:00:09. > :00:18.In Look East tonight: A pledge from the Labour leader -
:00:18. > :00:23.we will listen and we will recover in the East. I believe that we can
:00:24. > :00:26.start to show that Labour is on the way back in the coming years.
:00:26. > :00:29.Also tonight: The whistleblower proved right over the safety of
:00:29. > :00:35.hundreds of bridges. A council pays out nearly �1
:00:35. > :00:38.million to four siblings it didn't protect from their abusive father.
:00:38. > :00:48.And the rise and rise of the wood- burner, but are there enough logs
:00:48. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:56.to go round? Good evening. The Labour leader
:00:56. > :00:59.told us today that his party would mount a fightback in this region
:00:59. > :01:03.after the disastrous general election which left it with just
:01:03. > :01:08.two MPs. Ed Miliband was at Harlow College to speak to students and
:01:08. > :01:13.local people. I was also there. After his question and answer
:01:13. > :01:18.session, I spoke to him about some of the issues. First, our Political
:01:18. > :01:22.Correspondent has this on the visit and the mountain that Labour still
:01:22. > :01:27.has to apply in. This is the Labour leader's 5th
:01:27. > :01:31.visit to the region this year. A sign that they are taking up the
:01:31. > :01:38.east far more seriously than they used to. Today, at Harlow College,
:01:38. > :01:43.Ed Miliband met these students. He also dropped in on a science lesson.
:01:43. > :01:47.He said the college was a fantastic place where grey things are done.
:01:47. > :01:53.The Labour leader is feeling the heat at the moment. Despite the
:01:53. > :02:00.problems facing the Government, his poll ratings are falling and he has
:02:00. > :02:07.upset the unions regarding strikes. The message for his audience is
:02:07. > :02:16.that Labour would tax bankers to help Lord tuition fees. Earlier
:02:16. > :02:20.today, he took part in a phone-in show on Radio Essex. Gordon Brown
:02:20. > :02:25.said that Labour policies had put an end to boom and bust. He turned
:02:25. > :02:30.out to be wrong. I think it is a lesson that you always have to be
:02:30. > :02:35.careful in politics about making big claims. Labour faces an uphill
:02:35. > :02:39.struggle in this region. The party that wants and 28 seats in the east
:02:40. > :02:46.was all but wiped out in the 2010 election. In the local elections
:02:47. > :02:50.last year, they picked up 100 more councillors. But the MP who carried
:02:50. > :02:54.out the inquest into why they did so badly in this region said the
:02:54. > :02:59.party still has more to do. We have to show that we're in touch with
:02:59. > :03:04.people. We have to find out what the priorities are. We know what
:03:04. > :03:08.some of them are already, such as transport and housing. But our
:03:08. > :03:14.region has many different parts. We have to go local and then we will
:03:14. > :03:19.take people with us. The party has started selecting candidates for
:03:19. > :03:24.marginal constituencies for the next election. It wants plenty of
:03:24. > :03:28.time to allow them to become well known. At the moment, if the polls
:03:28. > :03:32.are right, Ed Miliband has a lot of convincing to do.
:03:32. > :03:41.Lots of questions today from Ed Miliband. One student asked him
:03:41. > :03:46.what he would do to persuade her to vote Labour in the next election.
:03:46. > :03:50.We would not go ahead with a tax cut for banks, such as this
:03:50. > :03:57.Government is proposing. We would also do more to help
:03:57. > :04:03.apprenticeships. These are tough times, but we can make more choices
:04:03. > :04:08.to help people. Is that a commitment to Lord tuition fees?
:04:08. > :04:14.we were in government now, we would. But we will talk about our
:04:14. > :04:19.manifesto nearer the time. blizzard is saying that Labour has
:04:19. > :04:23.to listen to people. -- one local MP is saying that Labour has to
:04:23. > :04:29.listen to people. Is that what you are doing? I have been talking
:04:29. > :04:34.about the issues that matter to people. The squeeze on living
:04:34. > :04:38.standards, I've spoken about that a lot. I have spoken about taking on
:04:38. > :04:43.the energy companies and the train companies. A season ticket from
:04:43. > :04:49.Chelmsford to London has gone up by nearly �300 and the Government is
:04:49. > :04:51.letting that happen. You would force them to lower that fair?
