:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Look East. rain.
:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight. The
:00:07. > :00:10.international mega`deal that might hit plans for the Cambridge
:00:11. > :00:14.biomedical campus. A coroner hears how a firefighter
:00:15. > :00:29.from Bedfordshire died in a robbery in Venezuela. We will be here with
:00:30. > :00:32.the protests against plans for hundreds of new houses in Essex. Yet
:00:33. > :00:36.thousands are needed. So where should they go? A special report.
:00:37. > :00:42.And on the tail of the tailgate drivers. The police have got new
:00:43. > :00:48.powers but are they using them? Hello. It's a multi`national,
:00:49. > :00:51.multi`billion pound deal. But it could have big implications for our
:00:52. > :00:53.region's economy. Earlier this week the American pharmaceutical giant
:00:54. > :01:00.Pfizer announced it was interested in taking over its rival
:01:01. > :01:03.AstraZeneca. And AstraZeneca is in the process of building a ?200
:01:04. > :01:10.million research centre at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Would a
:01:11. > :01:13.takeover put pay to that? Well, today, the city's MP has asked the
:01:14. > :01:17.government to ensure the development goes ahead whatever happens. Ben
:01:18. > :01:26.Bland is at the biomedical campus now.
:01:27. > :01:31.There are big ambitions for this pic site near Cambridge's Addenbrooke's
:01:32. > :01:34.Hospital. The plan is to turn this into the world's leading centre for
:01:35. > :01:41.medical research and the development of new drugs. Part of that plan
:01:42. > :01:45.includes AstraZeneca, they will be investing ?300 million in taking
:01:46. > :01:49.over this plot behind me. Tonight there are concerns that plan could
:01:50. > :01:53.be at risk if the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer takes
:01:54. > :01:57.the company over. It's at its site on AstraZeneca because of its
:01:58. > :02:01.expertise in research into future valuable new drugs. Amy Bates at
:02:02. > :02:05.home in Peterborough. At 21, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Part
:02:06. > :02:09.of her treatment included a relatively new drug called Zoladex.
:02:10. > :02:13.They said to me one of the biggest things it would help me with because
:02:14. > :02:17.of my age and I don't have children, it would protect my ovaries so that
:02:18. > :02:21.I would be able to hopefully have children in the future. That drug is
:02:22. > :02:25.one of many developed by the British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
:02:26. > :02:30.Last year, it revealed plans to move 2000 jobs to Cambridge. Its global
:02:31. > :02:34.headquarters and research teams would be based on the new biomedical
:02:35. > :02:37.campus being built here. But with the American drugs giant Pfizer
:02:38. > :02:41.looking determined to take over the company, could that plan be looking
:02:42. > :02:46.a little shaky? Some people are worried. What Pfizer are doing is
:02:47. > :02:50.putting that at risk. I would want to hear very clearly from Pfizer
:02:51. > :02:54.that their intention would be about our site. And I'd like to know that
:02:55. > :02:56.is definitely going to go ahead. The attractions Cambridge has as a
:02:57. > :03:02.centre for R, world leading hospitals, world leading researchers
:03:03. > :03:05.and companies is a firm attraction. For now, AstraZeneca has rejected
:03:06. > :03:20.the approach by Pfizer. In a statement, it said:
:03:21. > :03:24.that assurance has been welcomed by local business leaders. We can't
:03:25. > :03:27.comment on the detail of the commercial things. But we are very
:03:28. > :03:31.keen to make sure that Cambridgeshire retains its place as
:03:32. > :03:35.the place to go and the place to be for the biotech industry. And,
:03:36. > :03:38.certainly, we have seen a lot of interest around that, and we are
:03:39. > :03:42.looking forward to AstraZeneca moving on to the biomedical campus.
:03:43. > :03:45.So, as two giants of the pharmaceutical world square up to
:03:46. > :03:49.each other, at stake could be millions of pounds of investment.
