:00:02. > :00:09.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans.
:00:09. > :00:13.And I'm John Young. Tonight's top stories: A White speaks out, Elaine
:00:13. > :00:16.Tappin tells us what she thinks opera retired husband be held in a
:00:16. > :00:22.Texas prison facing conspiracy charges.
:00:22. > :00:25.While my husband is in America, please be kind to him. Do not treat
:00:25. > :00:31.him unjustly. A nasty surprise for suspected drug
:00:31. > :00:35.dealers in Medway, more than 20 people have been arrested.
:00:35. > :00:39.Hundreds of looked after children from other areas are still in
:00:39. > :00:43.foster care in Kent. MPs call for an urgent meeting with the Minister.
:00:43. > :00:50.Expressing a passion for pebbles in seaside art, sculptures spreading
:00:51. > :00:57.along the south coast. I was trying to pick my words
:00:57. > :01:00.carefully, the only thing that was in my head was, calm down! And the
:01:00. > :01:05.wanderer returns, comedian John Bishop rose into Dover after
:01:05. > :01:15.travelling hundreds of miles for his Sport Relief triathlon. We were
:01:15. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:27.Good evening. The wake of retired Kent businessman Christopher Tappin
:01:27. > :01:30.extradited to the US for allegedly selling batteries for Iranian
:01:30. > :01:35.missiles has spoken of her utter desolation about the case. Elaine
:01:35. > :01:39.Tappin told MPs today that the allegations against her husband
:01:39. > :01:46.were preposterous. Mr Tappin will make his first appearance later
:01:46. > :01:51.today before a federal court in taxes. -- Texas.
:01:51. > :01:56.A message from the Tappin family to the US authorities. While my
:01:56. > :02:03.husband is in America, please be kind to him. Do not treat him
:02:03. > :02:08.unjustly. Let him have his day in court. So that he can come home to
:02:08. > :02:13.last. After being extradited on Friday, Christopher Tappin is now
:02:13. > :02:19.in US custody, accused of attempting to sell batteries for
:02:19. > :02:23.surface-to-air missiles destined for Iran. A charge he denies.
:02:23. > :02:28.we heard is that he is doing OK under the circumstances. However,
:02:28. > :02:32.he has only been let out from his cell for one hour of the day and
:02:32. > :02:37.they have taken away all his reading materials. The family was
:02:37. > :02:40.today addressing MPs about the controversial UK US extradition
:02:41. > :02:45.treaty, but critics say is one- sided. His wife said he was never
:02:45. > :02:50.given the chance to prove his innocence in a British court before
:02:50. > :02:56.being extradited. Christopher has soldiered on, trying to sort out
:02:56. > :03:01.the necessary practical chores, powers of attorney, selling his car
:03:01. > :03:11.and house etcetera. While saying farewell to his friends and
:03:11. > :03:11.
:03:12. > :03:15.colleagues. Not knowing when or if he would see them again. MPs had
:03:15. > :03:20.invited Mr Tappin himself to give evidence to them today, but the
:03:20. > :03:24.events of last week made that impossible. For the chief legal
:03:24. > :03:28.adviser, he said there had been a good deal scrutiny before the
:03:28. > :03:35.exhibition. The our perceptions that the US criminal justice system
:03:35. > :03:39.can be harsh and its sentencing policy can appear disproportionate
:03:39. > :03:43.by British standards. There are aspects of it there for which tend
:03:43. > :03:51.to make people uncertain and uneasy and I am not sure that if there is
:03:51. > :03:56.only durable. The family say they remain in a state of disbelief. --
:03:56. > :04:01.if that is readily curable. Christopher Tappin's son Neil joins
:04:01. > :04:06.us from Westminster if we he has been giving evidence. Mr Tappin,
:04:06. > :04:10.what did you know about your father's welfare right now? We know
:04:10. > :04:14.absolutely nothing, that is one of the most distressing things. Dad
:04:14. > :04:18.left the country on Friday, we have not been able to speak to him since
:04:18. > :04:23.he left the UK. The information we have got has come through are the
:04:23. > :04:30.US lawyers, and to be honest, the information we have got is so
:04:30. > :04:35.sketchy it is quite distressing. You understand from reports in the
:04:35. > :04:40.US that he is being confined to his cell for all but an hour a day,
:04:40. > :04:46.knowing your father, how will he cope with that? He is quite lucky,
:04:46. > :04:51.because he is very resilient. I would say that can you imagine what