:04:51. > :04:58.would because we don't think it is fair that the Government comes
:04:58. > :05:02.along and says he can only charge 1% above inflation and then
:05:02. > :05:06.suddenly the train companies are charging rises of up to 11%. The
:05:06. > :05:12.Government has said that they can charge an extra 5% on the most
:05:12. > :05:18.profitable routes. That is unfair and wrong. We would do something
:05:18. > :05:22.different. Do you think the people are hearing what you're saying?
:05:22. > :05:32.Your figures are down and you are three points behind the Tories in
:05:32. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:39.the latest poll. -- Paul? Beazer personal decisions. If the
:05:39. > :05:44.Government is unpopular as you are implying, surely people would come
:05:44. > :05:51.over to Labour? The Government are losing the argument, but we have
:05:51. > :05:58.yet to win the argument. Do you think people consider the last
:05:58. > :06:03.Labour government responsible for the financial situation that we are
:06:03. > :06:07.in? There was a global problem. The last Labour government invested in
:06:07. > :06:13.schools and hospitals and that was right. However, they did not
:06:13. > :06:17.regulate the banks properly. On the streets today, we asked what people
:06:17. > :06:23.thought about you. Many people did not really have an opinion. Are you
:06:24. > :06:28.disappointed? It takes time for all readers of the opposition. On the
:06:29. > :06:37.first period of a parliament, the focus is always on at the party or
:06:38. > :06:43.parties in government. Why did you choose Harlow College when the
:06:43. > :06:52.youth unemployment is coming down? Long-term youth unemployment is we
:06:52. > :06:57.up. My figures show that long-term youth unemployment is up. Those who
:06:57. > :07:01.have been unemployed for six months. That affects young people badly. It
:07:01. > :07:05.has been increasing over the last year. I am not complacent about
:07:05. > :07:13.that. I don't think it is a good situation and I think it has to
:07:13. > :07:17.change. Apprenticeships and the use contract appear to be working here.
:07:17. > :07:22.The use contract has not come in yet. Long-term youth unemployment
:07:22. > :07:29.is increasing and I think there are real problems and issues. -- the
:07:29. > :07:34.use of contract. If we were in government, we would be making
:07:34. > :07:38.different choices to help them. thank you.
:07:38. > :07:41.Eight whistleblower who claimed there were safety problems of
:07:41. > :07:45.hundreds of bridges in Milton Keynes has been proven right two
:07:45. > :07:50.years after he first raised concerns. Milton Keynes has more
:07:50. > :07:54.bridges than Venice, but it today our report highlights --
:07:54. > :08:01.highlighted failings from the council and its private contractor.
:08:01. > :08:08.We have an exclusive report. This is exposed and this part is
:08:08. > :08:13.waiting to fall off. Hundreds of the broad -- hundreds of bridges in
:08:13. > :08:19.Milton Keynes are like this. This man should know. He worked for the
:08:19. > :08:24.council's contractor in 2008. view, what I saw was genuinely
:08:24. > :08:30.dangerous and put lives at risk. How did that make you feel? Awful.
:08:31. > :08:35.It made me ill. Thousands of cars used as bridge every day, but it is
:08:35. > :08:43.in desperate need of repair. This crash barrier would not stop
:08:43. > :08:52.anything. Handrails are rusting as well. We went on a tour of the town
:08:52. > :08:58.to see the scale of the problem. There were major bolts missing.
:08:58. > :09:06.have reported these missing bolts twice in the last five years.
:09:06. > :09:11.not the only one concern. I think that there was an initial concern
:09:11. > :09:16.that the whistleblower was exaggerating things. I think that
:09:16. > :09:21.is not the case. We have to look at public safety. We have to move
:09:21. > :09:26.faster with this. When Milton Keynes was built, the idea was to
:09:26. > :09:36.keep pedestrians and traffic apart. That meant a lot of bridges and
:09:36. > :09:38.
