:00:17. > :00:18.And the remarkable story of the pacifist who served
:00:19. > :00:22.Determined not to fight but determined to help.
:00:23. > :00:26.Two men appear in court acctsed of perverting the course
:00:27. > :00:29.of justice over the death of a worker on a farm.
:00:30. > :00:31.And expansion plans at Southend Airport.
:00:32. > :00:48.The target, five million passengers a year, by the end of the ddcade.
:00:49. > :00:52.70 years ago today the Allidd invasion of Europe began
:00:53. > :00:55.Special events have been taking place across the region tod`y to
:00:56. > :01:02.70 years ago today the Allidd invasion of Europe began
:01:03. > :01:09.by landing thousands of soldiers on the beaches of Normandy.
:01:10. > :01:24.It is promising 1,500 jobs and a boost to the local economy
:01:25. > :01:28.A new Center Parcs holiday resort has opened in Bedfordshire with the
:01:29. > :01:32.In total, the centre will cater for around
:01:33. > :01:36.The numbers certainly look impressive, but will it givd the
:01:37. > :01:40.Let's go live there now to our Business Correspondent.
:01:41. > :01:43.And an even bigger splash for Center Parcs.
:01:44. > :01:49.The swimming complex alone cost ?20 million.
:01:50. > :01:51.The swimming complex alone cost ?28 million.
:01:52. > :01:55.Plenty for the first paying guests to get stuck into today.
:01:56. > :02:04.We have been coming to Centdr Parcs since the early 1990s.
:02:05. > :02:08.We wanted to try the new facilities here.
:02:09. > :02:16.There is a 75 bedroom hotel, and a full range of indoor
:02:17. > :02:19.Center Parcs already has fotr holiday villages in England.
:02:20. > :02:34.This is a massive project. ?250 million. Two years of construction.
:02:35. > :02:41.It will inject ?20 million dvery year into the local economy. We have
:02:42. > :02:49.generated thousands of perm`nent jobs. 90% of our employees live
:02:50. > :02:57.within 15 miles of the site. It is brilliant. They are letting me work
:02:58. > :03:08.as many hours as I need and I can fit in my childcare. Bedfordshire
:03:09. > :03:19.has an underdeveloped to list injury `` tourist industry. Just 7$ of the
:03:20. > :03:23.tourism market in our region. Many people pass through Bedfordshire and
:03:24. > :03:29.we need to create reasons for them to stay in the county, stay longer
:03:30. > :03:38.and spend more money. The cdntre parks development is exactlx the
:03:39. > :03:40.right thing for this area. They are expecting to draw most of their
:03:41. > :03:46.visitors from London and thd south`east. With that part of the
:03:47. > :03:48.country booming, this could be very well timed.
:03:49. > :03:51.Let's look at how much monex our region makes through totrism.
:03:52. > :03:54.Out in front is Cambridgeshhre with ?1.2 billion a year,
:03:55. > :03:56.boosted by huge numbers of overseas visitors to Cambridge.
:03:57. > :03:58.Hertfordshire makes 773 million a year.
:03:59. > :04:04.Followed by Northamptonshird at 588 million.
:04:05. > :04:08.Bedfordshire has a much smaller share of the market,
:04:09. > :04:19.Earlier, I spoke to Sally Everett, a tourism expert, and asked her how
:04:20. > :04:22.much of a boost Center Parcs will really give to Bedfordshire?
:04:23. > :04:24.I think where Bedfordshire has perhaps fallen down,
:04:25. > :04:27.as opposed to other regions, it hasn?t had a unique sellhng
:04:28. > :04:32.So I think Center Parcs shotld attract a lot more jobs to the area,
:04:33. > :04:34.and the multiply effect that tourism creates.
:04:35. > :04:36.So people will come into the region itself.
:04:37. > :04:39.They tend to be quite isolated units.
:04:40. > :04:44.Is it really going to filter out into benefits in the local dconomy?
:04:45. > :04:50.There has been some research in the past.
:04:51. > :04:55.How many times does someone go out of that isolated arena?
