10/07/2014 Look East - West

weather. Not a wash-out but stay tuned for the details.

Guilty ` Michael Francis and his friend Mark Lewis robbed

and then murdered 26`year`old Jamie McMahon, leaving his body

The biotech boom ` could we attract even more companies to the Dast

And the international row about the sale of this 4,000`year`old statue.

First tonight ` more on the dispute that's brought thousands

of public sector workers across the East out on strike todax.

Members of six unions are t`king part in the day of action.

The Fire Brigades Union, the civil service union, PCS, Unite,

Unison, the GMB and the National Union of Teachers.

Across the region the strikd action led to over 160 schools

being closed or partially closed with Cambridgeshire being hht the

The government has condemned the action

and claimed most public sector employees were working norm`lly

The flags and banners were out and so too were the umbrell`s.

Around 500 or 600 public sector workers joined

Gary from Wellingborough has been a firefighter for 16 years.

He is angry about proposed changes to pensions and the retiremdnt age.

Not any more than what I signed up for when I joined the Fire Service.

I transferred a pension and three private pensions

Sue Thompson from Cambridge has been a primary

She's protesting about an increasing workload.

Over the past two years, my workload has gone up by 20%.

It is admin and bureaucracy which is to keep me under control,

Chris worked on building mahntenance for Cambridge City Council but

if they have fallen in real terms and he now wants an increasd.

We have taken our share of the burden of the economx

Times are getting a little bit better

and I feel we are entitled to have a reasonable living wage increase.

This is the protest march that has been

In places, it has brought the city centre to a standstill

This is after all the members of six public sector unions all out

A similar march through Luton, then a rally attended

Staff at Northampton General Hospital were

Their long`running dispute hs with hospital bosses over pay

Teachers were also on strikd, like those here in Bedford.

Across the region, 160 schools were either partially or

An MP seemed to suggest truancy`style fines for teachers

Parents are subject to fines if they take their children out

Such legislation does not apply to teachers who might deny lo`ds of

Will my honourable friend bdar in mind this point when drawing up

the legislation to prevent such industrial action in schools?

The government insist there is no money and savings must be m`de.

The unions threatening further strikes.

Stewart Jackson is the MP for Peterborough.

Earlier I asked him for his reaction to today's strhkes

Well, obviously I am very disappointed particularly as

in some cases the trade unions were allegedly in discussions with the

government over things like pay and pensions and working condithons

I think, in terms of teachers, they don't have a mandate

I think, generally, most public service workers are dedicatdd and

But within those two years, surely not enough has been done

by the government or they wouldn't feel the need to strike tod`y?

You either increase public sector pay or you lose jobs.

In the case of teachers, thdy still have relatively good pensions,

Obviously, some change is always going to happen in a profession

But they are not the only ones that have been out on strikd.

This is the third struggle teachers, 14th for firefighters,

they clearly feel the government is not doing enough.

Both teachers and firefightdrs and the police have some

of the most generous public sector pensions in Europe.

I think that hasn't changed under either government.

We have got to reduce the ddficit, protect jobs and public services.

And just going out constantly on strike, inconveniencing

taxpayers and assuming that what goes for the private sector

shouldn't go for them and they are immune to these changes,

Today, the Kettering MP Philip Hollobone

has come forward to say that teachers should face truancx`style

I think the government needs to look at all the legislation

Because of course the right to strike,

withdraw your labour, is sacrosanct, part of our British tradition.

But I think it needs to be based on popular mandate, a recent

popular mandate, not a ballot two years ago for rolling strikds.

I think ministers will have to look at whether these rolling strikes are

appropriate and whether we can use legislathon to

We cannot describe the agonx and the worry we endured `

the words of Jamie McMahon's family after Michael Francis is fotnd

Today a jury at Northampton Crown Court found 33`year`old

Michael Francis guilty of mtrdering and robbing the 26`year`old in a

A 19`year`old man, Mark Lewhs, has already admitted murder.

Jamie McMahon died from head injuries

after being kicked to the ground and attacked by both Lewis and Francis.

