20/01/2012 Look East - East

In Look East tonight: A pledge from the Labour leader -

we will listen and we will recover in the East. I believe that we can

start to show that Labour is on the way back in the coming years.

Also tonight: The whistleblower proved right over the safety of

hundreds of bridges. A council pays out nearly �1

million to four siblings it didn't protect from their abusive father.

And the rise and rise of the wood- burner, but are there enough logs

to go round? Good evening. The Labour leader

told us today that his party would mount a fightback in this region

after the disastrous general election which left it with just

two MPs. Ed Miliband was at Harlow College to speak to students and

local people. I was also there. After his question and answer

session, I spoke to him about some of the issues. First, our Political

Correspondent has this on the visit and the mountain that Labour still

has to apply in. This is the Labour leader's 5th

visit to the region this year. A sign that they are taking up the

east far more seriously than they used to. Today, at Harlow College,

Ed Miliband met these students. He also dropped in on a science lesson.

He said the college was a fantastic place where grey things are done.

The Labour leader is feeling the heat at the moment. Despite the

problems facing the Government, his poll ratings are falling and he has

upset the unions regarding strikes. The message for his audience is

that Labour would tax bankers to help Lord tuition fees. Earlier

today, he took part in a phone-in show on Radio Essex. Gordon Brown

said that Labour policies had put an end to boom and bust. He turned

out to be wrong. I think it is a lesson that you always have to be

careful in politics about making big claims. Labour faces an uphill

struggle in this region. The party that wants and 28 seats in the east

was all but wiped out in the 2010 election. In the local elections

last year, they picked up 100 more councillors. But the MP who carried

out the inquest into why they did so badly in this region said the

party still has more to do. We have to show that we're in touch with

people. We have to find out what the priorities are. We know what

some of them are already, such as transport and housing. But our

region has many different parts. We have to go local and then we will

take people with us. The party has started selecting candidates for

marginal constituencies for the next election. It wants plenty of

time to allow them to become well known. At the moment, if the polls

are right, Ed Miliband has a lot of convincing to do.

Lots of questions today from Ed Miliband. One student asked him

what he would do to persuade her to vote Labour in the next election.

We would not go ahead with a tax cut for banks, such as this

Government is proposing. We would also do more to help

apprenticeships. These are tough times, but we can make more choices

to help people. Is that a commitment to Lord tuition fees?

we were in government now, we would. But we will talk about our

manifesto nearer the time. blizzard is saying that Labour has

to listen to people. -- one local MP is saying that Labour has to

listen to people. Is that what you are doing? I have been talking

about the issues that matter to people. The squeeze on living

standards, I've spoken about that a lot. I have spoken about taking on

the energy companies and the train companies. A season ticket from

Chelmsford to London has gone up by nearly �300 and the Government is

letting that happen. You would force them to lower that fair?

would because we don't think it is fair that the Government comes

along and says he can only charge 1% above inflation and then

suddenly the train companies are charging rises of up to 11%. The

Government has said that they can charge an extra 5% on the most

profitable routes. That is unfair and wrong. We would do something

different. Do you think the people are hearing what you're saying?

Your figures are down and you are three points behind the Tories in

the latest poll. -- Paul? Beazer personal decisions. If the

Government is unpopular as you are implying, surely people would come

over to Labour? The Government are losing the argument, but we have

yet to win the argument. Do you think people consider the last

Labour government responsible for the financial situation that we are

in? There was a global problem. The last Labour government invested in

schools and hospitals and that was right. However, they did not

regulate the banks properly. On the streets today, we asked what people

thought about you. Many people did not really have an opinion. Are you

disappointed? It takes time for all readers of the opposition. On the

first period of a parliament, the focus is always on at the party or

parties in government. Why did you choose Harlow College when the

youth unemployment is coming down? Long-term youth unemployment is we

up. My figures show that long-term youth unemployment is up. Those who

have been unemployed for six months. That affects young people badly. It

has been increasing over the last year. I am not complacent about

that. I don't think it is a good situation and I think it has to

change. Apprenticeships and the use contract appear to be working here.

The use contract has not come in yet. Long-term youth unemployment

is increasing and I think there are real problems and issues. -- the

use of contract. If we were in government, we would be making

different choices to help them. thank you.

Eight whistleblower who claimed there were safety problems of

hundreds of bridges in Milton Keynes has been proven right two

years after he first raised concerns. Milton Keynes has more

bridges than Venice, but it today our report highlights --

highlighted failings from the council and its private contractor.

