:00:07. > :00:11.Hello and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight: The pros and
:00:11. > :00:14.cons of GM food - why this crop of potatoes is in the spotlight. The
:00:14. > :00:19.farmer who says we don't need it, the professor who says it's
:00:19. > :00:23.harmless and necessary. Safety warning on the Broads as a fifth
:00:23. > :00:33.person this year is found dead in the water. And how Chantelle
:00:33. > :00:40.
:00:40. > :00:43.shocked the boxing world with a Good evening. The controversy over
:00:43. > :00:49.genetically modified food has been reignited tonight, on the eve of an
:00:49. > :00:54.anti-GM rally this weekend. The location, the John Innes Centre in
:00:54. > :00:58.a science park on the outskirts of Norwich. The reason, a trial
:00:58. > :01:01.involving a crop of genetically modified potatoes. In a moment, two
:01:01. > :01:07.people with very different opinions. But first our Chief Reporter Kim
:01:07. > :01:11.Riley. Behind high fences, the focus of tomorrow's rally. The crop
:01:11. > :01:15.of blight resistant GM potatoes at the Sainsbury Laboratory. Lying
:01:15. > :01:17.alongside, a fleece that can be put over the plants to protect them
:01:17. > :01:23.from attack - though the rally organisers insist they have no
:01:23. > :01:26.plans to take direct action. The John Innes Centre claims its
:01:26. > :01:36.attempts to engage and debate with the anti-GM protestors have been
:01:36. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :01:45.rebuffed. I think the time for GM has come. I would like to debate in
:01:45. > :01:52.public with people who think GM is harmful. I think greater public
:01:52. > :01:55.awareness of the wonderful benefits of GM would be a very good idea.
:01:55. > :01:57.it is, the protestors will gather here outside the gates and deliver
:01:57. > :02:00.a trailer load of conventionally- bred, blight-resistant potatoes. A
:02:00. > :02:04.spokeswoman for the Stop GM Rally said the centre had attempted to
:02:04. > :02:07.turn a public demonstration into a public relations exercise. The
:02:07. > :02:09.organisers had always wanted the institute to be represented among
:02:09. > :02:17.the speakers, and hoped Professor Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury
:02:17. > :02:21.Laboratory would take up that invitation. It's 12 years since a
:02:21. > :02:23.six-acre field of GM maize was destroyed by activists at a farm in
:02:23. > :02:33.Norfolk. Prince Charles has labelled GM crops a potential
:02:33. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:41.environmental disaster, but have public views changed? I think I
:02:41. > :02:46.started with not touching it. But the Americans seem to be OK with it.
:02:46. > :02:55.I was against GM foods but seeing how the world is, I think it is a
:02:55. > :02:59.very good thing. I was against it. When I read about it, the
:03:00. > :03:06.advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I know there is
:03:06. > :03:10.nothing wrong with it. I just knew not like the idea of it. -- do it
:03:10. > :03:13.like. The hysteria over so-called Frankenstein foods has faded. A
:03:13. > :03:16.more balanced debate over these plants at the Sainsbury Laboratory
:03:16. > :03:19.may now be possible. Earlier this afternoon I was at the Sainsbury
:03:19. > :03:22.Lab to debate the issues with a professor leading the research, and
:03:22. > :03:25.a farmer who believes there must be another way. That debate in a
:03:25. > :03:35.moment. But first, let's hear from the professor with his story in his
:03:35. > :03:40.
:03:40. > :03:50.My name is Jonathan Jones. I work at the Sainsbury Laboratory in
:03:50. > :03:57.Norwich. The Sainsbury Laboratory was set up by David Sainsbury in
:03:57. > :04:07.1988 to work on how plants resist disease, and how plans fall prey to
:04:07. > :04:09.
:04:09. > :04:19.disease. We have mostly people who have done their PhD. What are you
:04:19. > :04:24.
:04:24. > :04:32.making protein from? I think there are 50 active scientists here. We
:04:32. > :04:38.make a lot of Mewse -- use of new technology. You can get up the
:04:38. > :04:44.blueprint, if you like, the genome sequence of plants and microbes
:04:44. > :04:49.that attack plants, much more easily and cheaply than you could.