:04:56. > :05:06.It is important to ensure that the visitors that come to
:05:07. > :05:13.Use local suppliers and buy different resources
:05:14. > :05:21.You cannot force a big organisation like Center Parcs to buy local.
:05:22. > :05:25.You cannot, but the signs are good in terms of what they have done
:05:26. > :05:32.They have a commitment to sourcing local food.
:05:33. > :05:36.We would hope that they would have engagement with the local f`rmers
:05:37. > :05:38.markets and producers, so they could showcase food in their
:05:39. > :05:42.restaurants and encourage pdople to go out and buy it for themsdlves,
:05:43. > :05:53.A protest has taken place in Milton Keynes,
:05:54. > :05:56.calling for changes to council tax and the so`called bedroom t`x.
:05:57. > :06:00.It is more than a year sincd new rules on benefits were brought in.
:06:01. > :06:02.But with a change in power at the local council,
:06:03. > :06:13.protestors are calling for ` better deal for low income families.
:06:14. > :06:23.This woman says she doesn't have much spare time, but for how this
:06:24. > :06:28.protest is personal. She is a to her disabled brother and used to be
:06:29. > :06:35.exempt from paying council tax. But changes to that and housing benefit
:06:36. > :06:39.meant she lost ?25 a week. To help her, the council covers the
:06:40. > :06:47.shortfall. That is discretionary and reviewed each year. If that stops, I
:06:48. > :06:51.will have to be council tax. I will get into arrears. If they evict me,
:06:52. > :06:57.it means myself and my brother and my grandchildren will be holeless.
:06:58. > :07:03.Either that, or pay it, and don t eat. Changes to housing bendfit and
:07:04. > :07:09.welfare are decisions for the national government. The co`lition
:07:10. > :07:14.says savings must be made. Counsellors here have no power over
:07:15. > :07:17.that. But no Labour are running the council, protesters are tryhng to
:07:18. > :07:27.put pressure on the new leader to make some changes. Last year, the
:07:28. > :07:31.pass a motion that no one would be evicted due to changes in bdnefits.
:07:32. > :07:42.We are now asking them to honour that. But the protesters sax the
:07:43. > :07:54.protesters have misunderstood. It would be the wrong thing to do to
:07:55. > :07:58.allow people to go into debt. We need to differentiate betwedn can't
:07:59. > :08:02.pay and won't pay. There were protests when the changes wdre first
:08:03. > :08:22.introduced. One year on, thd protests continue.
:08:23. > :08:24.Five babies in the region are still recovering
:08:25. > :08:27.after they developed blood poisoning from a suspected contaminatdd drip.
:08:28. > :08:29.The babies at Addenbrooke?s, the Luton and Dunstable
:08:30. > :08:32.and Peterborough City Hospitals are all said to be in a stable condition
:08:33. > :08:53.A reduction in the number of prison officers at a jail in Milton Keynes
:08:54. > :08:56.may have led to the death of an inmate.
:08:57. > :08:59.21 year old Sean Brock commhtted suicide in his cell at Woodhill
:09:00. > :09:02.Prison last November. Today the prison governor told the Coronor
:09:03. > :09:06.cuts in staff in the past fhve years has had a negative impact on
:09:07. > :09:17.inmates. The coroner will now write to the Secretary of State.
:09:18. > :09:19.Infertility clinics in the region are reporting
:09:20. > :09:23.a rise in the number of samd sex couples wanting to have a b`by.
:09:24. > :09:25.The Bourn Hall Clinic ` which has just opened
:09:26. > :09:29.a new centre in Peterborough ` says demand is up by a third.
:09:30. > :09:32.In the last five years, the number of single sex couples seeking help
:09:33. > :09:36.Robin and Billy are now 15`months`old.
:09:37. > :09:38.Their mothers decided to st`rt a family
:09:39. > :09:43.I suppose, years ago, it was not the norm people would say.
:09:44. > :09:47.Now it is out in the open, I think more people will go for it.
:09:48. > :09:50.A lot of people would say, if you are in the same sex
:09:51. > :09:53.relationship you will not h`ve family and you will miss out.
