this

year, during an exclusive interview, she told me the job was a big and

demanding one. So is the job of Prime Minister and he earns less

than you do. I do not think that can be right. I think I have

answered that question. But the Prime Minister makes the decisions

and is running the country. You are running Suffolk council. The Prime

Minister is a politician, I do not think you can compare the two.

In April, council leader Jeremy Pembroke stepped down. Within a

month, Andrea Hill was taking extended leave. First tonight,

details of the deal that has seen her go.

By the time the committee which would decide Andrea Hill's fate

reconvened at nine this morning, rumours were already swirling,

suggesting she was long gone. Just before ten, it seemed the meeting

was over. We were promised a statement within the hour. But it

didn't come until 1.30, confirming a parting of the ways. The

investigation into the whistleblower claims complete, most

notably those of bullying and harassment. The committee said

there was claims had been robustly investigated. It went on, it is

concern that such a allegation existed, but concluded there was no

evidence to support them. The inquiry started after the death

of David White, the council's former head of legal services. He

was found hanging in woodland. But the committee said there was

nothing to suggest Andrea Hill had been to blame. It also studied a

report into expense claims she'd made. Among them, hotel bills. It

said that while in the current climate, some might not have

represented best use of public money, the committee accepted that

there was no dishonesty in the claims made.

The council said it felt there had been significant media attention

attached to Mrs Hill which has become a distraction. Both parties

accepted that it is better to allow the organisation to move forward

with new managerial leadership. In truth, a return for Andrea Hill

always seemed highly unlikely. The leader who appointed her, Jeremy

Pemrboke, had stepped down. The first move of his successor Mark

Bee was to kick the radical costcutting plan she so publicly

championed into the long grass. It was that salary of �218,000 which

seemed to define her and that is the sum which she will walk away

with as a pay off in compensation. The council said it could have

faced much higher costs had agreement not been reached. Kevin

Burch BBC Look East in Ipswich. So what does all of this mean to

people in Suffolk? The Andrea Hill years will be remembered by many as

a time of protest with libraries under threat, school crossing

patrols under threat and care homes under threat. Our chief reporter

Kim Riley has been getting reaction to the news today.

The news that, after weeks in limbo, the lady is on her way was the hot

topic in Ipswich town centre. think it is the most brilliant news

I have heard today. Good job. us some money. We overpaid. She was

earning too much so it is good. There are people like myself

working lots of hours for nothing. It is not fair. I cannot judge

without knowing too many of the details. But it does seem an awful

lot to be paid for what she is doing. The Ipswich Evening Star has

been a maths or in the side of the former chief Executive. -- a thorn

in the side. A pay the radical policies that we have seen in

Suffolk with which she has been associated and which she has said

she was enthusiastic about, I think people are left asking why it

Suffolk are needed to be quite as radical as that. Or opposition

leaders on the county council have welcomed today's developments.

behalf of the people of Suffolk, I think it will be a relief. The fact

that she would not take a pay cut even though she was being advised

it to do so by national government, where as her colleagues had done

elsewhere and the cancer was having to make so many millions of pounds

of savings, I think it Stoke to the anger among the public. Andrea Hill

was brought in to save millions of pounds. Whoever now takes over the

hot seat faces a big challenge. If she has done nothing wrong, why

is she going? A question for the council leader. We at the beginning

of a new council political leadership. I think it was felt

that now would be an appropriate time for a new head of paid service.

We have gone through quite an exhaustive investigative process in

looking at issues relating to Andrea Hill. While there has been

nothing that we would say she has done wrong, there is clearly now a

need for a new direction and that is what we are looking towards.

have heard about her salary, that is what she is getting as a payout,

�218,000. That is a lot of money from a council that has no money.

Add the you will find that that is a very good deal. -- I think you

will find. We are pleased to be paeon of one year's salary. In the

press release, it was said that the preceding it has cost about quarter

of a million pounds, add that to the salary and that is half-a-

million pounds that you do not have that. We cannot summarily dismiss

people, and neither should be. They have to go through the proper

process and that is what we have done and that costs money. But we

have tried to keep it to an absolute minimum. One of your local

MPs said you will be looking for somebody who does not cost as much.

We will be looking very quickly at what happens next. Salary will be a

big and important part in that. You can be assured that we will not be

looking at a huge salary for this role. We won something that is

realistic. A in retrospect, was Andrea Hill about a partner?

did an awful lot of good things within the organisation. I would

not say she was a bad a point but. I think that -- and bad appointment.