:04:51. > :04:57.it must be like to be stuck in a cell with access to the outside
:04:57. > :05:03.world are just one Arab day, no reading materials? Diary difficult
:05:03. > :05:07.mentally to come to terms of that. -- one hour a day. It is still so
:05:07. > :05:10.incredibly worrying. Your mother talked today before the committee
:05:10. > :05:15.about the need for innocence or guilt to be considered in these
:05:15. > :05:20.cases by the UK judiciary. But these are serious charges being
:05:21. > :05:27.investigated by the US authorities, so isn't it right that he stands
:05:27. > :05:32.trial in the US? The charges against him are serious, but why is
:05:32. > :05:37.it that they have a very sophisticated legal system in this
:05:37. > :05:43.country, he has never done anything wrong in his life, the case against
:05:43. > :05:46.him is one of entrapment. Is there not a court to say, let us see some
:05:46. > :05:51.of the evidence for and against before he goes to the US? Because
:05:51. > :05:57.at the moment, he has been taken 5,000 miles away with no access to
:05:57. > :06:01.us and the pressure on him is huge. Kent police say they have brought
:06:01. > :06:05.down a major drugs supply network in Medway which led to more than 20
:06:05. > :06:08.arrests this morning. Homes across the region were searched during the
:06:08. > :06:11.operation. Our Home Affairs Correspondent
:06:11. > :06:15.Colin Campbell accompany the police and his report contains some flash
:06:15. > :06:20.photography. Slicing their way through a metal
:06:20. > :06:24.gate to get to an alleged drug dealer. The raids this morning
:06:24. > :06:34.targeted individuals accused of selling Class A drugs. Today is not
:06:34. > :06:38.an isolated event, today is a long line of these types of operations.
:06:38. > :06:42.They are mounted to make life very uncomfortable for people who sell
:06:42. > :06:52.drugs. We will identify them, we will go after them and catch them
:06:52. > :06:58.
:06:58. > :07:03.Around 20 homes were searched during the operation. Around 70
:07:03. > :07:07.officers were involved. In this property, a sort was found.
:07:07. > :07:11.Elsewhere, heroin, crack cocaine and stolen property was seized. The
:07:11. > :07:15.local MP who witnessed the action denies police cuts are having any
:07:15. > :07:21.impact. We are very committed to supporting our frontline policing
:07:21. > :07:28.and there has been no reduction in frontline policing in Kent. The
:07:28. > :07:33.professionalism and determination, we have a first-class police force.
:07:33. > :07:37.Making our towns a safe place. Those arrested today will be put in
:07:37. > :07:40.front of magistrates using the virtual court system. The police
:07:41. > :07:44.say this technology helps speed up process, saving vital time.
:07:44. > :07:48.Prisoners do not have to be transferred to a court room and
:07:48. > :07:54.police can also provide evidence while sat here, meaning they can
:07:54. > :08:00.stay at their place of work. The police say today's action is a blow
:08:00. > :08:05.to those involved in the supply of illegal drugs. Part of an ongoing
:08:05. > :08:12.effort, they say, to make Kent's streets safer.
:08:12. > :08:20.In a moment, hurtling headlong to a medal, we meet the sportswoman from
:08:20. > :08:24.Kent making it big in the world of winter sports.
:08:24. > :08:28.An increase in the number of vulnerable children sent to live
:08:28. > :08:32.that foster families in Kent by councils at side of the South East
:08:32. > :08:34.has prompted MPs in panic to request an urgent meeting with the
:08:34. > :08:38.Children's Minister. Many London boroughs have used fostering
:08:38. > :08:42.agencies in Kent to place children when they cannot find a home in the
:08:42. > :08:45.capital. Last year, the Government introduced new guidelines to ensure
:08:45. > :08:50.that the children should be fostered within 20 miles of their
:08:50. > :08:55.home. The latest figures show that more than 1,300 looked after
:08:55. > :08:59.children from other authorities are still in foster care in Kent. Kent
:08:59. > :09:03.County Council reckons that costs council tax payers feist hundred
:09:03. > :09:07.�1,000 year in schooling, whilst the cost of dealing with the 79
:09:07. > :09:13.children who have offended is the equivalent to the salary of three
:09:13. > :09:15.social workers. It really is imperative that London boroughs and
:09:15. > :09:22.other authorities do everything they can to place children more
:09:22. > :09:27.closely to home so that they can not taken her to their schools and