:04:49. > :04:55.GM is the most benign, innocuous, a useful technology in the last 100
:04:55. > :04:59.years. It has already saved thousands of tons of insecticide
:04:59. > :05:04.being applied, and it can do more. It has to make the contribution
:05:04. > :05:08.that it could make to addressing food security issues. Professor
:05:08. > :05:18.Jonathan Jones, the man leading the GM study at the Sainsbury Lab. Next
:05:18. > :05:18.
:05:19. > :05:26.up, Josiah Meldrum, a community farmer, again in his own words.
:05:26. > :05:31.name is Josiah Meldrum. I am 36 and I live with my family. I am a
:05:31. > :05:37.director at East Anglia Food Link, helping to deliver Community food
:05:37. > :05:41.projects. Community food projects can include anything from a group
:05:42. > :05:51.of people who want to get involved in farming, through to people who
:05:52. > :05:56.
:05:56. > :06:02.want to buy a fresher, better food. This is Norwich Warwickshire. It
:06:02. > :06:07.has been established for a month. We are growing food and vegetables
:06:07. > :06:14.-- fruit and vegetables for people in Norwich. People can volunteer on
:06:14. > :06:18.the land. Share day happens once a week. The growers will harvest
:06:18. > :06:23.everything that is growing on the farm. People will turn up with bags
:06:23. > :06:29.and boxes and collect their share of the harvest. Genetic engineering
:06:29. > :06:32.is often presented as the solution to world food shortages. Despite 15
:06:33. > :06:38.to 20 years of development it has not delivered on that promise. We
:06:38. > :06:43.have not got all the answers. But we do think by reconnecting people
:06:43. > :06:49.with how their food is growing Dash macro, shortening the food supply,
:06:49. > :06:52.we're taking a step in the right direction. --. Josiah Meldrum from
:06:52. > :06:55.East Anglia Food Link. When I sat down with him and Professor
:06:55. > :07:05.Jonathan Jones, I started by putting one of those points to the
:07:05. > :07:08.
:07:08. > :07:14.I think there are a range of solutions to do with
:07:14. > :07:21.straightforward technology. At the moment they feed the vast majority
:07:21. > :07:27.of the world. The solution it Jonathan and his team are offering
:07:27. > :07:33.suit agreed business. Fundamentally it is not as sustainable approach.
:07:33. > :07:38.Here you are just for the big guys? It is a little more complicated.
:07:38. > :07:42.The key thing we need to reduce the impact of agriculture on the
:07:42. > :07:52.environment, is less agriculture. Therefore we need more productive
:07:52. > :07:56.agriculture. We need a yield. It is clear in the UK that if you are for
:07:56. > :08:00.wheat, years of organic production are half what they were with
:08:00. > :08:06.conventional production. There Rhys not room for your style of
:08:06. > :08:10.Agriculture because the yield his solo? -- there is not room.
:08:10. > :08:17.disagree with that. If you grow a mixture of two crops within the
:08:17. > :08:24.same field, and harvesting both within the same time, your yield
:08:24. > :08:30.for one will be lower. More people seem to say that actually they are
:08:30. > :08:37.not so bothered? I am not sure that is actually the case. I am sure if
:08:37. > :08:47.you told people you were going to release a genetically modified
:08:47. > :08:47.