But things have moved on. What was a good appoint him back them is now

a not relevant. -- appointment. somebody is watching this am

thinking of applying, what is the going rate? I think that is

something that we need to decide and I would have welcomed the view

from all members of the council. It is not just up to me. This is a

full council appointed. I will be wanting to get their views of all

members across the political spectrum in the council. Thank you

very much indeed. Travellers at the Dale Farm site in

Essex have been erecting barricades today after bailiffs served them

with notices ordering them to quit. The settlement, near Crays Hill,

has been the scene of a bitter dispute for years. Today, 90

families were ordered to quit by the end of August or face the

bailiffs. Let's go live to Gareth George. They have been fighting

eviction here at Dale Farm for 10 years. Every day brings the lives

closer, but today they got something they had been dreading,

it is their 28 day notice to leave. This was their reaction. A sign of

what could be in store at Dale Farm. Worried council officials could

return, defences were built. We are willing to die if that is going to

be what it takes. We are using gas cylinders, we will turn them on and

set them on fire. They will do whatever it takes to try and defend

our homes. We will have caravans here that we was set alight. We are

not going peacefully. Bet they want us out, they will have to bring us

out in body bags. Prams were filled up to the barricades to show the

danger children would face if any eviction goes ahead. We are willing

for our babies and ourselves are to die fighting because otherwise, if

we leave, we have no future. We have no where to go. Elsewhere,

notices were appended to caravan doors. The Dale Farm Association

said they were given to 50 families. It is one of the biggest a

travellers' site in Europe's. The legal battle has gone on for 10

years. Basildon council say that travellers on pitches built without

planning permission have to go. all hope that this very late stage

for a peaceful solution to this. No one wants to see a forced eviction.

But at the end of the day, we have to go through with this and clear

that side. Otherwise, we will be allowing people to break the log

and there will be a big for sale sign over our green-belt. -- the

law. It seems that the eviction is just weeks away, but the travellers

say they will not go without a fight. The notice says it to make

arrangements to vacate the land by 31st August. If you failed to do so,

the council will clear the site in September, removing all moveable

and fixed structures. The travellers say they will fight, but

there -- but the council is appealing them to move off

peacefully. Still to come tonight. Retirement

for the surgeon whose work at Papworth Hospital changed

transplant surgery around the world. Plus, I catch up with Strictly

stars Vincent and Flavia as their new show rolls into the region. Get

ready to tango after more news In a career over 30 years,

Professor John Wallwork has prolong the lives of thousands of people.

They gathered at two hail of the career of a great surgeon. What

stands out at your greatest achievement? When they did the

heart-lung transplant. It was the first one. You go away thinking I

have done something no one else has ever done. That operation was in

1986. Two years before that, at Papworth, he carried out a heart-

lung transplant. He has prolong the lives of thousands. But what about

a change in the law? I think there is a general feeling among the

population that transplantation is a good thing. When you then say

that you are going to take their organs and people object, that is

always difficult. You may be in a difficult situation where you have

the legal right to take the organs, but their relatives are objective.

Do you have the moral right? After three decades at the forefront of

transplant surgery, what is next? Probably one of the most important

focus has is that we will be moving our hospital on to an environmental

campus in Cambridge. We need a research institute and one of my

tasks will be to help fund that. Unless we do that, we will be stuck

always doing yesterday's medicine today. We need to do tomorrow's

medicine today. The move to Addenbrooke's should happen by 2015.

A new hospital, his legacy. A man has been charged after a 10-

year-old boy was attacked by a dog in Norwich yesterday afternoon.

Nathan Atkins has been charged with allowing a dog to be dangerously

out of control in a public place causing injury. The boy has

injuries to his arm and is in a stable condition in hospital.

More than 4,300 knives have been handed in during the first six

months of a year-long amnesty in Suffolk. Four permanent collection

points and two mobile bins have been set up as part of the Bin a

Blade campaign. The amnesty has been publicised by Holly Watson

from Sudbury whose brother Lewis was fatally stabbed in 2009.

Meanwhile several towns in the region are celebrating their

traditional shops today. On American Independence Day, they are

promoting the independence of small retailers. Among them is Bury St

Edmunds which has a wealth of small shops which are not part of

national chains. Supermarkets are markets with a roof on. They do not

make anything themselves. They buy them and sell out. We make our own

produce. That is why we are different.

Work has begun to repair a multi- storey car park in Chelmsford which

has been closed for nearly four months due to safety concerns. High

Chelmer Car Park was closed in March after problems were found

with concrete ramps and reinforcement bars. It is hoped the

1,000 capacity car park will fully reopen in October following the

�1.6 million project. The Defence Secretary has confirmed

that a decision over the future of RAF Marham has been made, but he

will not say what it is. Liam Fox told MPs today the findings of a

review into the future of the UK's Tornado bases will be revealed in

the near future. Answering a question tabled by a Scottish MP,

Dr Fox disclosed that a number of the key decisions relating to the

bases had been made over the weekend.

More than 30,000 people are at RAF Feltwell in Norfolk for the

American air force July 4th celebrations. Monday July 4th. In

England just the start of the week. But for Americans, July 4th is

special. A chance to celebrate independence and relax a little.

The F15s are at Lakenheath, the 100th air refuelling wing at

Mildenhall, and everyone gets to together for fun at Feltwell. Even

the CO was in his baseball kit. Baseball is like cricket, but not

as interesting. It all depends at your perspective. I bat. Are you

any good? For my age, I hold my own. At the really looking forward to a

fun day. Food is a big thing on July 4th.

