:00:20. > :00:22.Hello and welcome the programme. Tonight, a Look East exclusive...
:00:22. > :00:25.The disgraced peer Lord Hanningfield in his first
:00:25. > :00:28.television interview since he was jailed for fiddling his expenses.
:00:28. > :00:36.He tells us about the day he was sentenced, but has little
:00:36. > :00:39.contrition. I really did not think I had done anything wrong.
:00:39. > :00:42.Also tonight, facing the cuts - opening hours at Essex police
:00:42. > :00:50.stations are drastically reduced. And hold onto your hats, because I
:00:50. > :00:54.have quite a blustery five-day forecast.
:00:54. > :00:57.First tonight, "I did not think I had done anything wrong". Those the
:00:57. > :01:00.words of the disgraced peer Lord Hanningfield in his first
:01:00. > :01:03.television interview since his release from prison. In July, the
:01:03. > :01:07.former leader of Essex County Council was sentenced to nine
:01:07. > :01:11.months for fiddling his House of Lords expenses. He was actually
:01:11. > :01:18.released in September. In all of a moment, we will hear the interview
:01:18. > :01:27.he did earlier today about whether he has any regrets. But first, Kim
:01:27. > :01:33.Riley has the story of Lord Hanningfield's rise and fall. He
:01:33. > :01:40.was all plain that Paul White. Heap for 40 years he was a big noise
:01:40. > :01:45.that Essex County Council. He was made a lord in 1998, taking his
:01:45. > :01:51.title from his home village. He was flying high in the world of
:01:51. > :01:56.Conservative politics, the minister in the making. But it was his role
:01:56. > :02:04.at Westminster that was his undoing. In February last year, it was
:02:04. > :02:10.revealed that he was facing charges. It is alleged that he submitted
:02:10. > :02:17.claims he was not entitled, including numerous claims for
:02:17. > :02:24.overnight expenses. At a preliminary hearing, he pleaded not
:02:24. > :02:27.guilty to six charges. At his trial, the prosecution claimed he had
:02:28. > :02:33.charge more than �13,000 for overnight stays in London when he
:02:33. > :02:42.had actually returned home. After an eight-day trial, the jury find
:02:42. > :02:49.him guilty of all charges. I denied it all and I will be speaking to my
:02:49. > :02:53.legal team. As at his trial, he had told about the important role his
:02:53. > :02:58.dog played in his life. After serving just one quarter of his
:02:58. > :03:04.sentence, the two they're reunited. The police are now looking at his
:03:04. > :03:10.county council expense claims. People who know him talk about his
:03:10. > :03:13.modest, albeit quite chaotic, lifestyle. The one word he has not
:03:13. > :03:15.said his story. Earlier today, Stewart went to
:03:15. > :03:19.Essex to meet Lord Hanningfield for his first television interview
:03:19. > :03:29.since his release. Firstly, up he asked whether Lord Hanningfield now
:03:29. > :03:29.
:03:29. > :03:34.accepts he did wrong. I have been convicted of fiddling expenses. I
:03:34. > :03:38.do not think it was doing wrong at the time. I do accept now that I
:03:38. > :03:45.should have thought more about it. I should have not filled and the
:03:45. > :03:51.forms as I did. So a people will say that is an extraordinary
:03:51. > :03:57.statement. You fill doubt expenses forms and then came almost any
:03:57. > :04:07.chauffeur-driven car. I did not claim expenses for those particular
:04:07. > :04:09.
:04:09. > :04:19.trips. They were just genuine mistakes. Do you want to apologise
:04:19. > :04:19.
:04:19. > :04:26.for what you have done? I am sorry about it if I have upset people.
:04:26. > :04:30.But you sorry about been caught or sorry that you did it? You are
:04:30. > :04:38.somebody who was running Essex county council and were in the
:04:38. > :04:44.House of Lords, but could not work out your own expenses? I regret I
:04:44. > :04:49.did not put more time into my personal time looking at the
:04:49. > :04:56.expenses. I did not make any sort of profit out of it. The expenses
:04:56. > :05:03.were used as staff salaries. some people in Essex may say you
:05:03. > :05:12.were picking their pockets by doing this. I did not use the Essex
:05:12. > :05:19.county council car to go to London. I used the train. The only time I
:05:19. > :05:25.use that was when I was and council duty. I went to London a lot more
:05:25. > :05:31.by train than ever by car. The four I came to see you, I asked some
:05:31. > :05:39.people who know you to save what words would BSkyB. Some said what a
:05:39. > :05:46.critic, others said arrogant and rude. Would you agree with that?