:08:47. > :08:52.potato... It is not fair. These antibiotic resistance genes came
:08:52. > :08:57.from the soil in the first place. Fundamentally there is an argument
:08:57. > :09:04.about choice. I was at a project this morning. It comes down to
:09:04. > :09:11.price, doesn't it? There are a set of choices. A I would rather be
:09:11. > :09:18.eating potatoes protected by genetics and biochemistry. You are
:09:18. > :09:24.first prey? I am not. I am for breeding techniques. They are
:09:24. > :09:29.already on the market. When we use traditional growing techniques, the
:09:29. > :09:34.world population was smaller. Can we sustain the world population
:09:34. > :09:38.without using modern techniques? think we can. The debate is a bit
:09:38. > :09:43.of a distraction. Genetic engineering is great if you want to
:09:43. > :09:48.Sir -- Sela herbicide. It is not delivering. They it is not what we
:09:48. > :09:54.are about. We're talking about taking a gene out of the wild
:09:54. > :10:02.potato into a variety the market favours. I was 57 years old this
:10:02. > :10:08.month and I have been making GM plants For 28 a half years. I see
:10:08. > :10:14.no reason for anybody to experience any anxiety about any of the
:10:14. > :10:20.existing GM foods out there. If you think about the choice... You see
:10:20. > :10:27.no reason why anybody should be worried. Have you seen a reason why
:10:27. > :10:36.they should not be worried? For a scientist to say we have proved it
:10:36. > :10:41.is safe. That is not tenable. There is no credible mechanism that says
:10:41. > :10:47.that any of the existing trade scores anybody or the environment
:10:47. > :10:51.any harm. But there is no evidence that it does not? Well, yes. There
:10:51. > :11:01.is no credible reason for thinking there will be a problem. You cannot
:11:01. > :11:03.prove something is absolutely safe. Coming up, what do you know about
:11:03. > :11:13.the Cultural Olympiad? We'll explain all. And meet Chantelle,
:11:13. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:19.the novice boxer hoping to More details now on the cuts being
:11:19. > :11:26.faced by one of our biggest police forces. The Chief Constable of
:11:26. > :11:29.Essex says he must save �41million by 2014. His force faces the
:11:29. > :11:32.biggest change ever seen in peacetime as it makes cuts of �41
:11:32. > :11:35.million by 2014. Today he revealed how those cuts will be made and the
:11:35. > :11:44.amount of police they will loose. The number of police officers in
:11:44. > :11:47.Essex, by the time we get to 24 team were reduced by 388. -- 2014.
:11:47. > :11:50.Eyewatering - that's how the chief constable described the cuts his
:11:50. > :11:56.force faces. In total, over 1,000 jobs will go, meaning less police
:11:56. > :12:01.officers, PCSOs and the loss of 600 support staff. A reduction in it
:12:02. > :12:07.that number worries me. Let me be clear. But the new blueprint we
:12:07. > :12:12.have announced today, takes a significantly different approach to
:12:12. > :12:16.how we use resources to make sure that a reduction in police officer
:12:17. > :12:21.numbers does not automatically lead to Essex Luke -- losing its status
:12:21. > :12:25.as one of the safest places in the country. So how do the cuts affect
:12:25. > :12:28.the way the force works? It'll have to be more efficient. The nearest
:12:28. > :12:31.officer will always be sent to an emergency and there will be better
:12:31. > :12:34.use of technology to track where police cars are. It will make more
:12:34. > :12:44.use of intelligence to fight crime, a change shift patterns, and the
:12:44. > :12:49.number of senior police officers will reduce by 25%. I would expect
:12:49. > :12:56.them to maintain the level of law and order at the moment. It will
:12:56. > :13:01.make the crime rate go up. overall cost to the economy, it is
:13:01. > :13:06.a false economy. Having already saved 20 million, it is a challenge
:13:06. > :13:11.to do that while making further cuts. We will do some things better
:13:11. > :13:17.and in a way that we should be doing them now. There are
:13:17. > :13:20.improvements. In an ideal world I would like to move to the same -- a
:13:21. > :13:25.new blueprint and keep the same number of officers. But you are not
:13:25. > :13:28.about to tell me I can do that. savings will take place in March
:13:28. > :13:31.next year. Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has been interviewed for
:13:31. > :13:35.second time by police over claims his wife accepted penalty points on
:13:35. > :13:37.his behalf for a speeding offence on the M11. Mr Huhne and Vicky
:13:37. > :13:40.Pryce were re-interviewed at police stations in Essex on Wednesday. The
:13:40. > :13:44.police say a file will be prepared and submitted to the Crown
:13:44. > :13:48.Prosecution Service. An 82-year-old woman has been praised for foiling
:13:48. > :13:51.a robbery at a jeweller's shop at Leigh on Sea in Essex. When three
:13:51. > :13:54.men armed with a sledgehammer and baseball bats started smashing the
:13:54. > :14:01.shop window, she turned on them with her walking stick. The men
:14:01. > :14:06.fled empty handed. An investigation is underway after a woman's body
:14:06. > :14:08.was found in the Norfolk Broads this morning. It was found by a
:14:08. > :14:11.fisherman at Rockland Staithe, south of Norwich. Her death is
:14:11. > :14:19.being treated as unexplained. She's the fifth person to have died in
:14:19. > :14:27.the water in Norfolk since January. Alex Freeman runs a pub nearby.
