20/12/2016 Midlands Today


20/12/2016

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Tonight, Berlin's Brandenberg Gate is illuminated with the colours

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There's been heightened security at Birmingham's German Christmas Market

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following last night's terror attack at a similar market in Berlin.

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12 people were killed and dozens of others were injured when a lorry

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In Birmingham, armed police ringed the city's market,

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Here's our special correspondent Peter Wilson.

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The shutters were going up this morning, business as usual

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at Birmingham's Christmas Market, the largest outside of Germany.

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Stallholders and shoppers had a mood not of fear, but defiance.

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My family have been trading in Birmingham for 100 years

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so they've seen the Luftwaffe being here, the IRA bombing the city,

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so my standpoint is...nothing would intimadate me.

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Of course it's really sad about what happened but I think

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you've just got to carry on with your life.

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If you dwell on it too much and sit back and don't do anything,

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you'll just become a social hermit and never go anywhere.

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The security services were expecting an outrage somewhere in Europe

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The terror attack in Berlin nearly claimed the life of this

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A large truck came through, it went just past me,

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past my girlfriend, I think it missed me by three metres,

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missed her by five, it came through the entrance,

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hit the sides of the barriers and then carried on past us.

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Low-key and out of sight, police armed response teams

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sat in their unmarked, blacked-out cars at strategic sites

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One trader said the British police response was far better than those

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I'm from Slovakia, I'm from here, and when we have the Christmas

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market in our country, there's no security at all.

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Maybe, like, two policeman for the whole thing,

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so it's pretty good, yeah, I like it.

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These reinforced concrete bollards are here to stop any vehicles

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West Midlands Police say that they formed part

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of the original safety plan and are not part of any

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Every year, the city's German market has grown, now attracting

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Such is the scale of this event that those who wish to make

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a statement to create terror will also inevitably

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Our reporter Bob Hockenhull is at the Christmas Market.

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What was the atmosphere like there tonight?

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It was very festive and relaxed and people were having a good time. Many

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had come from outside the city to visit the market and they said any

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act of terrorism wasn't going to put them off enjoying themselves.

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Otherwise they've achieved what they've gone out to do.

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I think everybody's going to have a level of concern

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but at the end of the day, you can't live your life

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They're just striking fear into people and we can't

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So we've got to carry on and keep celebrating Christmas.

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And with heightened security, how likely is an attack?

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Tonight, the police have said that in view of the Berlin attacks, they

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will be reviewing their tactics here on a daily basis. It is worth noting

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that additional Bullard 's were placed before last night's charity

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-- tragedy a few feet from where I'm standing now, but the police say

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that was part of their overall plans here and wasn't in relation to any

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specific intelligence related to Birmingham. One security expert we

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spoke to earlier this evening said there's always a risk with markets

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like this but it has to be put in perspective.

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Driving your car is riskier, walking down the street.

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Cycling in Birmingham is a much riskier activity.

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I mean, statistically, you know, terrorism is way down

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the list in terms of risk, so, yes, there's a heightened risk

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but again, it's nice to see people are out tonight because we should

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live our lives as normally as possible.

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It's a cliche, but otherwise truly the terrorists have won.

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The market has close tonight but market holders say they will carry

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on as normal, opening at 10am tomorrow.

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Detectives say they're no closer to solving the murder of a notorious

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It comes after a coroner concluded that John "Goldfinger" Palmer

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was unlawfully killed at his home in Essex last year.

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He was shot six times at close range in a contract-style killing.

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He got the nickname amidst rumours he'd melted down gold bullion

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But speaking to reporters at the time in Tenerife,

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where he was operating a time-share scam, he denied having

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I'm completely innocent of any...thing to do with this

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In June last year, shortly after these CCTV pictures

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were taken, Palmer was shot six times at his home near

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For days, police didn't realise he'd been murdered,

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thinking he'd died as a result of gall bladder surgery he'd

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recently undergone, a mistake they've since apologised for.

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Today, an inquest into his death was held here in Chelmsford.

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The coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, concluded that he'd

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There was only one member of John Palmer's family present

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at the inquest and that was a man called Ashley Thilthorpe.

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He's the partner of John Palmer's daughter, and he's seen

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here on the right, leaving the hearing with Detective Chief

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DCI Jennings gave evidence and said the murder investigation is ongoing.