:05:46. > :05:53.do not agree with rude. I am very determined. I am proud of my record.
:05:53. > :05:57.A lot of people in local government do not achieve anything. To tell me
:05:57. > :06:05.about the day that you first went into prison and the door closed
:06:05. > :06:15.behind you. The very worst thing was when the judge sentenced me. I
:06:15. > :06:22.did not think it was going to go to prison. After all, I am in my
:06:22. > :06:29.Seventies and there was no one else of my age who was being charged.
:06:29. > :06:33.But when the judge said, taking down, that was the very worst thing.
:06:33. > :06:43.It was an unknown experience as to what would happen. You are taken
:06:43. > :06:43.
:06:43. > :06:47.down into a prison cell and then you of handcuffs Bouton you. It was
:06:47. > :06:55.a totally unknown experience. I did not know what to expect. I think
:06:55. > :07:04.they went into shock, in a way. you think, as you sat on the bench
:07:04. > :07:08.in court, how on earth did they get here? As I say, I was in a bit of a
:07:08. > :07:12.state of shock and did not really think anything for a few days.
:07:12. > :07:18.Going back to you earlier question, I did not really accept that I had
:07:18. > :07:24.done anything really very wrong and I'm really could not think of why
:07:24. > :07:29.this it happen to me. What about your colleagues in the House of
:07:29. > :07:36.Lords? Are you disappointed that none of them came to court and gave
:07:36. > :07:45.character references? Well, perhaps they were wanting to keep all and
:07:45. > :07:55.were not wanting to be asked about their own expenses. But I have the
:07:55. > :07:58.
:07:58. > :08:04.had a tremendous welcome in the House of Lords. I have had
:08:04. > :08:11.tremendous help and support to people in the House of Lords. Well
:08:11. > :08:18.why did none of them do it publicly? Well, they did it in
:08:18. > :08:23.private, so that is good enough for me. I still get the impression that
:08:23. > :08:32.you are not particularly understanding of why the public are
:08:32. > :08:39.so angry about when people fiddle their expenses. Laws are people
:08:39. > :08:45.industry are very angry about it. You where cleaning money you were
:08:45. > :08:51.not entitled to. I did not know that at the time. Perhaps I should
:08:51. > :08:58.have known it, and they think it could have been clear by the
:08:58. > :09:04.officials in the House of Lords. I could have been told more soul.
:09:04. > :09:13.that no you passing on responsibility to someone else?
:09:13. > :09:19.they have to go through all the forms and submit them. You have had
:09:19. > :09:26.great standing in local society and now, when people mention your name,
:09:26. > :09:34.it will be as the disgraced Lord Hanningfield. Do you think that is
:09:34. > :09:38.how do you will be remembered? I can recover from this. There are
:09:38. > :09:48.a lot of other people who have been through this, the likes of Jeffrey
:09:48. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:55.Archer. We knew got this afternoon and close the door, and you look
:09:55. > :10:04.back on this time of power and influence, and your reputation has
:10:04. > :10:12.gone, what will you think about the future? I actually do not think my
:10:12. > :10:21.reputation has gone. Two years out of 50 years in public life will be
:10:21. > :10:28.seen as bad. Do you not think that is what people will remember?
:10:28. > :10:33.they do not think so. People are entitled to one mistake in life.
:10:33. > :10:41.You are entitled to one mistake, but perhaps she should not keep
:10:41. > :10:50.making it. Are you in denial? made one mistake and it is not the
:10:50. > :10:52.end of the world. I have been punished for it. Thank you.
:10:52. > :11:02.Later in the programme, will the government's Autumn Statement mean
:11:02. > :11:08.
:11:08. > :11:13.more money for the East? And Julie is here with the weather. Do you
:11:13. > :11:20.remember what the weather was doing a year ago? I will have a little
:11:20. > :11:23.reminder for you. 21 police stations across Essex
:11:23. > :11:26.closed to the public today. Opening hours at others have been cut. The
:11:26. > :11:33.force says it will help make much- needed savings, but the mayor of
:11:33. > :11:37.West Mersea near Colchester has criticised the decision. The front
:11:37. > :11:47.desk is closed and this is how the public will now have to contact
:11:47. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:58.officers. It does not seem right. You need a presence in the town. It
:11:58. > :12:06.is getting less and less. All in all, 21 front desks have closed at
:12:07. > :12:16.police stations. Two of them used to be open round-the-clock. The
:12:17. > :12:17.