:09:38. > :09:43.underpasses. I can't help thinking that my whistle-blowing and my
:09:43. > :09:50.redundancy are connected. We will have to wait until my employment
:09:50. > :09:54.tribunal to discover whether there is a link. There are a lot of
:09:54. > :10:04.bridges in Milton Keynes that need to be fixed. That is an issue for
:10:04. > :10:07.our contractor. We have been told that formal monthly reports have
:10:07. > :10:12.been sent to the council by the contractor and they have been
:10:12. > :10:19.agreed and signed off. Still to come: the full weekend
:10:19. > :10:25.forecast with Alex, and, as more of us turned to wood for cheaper
:10:25. > :10:29.heating, will we have enough logs to go round?
:10:29. > :10:34.Nearly �1 million in damages has been paid out to four siblings from
:10:34. > :10:39.Essex who were all abused by their father. It is thought to be one of
:10:39. > :10:44.the largest settlement of its kind. The payout was ordered because
:10:44. > :10:49.Essex County Council failed to protect them from the appears.
:10:49. > :10:54.This case stretches back more than 20 years. In 1990, a neighbour
:10:54. > :10:59.first alerted Essex County Council after the eldest child complained
:10:59. > :11:03.that her father had been sexually inappropriate towards her. The
:11:03. > :11:07.county council then discovered there had been previous abuse
:11:07. > :11:12.convictions regarding two young children from his previous marriage.
:11:12. > :11:18.Despite that, the continued to allow him to have contact with his
:11:18. > :11:22.children, albeit under supervision. That meant the abuse continued for
:11:22. > :11:26.many years. It was only seven years later that the children were put
:11:26. > :11:31.under full care orders. The failings in this case only came to
:11:31. > :11:35.light when Southend Council took over the case. They alerted at
:11:35. > :11:39.Children's Legal charity which launched the claim on behalf of the
:11:39. > :11:45.children. After a ten-year legal battle, Essex County Council agreed
:11:45. > :11:49.to pay the victims �1 billion in damages, believed to be one of the
:11:49. > :11:52.largest settlement of its car in. What have the County Council had to
:11:52. > :11:58.say? They say they cannot speak about
:11:58. > :12:00.individual cases, but a spokesperson insisted they had made
:12:00. > :12:06.considerable improvements in children's services in recent years
:12:06. > :12:09.and will continue to do so. The solicitor representing the children
:12:09. > :12:13.said that there are still very vulnerable and suffering from what
:12:13. > :12:18.they went through. But they're trying to build new lives and move
:12:18. > :12:22.A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison
:12:22. > :12:27.for blackmailing a family in Suffolk. Ipswich Crown Court was
:12:27. > :12:32.told when Adam Ladd was arrested in Paris St Edmunds, the police found
:12:32. > :12:39.a number of chemicals. He had used them to start two fires and
:12:39. > :12:43.demanded �5,000 from the family. More tests will be carried out on a
:12:43. > :12:46.teenager from Suffolk who died during a PE lesson. 15-year-old
:12:46. > :12:50.Lily Webster was taken ill at Stowmarket High School on Monday
:12:50. > :12:56.after she had been using a trampoline. The police say the
:12:56. > :13:00.cause of death is still unknown. Tributes have been paid to a
:13:00. > :13:05.father-of-three who was murdered earlier this month. 53-year-old Roy
:13:05. > :13:11.Sly was found dead in a flat on Westcliff-on-Sea. His family say he
:13:11. > :13:17.had a heart of gold. This time next week, it will be
:13:17. > :13:19.exactly six months to the Olympic Games. Today, culture secretary
:13:19. > :13:24.Jeremy Hunt was flag-waving at a tourism conference in Norwich. The
:13:24. > :13:28.message was clear. This was the year to stay in Britain.
:13:28. > :13:34.There is concern that many will try to leave the country to avoid the
:13:34. > :13:44.Olympic circus. The Culture Secretary has a message. Stay at
:13:44. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:55.home. This is the year to discover There is so much happening. This is
:13:55. > :14:00.the year to discover it. Last year 10 million visitors came to the
:14:00. > :14:05.east of England generating �2 billion. The Olympic Games will
:14:05. > :14:10.swell the numbers coming end. There will be lots of new tourists from
:14:10. > :14:20.China and Russia. The question today was to make sure that they
:14:20. > :14:28.spend their money in this region. From Alabama to Alaska's they will
:14:28. > :14:36.all be focusing on Great Britain. We want them to come to Norfolk,
:14:36. > :14:44.Suffolk. Research shows that to receive benefits occur after the
:14:44. > :14:47.Olympic Games. Six months to go, but roll on at 2013.