:14:27. > :14:33.we opened this morning to see a lot of the emergency services. We were
:14:33. > :14:38.interviewed as well to see if we knew anything. Obviously we do not.
:14:38. > :14:43.We are very sorry to hear that this is somebody's mother or a member of
:14:43. > :14:46.somebody's family. We are quite shocked. Steve Birtles is the head
:14:46. > :14:49.of safety management for the Broads Authority. Earlier this afternoon I
:14:49. > :14:54.asked him if they were worried about the number of deaths there
:14:55. > :14:59.had been this year. Yes. It is very worrying for the authority. A
:14:59. > :15:07.number of things we do need to get across more succinctly in that
:15:07. > :15:17.people should wear lifejackets in and around their boats.
:15:17. > :15:23.certainly on Dec. What are the most likely hazards? His inexperience?
:15:23. > :15:30.It can be an experience. People hiring boats should be briefed in
:15:30. > :15:35.what to expect. Also those people who were perhaps getting older and
:15:35. > :15:41.less able, less agile, need to really think about whether they
:15:41. > :15:46.should be wearing life jackets now. What about if somebody does end in
:15:46. > :15:52.the Walker? It can be not what they're expecting, even if they are
:15:52. > :15:58.reasonable swimmer's? That is very true. The water at this time of the
:15:58. > :16:05.year can be very cold. Certain things can happen. There can be dry
:16:05. > :16:11.drowning. You stop breathing because of the cold. There are
:16:11. > :16:14.known hazards in the water. It is not a particularly nice place to be.
:16:14. > :16:16.Members of the public have the chance to meet members of the
:16:16. > :16:21.Household Cavalry this weekend. Soldiers and their horses are
:16:21. > :16:24.currently taking their annual break near Watton in Norfolk. It follows
:16:24. > :16:27.a year in which they have taken part in a range of high profile
:16:27. > :16:30.events, including Trooping the Colour and the Royal Wedding. A
:16:31. > :16:33.cottage hospital in Norfolk marked a major milestone today, with a new
:16:33. > :16:35.renal dialysis centre. Initially the service at Wells Community
:16:36. > :16:38.Hospital will only be available for patients on holiday. But the
:16:39. > :16:45.organisers hope they'll soon he able to offer it to local people
:16:45. > :16:50.too. Norman Lamb officially opened the new renal dialysis centre at
:16:50. > :16:52.Wells Community Hospital. It's the latest expansion of this
:16:53. > :16:58.independent hospital, run by a charitable trust for the last five
:16:58. > :17:04.years. The �120,000 needed to build the Mermaid Centre was raised by
:17:04. > :17:10.local people. It is the community enhancing what the NHS can provide.
:17:10. > :17:13.It takes all of the boxes. This is an example. For Chris Geering it
:17:13. > :17:16.was a proud day. The unit was named in memory of his wife Helen, who
:17:16. > :17:18.died from complications following kidney failure. Many local people
:17:18. > :17:24.fondly remember her playing a mermaid in her village's annual
:17:24. > :17:31.Christmas review. When I lost my wife after a couple of months I was
:17:31. > :17:37.asked to help here. I was very keen to support a renal unit. It can
:17:37. > :17:40.make a difference for people who live here. It now means that
:17:40. > :17:43.holidaying patients have a place for treatment in this part of
:17:43. > :17:45.Norfolk, where they previously had to make at least a 60-mile round
:17:45. > :17:48.trip. From closure and campaign in 2004 to celebration and champagne
:17:48. > :17:57.in 2011. The trust is now looking forward to further expanding this
:17:57. > :18:04.service to serve local patients too. This was ideal. The people here
:18:04. > :18:14.have been overwhelmingly supportive getting up up and running. From
:18:14. > :18:20.