:12:17. > :12:23.changes have not been received well. At high tide, Mercy can be cut off.
:12:23. > :12:31.They are worried that police will then take longer to get there.
:12:31. > :12:39.Everyone is very distraught about it all, because apart from the
:12:39. > :12:43.Assistant Police officers, we have no presence here at all.
:12:43. > :12:48.assistant police constable says front desks are so rarely used,
:12:48. > :12:54.that it makes more sense to close them. What they want to reassure
:12:54. > :12:58.the public of Essex is that because we are adjusting our front counter
:12:58. > :13:06.opening hours, it does not mean we're withdrawing from the streets
:13:06. > :13:16.of ethics. The force needs to save �41 million and this closing of the
:13:16. > :13:19.front counters will only save a couple of million pounds.
:13:19. > :13:22.Two of the region's hospitals have scored well in a league table for
:13:22. > :13:25.mortality rates. The Dr Foster Report, which came out today, has
:13:25. > :13:27.looked at expected deaths rates in each NHS Trust. Alex Dunlop is at
:13:27. > :13:29.the West Suffolk General in Bury St Edmunds.
:13:29. > :13:32.The Hospital Guide from research body Dr Foster Intelligence
:13:32. > :13:35.compared expected mortality rates across all our NHS Trusts and the
:13:35. > :13:38.West Suffolk General and Adam Brooks in Cambrige come out pretty
:13:38. > :13:41.well. Hospitals were measured in four
:13:41. > :13:43.areas - deaths that occurred in hospital, those dying within a
:13:43. > :13:53.month of leaving hospital, patients who died from complications after
:13:53. > :13:58.
:13:58. > :14:06.surgery and deaths where patients would normally survive. Good
:14:06. > :14:11.morning. Will you this morning? Patients may sleep a little easier
:14:11. > :14:18.knowing they have fared well in today's report. It is so much
:14:18. > :14:27.better now. Very well looked after. I was very pleased to see on the
:14:27. > :14:34.news this morning that they have been given the this credit.
:14:34. > :14:40.national mortality rate is lower here. I am a big believer of
:14:40. > :14:49.putting data into the public domain. The it also helps the clinical
:14:49. > :14:56.teams have the information available. It is an even better
:14:56. > :15:03.picture at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. At hospitals the size
:15:03. > :15:13.of this, things do go wrong from time to time. Or stuff know that
:15:13. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:18.high standards are expected of them. Two others fared well, but Basildon
:15:18. > :15:22.hospital had a slightly higher than expected mortality rate. They said
:15:22. > :15:27.their death rates are lower than average.
:15:27. > :15:30.It is hoped today's report will be used to improve hospital standards.
:15:30. > :15:40.One final heartening fact is that far fewer people are dying than a
:15:40. > :15:42.
:15:42. > :15:46.decade ago, helped by better Several places were flooded by last
:15:46. > :15:50.night's high tide. They included the Brancaster Staithe sailing club
:15:50. > :15:53.and the Wells Quay car park in Norfolk. Some said they didn't
:15:53. > :15:57.receive any official warning. North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb has called
:15:57. > :16:01.for the area's flood sirens to be brought back. The University of
:16:01. > :16:03.East Anglia has decided to close its School of Music. Students
:16:03. > :16:07.mounted a silent protest outside this morning's meeting of the
:16:07. > :16:12.University's council. Present students will be allowed to finish
:16:12. > :16:22.their courses. But no new students will be accepted. Opponents of the
:16:22. > :16:23.
:16:24. > :16:31.closure are now considering how best to continue their campaign.
:16:31. > :16:36.We've got almost 10,000 signatures on our online and paper petitions.
:16:36. > :16:46.The silent protest has power because it signifiers be lost and
:16:46. > :16:47.
:16:47. > :16:50.the university will suffer if they close down the School of Music.
:16:50. > :16:52.2012 Olympics came one step closer today for one Suffolk town when
:16:52. > :16:55.dignitaries from the African country there will be hosting
:16:55. > :17:04.during the Games to visit. Pupils in Bury St Edmunds welcomed their
:17:04. > :17:10.Rwandan visitors with song and dance. A VIP welcome for these
:17:10. > :17:15.African guests. Their schools are to be twinned with once here.