:14:48. > :14:53.Parliament has defeated an attempt by Essex MP Rebecca Harris to set
:14:53. > :14:58.up a study which would look into moving the clocks to permit the
:14:58. > :15:04.forward by one hour. Many safety campaigners support Britain moving
:15:04. > :15:09.on to European time. The Government says it wants to me that they issue.
:15:09. > :15:14.On to sport and Norwich City host Chelsea tomorrow at Carrow Road.
:15:14. > :15:19.Paul Lambert has never lost two League games to the same team since
:15:19. > :15:24.he took over at Norwich City. After a defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier
:15:24. > :15:30.this season that run could come to an end. Chelsea will be bringing a
:15:30. > :15:34.busload of million-pound players, but money is not everything.
:15:34. > :15:42.The two teams are worlds apart mainly due to the size of their
:15:42. > :15:47.budgets. It is not the amount of money you have got, it is what you
:15:47. > :15:57.do with it. In 2009 Norwich City signed Brian
:15:57. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:05.Holt. On a hand Chelsea paid a lot of
:16:05. > :16:15.money for this player who has struggled to find the net. He has
:16:15. > :16:20.
:16:20. > :16:26.been phenomenal for this club. That is the thing. People look at
:16:26. > :16:29.�400,000 and see it is worth it. Who would you have in your team?
:16:29. > :16:39.The �50 million man in blue or the tried-and-tested man in yellow and
:16:39. > :16:41.
:16:41. > :16:47.green? He makes the running. Brian Holt. He is the obvious answer. He
:16:47. > :16:56.knows where the back of the Net is. Brian Holt has got a better goal
:16:56. > :17:04.rate. He has got a better build. He shows the passion. The man himself
:17:04. > :17:12.is confident he will continue in the same vein as ever. Everyone
:17:12. > :17:15.expects you to score goals. I have got to do that. Those watching on
:17:15. > :17:25.Saturday will be hoping that the Norwich number nine scores another
:17:25. > :17:29.goal. They will be hoping that money does not buy points for the
:17:29. > :17:36.boys in blue. Paul Jewell is trying to make
:17:36. > :17:46.transfers market headway. He is hoping a deal can still be done.
:17:46. > :17:54.
:17:54. > :18:04.Before that he has a visit to Leeds. We have a good team. Elland Road is
:18:04. > :18:08.a hostile ground. It will not be easy. In League One Colchester
:18:08. > :18:14.United will stay in the top 10 that if they defeat Chesterfield. There
:18:14. > :18:17.used signing Gavin Massey could make his debut.
:18:17. > :18:27.In League Two Southend United travel to play Shrewsbury.
:18:27. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:50.Late Kick Off is back on Monday Coming up - of their Olympic dreams
:18:50. > :18:56.of Britain's best windsurfer. Have you ever done that?
:18:56. > :19:03.Yes, but not like that! For most of us energy bills have
:19:03. > :19:10.doubled over the last five years. That has been good news for people
:19:10. > :19:16.who make and sell wood burners. Business is booming. Now there are
:19:16. > :19:26.worries that if the trend continues there could be a shortage of locks.
:19:26. > :19:29.
:19:29. > :19:37.Three years to go this Pab installed and the Mac. I cannot
:19:37. > :19:42.fault the heat it gives. It is a welcoming feature. This family set
:19:42. > :19:47.up their company 30 years ago. Average prices are �600 for a stove.
:19:47. > :19:56.Total bill including installation works out at �2,000. They are
:19:56. > :20:02.extremely popular at the moment. What do you put that down to?
:20:02. > :20:09.increase in oil and gas prices. Stoves are fashionable at the
:20:09. > :20:11.moment also. Since 2007 the wholesale price of gas and
:20:11. > :20:16.electricity has climbed, fallen back, and climbed again. It is
:20:16. > :20:24.using my been dropping. The price charged to consumers has generally
:20:24. > :20:34.gone up and stayed up. Only now is it edging down a.
:20:34. > :20:34.