:09:54. > :09:59.At this new centre in Peterborough, they say changes
:10:00. > :10:02.in lifestyle mean that more same`sex couples are seeking their hdlp.
:10:03. > :10:04.They form their relationships much yotnger and
:10:05. > :10:08.therefore family is much up more on the agenda than it was a generation
:10:09. > :10:11.Civil partnership has also `ssisted in terms
:10:12. > :10:13.of formalising those relationships and liberating treatment services
:10:14. > :10:17.For both partners to be leg`l parents, they need to have
:10:18. > :10:20.the relationship legally recognised and conceive at a licensed clinic.
:10:21. > :10:26.The sperm donor?s details are recorded.
:10:27. > :10:30.The child can have them when they turn 18.
:10:31. > :10:33.I would always say it is better to get it sorted out properly, simply,
:10:34. > :10:36.sign the right paperwork and then you can move forwards happily.
:10:37. > :10:38.Becoming a parent doesn't come cheap.
:10:39. > :10:44.It is not available for same`sex couples on the NHS
:10:45. > :10:47.But for Sophie Greenwood who carried the twins,
:10:48. > :11:03.The couple have no plans for more children, saying
:11:04. > :11:15.Questions have been raised over the decision to arrest the parents of an
:11:16. > :11:20.The couple from King's Lynn have been accused by police
:11:21. > :11:23.The association representing directors of council`run chhldren's
:11:24. > :11:26.services says the police should not be involved because action should
:11:27. > :11:44.Villagers have been giving their views about plans for a new power
:11:45. > :11:48.station in Bedfordshire. Thd site had been earmarked for a gi`nt
:11:49. > :11:57.incinerator. Those plans have now been shelved. Instead, 150
:11:58. > :11:58.construction jobs and 15 full`time jobs will be created with a new
:11:59. > :11:59.power station. First back to Stewart with lore
:12:00. > :12:20.on this memorable day. Still to come, how the codebreakers
:12:21. > :12:26.misled the Germans about whdre the attack would be.
:12:27. > :12:29.But first the remarkable story of a man who served on
:12:30. > :12:33.the beaches of Normandy but refused to fight or even carry a gun.
:12:34. > :12:35.David Briggs had a strong Christian faith.
:12:36. > :12:38.He was one of 60,000 people in Britain who refused to fhght `
:12:39. > :12:44.But as a medic in the army, he chose to be in the teeth of the b`ttle.
:12:45. > :12:51.Alex Dunlop has been to meet him at home in Bedford.
:12:52. > :12:58.David Briggs is your quintessential gentleman. Now 96, the formdr
:12:59. > :13:05.schoolmaster recounts how at 16 he decided he could never go to war. I
:13:06. > :13:12.said, this isn't right, whatever the answer is, war isn't the answer I
:13:13. > :13:18.felt that the enemy wasn't really her killer, the enemy was w`r
:13:19. > :13:23.itself. Yet David did go to war as an Army medic. I wanted to save
:13:24. > :13:29.life, for me the medical corps was the answer. I didn't want to be
:13:30. > :13:36.thought a coward and to be ` coward, it was against the grain with me.
:13:37. > :13:41.But I must be a part of it. So in June that in 44 with this armband is
:13:42. > :13:46.only means of defence, David approached the beaches of Normandy.
:13:47. > :13:52.The first thing I saw was the dead body of a Canadian, lying in the
:13:53. > :13:57.sea. You were under fire copy had no gun, you must have felt verx
:13:58. > :14:02.vulnerable. It sounds silly, but the whole thing was so I'm real, in a
:14:03. > :14:08.way, we didn't have time to think `` unreal. How do you square away that
:14:09. > :14:13.non`resistance with all the thousands of Christians who went and
:14:14. > :14:22.bought and died, fighting what they thought was against evil? I find
:14:23. > :14:26.this very difficult. This is what my friend Frank and I were constantly
:14:27. > :14:37.talking of. David's best frhend Frank was an Army 's soldier, this
:14:38. > :14:40.wartime letter is from him. I admire your actions immensely though I
:14:41. > :14:46.don't agree with your views. In a wide sense, of course, I thhnk you
:14:47. > :14:53.are right. I hate and detest war. He felt that it was right and H felt it
:14:54. > :14:59.was wrong. There is no bridge between those two convictions,
:15:00. > :15:04.really. Anyway, I trust we shall soon have an end of the whole
:15:05. > :15:09.horrible business. And what appealed they will be us to work in.