We have an exclusive report. This is exposed and this part is

waiting to fall off. Hundreds of the broad -- hundreds of bridges in

Milton Keynes are like this. This man should know. He worked for the

council's contractor in 2008. view, what I saw was genuinely

dangerous and put lives at risk. How did that make you feel? Awful.

It made me ill. Thousands of cars used as bridge every day, but it is

in desperate need of repair. This crash barrier would not stop

anything. Handrails are rusting as well. We went on a tour of the town

to see the scale of the problem. There were major bolts missing.

have reported these missing bolts twice in the last five years.

not the only one concern. I think that there was an initial concern

that the whistleblower was exaggerating things. I think that

is not the case. We have to look at public safety. We have to move

faster with this. When Milton Keynes was built, the idea was to

keep pedestrians and traffic apart. That meant a lot of bridges and

underpasses. I can't help thinking that my whistle-blowing and my

redundancy are connected. We will have to wait until my employment

tribunal to discover whether there is a link. There are a lot of

bridges in Milton Keynes that need to be fixed. That is an issue for

our contractor. We have been told that formal monthly reports have

been sent to the council by the contractor and they have been

agreed and signed off. Still to come: the full weekend

forecast with Alex, and, as more of us turned to wood for cheaper

heating, will we have enough logs to go round?

Nearly �1 million in damages has been paid out to four siblings from

Essex who were all abused by their father. It is thought to be one of

the largest settlement of its kind. The payout was ordered because

Essex County Council failed to protect them from the appears.

This case stretches back more than 20 years. In 1990, a neighbour

first alerted Essex County Council after the eldest child complained

that her father had been sexually inappropriate towards her. The

county council then discovered there had been previous abuse

convictions regarding two young children from his previous marriage.

Despite that, the continued to allow him to have contact with his

children, albeit under supervision. That meant the abuse continued for

many years. It was only seven years later that the children were put

under full care orders. The failings in this case only came to

light when Southend Council took over the case. They alerted at

Children's Legal charity which launched the claim on behalf of the

children. After a ten-year legal battle, Essex County Council agreed

to pay the victims �1 billion in damages, believed to be one of the

largest settlement of its car in. What have the County Council had to

say? They say they cannot speak about

individual cases, but a spokesperson insisted they had made

considerable improvements in children's services in recent years

and will continue to do so. The solicitor representing the children

said that there are still very vulnerable and suffering from what

they went through. But they're trying to build new lives and move

A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison

for blackmailing a family in Suffolk. Ipswich Crown Court was

told when Adam Ladd was arrested in Paris St Edmunds, the police found

a number of chemicals. He had used them to start two fires and

demanded �5,000 from the family. More tests will be carried out on a

teenager from Suffolk who died during a PE lesson. 15-year-old

Lily Webster was taken ill at Stowmarket High School on Monday

after she had been using a trampoline. The police say the

cause of death is still unknown. Tributes have been paid to a

father-of-three who was murdered earlier this month. 53-year-old Roy

Sly was found dead in a flat on Westcliff-on-Sea. His family say he

had a heart of gold. This time next week, it will be

exactly six months to the Olympic Games. Today, culture secretary

Jeremy Hunt was flag-waving at a tourism conference in Norwich. The

message was clear. This was the year to stay in Britain.

There is concern that many will try to leave the country to avoid the

Olympic circus. The Culture Secretary has a message. Stay at

home. This is the year to discover There is so much happening. This is

the year to discover it. Last year 10 million visitors came to the

east of England generating �2 billion. The Olympic Games will

swell the numbers coming end. There will be lots of new tourists from

China and Russia. The question today was to make sure that they

spend their money in this region. From Alabama to Alaska's they will

all be focusing on Great Britain. We want them to come to Norfolk,

Suffolk. Research shows that to receive benefits occur after the

Olympic Games. Six months to go, but roll on at 2013.

Parliament has defeated an attempt by Essex MP Rebecca Harris to set

up a study which would look into moving the clocks to permit the

forward by one hour. Many safety campaigners support Britain moving

on to European time. The Government says it wants to me that they issue.

On to sport and Norwich City host Chelsea tomorrow at Carrow Road.

Paul Lambert has never lost two League games to the same team since

he took over at Norwich City. After a defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier

this season that run could come to an end. Chelsea will be bringing a

busload of million-pound players, but money is not everything.

The two teams are worlds apart mainly due to the size of their

budgets. It is not the amount of money you have got, it is what you

do with it. In 2009 Norwich City signed Brian

Holt. On a hand Chelsea paid a lot of

money for this player who has struggled to find the net. He has

been phenomenal for this club. That is the thing. People look at

�400,000 and see it is worth it. Who would you have in your team?