:09:27. > :09:31.their friends. That is critical. None of the London boroughs sending
:09:31. > :09:35.children to Kent accepted her invitation to be interviewed. Laura
:09:35. > :09:38.Sandys and Roger Gale, the two Conservative MPs for Thanet, say
:09:38. > :09:42.the situation is not sustainable and they are threatening to name
:09:42. > :09:46.and shame the councils. Laura Sandys joins us now from
:09:46. > :09:51.Westminster. Thank you for joining us. These new guidelines, will they
:09:51. > :09:55.help? They have to go somewhere, these children. They should help,
:09:55. > :10:00.but what we are seeing is an increase that actually is not
:10:00. > :10:05.acceptable and does not reflect the intentions of the Government to
:10:05. > :10:08.stop placements beyond 20 miles from local authority boundaries. So
:10:08. > :10:12.that is why we are seeing the Minister to ensure he understands
:10:12. > :10:17.it is not working. We need greater pressure on those local authorities
:10:17. > :10:21.and we need his help to take action. But what about the big society
:10:21. > :10:26.year? Shouldn't we be trying to share this out? Should there be a
:10:26. > :10:33.boarder going up at county boundaries? The most important
:10:33. > :10:38.thing is actually the health of those young people. Until -- the
:10:38. > :10:43.research shows that extracting young people from their home
:10:43. > :10:51.environment and their friends, from the school and from in some ways
:10:51. > :10:56.really causes problems. That is why we also have quite a lot of
:10:56. > :11:01.children trying to return, the runaway children going back to the
:11:01. > :11:05.places where they came from. From an economic point of view, it can
:11:05. > :11:09.help the Independent companies in Kent, because of the children and a
:11:09. > :11:12.common, they will lose out. most important thing is that we
:11:12. > :11:17.think about the children. But this is not the most appropriate place
:11:17. > :11:22.for children to be located, and it must be stopped. What we need to do
:11:22. > :11:28.is to ensure the local authorities in London are taking care of their
:11:28. > :11:31.children, and in many ways, we have a lot of challenges in Thanet
:11:31. > :11:35.carousels and the need prioritised those people from Thanet. We then
:11:35. > :11:42.need to ensure the right provision is being given to those children
:11:42. > :11:46.from London local authorities closer to home.
:11:46. > :11:50.More than hectare of heathland in the Ashdown Forest was set on fire
:11:50. > :11:53.this morning after a clearance bonfire got out of control. It is
:11:53. > :11:58.usual at this time of year for contractors to burned vegetation as
:11:58. > :12:03.part of the management of the area, but with a unseasonably dry by the,
:12:03. > :12:10.the fire spread across the heath. 22 firemen put the fire out.
:12:10. > :12:14.top of the ground is very dry. We did not have any rainfall, so the
:12:14. > :12:20.surface vegetation is drying out very quickly, unseasonably so. All
:12:20. > :12:24.it needs is a spark. Southern Water has been granted a
:12:24. > :12:28.drought permit to refill its Bewl reservoir until the end of March.
:12:28. > :12:32.The permit makes it easier for the company to take water from the
:12:32. > :12:35.Teston Weir on the Medway. It is hoped it will be able to be fill in
:12:35. > :12:40.time for the summer after two consecutive dry winters.
:12:40. > :12:44.A driver has escaped serious injury after an object thrown from a
:12:44. > :12:48.bridge near the M20 landed on her windscreen, making it shatter. The
:12:48. > :12:52.woman was near Junction 3 when it happened two years ago. Michael
:12:53. > :12:57.Baker died when a rock was thrown at a lorry he was travelling on at
:12:57. > :13:00.the Swanley interchange. The wife was up -- of a Sussex
:13:00. > :13:04.policeman who was found hanging in a mental health units as her
:13:04. > :13:08.husband had been worried he would be disciplined over his handling of
:13:08. > :13:15.a fight between two youths. Sergeant Richard Bexhell died in
:13:15. > :13:18.August 2009 after being detained at mental health unit in Hastings. Our
:13:18. > :13:21.current -- our correspondent reports from Eastbourne.
:13:21. > :13:25.A father or four and a recently promoted policeman, Sergeant
:13:25. > :13:29.Richard Bexhell died after being found hanging at the Woodlands
:13:29. > :13:32.mental health unit in Hastings. Today his wife described his
:13:32. > :13:42.deteriorating mental health after suffering a heart attack, the death
:13:42. > :13:44.
