15/08/2013 Look East - West

Hello. First today, an exclusive interview with the partner of an

army veteran jailed for an armed He is very ill. He is not a bad

army veteran jailed for an armed I am not stupid. I would not stay

with somebody who was a bad person. The university is fighting for the

cream of the crop. Stepping into the world of work, the students saying

no to debt and yes to a wage packet. And a year on from Olympic bronze,

the World Championship bar proves too high. First this evening, an

interview with a partner of an Army veteran jailed for an armed siege

Jane Hill—Phillips has hit out at the sentence given to Mark McLees

post—traumatic stress disorder. the sentence given to Mark McLees

Beds. He thought he was in a war zone, as he held police at bay for

five hours at his home in Leighton Buzzard. She says he needed help,

Jane Hill—Phillips is standing by her man. She believes Britain will

do nothing to help her partner's post—traumatic stress disorder.

Throughout her relate —— throughout their relationship she has witnessed

his suffering. He gets quite angry. We get nightmares, he does not

sleep. He suffers night sweats. All the typical sort of symptoms you

get with post—traumatic stress Corporal Mark McLees believed he was

This is the moment he was arrested after an armed stand—off in Leighton

buzzard. This week, he was jailed for two years after pleading guilty

to making threats with an imitation firearm. It is a sentence which

to making threats with an imitation left his devastated. What happened

that night and the events of that night must have been terrified ——

terrifying. I accept that. Do I think the sentence was hired? Yes, I

do. Mark served with the Sutherland Regiment for 18 years. He had been

struggling to adjust to life with a civilian and had spent a number

struggling to adjust to life with a A charity which helps ex—service

case. Trustees say many others could situation. There is no emergency

pick—up from this problem. Charities help, but they have got to get to

rock bottom before anyone recognises there is a problem. The day before

his breakdown, Mark McLees tried to seek help but without success. His

partner accepts many people were terrified by his actions that night,

but she wants people to know the probe soldier and not the prisoner.

He is not a bad person. He is the most caring and lovable person I

punished, but face prison will do more harm than good. —— she fears.

In a statement the Ministry of Justice said: Sentencing is a matter

for the independent judiciary. Defence, around 4% of veterans

Stress, an organisation set up to help struggling veterans, estimates

that around 20% have some form of mental health issues and they say

that 3.5% of the prison population Well, earlier I spoke to Steve

Pettitt from Combat Stress and I began by asking him, what is being

done to ensure that more veterans don't end up being sent to prison? I

hear a lot that we did not know don't end up being sent to prison? I

to do, we did not know who to seek help from. It would be beneficial

for ours if, if you have problems, contact Combat Stress or the Royal

British Legion. That signposting is what the Government could do. But

organisations like ourselves to what the Government could do. But

trouble is, you see, that quite often the veteran does not know

trouble is, you see, that quite has a problem. It is only when some

family member or friend says that he thinks he might be suffering that he

take stock and do something about it. That could be ten years after he

has left the services. There will be those who say the law is the law.

And that as tragic as it is, this punishment had to be in some shape

or form issued as a result of the distress that was caused. I would

agree with that. I don't think any veteran seeks exemption from the

law, and I don't think the civilian society would expect him to. Mark

McLees's partner thought he had society would expect him to. Mark

harsh sentence, I could point her in the direction of people who had

And if you or anyone you know is affected by the issues raised, you

As you'll know it's A—level results day, and across the east students

have been finding out how they've done. For some of our universities

university admissions mean they done. For some of our universities

have to work harder to attract the best students. Mike Cartwright

nervous moments, as students open their results. Most here are hoping

to go to university. It is not what I was hoping for, but I know I have

got in any way. I have a scholarship I got a A in biology, and a A in

At the University of Bedfordshire's students find a course. This year

2,500 have enrolled. There is a relaxation of the rules, —— but

there's a relaxation of the rules put more pressure on universities

performance, so we are a university that takes people at all ranges

performance, so we are a university applications this year are up. It

has made an interesting market for higher education, and universities

are now having to think differently about how we recruit students.

is that time of year when students discover how they have done, and

As the financial pressures of going to university grow, more and more

apprenticeships. Anna Todd has been Cambridgeshire who has landed a

Turning his back on student life, Ross Payne has landed an accountancy

company Deloitte, to earn a decent outsider sometimes, but there has

university has risen a lot lately. So it seems more beneficial to get

some practical experience, and earn money in a salary rather than come

out with a lot of debt. Kelly also became a trainee straight from

Deloitte's bright sparks programme We are looking for very strong

candidates. The places feel very quickly, we are recruiting now for

next September, and the competition has definitely increased over the

Apprenticeship Service say A—level results day is now its biggest time,

benefits of learning and learning. If a person is apprentice trained,

they will have a premium over the kind of qualifications. The gap

they will have a premium over the narrowing between that which premium

and —— between being apprentice Ross will have to get used to buying

Well, a little earlier I spoke with John Bridge from the Chamber of

Commerce in Cambridge, and began by asking what he thought the education

system could do better to prepare We need to understand how we can

equip young people much better for the work environment. We obviously

achievements that young people have made and the results they have got

today, but the end result is that most of them need a job or a career

in order to earn money and get the deserve. But how do businesses get

into the schools? This seems to deserve. But how do businesses get

big disconnect between schools and worse. One problem is the funding

mechanism that is being used by worse. One problem is the funding

education department, where cash is number of pupils in sixth form.