:18:20. > :18:22.closure and a campaign in 2004, to You're watching Look East. Coming
:18:22. > :18:32.up, what happened when Brazil's kings met their counterparts in
:18:32. > :18:34.
:18:34. > :18:37.When it comes to the Olympics next year, there are some names
:18:37. > :18:41.guaranteed to be in the hunt for medals. Cyclist Victoria Pendleton,
:18:41. > :18:45.for example, and Huntingdon gymnast Daniel Keatings. But the great
:18:45. > :18:47.thing about sport is that there are others who could surprise us. And
:18:47. > :18:51.here's a great example. Chantelle Cameron from Northampton. She only
:18:51. > :19:01.took up boxing two years ago, but with a year to go, she's in with a
:19:01. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:07.shout. Two years ago, Chantelle Cameron had never boxed
:19:07. > :19:13.professionally. She was a kick boxing champion with a fearsome
:19:13. > :19:18.reputation. On the tin in her kick- boxing career, she wanted a fresh
:19:18. > :19:26.challenge and decided to give boxing a proper shot. Her first
:19:26. > :19:33.task was to adjust to the new support. My first boxing belt was
:19:33. > :19:38.wild. I just got stuck in. I just charged in. As soon as I had my
:19:38. > :19:47.first belt, they told me I had to settle down and change my technique.
:19:47. > :19:50.It has made me box more clever. was not easy. It is more of a
:19:50. > :19:55.transition than what people think because of the balance and the way
:19:55. > :20:02.we have to transfer her weight. With kick-boxing you're throwing
:20:02. > :20:07.more shots. With boxing it is more about picking your shots. Her rise
:20:07. > :20:12.has been phenomenal. Chantelle and now spends time in Sheffield with
:20:12. > :20:18.Team GB but still returns to her gym in Northampton detrain. How
:20:18. > :20:23.close is the Olympic dream? Extremely close to the Olympics. As
:20:23. > :20:27.far as we can gather it is between Shantallow and another girl. We
:20:27. > :20:33.believe she is on the brink of going to the Olympics. It does not
:20:33. > :20:39.seem real. I'm just thinking about beating the world No. 1 at the
:20:39. > :20:49.moment. Then I'll start thinking about London. I think I will have a
:20:49. > :20:52.Still with boxing, and Newmarket boxer Pat McAleese gets his first
:20:52. > :20:54.shot at a domestic title tomorrow night. He's fighting Ryan Toms for
:20:54. > :20:57.the Southern Area Light Middleweight title at Wembley Arena.
:20:57. > :21:06.McAleese, who's lost just once in his 14 fights, is also hoping to
:21:06. > :21:13.raise money for the Newmarket-based charity Racing Welfare. Newmarket
:21:13. > :21:17.being a racing town, it is good to give something back. Looking to put
:21:17. > :21:23.something back into Newmarket. I know a lot of jockeys and former
:21:23. > :21:33.jockeys. Every little helps. may not know this, but years ago
:21:33. > :21:41.
:21:41. > :21:44.people used to win Olympic medals for things like poetry and theatre.
:21:44. > :21:47.Before the war the Olympic Games weren't just about sport - culture
:21:47. > :21:50.played a huge part too. Over the years we lost that cultural element,
:21:50. > :21:53.but now a huge festival running alongside the games must feature as
:21:53. > :21:56.part of the host nation's bid. This weekend hundreds of events will be
:21:56. > :22:05.held across the country to mark that we're just one year away from
:22:05. > :22:09.London 2012. Remember this? Awarded to the City of London. Back then
:22:09. > :22:18.the games seemed so far off. But next week we'll be just one year
:22:18. > :22:28.away from hosting the greatest show on earth. Today in Luton they were
:22:28. > :22:29.