:03:50. > :03:58.And thousands of jobs right here in Cambridgeshire. Developers of the
:03:59. > :04:02.Cambridge biomedical campus have told us in a statement that they are
:04:03. > :04:07.proceeding with the project as planned. Indeed, just today, plans
:04:08. > :04:10.to build a brand`new private hospital in a 4`star Hotel have been
:04:11. > :04:14.given the go`ahead. Although AstraZeneca doesn't want to be taken
:04:15. > :04:21.over, Pfizer could still do it in a hostile way leaving lots of
:04:22. > :04:25.questions for us. Well, someone who can perhaps answer
:04:26. > :04:28.some of those questions is Martyn Postle the director of Cambridge
:04:29. > :04:31.health care and biotech. Your job is to advise pharmaceutical and biotech
:04:32. > :04:37.companies across Europe and the States. What would your advice be to
:04:38. > :04:40.AstraZeneca at the moment? Well, my advice to AstraZeneca employees is
:04:41. > :04:45.don't take your eye off the ball because it is business as usual. I
:04:46. > :04:48.would've thought that Cambridge as a centre for RND would be as
:04:49. > :04:51.attractive to Pfizer as it is to AstraZeneca. Perhaps they wouldn't
:04:52. > :04:55.want as many jobs here but, certainly, Cambridge is, after all,
:04:56. > :05:00.the centre of gravity for biotechnology in Europe. So you
:05:01. > :05:04.don't think that Pfizer and if they take over, that spells the end of
:05:05. > :05:09.the investment in the biomedical campus? It might make some people
:05:10. > :05:13.nervous, especially the developers, and it would make the employees of
:05:14. > :05:18.AstraZeneca nervous, but it wouldn't be the end of the development, and
:05:19. > :05:21.it wouldn't be the end of Pfizer having a significant research
:05:22. > :05:26.presence in Cambridge than they already have. Julian Huppert in that
:05:27. > :05:30.report talked about everything that Cambridge has to offer. And the city
:05:31. > :05:35.has a lot to offer when it comes to companies like that. Absolutely, the
:05:36. > :05:38.hospital, the University... If you talk about the axis between
:05:39. > :05:45.Cambridge and London, there is very little outside that. The main
:05:46. > :05:50.implication is jobs. Everyone is getting nervous about that. But
:05:51. > :05:54.ramifications could go further than that, couldn't they? I am governor
:05:55. > :06:01.and Salton Village College. We have been talking about opening our doors
:06:02. > :06:02.to the families of AstraZeneca, people moving down to the area.
:06:03. > :06:05.to the families of AstraZeneca, people moving down to the So, you're
:06:06. > :06:13.already planning for this? Absolutely. Let's put it this way,
:06:14. > :06:18.when might we know either way? Quite soon. The magic date is to raise six
:06:19. > :06:28.of me when Pfizer have to either up their offer or pull`out. And how
:06:29. > :06:32.significant is this investment here in Cambridge to the bigger picture
:06:33. > :06:35.that Pfizer is looking at? To be honest, it's probably not one of the
:06:36. > :06:40.main reasons they're looking at it. The main reason is tax reasons. They
:06:41. > :06:46.have a lot of offshore cash which they will have to pay tax on if they
:06:47. > :06:49.move it back to the US. So an idea of establishing a UK holding
:06:50. > :06:55.company, where we have a lot of recent changes in the UK tax
:06:56. > :07:00.legislation, such as R tax credits, that would mean they would
:07:01. > :07:04.pay a lot less pack on that money. So, things should be clearer by the
:07:05. > :07:06.end of the month. Thank you very much indeed.
:07:07. > :07:10.Three men arrested last week after the death of a man in a flat in
:07:11. > :07:13.Peterborough have been released without charge. The police were
:07:14. > :07:16.called to the flat in Lincoln Road early last Thursday morning where
:07:17. > :07:20.the body was found. But today it was announced that the death is not
:07:21. > :07:23.being treated as suspicious and a file has been passed to the coroner.