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One problem detectives have is the sheer number of people

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who might have had a motive to kill Palmer.

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In relation to his full conviction in 2001, there were listed anything

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Again, there could be 16,000 motives why he was killed just

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And then of course his criminality involving Brink's Mat -

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we know a number of people involved in that subsequent to that crime

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taking place have now been either killed or have died,

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so again, that was very much a consideration.

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And Hatton Gardens as well - possible involvement there?

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It was a line of inquiry we know that John had associated in the past

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with some of the people responsible for that crime who

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Police say someone involved in the criminal underworld knows

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who killed John Palmer and after today's inquest,

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officers renewed their appeal for anyone with information

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A highly respected doctor and an NHS manager have received a two-year

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suspended prison sentence for defrauding the NHS out

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Dr Ian Walton, from Womborne near Wolverhampton, and Lisa Hill,

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from Hagley, admitted raising a false invoice from a charity

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They then diverted the money, which had been set aside

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to cover winter pressures, into the bank account of a private

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The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, says he'll look into proposals

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which could lead to the closure of one of the Accident Emergency

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Health chiefs are looking at shutting the unit at either

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Stafford, Stoke or Burton as part of an efficiency drive.

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They say any specific areas of their plans will go out

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to public consultation, with decisions not being taken

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Looking after your farm can be difficult, especially if you're

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But one farm in Shropshire has come up with an unusual new way

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to protect its stock of Christmas trees.

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Meet Bill, Morse and Lewis, one alpaca and two llamas

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They've just been appointed for guard-dog duties,

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and while Bill the alpaca is placid, Morse and Lewis are more

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During the daytime they're very, very chilled-out.

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You wouldn't have any sort of problem off them.

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But at night-time, if they did catch you, you're likely to get spat at,

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which is particularly disgusting, and then also the potential to be

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The idea's been imported from South Africa, where it's quite

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common for llamas like Lewis and Morse to be guard llamas.

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I wouldn't like to...come into the yard of a night-time

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and see a llama facing me, would you?

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I think that's really unusual, actually!

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Especially bumping into that dark brown one!

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The farm wants their stock of Christmas trees protecting,

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and weighing around 13 stone and being six-feet tall with good

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eyesight and hearing, Morse and Lewis have

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Ultimately, Christmas trees are very, very valuable at this

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time of year and very, very sought-after by the right

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and the wrong people, so, yeah, they're making sure

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During daytime hours, Lewis and Morse lead

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pretty much a dog's life, and it looks like now the same can

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I'll leave you with the latest weather forecast from Wendy Hurrell.

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We're starting to lose some of the clear sky out there.

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We'll be quite well enveloped by cloud throughout tonight but it

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really has been a beautiful, crisp winter's day, hasn't it?

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Right across the region, captured as usual by our Weather Watchers,

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and even this evening, the sun was shining strongly

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A bit more sunshine through this week but there's lots more going on,

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most particularly Storm Barbara towards the end of the week.

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It's going to be turning really quite windy.

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But going back to the here and now, we've got the cloud starting to edge

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in at the moment and it will bring with it some light outbreaks of rain

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It was a cold start to the night so temperatures might rise a little

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bit as that rain comes through and then fall back down

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again, so between three and four degrees as we start

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But you will be going off to work with dry, bright conditions.

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The next band of rain will come through the middle part of the day

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towards lunchtime and this one may bring with it something a bit

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Temperatures are in double figures but I think as the rain goes

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through and any wind, it will be feeling

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A cold night follows on and then it returns blustery

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And if you're making any travel plans, you'll need

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the national forecast tonight, with Tomasz Schafernaker.

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making a journey elsewhere in the country it's worth knowing the

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national forecast. Over now to Tomasz.

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So, the weather's going to blow a few cobwebs away in the coming days

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and maybe a few other things, as well. How stormy is it going to get?

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For most of us probably not too terrible. It is, however, going to

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be very nasty across parts of Scotland on Friday. The clouds are

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racing across the Atlantic and we will see a storm by the time we get

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to around about Friday and then Friday night.

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At the moment we have a weather front crossing the country, we have

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had dreadful weather in the north-west, it was cold and raining

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in Northern Ireland and western Scotland. This band of rain will be

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somewhere here

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