:22:29. > :22:32.Brazil may have the 2016 Games, but this weekend they'll be helping us
:22:32. > :22:40.celebrate London 2012 The carnival party in Luton this weekend is just
:22:40. > :22:43.one of hundreds of events up and down the country. It is inviting
:22:43. > :22:49.people to take part in this enormous celebration which will
:22:49. > :22:59.include cultural activities as well as sport. There will be lots this
:22:59. > :23:00.
:23:00. > :23:06.weekend. You can join a samba group, did dancing, music. You cannot have
:23:06. > :23:15.sporting spectacle without creative spectacle. Sometimes sporting
:23:15. > :23:18.spectacle can look quite creative. In football, people play samba
:23:18. > :23:26.drums to keep the excitement going. We want to keep that going
:23:26. > :23:33.ourselves. The party in Luton is one of 1,200 events throughout the
:23:33. > :23:39.country. Carnival in particular is that -- is that international
:23:39. > :23:43.melting-pot of music and dance, physical activity with design, on
:23:43. > :23:49.the way for people from different countries to come together. It is
:23:49. > :23:52.all part of the Olympic spirit. That looks set to last for the next
:23:53. > :23:56.12 months and beyond. And just a few more details on that from Jo.
:23:56. > :23:58.Until 1948 there used to be a Pentathlon of the Muses, where
:23:58. > :24:05.competititors had to compete across five areas - architecture, music,
:24:05. > :24:11.literature, sculpture and painting. It would be nice if they had
:24:11. > :24:14.mowing! I would be excellent! And if you want to find out about any
:24:14. > :24:24.of the dozens of London 2012 events happening across the east this
:24:24. > :24:27.
:24:27. > :24:32.Five days ago we mocked Alex about the Saturday forecast. Is it coming
:24:32. > :24:37.true? I am glad to report that the weather is improving over the
:24:37. > :24:42.weekend. We have had a week of showery conditions. High pressure
:24:42. > :24:46.is building from the south-west. We have an area of low pressure close
:24:46. > :24:52.to was in the east. Although we had a fine start this morning, the
:24:52. > :24:58.cloud appeared through the day. It started to break up a little bit in
:24:58. > :25:04.the east. Sunny spells. Heavy showers tracking steadily eastwards.
:25:04. > :25:12.Sunny in the east, showers from the West. They could be on the heavy
:25:12. > :25:15.side. Overnight tonight those showers will linger. They will
:25:15. > :25:21.start to clear around dawn. Clearing skies in the north of the
:25:21. > :25:29.region will bring temperatures down into single figures. Nine Celsius.
:25:29. > :25:34.Light north-westerly winds. For tomorrow, that area of low pressure
:25:34. > :25:40.does head southwards into the North Sea. It is very close by. What it
:25:40. > :25:44.does mean is that for the weekend we should see some fine sunny
:25:44. > :25:48.weather. There Rhys the chance of some light rain and cloudy
:25:48. > :25:55.conditions in the east, particularly tomorrow. Once that
:25:55. > :26:05.rain clears, a fine day for most. Cloud extending into parts of
:26:05. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:13.north-east Norfolk. Quite a difference in temperatures. 16
:26:13. > :26:18.degrees in the east. Further north, 19. I could breeze. It would be
:26:18. > :26:26.quite a brisk breeze. Particularly around the coast. Through the
:26:26. > :26:31.afternoon still up for the risk of showers. Mostly dry in the West. It
:26:31. > :26:40.is five days of fine and settled weather. Warming up into the middle
:26:40. > :26:47.of next week. It will feel more like July. Sunday looks mainly fine.
:26:47. > :26:57.Nothing more than double figures. - - lower. They Rhys a long tailback
:26:57. > :26:57.
:26:57. > :27:02.on the M25 tonight at the junction with the M11. It has taken nearly