:20:34. > :20:40.At this family home are would burner was being installed. -- and
:20:40. > :20:50.wood burners was being fitted. decided it might be a cheaper
:20:50. > :20:56.option. My husband is a pyromaniac so we will enjoy this! This is one
:20:56. > :21:03.of the largest sawmills in the region. They deliver three cubic
:21:03. > :21:10.metres of a fire would for �140. They are worried that they will not
:21:10. > :21:16.be able to keep up with long-term demand. If everyone was to put a
:21:16. > :21:22.wood burner in their would not be enough would in the country. We are
:21:22. > :21:32.planning for the future. This is the perfect solution. Properly
:21:32. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:48.managed injured goods. -- properly I have seen a lot of wood burners.
:21:48. > :21:52.They are rather elegant. Didn't that pile of logs look
:21:52. > :21:57.lovely? Are special Olympic Dreams
:21:57. > :22:03.programme is on Sunday evening at 5pm. We will have profiles of some
:22:03. > :22:07.of our best prospects for the Games. One of them is that the British No.
:22:07. > :22:13.1 windsurfer or Nick Dempsey. He is a former world champion. He has
:22:13. > :22:23.been to three Olympic Games. He won bronze in Athens in 2004. Maybe his
:22:23. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:36.It is once in a lifetime. It has come at the right time. It is
:22:36. > :22:45.special. There will be a lot of pressure on myself. I can deal with
:22:45. > :22:50.it. From the challenge of the open water to the calm of this week. --
:22:50. > :22:59.this lake. This was where the windsurfing
:22:59. > :23:05.adventure began. His parents still love the very
:23:05. > :23:15.close to where it started. brothers were windsurfing here with
:23:15. > :23:16.
:23:16. > :23:24.the near four other boys at the time. Nick wanted to join in. He
:23:24. > :23:30.was a quiet child. He took to it. The boys would dress in their
:23:30. > :23:40.wetsuits and spend the school holidays here every day. Did he
:23:40. > :23:42.
:23:42. > :23:49.shone early flair for windsurfing? I think he did. Do you dream of
:23:49. > :23:58.winning goal? The yes, every day. I try not to think about the gold
:23:58. > :24:04.medal specifically. But that is the driving factor. That is what has us
:24:04. > :24:14.all about. That is the pinnacle. If you want to be the best you have to
:24:14. > :24:15.
:24:15. > :24:20.win an Olympic gold medal. Nick Dempsey.
:24:20. > :24:28.The Olympic Dreams programme is after Songs Of Praise this Sunday
:24:28. > :24:38.at 5pm. You could not believe that I have
:24:38. > :24:45.
:24:45. > :24:55.Here is the weather: It has been at the have led an skies. -- it has
:24:55. > :24:58.
:24:58. > :25:02.This warm front has come to a grinding halt. There has been a
:25:02. > :25:06.marked difference in temperatures either side of it. In the east
:25:06. > :25:11.temperatures have struggled. In the West temperatures have got into
:25:11. > :25:16.double figures. As the front chat these words there rain will start
:25:16. > :25:26.its ease. It will try again the milder air. We are in for a mild
:25:26. > :25:28.
:25:28. > :25:38.night tonight. The rain will become more patchy. By midnight is when it
:25:38. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:47.will be called us. -- it will be coldest at midnight. The wind speed
:25:47. > :25:51.will then pick up. The remit should clear through. -- the rain should
:25:51. > :25:57.clear through. Tomorrow the weather front is still
:25:57. > :26:04.with us. It will be unsettled over the weekend. There is a cold front
:26:04. > :26:14.also coming in. Over the weekend it will be cloudy and breezy. There
:26:14. > :26:17.
:26:17. > :26:25.will be some rain and showers. There will be spot of patchy rain.
:26:25. > :26:35.-- there will be spots of patchy rain. Temperatures expected to get
:26:35. > :26:35.
:26:35. > :26:44.to 11 Celsius. Winds will be breezy. Although temperatures are mild it
:26:44. > :26:53.might not feel mild in that wind. I they ended the day the cloud starts
:26:53. > :26:57.to break up. Tomorrow night could be colder.
:26:57. > :27:07.Sunday will not be completely dry. There will be patchy rain first
:27:07. > :27:10.
:27:10. > :27:15.thing. That will then clear. Mandy looks mostly dry and cold. There