:13:44. > :13:48.of a close family friend and Lynette bake sale told the inquest
:13:48. > :13:54.that her husband had blown a do for proportion of a minor problem at
:13:54. > :14:00.work. She said he had stepped in to intervene between two fighting
:14:01. > :14:04.youths but began having palpitations. Richard became
:14:04. > :14:08.concerned that he would somehow be disciplined for his part in the
:14:08. > :14:12.incident. But the inquest heard today that the incident preyed on
:14:13. > :14:17.his mind. It was during a family holiday that his condition
:14:17. > :14:25.deteriorated. He twice attempted suicide and was sectioned on his
:14:25. > :14:29.return. He became seriously ill around 19th August 2009. There the
:14:29. > :14:36.following afternoon he was found hanging in his bathroom. Senior
:14:36. > :14:40.nursing assistance were the first to find him. He was resuscitated
:14:40. > :14:45.but died in hospital the following day. The inquest resumes in the
:14:45. > :14:46.morning. Our top story tonight: The wife of
:14:46. > :14:48.the retired Kent businessman Christopher Tappin, who's been
:14:48. > :14:54.extradited to the US for allegedly selling batteries for Iranian
:14:54. > :14:56.missiles, has spoken of her "utter desolation" about the case. Elaine
:14:56. > :15:06.Tappin told MPs in Westminster today that the allegations against
:15:06. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:17.her husband were "preposterous". Also in tonight's programme:
:15:17. > :15:25.Comedian John Bishop arrives in Dover after rowing the channel for
:15:25. > :15:29.his Sport Relief triathalon. Kent will the leap year bring us
:15:29. > :15:32.any unusual wear their? Find out later on.
:15:32. > :15:36.A homeless man from Sussex says he's turned his life around, thanks
:15:36. > :15:38.to a very unusual form of sculpture. George Geebers spent two years
:15:38. > :15:46.walking up and down the coast of Britain, building artwork from
:15:46. > :15:49.pebbles on the beach. He reckons he clocked up nearly 7,000 miles and
:15:49. > :15:51.shifted some 2,000 tons of stones, all for the sake of art - and to
:15:51. > :15:59.raise awareness of the problems homeless people face. I met him
:15:59. > :16:04.this afternoon for our special report. He calls himself the Pavel
:16:04. > :16:09.Man. Well acquainted with beaches all owned rid the country. The
:16:09. > :16:19.beach used to be his home. Now he has settled here in Bexhill it is
:16:19. > :16:20.
:16:20. > :16:25.simply his workshop. I started off in Brighton and we
:16:25. > :16:35.were just having a bit of a laugh. Then I started to do sculptures.
:16:35. > :16:37.
:16:37. > :16:47.And these art mosaics are in fact sculptures. Look carefully at this
:16:47. > :16:53.Segal, inspired by a stone that cried out to become a beak. I think
:16:53. > :16:59.it is amazing, he is very talented. I was down here the other day when
:16:59. > :17:08.he made a boat. I have never seen anything like that before. The one
:17:08. > :17:13.he has finished his marvellous. is working on an octopus. He wants
:17:13. > :17:19.to compile a book about his work and perhaps we check -- recreate
:17:19. > :17:27.the trip with other homeless people. When I started doing this is just
:17:27. > :17:31.turned heads. I was just doing miniature things but then I decided
:17:31. > :17:37.that I had to be taking seriously, I used to be drinking heavily and
:17:37. > :17:46.taking other substances. It was time to sort myself out. He has and
:17:46. > :17:53.Bexhill is the venue for his latest exhibition, built payable by Kabul.
:17:53. > :17:57.-- Pavel by a pebble. John Bishop has been a fast rising
:17:57. > :18:01.star of the comedy circuit. He regularly sells out big venues and
:18:01. > :18:10.now has his own show on the BBC. You're probably used to seeing him
:18:10. > :18:16.like this. As an stood facing 3000 copies, I'm trying to pick my words
:18:16. > :18:18.carefully. The only thing that was in my head was, calm down!
:18:18. > :18:21.But he's taken on a challenge that's possibly even more daunting
:18:21. > :18:23.than telling jokes to thousands of people. For Sport Relief, he's
:18:23. > :18:25.already cycled from Paris to Calais, is currently rowing from Calais to
:18:25. > :18:35.Dover with various celebrity friends and tomorrow begins running
:18:35. > :18:42.
:18:42. > :18:45.from Dover to London. Our reporter is in Dover it now where John
:18:45. > :18:53.arrived about an hour ago. Steve, I gather it's been pretty tough going
:18:53. > :18:57.for him today on the Channel? Exactly. You have already run
:18:57. > :19:01.through what he has already achieved and there is more to come.
:19:01. > :19:06.But he arrived just over an hour ago to the marina at Dover and
:19:06. > :19:11.there was a fantastic reception. It has been a remarkable journey.