:15:10. > :15:14.Tragically, that would never happen. Frank was killed in Normandx in
:15:15. > :15:18.1944. His faith and his wifd Mary kept David Strong but he won't
:15:19. > :15:24.forget the monkey told his son that he refused to carry a gun. He took
:15:25. > :15:28.me aside and said, you know what happens to people who disobdy
:15:29. > :15:35.orders, don't you? And that was the end of the conversation. Wh`t you
:15:36. > :15:42.think thinking meant by that? To be frank, I thought I would be shot for
:15:43. > :15:47.not agreeing to carry a gun. Mercifully, that order was
:15:48. > :15:51.overwritten next day. David received his long service medals but
:15:52. > :15:55.conscientious objectors werdn't decorated nor could they rise
:15:56. > :15:58.through the ranks. Young corporal Briggs put himself in harm 's way
:15:59. > :16:10.but he says, you put his conscience first.
:16:11. > :16:16.10,000 soldiers were killed on the beaches but it could have bden so
:16:17. > :16:19.much worse. British intelligence managed to
:16:20. > :16:21.persuade the Nazis that the invasion could come at Calais
:16:22. > :16:24.and not in Normandy. But how did the Allies know that
:16:25. > :16:27.the Germans had taken the b`it? Because Bletchley Park
:16:28. > :16:40.in Buckinghamshire was decrxpting It was in these humble little huts
:16:41. > :16:43.that the codebreakers of Bldtchley Park decrypted, translated `nd
:16:44. > :16:49.sorted messages. Some of thd information gleaned help st`ff plot
:16:50. > :16:55.the movement of enemy shipphng as well as allied forces in thd English
:16:56. > :17:00.Channel in the run`up to D`Day. It was very exciting, of coursd, we
:17:01. > :17:09.knew about all the Mulberrys row and the bits of harbour, of course the
:17:10. > :17:13.German E boats, they would be a great deal of trouble to us. There
:17:14. > :17:20.was a tremendous amount of `ctivity going on. There was so much work
:17:21. > :17:27.that sometimes you couldn't go home at the end and there was quhte a bit
:17:28. > :17:30.of pressure. We felt very responsible because we did feel that
:17:31. > :17:37.if we didn't keep things up`to`date, it could even mdan
:17:38. > :17:42.people being killed. To givd that landing on the beaches of Normandy
:17:43. > :17:46.the best possible chance, D`Day decoy operation had been pl`nned.
:17:47. > :17:52.Double agent codenamed Garbo was one of a network of spies feeding the
:17:53. > :17:59.Germans force information. That the invasion would be at Calais. We were
:18:00. > :18:03.intercepting the German translations and bankrupting them, could see
:18:04. > :18:09.whether they had followed the bait we had given them. The mess`ges
:18:10. > :18:15.behind this tell us about the fact that the elaborate decoy was huge in
:18:16. > :18:19.D`Day success, Bletchley Park allowed to British intelligdnce to
:18:20. > :18:26.monitor what was being said so the lies and false information was being
:18:27. > :18:30.believed. It kept the Germans sitting in Calais up until @ugust,
:18:31. > :18:36.when we attacked them there. They were still waiting for the hnvasion
:18:37. > :18:39.across the sea that never h`ppened. Such was the secrecy at Bletchley
:18:40. > :18:44.that even when the end came, it was another 30 years before Jean and her
:18:45. > :18:51.colleagues were able to tell their families exactly what they did in
:18:52. > :18:59.the war. Colbourne is from the Imperial War Museum. We havd heard a
:19:00. > :19:02.lot about the beaches and the soldiers on the beaches but this
:19:03. > :19:10.region was important for thd part it played from airbases. It certainly
:19:11. > :19:14.was. Cases like Duxford, if you imagine the carpet of airfidlds all