:07:24. > :07:26.Hundreds of travellers arriving into Stansted Airport were held up at
:07:27. > :07:29.border control this afternoon. One passenger told Look East he waited
:07:30. > :07:33.an hour and a half, with other passengers reportedly kept on planes
:07:34. > :07:40.to minimise disruption inside. The Home Office apologised saying IT
:07:41. > :07:43.problems were causing the hold ups. Three men accused of murdering a man
:07:44. > :07:47.from Bedfordshire in Venezuela are still awaiting trial almost three
:07:48. > :07:54.years after his death. Firefighter Thomas Ossel was shot dead as a gang
:07:55. > :07:57.robbed his hotel. Today at an inquest into his death the coroner
:07:58. > :08:06.concluded he was unlawfully killed. Neil Bradford reports.
:08:07. > :08:11.Thomas Ossel love travelling. In 2011, he went to South America with
:08:12. > :08:16.his younger brother. But he never came home. The London firefighter,
:08:17. > :08:20.who was 28, was shot dead during a robbery at this guesthouse on the
:08:21. > :08:25.Venezuelan island of Magritte. They were due to check out the following
:08:26. > :08:30.day. Thomas grew out `` grew up here in this village near Bedford. It
:08:31. > :08:34.didn't seem to limit his spirit of adventure. He'd already visited
:08:35. > :08:40.dozens of countries but was unable to realise his ambition of visiting
:08:41. > :08:45.100 in his lifetime. Today, at an inquest into his death, it was
:08:46. > :08:50.revealed that he had fought back after an armed gang raided the
:08:51. > :08:53.hotel, taking guests hostage. In the struggle, he was shot with a nine
:08:54. > :08:58.millimetre pistol. And died within minutes. The inquest heard that
:08:59. > :09:02.local prostitutes using the hotel had tipped off the gang about
:09:03. > :09:07.potential victims. Three men are awaiting trial for his murder while
:09:08. > :09:10.a woman is under house arrest. Prosecutors in Venezuela say it is
:09:11. > :09:16.likely to be several months before the trial is heard because a big
:09:17. > :09:21.club of cases. Thomas Ossel's family chose not to attend today's hearing.
:09:22. > :09:25.The coroner said he had been an innocent victim in the robbery and
:09:26. > :09:30.formally recorded his conclusion that this was an unlawful killing.
:09:31. > :09:35.A dental nurse who was accused of trying to poison her boss with
:09:36. > :09:39.mercury has spoken to Look East for the first time since the case
:09:40. > :09:42.against her was dropped. Ravinder Kaur worked at the Shams Moopen
:09:43. > :09:47.Practice near Bedford. She stood trial twice and on each occasion
:09:48. > :09:51.juries failed to reach a verdict. She says the allegations resulted in
:09:52. > :09:57.months of "absolute hell." And a diagnosis of post traumatic stress.
:09:58. > :10:03.Anna Todd has been to meet her. Standing two trials, two sets of
:10:04. > :10:10.trials, was just... It was just so horrifying. Not knowing what's going
:10:11. > :10:15.to happen. I felt my life wasn't in my hands. I had criminal and civil
:10:16. > :10:24.proceedings going on at the same time. Two types of legal battles...
:10:25. > :10:31.To defend my position. And it was just horrible. It must have been...
:10:32. > :10:37.A great strain on you, knowing that was a serious allegation. I was
:10:38. > :10:43.scared. Anyone facing criminal charges would be scared. And the
:10:44. > :10:52.painful thing about it was I haven't done anything. Like I said, I
:10:53. > :10:56.wouldn't even... I don't have the mentality to even do... To even
:10:57. > :11:06.commit such a crime. The entire experience... Left me ill. Did you
:11:07. > :11:11.change as a person? I can't... I find it difficult to trust people,
:11:12. > :11:20.I'm afraid. I won't be making teas or coffees for anyone. I won't put
:11:21. > :11:24.myself in that position. What were you like before all this happened?