Not just burgers, but nachos, corn dogs and the American equivalent of

a deep-fried Mars bar, the deep fried Twinkie. Soft and squishy.

The deep-fry it for a little bit until it is golden brown and

sprinkle sugar on it. So it is really good for you! The best.

We all know Americans love cars, but how about an American with a

love for English cars? Zak Kruly's day job is fixing aircraft but his

passion is the Mini Cooper which he has restored from scrap. It took me

about six months, about 1000 hours. A how much is it worth now? About

�20,000. Aletta that more than the The Commanding Officer seemed to be

doing well on the baseball field. But they probably let him win just

to be on the safe side. And a deep fried Twinkie is a bit like a donut,

They are to back of the most popular people on one of the BBC's

most popular shows. Flavia and Vincent are famous across the whole

country because of Strictly Come Dancing.

Now they are touring with their own show, Midnight Tango. It is mostly

the Argentine tango which is what we wanted to do. There are subtle

influences from the ballroom world, but it is predominantly a tangle

show. Is it for Strictly Come Dancing fans? I think we get a

mixture. We get some time golf fanatics. -- tangle more fanatics.

We obviously get a lot of women who come to see be. You are very

popular on Strictly Come Dancing, you are a long-term partnership,

how did it come together in the first place? We started to go there

when I was 16 -- we started it together when I was 16. I was

looking for an year partner and so was Vincent. That was 16 years ago.

It was a match made in heaven. The looker, the height, the power that

we had at the start, we matched straight away. Even our teacher

could not believe it. How it two people can look so good so soon.

You had been on strictly for years now, that must have changed your

life? Yes, we worked our way up through all the acts over the years

and became professional. We were very well known within the ball run

industry, but strictly has changed that. Do you enjoy the celebrity

side of it? Of course I do. I always wanted to be one. I remember

talking to one of the couple's I used to teach. He remembered that I

said I wanted to be famous. Strictly itself, you never know who

you are going to get, is that true? You do not know this year? No. But

I believe this year it will be live and so we will find out together

with our fans and our audience. must know who is good to be good or

not good, so you have to put a brave face on it? Of course we do.

We do not mind who they get. As long as they enjoy the show. For

myself, I have been quite lucky. All my partner's were all in love

with the show. They were so lucky to spend every day with me. As long

as they have got the commitment to do well and love the show and love

dancing, that is it. I wish you all the very best of luck. Thank you

A lovely day today, but the weather is starting to change after

tomorrow. We have had fairly clear skies. The east got the best of the

sunshine today. You can see that area of cloud in the West just now.

What cloud is there should become broken over night. Some evening

sunshine and lengthy clear spells overnight. Temperatures dropping as

low as nine degrees in the West, around 12 or 13 the further east

you are. The wind is coming from a south easterly direction, light,

but picking up tomorrow. This is what is coming during tomorrow. Low

pressure here over the Atlantic is pushing these weather fronts

towards us during the day. We will start with sunshine tomorrow, a

really warm day. As you see on the charts, clear skies, the East

getting the best of the sunshine. But through the afternoon, that

area of cloud starts to develop, bringing a distinct band of rain.

Having said that, ahead of the rain, it will be very warm. Temperatures

The wind light to moderate southerly. It will feel breezier

tomorrow, but that will be cancelled out by the warmth. The

rain will track eastward. Overnight, we will get some more heavy

persistent bursts. For the rest of the week, low pressure very much

with us. You can see the air moving anti-clockwise around the area of

low pressure. That keeps conditions cooler, breezy with a chance of

showers. A chance of showers right through the week. Stronger winds,

feeling cooler. A reminder of the day's main news.

Andrea Hill, the controversial chief executive of Suffolk County

Council, has left her post. She is to receive a six-figure pay-off.

And travellers at Dale Farm near Basildon have erected barricades

after bailiffs served them with eviction notices ordering them off

the site. Let's talk to our political

correspondent Andrew Sinclair, who is at Westminster now.

What's the reaction been to the departure of Andrea Hill?

One of relief. For the past year, government ministers have been

increasingly angry about this issue. Whenever they talk about councils

cutting expenses, the whole business of Andrea Hill would come

up. She was a huge distraction. Every other house cobwebby

discovered I was an MP, they wanted to talk about this chief-executive.

to talk about this chief-executive. Andrea Hill had become the story.

When that happens, it is time for them to get off the stage. It is

time to good this huge row between -- behind us, and hire someone to

run services across Suffolk at a low were salary. Eric Pickles

expects the new salary to reflect the tough economic circumstances

that we are in. What's is being said about Dale

Farm? MPs are being briefed about the

police force's readiness to evict travellers. There is a

determination dowdier which I am detecting that ministers and MPs

feel that there has been enough talking and it is time to enforce