:19:15. > :19:19.around East Anglia, they had a huge role to play in this operathon. That
:19:20. > :19:26.is beforehand in terms of softening up the German air force, ensuring
:19:27. > :19:30.that when they looked up, it was one of theirs, doing work behind the
:19:31. > :19:37.beach as well. Duxford's pilots did a lot of work attacking marshalling
:19:38. > :19:41.yards, targets behind the areas to ensure the Germans couldn't
:19:42. > :19:49.reinforce those areas. And of course bombing and attacking areas in the
:19:50. > :19:55.paddock. `` in Calais. I max get a lot of veterans coming to you at the
:19:56. > :20:07.Imperial War Mrs. Today is hmportant for all of them. It certainly is. It
:20:08. > :20:11.is privilege to meet these guys We have met veterans from Amerhca, from
:20:12. > :20:19.the UK, they are all getting old now, a lot of people said on the 60s
:20:20. > :20:24.anniversary that it was one of the last times they would assemble in
:20:25. > :20:26.large numbers but I wouldn't bet against them being there for the
:20:27. > :20:35.80th! There are some strong characters they're! They make doing
:20:36. > :20:39.this job a real pledge. Do xou think we will carry on remembering when
:20:40. > :20:43.those old soldiers are gone or do you think it will become solething
:20:44. > :20:50.as part of history and we w`nt market in the way we have done
:20:51. > :20:54.today? I hope that doesn't happen, I hope we do continue to remelber it,
:20:55. > :20:57.if you think of our region particularly, the legacy thdse guys
:20:58. > :21:06.left behind, those historic airfields, all around, the lemorials
:21:07. > :21:12.to their sacrifice. All of these places, D`Day marks a huge turning
:21:13. > :21:16.point in the war. This country is still very interested in thd Second
:21:17. > :21:30.World War, and I genuinely see that continuing. Thank you.
:21:31. > :21:32.You've probably heard of or seen the 1952 film
:21:33. > :21:36.Singin? In The Rain ` an Amdrican musical comedy starring Gend Kelly,
:21:37. > :21:50.It's the story of showbiz Hollywood in the 1920s, when silent movies
:21:51. > :21:56.finally found their voice. @ film often described as one of the best
:21:57. > :21:59.ever musicals. Now Singin' Hn The Rain has been brought to thd Theatre
:22:00. > :22:03.Royal in Norwich, more than 60 years after the film came out. Thdy have
:22:04. > :22:06.been many productions of Singin In The Rain about this one in
:22:07. > :22:11.particular, I feel, the production values are so high, it's be`utiful
:22:12. > :22:16.to look at. It has everything from the film plus a couple of extra
:22:17. > :22:21.songs that weren't in the fhlm originally. The show has kept the
:22:22. > :22:24.comedy, the glamour and recreated Gene Kelly's iconic song and dance
:22:25. > :22:31.scene and the man who has to fill his shoes is James Lisa. It's a
:22:32. > :22:33.unique situation, I have never danced in the rain before, to give
:22:34. > :22:38.the audience involved, it's wonderful. It's from Reeva lost
:22:39. > :22:45.physically challenging show I have done. They have a special stage they
:22:46. > :22:49.have brought in. Underneath is a tank full of water, the writers up
:22:50. > :22:56.and can drain off, because ht's not just a shower but 12,000 litres of
:22:57. > :23:00.water they will be dancing hn. We have three water tanks in total We
:23:01. > :23:05.feel to it for times before it goes on stage and gets to the cast. To be
:23:06. > :23:14.nice to be cast in the colddr months, we do hate the rain to 0
:23:15. > :23:19.degrees. `` hate the rain. This is what he has to perform in, `nd when
:23:20. > :23:22.he is dancing and singing in the rain, if you are in the front few
:23:23. > :23:29.rows, you're guaranteed to get a bit wet.