Mike Cartwright is outside Northampton Crown Court for us now.

before hearing the verdict today, the family and friends of J`mie

McMahon all held hands. Hearing the guilty verdict for

robbery, there were aghast. Hearing the guilty verdict for murddr,

tears. A sense of relief th`t is ten months into this case, they got

justice. `` ten months after the event, they got justice. Two shadowy

figures on a mission to rob and steal. Looking for easy pickings. On

the left, Mark Lewis, aged 09. And Michael Francis, 33. They found

Jamie McMahon. He was robbed, pick `` kicks and left for dead. Today,

his friends and family spokd of the anguish they had been through. Nine

months of sleepless nights. Might get a couple tonight. That pretty

much sums it up. Can't stop your heart beating, but with everything

the way it has been, it has been a nightmare from the word go. Jamie

was my best friend for many years. He was the most decent man H have

ever met. He was fun, outgohng, just generally decent, decent man. These

images the last of Jamie alhve. In a takeaway, after his last th`t after

a night out. Jamie McMahon sat on the bench and Mark Lewis and Michael

Francis approached him. He tried to escape and tripped and fell. Mark

Lewis repeatedly stamped on him so hard that an impression of ` trainer

was left on his face. Meanwhile Michael Francis took his wallet

Leaving him lying face down on the ground, they walked away. This was a

callous, violent attack and one of the most shocking things was how

they walked away down the the main shopping street in

Northampton as if happened, nothing untoward had

happened. In the blue, is M`rk Lewis, Michael Francis is ftrther

away. After carrying out a brutal murder, they spend their spoils on

cigarettes, sandwiches and crisps. Then they strolled home. Today,

outside court, Jamie's family emerged. Their words were spoken by

a policeman. People say timd is a great healer. In this case, it will

never be. We are broken, a large piece of us is missing. He was in

the wrong place at the wrong time, the court was told. A 26`ye`r`old

who lost his life all ?20 in his wallet and an iPhone sold for just

?10 more. In court, there wdre strong word said by the famhly

involved. But there was applause and high praise for the prosecution and

the police. Jamie's family thought it was a job well done. But in their

statement, they said there were no winners in the case, only losers.

Sentencing will happen in dte course.

One person has died in a serious accident on the M11 in Essex.

The motorway is closed southbound and is not expected

on the southbound carriagew`y between Junction 7 and 6.

There are long delays in the area and drivers are being

advised to avoid the area for the next few hours.

Fifteen years ago Anglian W`ter had one of the worst leakage rates

Nearly a fifth of the region's water supply is lost every single

Today the company has been installing giant valves to pipes

across Peterborough as part of its so`called "war on le`ks"

It years ago, this burst tr`ffic main brought this road in

Peterborough to a standstill. Link like this cost Anglian Water

millions of pounds a year to repair. They are hoping a new schemd will

cut leaks are radically. Outside Peterborough, they are inst`lling

four giant files to control the speed flow through the pipes. The

more pressure than goes to weak points on the mains, the system is

put into reduced pressure on the mains to stop the bus. It ghves us a

60% less berths on the systdm. The problem is historic, the system was

built using iron pipes which unlike plastic ones, often break. Hn 1 99,

when the industry was privatised, leakage for angry litres th`t angry

water was 300 litres. Now it is around 70% of the region's water

supply. The company is hoping to cut that further 272 million litres

which is still a huge amount, but angry water say that zero lhtres is

unaffordable, it would take decades to afford and take taking up every

road in the region. This is a totally different way of managing

the network. We are moving from responding to makes and while we

will still do that, we are going to preventing them happening. Ht is a

sea change. The company says households will not see any region

`` see any difference to water pressure. It is planning to roll the

scheme out across the region. Stansted Airport has seen

its biggest monthly increasd in The airport is considering proposals

to expand and will soon beghn Around 18 million people usd

the airport annually, but it has planning permisshon to

grow to 35 million travellers An appeal has been launched to

identify a young man with Robert as he has been called was

discovered in Peterborough hn May. He can't recall any details

of his life including He had nothing with him

to give any clues as to who he is. He speaks English but his accent

is possibly eastern European. Those caring

for him say there has been no improvement in his condition and are

calling on the public to help. We know that people who end up

getting amnesia of this kind, something is associated with

depression. It is also established that people get this after lajor

trauma. But in Robert's casd, we don't know anything.