:17:15. > :17:18.brings London 2012 closer to home and makes it more real for us. I
:17:18. > :17:25.think it is a really helpful learning opportunity for youngsters
:17:25. > :17:31.to find out about other parts of the world. From D time we have
:17:31. > :17:37.passed, a very difficult time of genocide, in a very small time we
:17:37. > :17:47.have achieved many things. -- from the time. We can learn how people
:17:47. > :17:47.
:17:47. > :17:52.from different countries can achieve things in a very short time.
:17:52. > :17:58.African dance in the playground. Pupils here are already getting
:17:58. > :18:02.excited about the Rwandan a Olympic squad setting up camp in the town.
:18:02. > :18:08.We had a Rwandan week where we did lots of craft and things to do with
:18:08. > :18:15.Rwanda. I'd think it is a great weight to improve cultural
:18:15. > :18:22.understanding. Before I had not even heard of it. Rwandan athletes
:18:22. > :18:32.have competed in seven games but never won a medal. They are hoping
:18:32. > :18:34.
:18:34. > :18:42.they could be spurred on to Olympic You're watching Look East from the
:18:42. > :18:45.BBC. Coming up, how did your side get on this weekend? Tomorrow's an
:18:45. > :18:47.important day in the political calendar. At lunchtime the
:18:47. > :18:50.Chancellor will deliver his Autumn Statement, a kind of mini-budget,
:18:50. > :18:56.what he says about taxes and extra spending will affect just about
:18:56. > :18:58.every household in the region. From what's already been leaked it seems
:18:58. > :19:03.that the will be some help for small businesses and improvements
:19:03. > :19:07.to one of our most notorious roads. Here's our political correspondent,
:19:07. > :19:12.Andrew Sinclair. And that road is the A14, 125 miles long, the main
:19:12. > :19:15.link from the east coast ports to the Midlands. Now last week we
:19:15. > :19:18.revealed that the Chancellor will announce tomorrow that the stretch
:19:18. > :19:23.around Cambridge will be improved, perhaps with the creation of a toll
:19:23. > :19:27.road. Now it's emerged that he will also announce plans to ease
:19:27. > :19:37.congestion further up the road at Kettering. Another development
:19:37. > :19:39.
:19:39. > :19:44.that's been long awaited. It is one of the busiest roads in the region,
:19:44. > :19:49.used by 100,000 vehicles every day. Quite often it comes to a halt.
:19:49. > :19:54.you listen to the radio and if ever there is a traffic bulletin this
:19:54. > :20:02.road features. Unfortunately if there is a minor accident on the
:20:02. > :20:06.road the whole lot is stuck. This stretch between junction seven and
:20:06. > :20:12.nine at Kettering is often a bottleneck. Local people have been
:20:12. > :20:16.fighting for years to get it widened. Now, it seems, that is
:20:16. > :20:21.going to happen. The at will make Kettering much more attractive for
:20:21. > :20:25.people who want to come and invest in us, to build their factories
:20:25. > :20:30.here and distribution centres. It will help to open up parts of
:20:30. > :20:34.Kettering we want to turn into business parks. We no improvements
:20:34. > :20:38.will also be announced for the Cambridge a stretch a blow it is
:20:38. > :20:43.not clear what at the moment. For the Chancellor he has very little
:20:43. > :20:48.money to play with. What little he has he wants to use to kick-start
:20:48. > :20:53.the economy. More roads is one way. Making it easier for small
:20:53. > :21:00.businesses to borrow is another. this region we have more small and
:21:00. > :21:03.medium-sized businesses than anywhere else in Britain. We have
:21:03. > :21:09.vibrant small businesses in been times, we need them to be vibrant
:21:09. > :21:14.again. If you were looking for one single thing, there is no magic
:21:14. > :21:20.bullet with the European situation the way it is but help with fuel
:21:20. > :21:25.prices is something people will be hoping the Government can It sounds
:21:25. > :21:34.like a giveaway Budget tomorrow! How's the Chancellor going to fund
:21:34. > :21:39.it all? That is what Labour are asking tonight. When will these
:21:39. > :21:44.projects start and how will be be paid for. Ministers insist they
:21:44. > :21:49.want this to start soon, some of it might be funded with public-sector
:21:49. > :21:54.funding, there might also be some clever accounting with bringing
:21:54. > :21:59.forward projects which had been booked in somewhere down the line.