:23:30. > :23:40.Just time for some of your stories about D`Day. A nice one frol Douglas
:23:41. > :23:46.Smith called near Lowestoft, he flew a Halifax in the days during the
:23:47. > :23:52.run`up to D`Day to soften up the German positions, he says, there are
:23:53. > :23:55.not many of us left. Brian from the Chelmsford regimental Assochation
:23:56. > :24:02.wants us to mention Albert Wilson who was 90 in March and topped
:24:03. > :24:06.capture Pegasus Bridge. And he not from Rosemary who says, my dad
:24:07. > :24:10.Frederik Piper was in the Royal Navy during World War II, he was
:24:11. > :24:16.transferring soldiers from the ships to the beach and the family filmed
:24:17. > :24:20.him back there. He has now sadly died but she says, I only rdalised
:24:21. > :24:26.today the first time what a very special film we have which we can
:24:27. > :24:33.show our grandchildren. Thank you to everybody. Time for the weather
:24:34. > :24:37.Lots of sunshine across the region, that heat and humidity will
:24:38. > :24:41.eventually bring thunderstorms as we head into tomorrow. It doesn't even
:24:42. > :24:49.out there, lots of sunshine to end the day, and try initially. Later,
:24:50. > :24:54.the risk of some storms comhng up. Further east, staying dry at least
:24:55. > :25:02.at this stage. As you can sde, quite a mucky night. But tomorrow, it s
:25:03. > :25:07.all about this one, humid ahr coming up from Spain and France,
:25:08. > :25:13.interacting with this cold front. It will bring * of some thunderstorms.
:25:14. > :25:23.It looks like we will see some storms across the morning, then the
:25:24. > :25:26.region focuses to the West. The Met office have a yellow warning out for
:25:27. > :25:33.that for the risk of some sdvere thunderstorms. The potential for
:25:34. > :25:36.some large hail and gusty whnds Through the course of tomorrow, we
:25:37. > :25:41.will see areas of thunderstorms working their way northwards. Some
:25:42. > :25:46.uncertainty as to how far e`st they will tend to be. They will clear
:25:47. > :25:49.northwards, there will be a dry spell late morning with a spell of
:25:50. > :25:53.hazy sunshine and then the real risk of some nasty storms as we head
:25:54. > :25:58.through the afternoon and into the evening. Some of those could have
:25:59. > :26:06.some large hail and gusty whnds Temperatures will be variable,
:26:07. > :26:08.getting up to maybe 25 degrdes. Where you are underneath those
:26:09. > :26:13.storms, they could be lower and cooler along the coast. Into
:26:14. > :26:18.tomorrow, the showers and storms clear, a fine end to the dax. Then
:26:19. > :26:23.things to quieten down for Sunday. Much of the day will be dry across
:26:24. > :26:31.the bulk of the region, the risk of one or two showers. Has begtn
:26:32. > :26:36.through Sunday night into Monday, more thundery weather across the
:26:37. > :26:43.region, particularly the East. A lot of uncertainty about the tiling of
:26:44. > :26:50.it. The outlook doesn't thundery at times but some dry weather to be
:26:51. > :26:53.had, especially on Sunday. Ht could linger into Monday night as well. At
:26:54. > :27:00.this stage, Tuesday licking mainly dry.
:27:01. > :27:08.A word about the Sunday polhtics this weekend. They may not have done
:27:09. > :27:13.it in you work but the UKIP caused an earthquake a couple of wdeks ago,
:27:14. > :27:18.but many of our town halls they are having to deal with the fallout We
:27:19. > :27:24.are looking at the inch stick alliances which have sprung up, but
:27:25. > :27:28.are they good for democracy? And Charles Clarke tells what hd thinks
:27:29. > :27:29.about UKIP and why it's important that all politicians to work more
:27:30. > :27:34.closely together. The average person moves home
:27:35. > :28:02.eight times during their life. So that's eight times
:28:03. > :28:05.we have to move the sofa. Eight times
:28:06. > :28:08.we have to redecorate. Eight times
:28:09. > :28:13.we have to locate the stopcock But there's one thing
:28:14. > :28:15.that's easy to do when you move - you can switch your TV licence
:28:16. > :28:18.online.