:11:25. > :11:30.What are you like now? Has your personality changed? It has, to a
:11:31. > :11:36.degree. I was a lively, bubbly, enthusiastic, energetic type of
:11:37. > :11:46.person. What is Ravi Kaur like now? How have you changed? I am a bit
:11:47. > :11:50.quiet. Really sensitive. And it has left me a bit paranoid. So, when the
:11:51. > :11:55.judge acquitted you and you walked free from court, tell me what went
:11:56. > :12:04.through your mind. I felt my freedom. I felt relieved. A huge
:12:05. > :12:11.weight has come off my shoulders. And I was really happy... That I had
:12:12. > :12:14.won the battle of my life. The Shams Moopen Dental Practice
:12:15. > :12:17.sent us a statement in which they said that they had no control over
:12:18. > :12:20.the issues once the Crown Prosecution Service had taken over
:12:21. > :12:28.the case. The principal Dr Huma Khan added:
:12:29. > :12:32.A Northamptonshire family is asking for information after a caravan
:12:33. > :12:35.containing a boy's go`karting equipment was stolen.
:12:36. > :12:39.It happened at lunchtime on Monday and was taken from the front of
:12:40. > :12:42.their house in Irthlingborough. Nine`year`old Finley won't be able
:12:43. > :12:51.to compete in events until it's found. It is quite a tight fit to
:12:52. > :12:56.get the caravan out of the drive. You can see some of the marks here.
:12:57. > :13:00.It is quite close to the house and hedges, so it has taken them a bit
:13:01. > :13:07.of time to come out. Someone might have to have stopped to let it out.
:13:08. > :13:09.When we got home, the caravan was gone. I was devastated. I couldn't
:13:10. > :13:12.believe it. The Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall hospice in
:13:13. > :13:17.Peterborough has announced it's raised a third of the total amount
:13:18. > :13:20.it needs to build a new state of the art facility for Cambridgeshire. The
:13:21. > :13:22.Raise the Roof campaign, which is supported by BBC Radio
:13:23. > :13:32.Cambridgeshire, has raised more than ?2 million of the ?6 million target.
:13:33. > :13:34.Those are your top stories tonight. Now it's over to Stewart and Susie
:13:35. > :13:48.for the rest Lowestoft. It is up to businesses to
:13:49. > :13:52.apply for aid. Still to come: Thousands of people are coming to
:13:53. > :14:00.the East every year, but where should they live? Plus, look at
:14:01. > :14:03.these pictures. The van is travelling at 50 mph behind the one
:14:04. > :14:09.in front. Police get tough with tailgaters.
:14:10. > :14:14.The population of the East is set to rise dramatically in the years
:14:15. > :14:16.ahead. Across the region, it's expected to go up by 22% in just two
:14:17. > :14:20.decades. But that regional figure is, of course, just an average. Some
:14:21. > :14:23.places, like the area covered by Uttlesford District Council, are
:14:24. > :14:27.under even greater pressure. Here it is. Saffron Walden in the North,
:14:28. > :14:32.Great Dunmow in the South, and the M11 right through the middle. The
:14:33. > :14:36.big employer: Stansted Airport. The population here is expected to grow
:14:37. > :14:42.by 31% in 20 years. That's an increase of 24,000 people. So where
:14:43. > :14:50.will they go? Kim Riley is in Saffron Walden now.