education department, where cash is the schools are focused on how many

they do not want them in vocational training or in businesses because

clearly that has an impact on the way they run the school. But between

the age of 14 and 18 you are not thinking about your first job, you

are thinking about University. But particular areas, they need to

understand the type of companies we available, and the skills that they

wherewithal as well, and they need to know where the —— this can be

connectivity, we need to get better careers advice. At the moment what

we are finding is that lots of careers advisers are being made

redundant because of the current situation in the way the schools are

focusing in a completely different way. Businesses are really concerned

about the end product, and the young people are being disadvantaged

because they are not equipped for Peterborough has stopped running

Firefighters believe that a spark from a locomotive caused the fire

which destroyed 40 acres of crops yesterday. Trains are now being

New technology has allowed police in Cambridgeshire to drastically cut

Operators used to answer calls within an average three minutes

Operators used to answer calls but now 95% of calls are answered

England, the Care Quality Commission and the local watchdogs say that

they need to deal with staff shortages.

A clamp—down on knives in Clacton seems to have paid off. In the three

months to July there were more than 30 reported knife—point robberies.

Extra police were drafted in and no similar robberies have been reported

for the last month. Still to come: Another disappointing

day for our athletes in Moscow. And invariably test state of the art

dummies helping to train our flying medics.

The news is all about those A—level results today, but exams,

particularly English language exams for foreign students, are big

business in our region. Tonight in our series looking at

companies which export, we look at the work of Cambridge English

Language Assessment, which has been doing business for 100 years. Dr

written in Cambridge, printed in Cambridge, but these exam papers

will be taken by students in 180 different countries. The company

that produces them is part of Cambridge University, recognised the

world over. it is very well recognised because Cambridge

University is one of the top five recognised brands in the world. That

has helped this business grow. It has been exporting exams for over

100 years. The attention. This is the first exam paper that was set

back in 1913. Among the tasks they had two hours to write an essay on

subjects which include the effects of political movements on

19th—century literature in England. But here are just three candidates

sat the exam. Not one of them passed. 100 years later they now use

computer—based tests as well. But when you sell to the world, you need

to be able to speak to the world as well. The mac ——. we offer support

in other languages as well. the employee around 400 people. Jobs

that depend on exporting success. Dr Mike Milanovic is the Chief

Executive of the unit. When I spoke to him earlier and I asked him how

the unit came into being. Originally it got involved as part of a

programme for a teacher of modern languages. It has now grown in

scale. Those exams 100 years ago are very different from today 's. Pretty

different. The exam 100 years ago took over 12 hours to do. And there

was only one exam. We are talking this week about exporting. You are

exporting knowledge and examinations. Where does the money

from that go? the money that we make from exams gets invested again in

our business. We are part of a group, Cambridge Assessment. So some

of that money will go back into the university, to support that work,

which in turn supports us. how important is it to have the words

Cambridge University on it? it is really important, it is one of the

leading universities in the world. The quality that it represents

underpins the work that we do as well. Everything that we do must

reflect the same quality standards as are achieved in the University.

At the moment I know you reach into 130 countries. Either more that you

are waiting to move into? English is so important that although we are in

more than 100 and 30 countries now, I am sure we will eventually be

present in almost every country in the world. The developing nations

and the fast—growing economies, China, India, countries like that

are very, very interested in English language and an English—language

qualifications. A lot of our growth and development over the last decade

has come from countries like that. But it is equally true in Europe

that, as the European policy of mother tongue plus two languages

spread around Europe, English is very important and that context as

well. Hundreds of thousands of children are doing our exams in

Spain and Italy and France. A 12 hour exam! It puts those

A—levels into perspective. If you have a serious accident or if

you are taken seriously ill you want the best care around you want it

fast. For more than 40 years, MAGPAS has been playing a vital role in

providing just that. At the moment the

Cambridgeshire—based charity provide critical care cover 18 hours a day.

But soon they will be working 24/7. They have a new training scheme to

help provide more paramedics and a new helicopter.

Landing close to the new Magpas training centre in Huntingdon, the

new orange Explorer. On the board, next Foster, the first doctor in the

UK to specialise in prehospital emergency medicine. It has now been

recognised as a subspecialty, like gynaecology or paediatrics. They

have approved a curricular minute and standardise training has

started. Magpas also claim a first, with this

new training scheme. Already a paramedic, Chris is giving up his

time to complete the course, which will allow him to volunteer with the

team. Made any mistakes? yes. We are learning from previous mistakes that

have been made. This is the place to make mistakes. the doctors and

paramedics work on a series of highly realistic scenarios. Chris

and his team are trying to save the life of boys hit by a car. —— a boy.

it is nice to be tested. We get hot and bothered and a bit stressed but

it is well worth it. We sedated the child initially to maintain his

earwig, gain control of his pain. #.