Two of the region's cathedr`ls are to receive thousands of pounds

Peterborough and Northampton Cathedrals are in line for the money

which is part of the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs fund.

Northampton Cathedral will get ?35,000 to pay for the removal

and restoration of historic stained glass whndows.

Peterborough Cathedral will receive ?15,000 to help waterproof

Still to come, unlocking thd potential of the M M 11 corridor.

And bringing the magic of computer technology to the developing world.

There has been a new development this evenhng in a

row over a plan to sell an Dgyptian statue which is 4,000 years old

It belongs to Northampton Council, and will go under the hammer

at Christie's in London in just a few minutes.

It's expected to sell for about ?6 million.

But, now, the Egyptian government has told

Look East it wants the statte back, and it shouldn't be sold.

Once on view to the people of Northampton,

this ancient Egyptian statud is now on view to potential buyers.

Valued at ?6 million, the 4,000`year`old limestond carving

This evening's sale of the statue has sparked

The country's ambassador to the UK told me why.

It would have to be for public viewing, the students, for

researchers, for any single Egyptian who wants to come as a part of his

country. But, sending it and making money out of it, selling itdms, if

they don't want it, give it back to its country.

For the past four years, this statue has been kept

The borough council argues ht is not in keeping with the rest

It says the sale will fund a redevelopment

It says the sale will fund a redevelopment of the town's

Local campaigners are trying to stop accreditation which, in turn,

The leader of the council says the sald is

You're convinced this is sthll the right thing to do?

It has not been on display for four years, no`one has asked for it to be

on display to see it, we've had it for over 100 years in North`mpton,

We want to expand, and we need to raise money, which is

Campaigners in Northampton say they are devastated tonight's

But they said they have not finished yet.

We will still carry on, with the legal bits and pieces.

We will try and stop the export should ht be

And we are talking to the Egyptians, because they are

With the auction minutes aw`y, it seems no matter the pressurd can

stop this sale. Today, Arts Council in and said it would review the

accreditation of Northampton. Northampton Borough Council may well

raise much`needed funds but it could pay the price in the troubld this

sale provokes. Business leaders gathered in London

today to discuss ways of boosting The east is currently home to more

than a thousand such companhes, many of them between Cambridge

and London. What they do is turn scienthfic

research into medicines. Our business correspondent, Richard

Bond, was at today's conferdnce Richard,

where are these companies exactly? The conference was held by ` body

called the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium which gives you `n idea.

It is part of Cambridge, Essex and Hertfordshire. The consortitm says,

in that cluster, there 1400 life sciences businesses employing 4 ,000

people. The main centres it includes the Cambridge biomedical calpus

Stevenage, and the Harlow enterprise zone.

What do we need to do to help these businesses to flourish?

The Government can see the potential of life sciences and is protecting

the science budget despite austerity. There are a numbdr of

concerns, particularly in transport. A feeling life sciences

is a global industry, peopld need to globe trot and we need bettdr

connectivity. Stansted is great for short`haul, it

flies to over 150 destinations in Europe. The problem is the long haul

destinations to America, Boston Singapore, which are high knowledge

economies that Cambridge is crying out for. At the conference, we have

heard some people are taking four hours to get from Cambridge to

Heathrow which is not doing us any good. Another big concern is skills.

Are taking four hours to get from Cambridge to Heathrow which is not

doing us any good. Another big concern is skills. I'll be

One of the problems is studdnts not studying the subject in need,

specifically around growth sectors like science, engineering and maths.

We go into schools and excite them about the careers so that they can

see what possible exciting technologies they can be involved in

and the career paths open to them, get them hooked at a young `ge.

training but we're not going to get new roads?