:14:51. > :14:54.I'm in the market square of the town that has been judged one of the best
:14:55. > :14:59.places to live in the whole country. It is hardly surprising that people
:15:00. > :15:03.want to move here. Today, local planners were planning new homes in
:15:04. > :15:07.the town. I have been trying to find out more about Saffron Walden. It
:15:08. > :15:12.originally got its name from the saffron trade. The big question now
:15:13. > :15:16.is can its ancient charms be reconciled with the demands of a
:15:17. > :15:25.growing population? Towering over the town, the Touch Of Saint Mary
:15:26. > :15:31.The Virgin. Desirable properties underneath. There aren't many towns
:15:32. > :15:38.with the two wrist information centre that has over 100,000 people
:15:39. > :15:43.per year passed through its door `` tourist information. We have so much
:15:44. > :15:52.to offer in terms of tourist attractions: Green, open areas, a
:15:53. > :16:04.concert arena, history... So much to bring people to the town. It is very
:16:05. > :16:08.special. At the offices of the local newspaper, they know there is
:16:09. > :16:15.nothing like planned housing development to agitate readers. John
:16:16. > :16:20.has been editor for 20 years. He says that more than 1300 families
:16:21. > :16:23.would be the ones to benefit. Coal I think people in the town who have
:16:24. > :16:29.young families are annoyed and have been on waiting lists for years,
:16:30. > :16:34.well hundreds are going to be brought in from outside. I really
:16:35. > :16:38.don't understand that. Surely if we have a waiting list, why aren't we
:16:39. > :16:44.dealing with it? It is not a sensible answer.
:16:45. > :16:47.Bridget originally came to love you more than 50 years ago and has
:16:48. > :16:54.fought to protect the town. She fears for its future. We would have
:16:55. > :16:59.been distressed to see it spoiled, and that could easily happen with
:17:00. > :17:08.the pressure of population, traffic, fumes, aircraft, the
:17:09. > :17:14.attraction of the area could be destroyed. I'm quite elderly so I
:17:15. > :17:20.shan't see it, but I wouldn't like it for the next generation. Bridget
:17:21. > :17:26.Eliot talking to VMware. She says it is up to young people to rise to the
:17:27. > :17:35.challenge of the fears she has for the town in future.
:17:36. > :17:41.So what was happening at the council office? There are specific plans
:17:42. > :17:47.were being put forward for housing developments. As ever, they proved
:17:48. > :17:53.controversial. Gareth George reports on the protesters and decisions.
:17:54. > :17:57.This protest was a polite one but there was no mistaking the strength
:17:58. > :18:03.of feeling. The worry was that more homes means more traffic and more
:18:04. > :18:06.pollution. It is just going to multiply the amount of cars that
:18:07. > :18:14.passed through. There is no mitigating that. Pollution kills so
:18:15. > :18:17.many people already. They are still proceeding with original plans
:18:18. > :18:23.despite the wishes of the vast majority of local residents. Inside,
:18:24. > :18:29.one of the most important meetings in Saffron Walden four years. The
:18:30. > :18:36.consideration is three separate applications for hundreds of homes.
:18:37. > :18:43.Developers wanted to build hundreds here, in these areas. Opposed in the
:18:44. > :18:47.meeting by Speaker after speaker, but not all were against the idea.
:18:48. > :18:56.They included representatives of local sports clubs because one has
:18:57. > :19:01.offered land for a sports ground efforts planning application goes
:19:02. > :19:04.through. But Shannon says her daughter's help is already affected
:19:05. > :19:10.by pollution. She believes morbid make it worse and put pressure on
:19:11. > :19:16.schools and health services. These new developments will bring in
:19:17. > :19:24.excess of 700 homes and in excess of 1100 vehicles. It will just be the
:19:25. > :19:28.straw that breaks the camel's back. Weak after hours of debate,
:19:29. > :19:42.permission for 230 homes was given, but the 300 one was denied. It seems
:19:43. > :19:51.that protesters have a partial victory.
:19:52. > :19:55.Tailgating. Hogging the middle lane, and showing a lack of respect for
:19:56. > :19:59.other drivers at junctions ` some of the things that can infuriate even
:20:00. > :20:03.the calmest of drivers. And, as of last year, the police can do
:20:04. > :20:07.something about it. They now have the power to hand out on`the`spot
:20:08. > :20:10.fines for careless driving. So is it working? Jenny Hill has been out
:20:11. > :20:19.with traffic police in Cambridgeshire.
:20:20. > :20:28.It's going to be a busy shift. We are out with Cambridgeshire police.