Using a rapid response vehicle, Magpas do several runs a day. All of

this is designed to help people who need critical care before they get

to hospital. As a result, saving lives.

It has been a tough day for our athletes at the World Championships

in Moscow. This morning it was 18—year—old Jessica Judd from Essex.

This afternoon it was the high jumper Robbie Grabarz from St

Neots. Jessica Field to qualify for the 800 metres final. And Robbie

Grabarz missed out on a medal as well.

It has not been a happy World Championships for either Greg

Rutherford yesterday Robbie Grabarz today. Robbie actually spent his

formative years training year at the Bedford athletic Stadium, but today

two metres 29 centimetres was not quite good enough. It was won by a

Ukrainian athlete. He just missed out on a world record, in fact. That

is how high—quality it was today. Behind me you can see the sprinters

erect Bedford County athletics club. Nigel Levine has still got a chance

of winning a medal. He started he read Bedford as well. But Robbie

Grabarz, like Greg, it just was not his day to day.

They gathered to see if one of their own kid when Britain another

priceless medal. Robbie Grabarz spent years at Bedford County

athletics club. It has been a difficult year for him after the

Olympics, but provided that he gets his act together now he is in with a

chance. What do you think, is he going to be lucky today? yes, I

think so. Bronze medal, I'm guessing.

Robbie ran into trouble at two metres and 29 centimetres.

He cleared it on the next attempt but it was last chance win at two

metres and 32 centimetres after two failures.

Two metres 29 centimetres was good enough for Bobby to win bronze last

year. One year and the bar has been raised higher and Robbie could not

make it over. The high jump collective stayed to watch the rest

of the high—class competition. Earlier and another of Bedford 's

finest, Nigel Levine, was rescued as his relay team—mates qualified for

the final. But disappointment for Jessica Judd who failed to reach the

final. A—level results wait at home for her, hopefully what is inside

will be less of a disappointment. I am so disappointed, so many people

have worked hard to get your. I thought I was going to do it and

then my legs just went, but maybe that is something the site had lost.

I am just so happy to be here in one piece and I wanted so much more than

that. Not the best day for our region 's

athletes but Jess and Robbie will both be back.

Robbie presented the award tear at the ceremony last year, so he will

certainly be back at Bedford. We have the young high jumpers at

Bedford going through their paces now. One or two of them have

actually broken his records that he set your all those years ago. This

is their head coach. You know Robbie and his mum very well, how

disappointed I you today? Very disappointed. He was expected to get

towards the medals, we know that he had a problem with his knee, but we

expected him to get through. He did look impressive up until the 229. It

was sad that he did not get into the top. he will be back, that's for

sure. You have some talent year. Quite a bit of talent. This girl is

new to it, one for the future. This is my son. He is 12. He broke Robbie

's under 13 record 13 years to the day the other week. A lot of talent

here. We hope to see 12 of these at the stage that Robbie has. my eldest

son has broken Robbie 's under 17 record year. He went to the World

Championships and got a personal best. Your dynasty is certainly

doing well year. Sadly for Robbie, not the case today.

And time for the weather. Some very changeable weather

conditions today. The pressure at the moment is more like what you

would expect in the autumn. At the moment there is a mass of rain out

to the West working. That will be with us into the early hours of

tomorrow morning. Today we have had that perfect combination of

humidity, warmth and sunshine. That has triggered showers. Pretty much

anywhere is at risk of catching a sharp shower before the end of the

evening. The first part of the night looks quite drivers clear spells. It

can quickly turn cloudy. Much of this rain expected to arrive

overnight. Quite a good soaking in places which may well be welcome for

gardens and fields. In terms of temperatures once more and mild

night. A moderate wind, still breezy. That weather front will take

its time clearing tomorrow, so for the Eastern half it will be sticking

around, bringing us these cloudy conditions and a wet start pretty

much everywhere. It will gladly clearer way and at the end of the

day we will see something a bit brighter, especially across the

western half. Some rain, but not raining all of the time. A lot of

cloud left a class this Eastern half. —— across. The temperatures

could shoot up if we start to see some sunshine. We could see one to

sharp showers into the evening where afternoon and they could turn

thundery. This is not going to spoil the day

froze because the rain is not expected to arrive until the

evening. Much of Saturday looks dry. Brighter spells perhaps to start

with but turning increasingly cloudy. Outbreaks of heavy rain,

strong winds and gusts in excess of 30 mph. We have some blustery,

westerly winds for Sunday and Monday. That could mean some

showers. Overnight lows here and a quick barometer cheque for you.

That is all from us. Have a great evening.