08/11/2017 Look East

That's all from the BBC News at One

- so it's goodbye from me -

In Look East this lunchtime:

Constituents in Essex

give their backing to under fire MP

Priti Patel.

She's a very popular MP in Witham.

So you think she'll get

over this, will she?

Hopefully.

We'll have the latest

on the Greater Anglia train strike.

And I'll be here with

the latest weather forecast.

Good afternoon.

As you have been hearing,

the future of the Essex MP

Priti Patel as a government minister

is hanging in the balance.

It comes after the controversy

surrounding her meetings

with official in Israel.

She is expected in Downing

Street some time today

to discover her fate.

But this morning in her constituency

in Witham, people told Look East,

she still has their support.

Andrew Sinclair is there now.

Whatever happens this afternoon,

Priti Patel will still be the MP for

Witham. It is a seat she holds with

a majority of 18,000 500. She still

had time to get involved in local

causes which she often champions,

campaigns to improve the rail line

through Essex. A lot of negative

headlines today in the newspapers

but amongst her constituents, most

of them are very supportive today.

I think she's the best thing that

has happened to this town.

She's a very popular MP in Witham.

So you think she'll get

over this, will she?

Hopefully.

I think she was put in a position

where she should have known better

but at the same time,

she's a good MP.

This doesn't diminish

your opinion of her?

God, no.

Well, she shouldn't

have done what she did.

It was all a bit

underhand, I think, that.

Best of luck if she can

get away with it.

There's many rogues who don't

get caught, you know.

At times like these, the views of

the local party are very important

and they too are being supportive.

She's an exemplary MP

and we selected her to serve

the people of Witham,

which she was elected to do and

that's exactly what she has done.

So even though she may have

embarrassed the party,

that doesn't bother you?

Clearly, reputation is key to this

but I'm really only concerned

about her job as a member

of Parliament for Witham.

So, whatever happens this afternoon,

she will still be MP for Witham but

make no mistake, this is very

embarrassing for an up and coming MP

often talked about as a future party

leader but she has been caught out

and shown not to have been

completely open about their

activities. There are still

unanswered questions I'm at some

stage, she is going to have to

answer those questions.

The latest strike on Greater Anglia

started this morning.

It's the third time in the last six

weeks that members of the RMT Union

have walked out in the dispute over

the future of train guards.

So far services seem to be

operating as normal.

Another strike day, another RMT

union picket line. In Clacton and in

Ipswich. But this time the walk-out

is for 48 hours. Greater Anglia says

it is running a near full service

and so far it says there have been

no related cancellations. Commuters

still seemed confused as to the

detail of the dispute.

Just having

no guards on the train, which they

are saying is a safety issue, beyond

that, I'm not sure.

I think it is

good to have a guard on the train

for safety for a woman travelling on

her own.

I have not been affected

yet. But you get the feeling if it

is not about safety then it is about

workers' rights and pay, I guess.

Greater Anglia says it will retain

all its conductors in two years. The

unions say the guards will lose

their safety critical role. Guards

across five train companies are

walking out today. This dispute is

now gaining more political traction.

The Department for Transport told us

the RMT is playing a political game.

This dispute is not about jobs as

the guards at Greater Anglia have

had their jobs guaranteed for eight

years. More it says is the dispute

about safety.

Unions are furious

with that assertion. It is all about

safety. They are sacrificing their

wages about safety.

Five weeks on,

this dispute seems no closer to a

resolution. This latest strike

action will continue until midnight

tomorrow. Further walk-outs look

inevitable.

Suffolk Police have released CCTV

pictures of the moment a 79-year-old

woman was attacked in Ipswich.

It happened on Victoria Street

at about 7.30 on Sunday evening.

the woman had just parked her car

when she was robbed

near the Westgate Ward Social Club.

The man escaped with her bag.

The latest inspection

by the health watchdog.

has found that Northampton

General Hospital has made

significant improvements.

It had been rated as requires

improvement, but the new report

rates the hospital as "good".

At the front line of patient care,

Michelle is trying to work out why

Kevin has a shortage of breath.

All in a hospital inspectors

say is much improved.

It's done huge amounts for morale.

Our work...

We have put in an awful lot of work

in over the last three years.

And I think that has

really paid off.

It's just really nice

that is being rewarded.

A&E has seen some of the biggest

improvements at a time

when attendances are

up 10% year-on-year.

There is still room to improve.

Emergency wait time targets

are still being missed.

Aa are cancer care targets,

but patients appear happy.

As are cancer care targets,

but patients appear happy.

They have always been

accommodating to visiting times

and that sort of thing.

The staff are really good.

They helped me and my baby

when we were in hospital.

Sometimes it's a bit on slow

on waiting but apart

from that it is good.

So this is the rating table

from 2014 on the left.

On the left, the last

inspection results.

Orange showing areas

requiring improvement.

On the right, the 2017 results

and green equals good.

The boss is proud of what she calls

a massive achievement.

The biggest change in it I think

really is the positivity

from the staff compared to three

years ago and the biggest thing

of importance in that would be

that the people here feel that

despite the pressure on the NHS,

they can actually do things to make

things better for patients.

This stroke ward has been named

in the top ten in the country.

As demand on services

like this continues to rise,

the challenge for the hospital

is to keep improving for patients.

Anglian Water has agreed to donate

60,000 pounds to wildlife groups

after a sewage overspill

into a brook in Essex.

The company admitted polluting

the Layer Brook, which runs

into the Abberton reservoir.

Fish were found dead upstream

but the incident is not thought

to have caused lasting damage.

The incident happened in 2013

but has only just been resolved.

Anglian Water has reached

an agreement with the Environment

Agency to make the donation

to the Essex and Suffolk Rivers

Trust and the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Now let's get the weather.

Here's Alina Jenkins.

Here's Alina Jenkins.

It has been a fairly grey November

morning but at least some bright

weather in great chest in Essex

early on. Brighter skies trying to

get through earlier.

We have been underneath this bank of

cloud which is slowly getting the

road from the West. The further west

you are, the best of the bright

weather on the sunshine. Further

east that cloud will be slowed to

clear. Thick enough for the odd spot

of rain. Most places drive.

Certainly quite a cool feel to the

afternoon. Temperatures struggling

to get into double figures. A lot of

that cloud will melt away this

evening. A frost for many as

temperatures get close to freezing

if not below. Temperatures start to

recover as the night wears on. Cloud

streaming down. By dawn, we are back

up to five Celsius. Another cloudy

morning. Cloud thickener for a few

outbreaks of rain. It should dry up

quite quickly. More in the way of

sunshine in the afternoon. That will

affect the temperature. Ten or 11

Celsius the highly tomorrow. On

Friday, this weather system slipping

its way across the country. It is

fairly weak and it will introduce

more cloud on Friday and the odd

spot of rain. Late on Friday, a more

persistent spell of rain but that

will clear and leave plenty of

sunshine through the weekend.

That's all from us.

We'll be back with more

with Look East at 6.30.

Goodbye.