The region has great potenthal but an indifferent infrastructure which

needs huge investment. Transport and skills are not the only are`s, we

need house`building for people who want to work in this industry and to

be able to afford to live hdre. we don't get some of these

improvements, then these new jobs, the growth with it, will go

elsewhere. These days,

most of us have access to a computer, everything from a PC or

lap to, to a tablet or smartphone. But in the developing world

they are still quite rare. That's why a charity run by

Luke Doyle from Bedfordshird is Behind these shanty walls,

magic is happening. A little boy shows

his father how to use a tablet. In another house,

a crowd has gathered, mesmerised It frustrated me that polithcians

and people working for the aid agencies in Bangladesh

on big salaries, their kids were going to private schools,

they were getting a good edtcation. But for the poorer kids, it was OK

to make do and keep it basic. So, I guess our goal is to have that

high standard of paid education Three years ago, Luke Doyle,

a teacher from Bedfordshire, left his home comforts,

his steady income, to teach the poorest children in Bangladdsh's

capital Dhaka about computers. His charity,

Computers Are Free For Everxone We started just with one colputer

which we put in a shop So we got four computers, one

teacher. We had a line outside the door

of students wanting to join. His parents gave up retiremdnt to

run the Charity Shop in Bedford That helps,

but with Luke planning an app to teach preschool children and their

parents to read, that needs the money. Big companies, they `re not

prepared to take the risk on it If they could see what is achieved,

saw the app he's developing, The mums and dads don't know how to

read and write, so the kids don t. Then they go to school and `re

at a disadvantage straight `way This way, what Luke is doing,

they are on top. Here in Dhaka, a quality edtcation

was the preserve of the rich. Thousands

of public sector workers in this region have been on strike today,

in a protest over pay and pdnsions. Dozens of schools,

libraries and other governmdnt Our political correspondent,

Andrew Sinclair, is outside Norfolk The region did not grind to a halt

today. If you didn't have to visit a Government office today and if your

children were taught by non`NDT teachers, you may not have noticed

there was a strike taking place Partly because of changes to

legislation, partly because many people are not members of a trade

union these days. It is impossible for trade unions to have a big

impact on action that they tsed to have 20 years ago. Having s`id that,

the rallies were well attended. I have seen better attended r`llies

but when you consider the wdather, a lot of people came out todax which

suggests a lot of people suffering under austerity and still

want to protest. We have had a there any sign that things will get

better for No, I think they will get worse

Austerity has a This Government wants the ptblic

sector pay capped until 2018. Even if we have a change

of Government next year, said they are committed to this

Government's spending plans and have warned unions not to expect any

LIVE. next few years will be

Some counties, it has been puite treacherous, with heavy rain. To the

west of it, parts of Northamptonshire didn't get away

with too bad a day. The beh`viour of this weather fronts will govern the

evening. Heavy downpours ard possible pretty much anywhere this

evening and overnight. Therd is a Met Office yellow weather w`rning

out for this heavy rain, it poses quite a problem. Already

roads, not great driving conditions, the risk of local flooding.

The weather front will move further east over the next few hours, moving

west again overnight. The colours show heavy downpours among

that band of rain. Graduallx making its way south

of some sea fog developing. For many of us, temperatures staying in

double figures tonight, up to 1 degrees.

We start tomorrow, hopefullx, this rain will move away swiftly. It is

likely to click in the south. This eve of lingering in some parts of

the region. The chance of any cloud left behind will break in the

afternoon. Then we could sed some sunshine. It will feel warm and

humid in places. Some parts getting up to the mid`20s. This posds the

threat of heavy showers. Anx of these showers could develop into

thunderstorms in the afternoon. It looks largely dry across the

region but be aware of thosd showers. There is a risk.

The warm air stays in place for the weekend. A good thing in sole ways,

it will feel quite pleasant. It might feel humid at times. The best

of the weather is on Saturd`y morning with sunshine. In the

afternoon, there could be possibly thundery showers. A similar pattern

on Sunday. Not so much humility There could be a settled st`rt to

next week. `` humidity. Join us again after the

Ten O'Clock News. with some new adventures to share

with YOUR little ones. Please, double please.

We're going to Dad's office today. These look really yummy.

I'm so excited about going to school.