:20:29. > :20:43.The award it was simply too close to the one in front. `` lorry. Today
:20:44. > :20:49.the tailgaters are out in force. But last year, officers like John were
:20:50. > :20:53.given the power to issue on the spot fines or penalty points for
:20:54. > :20:58.inconsiderate driving. The new powers were designed to tackle the
:20:59. > :21:04.middle lane hog is and tailgaters on the road. One motoring organisation
:21:05. > :21:10.estimated that a sort of all drivers could be fined. I don't think there
:21:11. > :21:15.has been a campaign by the police to target drivers. That's why the
:21:16. > :21:28.figures have been so low. We need more cops out there and more
:21:29. > :21:40.education about the driving zone. The Government will assess it in one
:21:41. > :21:45.year. I hate it when people are in the middle lane. VCE women driving
:21:46. > :22:04.and they think they will push as they see. Backing Cambridgeshire,
:22:05. > :22:06.John spot another tailgater. The force does fine inconsiderate
:22:07. > :22:14.drivers, but issue warnings to many more. I would rather point out your
:22:15. > :22:20.error than stop you at the moment. Anything we can do to reduce
:22:21. > :22:25.collisions and make drivers aware of the responsibility is important.
:22:26. > :22:29.Police powers will assist others. The balance is that we don't want to
:22:30. > :22:37.just use powers, we want to educate. Well the lorry driver
:22:38. > :22:47.escaped with a leg injury, the consequences of careless driving can
:22:48. > :22:51.be so much worse. We are and consensus that we all
:22:52. > :22:59.hate tailgating! Let's get the weather.
:23:00. > :23:10.Thank you to those who sent in this picture of bluebells. The flowers
:23:11. > :23:19.are all out with the warm sunshine we have been having. We predicted 17
:23:20. > :23:31.Celsius today but many got up to 19 Celsius the north Norfolk coast,
:23:32. > :23:38.with most, stage cooler `` with mist, stayed cooler. Rain is on the
:23:39. > :23:41.way to model with this thicker cloud over the West Country. We might get
:23:42. > :23:51.an isolated showers this evening, although it looks like it will stay
:23:52. > :23:55.dry during the first batch. The rain is trying to make its presence felt
:23:56. > :24:01.at the end of the night. Temperatures won't drop down to
:24:02. > :24:07.eight Celsius. Here is the pressure pattern for tomorrow. Low`pressure
:24:08. > :24:13.moods across the entire country so it does mean rain for the entire
:24:14. > :24:18.country. For others in the East, it will be cloudy and rainy throughout
:24:19. > :24:23.the day. A lot of the rain will be like in the morning, so there will
:24:24. > :24:30.be dry interludes. It's going to be cooler, because we have more cloud,
:24:31. > :24:36.so don't expect to feel as warm as you did today. In the afternoon,
:24:37. > :24:40.showers develop. These look like they could be heavy, with some
:24:41. > :24:48.merging together is a longer spell of rain. Still some drier interludes
:24:49. > :24:53.in between. The bank holiday weekend will have high pressure. Good news
:24:54. > :24:57.in some ways, but bad news in that it is bringing cold air. It would be
:24:58. > :25:05.significantly colder but it will be cooler and fresher. Lots of dry and
:25:06. > :25:11.bright weather, but some chilly nights with temperatures low enough
:25:12. > :25:18.to bring the ground frost. Freddie will start cloudy, but will brighten
:25:19. > :25:23.up. Temperatures of 11 or 12 Celsius through the weekend, so cooler, but
:25:24. > :25:34.brighter, sunnier weather coming. A reminder that the BBC is offering
:25:35. > :25:36.apprenticeships in its local radio stations. Successful candidates will
:25:37. > :25:40.start a 15`month apprenticeship in September. If you are 18 or over by
:25:41. > :25:43.September, a non`graduate and you want to find out more, go to the BBC
:25:44. > :25:55.website at bbc.co.uk/las. The deadline for applications is May
:25:56. > :26:01.12th. That's all from Oz. Have a good evening!