:21:59. > :22:03.It all has got to be paid for somehow. Well, it was another busy
:22:03. > :22:10.weekend of sport across the region, so how did your team do? Let's take
:22:10. > :22:16.a look with round-ups for the east and west of the region. What a
:22:16. > :22:22.weekend. Plenty of drama and excitement. Another win for Norwich
:22:22. > :22:27.in the Premier League. Let's get to the action. Russell Martin who was
:22:27. > :22:37.blamed for Arsenal's winner a way to go pop up with the opener. QPR
:22:37. > :22:44.
:22:44. > :22:54.off the post. I think he meant it! Luke Young slotted home the rebound.
:22:54. > :22:54.
:22:54. > :22:59.A double substitution meant within minutes there was a winner. Pool
:22:59. > :23:09.and picked out the perfect pass. From a couple of yards it was not
:23:09. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:16.going to mess. -- miss. I want to score and I want to gain points for
:23:16. > :23:21.this football club. I did that today and if it means me coming on
:23:21. > :23:25.every week and scoring, I will take that. Five straight defeats, just
:23:26. > :23:35.one point clear of the Championship relegation zone and it started so
:23:36. > :23:39.
:23:39. > :23:45.well against Reading. The free-kick and the header need it 1-0. Ipswich
:23:45. > :23:49.were back in front when they shot looped over the keeper. Ipswich
:23:49. > :23:57.have conceded more goals than any other team in the division. Another
:23:57. > :24:01.goal came in the 91st minute. The winner from Reading in the 93rd. 3-
:24:02. > :24:07.2. They all away to turn things around is to win matches, even if
:24:07. > :24:13.we get a scruffy when, at the moment we are not able to do that.
:24:13. > :24:19.Colchester lost again, one goal for Carlisle. For Southend a Mini blip
:24:19. > :24:23.on an otherwise fabulous run, unbeaten in 16 now. They look like
:24:23. > :24:31.taking all three points against Bristol Rovers when Neil Harris
:24:31. > :24:37.scored. Then it was 1-1. We have had more disappointing performances
:24:37. > :24:43.at home this season. That said, the way the game unfolded, we could
:24:43. > :24:47.have quite easily lost. Again, saying that, we had an awful lot of
:24:47. > :24:54.clear cut chances in the second half with which we could have won
:24:54. > :25:00.the game quite comfortably. And in Formula One Mark Webber won 4 Red
:25:00. > :25:06.Bull. Team Lotus in their final race before being renamed for next
:25:06. > :25:16.season finished the constructors Championship in 10th. That the
:25:16. > :25:21.
:25:21. > :25:26.Now the weather. It is not as cold as it was this time last year. Do
:25:26. > :25:33.you remember seems like this? In some parts we had around four
:25:33. > :25:39.inches of snow, that's 10 centimetres. Some of us did not
:25:39. > :25:43.actually see the snow disappear until 20th December! But no
:25:43. > :25:48.tobogganing tomorrow morning, if anything it is going to become
:25:48. > :25:54.milder overnight with a lot of cloud. This cloud will cover as and
:25:54. > :25:59.perhaps produce and a little bit of light rain and drizzle in the wind.
:25:59. > :26:03.Overall, a dry night. As I speak temperatures are dropping to around
:26:03. > :26:07.six Celsius. Through the night temperatures will rise so by 5 in
:26:07. > :26:12.the morning we are looking at values of around eight Celsius. We
:26:12. > :26:21.will also see the south-westerly winds picking up overnight. That
:26:21. > :26:29.will become a blustery south- westerly, a moderate to West's --
:26:30. > :26:34.westerly at times. Tomorrow will see a dry start for most of us.
:26:34. > :26:37.There may be a little rain or drizzle. There could be some
:26:37. > :26:41.brightness or sunshine in the extreme east. Cloud will increase
:26:41. > :26:48.through the morning and by 2 o'clock the yen will start.
:26:48. > :26:52.Temperatures will rise to around 12 Celsius. Those blustery winds will
:26:52. > :27:00.continue from the south or south- west, strongest around the northern
:27:00. > :27:05.and Suffolk coast. The afternoon will be wet wet the rain becoming
:27:05. > :27:09.more showery as it moves across as. On Wednesday the winds will ease
:27:09. > :27:13.down slightly and it is looking largely fine and dry but by
:27:13. > :27:19.Thursday the cloud will increase again with outbreaks of showery
:27:19. > :27:26.rain. On Friday be winds me he's but they will turn more north-
:27:26. > :27:30.westerly introducing some colder air. Apart from an isolated shower
:27:30. > :27:35.Friday should be largely dry. Saturday will probably have some