The �50 million man in blue or the tried-and-tested man in yellow and

green? He makes the running. Brian Holt. He is the obvious answer. He

knows where the back of the Net is. Brian Holt has got a better goal

rate. He has got a better build. He shows the passion. The man himself

is confident he will continue in the same vein as ever. Everyone

expects you to score goals. I have got to do that. Those watching on

Saturday will be hoping that the Norwich number nine scores another

goal. They will be hoping that money does not buy points for the

boys in blue. Paul Jewell is trying to make

transfers market headway. He is hoping a deal can still be done.

Before that he has a visit to Leeds. We have a good team. Elland Road is

a hostile ground. It will not be easy. In League One Colchester

United will stay in the top 10 that if they defeat Chesterfield. There

used signing Gavin Massey could make his debut.

In League Two Southend United travel to play Shrewsbury.

Late Kick Off is back on Monday Coming up - of their Olympic dreams

of Britain's best windsurfer. Have you ever done that?

Yes, but not like that! For most of us energy bills have

doubled over the last five years. That has been good news for people

who make and sell wood burners. Business is booming. Now there are

worries that if the trend continues there could be a shortage of locks.

Three years to go this Pab installed and the Mac. I cannot

fault the heat it gives. It is a welcoming feature. This family set

up their company 30 years ago. Average prices are �600 for a stove.

Total bill including installation works out at �2,000. They are

extremely popular at the moment. What do you put that down to?

increase in oil and gas prices. Stoves are fashionable at the

moment also. Since 2007 the wholesale price of gas and

electricity has climbed, fallen back, and climbed again. It is

using my been dropping. The price charged to consumers has generally

gone up and stayed up. Only now is it edging down a.

At this family home are would burner was being installed. -- and

wood burners was being fitted. decided it might be a cheaper

option. My husband is a pyromaniac so we will enjoy this! This is one

of the largest sawmills in the region. They deliver three cubic

metres of a fire would for �140. They are worried that they will not

be able to keep up with long-term demand. If everyone was to put a

wood burner in their would not be enough would in the country. We are

planning for the future. This is the perfect solution. Properly

managed injured goods. -- properly I have seen a lot of wood burners.

They are rather elegant. Didn't that pile of logs look

lovely? Are special Olympic Dreams

programme is on Sunday evening at 5pm. We will have profiles of some

of our best prospects for the Games. One of them is that the British No.

1 windsurfer or Nick Dempsey. He is a former world champion. He has

been to three Olympic Games. He won bronze in Athens in 2004. Maybe his

It is once in a lifetime. It has come at the right time. It is

special. There will be a lot of pressure on myself. I can deal with

it. From the challenge of the open water to the calm of this week. --

this lake. This was where the windsurfing

adventure began. His parents still love the very

close to where it started. brothers were windsurfing here with

the near four other boys at the time. Nick wanted to join in. He

was a quiet child. He took to it. The boys would dress in their

wetsuits and spend the school holidays here every day. Did he

shone early flair for windsurfing? I think he did. Do you dream of

winning goal? The yes, every day. I try not to think about the gold

medal specifically. But that is the driving factor. That is what has us

all about. That is the pinnacle. If you want to be the best you have to

win an Olympic gold medal. Nick Dempsey.

The Olympic Dreams programme is after Songs Of Praise this Sunday

at 5pm. You could not believe that I have

Here is the weather: It has been at the have led an skies. -- it has

This warm front has come to a grinding halt. There has been a

marked difference in temperatures either side of it. In the east

temperatures have struggled. In the West temperatures have got into

double figures. As the front chat these words there rain will start

its ease. It will try again the milder air. We are in for a mild

night tonight. The rain will become more patchy. By midnight is when it

will be called us. -- it will be coldest at midnight. The wind speed

will then pick up. The remit should clear through. -- the rain should

clear through. Tomorrow the weather front is still

with us. It will be unsettled over the weekend. There is a cold front

also coming in. Over the weekend it will be cloudy and breezy. There

will be some rain and showers. There will be spot of patchy rain.

-- there will be spots of patchy rain. Temperatures expected to get

to 11 Celsius. Winds will be breezy. Although temperatures are mild it

might not feel mild in that wind. I they ended the day the cloud starts

to break up. Tomorrow night could be colder.

Sunday will not be completely dry. There will be patchy rain first

thing. That will then clear. Mandy looks mostly dry and cold. There