:19:11. > :19:19.Halfway through pair were finding it very tough. But the friends that
:19:19. > :19:25.he took along with him, they got over the finish line in Dover. They
:19:25. > :19:35.only had an hour of sleep before stepping into this boat that they
:19:35. > :19:35.
:19:35. > :19:44.came across the Channel in. Then they undertook a 10 our journey.
:19:44. > :19:52.I am shattered! Absolutely shattered. I did that thing you do
:19:52. > :20:02.when you're driving a car and you doze off. I thought I was in the
:20:02. > :20:09.
:20:09. > :20:16.middle of a dream! Only three marathons to go! Yes, thanks for
:20:16. > :20:23.that! Nothing can compared to that. When you're in the middle of the
:20:23. > :20:32.Channel you have got nowhere to go. That is the hardest thing.
:20:32. > :20:39.He had some sterling support today. Yes and he certainly needed it.
:20:39. > :20:43.Davina McCall as you heard was there alongside him. And a thing
:20:43. > :20:53.she was quite useful to him in making it across the Channel.
:20:53. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :20:59.was amazing. I do not know how John did it. He fell asleep, growing! It
:20:59. > :21:04.was amazing. Well he will certainly need a good
:21:04. > :21:07.night's sleep tonight because when he gets up tomorrow he will run the
:21:07. > :21:13.first of three marathons, he will do the same on Thursday and again
:21:13. > :21:17.on Friday and hopefully then arrive at the finish line in London.
:21:17. > :21:19.Quite a few tired people down there in Dover! To find out how you can
:21:19. > :21:21.raise money and for Sport Relief 2012, including details of the
:21:21. > :21:31.nearest mile event to you, just have a look online at
:21:31. > :21:45.
:21:45. > :21:47.bbc.co.uk/sportrelief. Now we're hardly blessed with world
:21:47. > :21:49.beaters when it comes to winter sports in this country, so when we
:21:49. > :21:51.win a medal at the World Championships, it's well worth
:21:51. > :21:54.celebrating. 23-year-old Lizzy Yarnold from Sevenoaks has just
:21:54. > :21:57.flown home from the US having secured bronze in the bob skeleton,
:21:57. > :21:59.an event where she races face down, along an icy track at speeds of up
:21:59. > :22:02.to 85 miles per hour. I'm delighted to say Lizzy's here in the studio
:22:02. > :22:12.now. We'll chat to her in a moment after seeing her in medal-winning
:22:12. > :22:38.
:22:38. > :22:48.It is an amazing thing to be able to do. I just really enjoyed it.
:22:48. > :22:53.
:22:53. > :22:59.I'm very lucky. You looked pretty pleased with
:22:59. > :23:05.yourself. What was that like? You looked thrilled. I was thrilled. I
:23:05. > :23:10.was not sure what was going to happen, I have to keep
:23:10. > :23:15.concentrating but everything went to plan. I was just so happy.
:23:15. > :23:23.People at home will be thinking, how on earth did you get into a
:23:23. > :23:29.sport that involves you going headfirst down sheet ice? UK Sport
:23:29. > :23:34.runt talent searches every few years and I was involved in that. I
:23:34. > :23:44.had never heard of it before but I had a go. I was a bit scared at
:23:44. > :23:53.
:23:53. > :23:58.first but fell in love with it. I became hooked.
:23:59. > :24:06.You do not want to hit any walls because you are exposed. These two
:24:06. > :24:16.runners are in contact with the ice. But really you just get in at the
:24:16. > :24:24.
:24:24. > :24:30.top of the track and just hold on until you finish at the end.
:24:30. > :24:34.How odd it -- how did it feel to receive your medals? It was such a
:24:34. > :24:42.great experience. My family were with me and I had such great
:24:42. > :24:48.support. It was nerve-racking to wait to find out the results.
:24:48. > :24:55.to a family think of all this? Because it is not entirely safe?
:24:55. > :25:01.Not entirely but I have a great team. I just hold on and hope I do
:25:01. > :25:07.not hit too many balls. They're all very supportive. And they travel
:25:07. > :25:17.with you when you go to these competitions? They do and it makes
:25:17. > :25:20.
:25:20. > :25:30.a massive difference. a massive difference.
:25:30. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:45.Now in this country we are flush with facts and figures. And even a
:25:45. > :25:52.leap year has its own set of statistics. In 1948 temperatures
:25:52. > :25:57.are got up to 18 degrees Celsius. But we also equalled that last
:25:57. > :26:03.Thursday. So although it is unusual, we have enjoyed those kind of
:26:03. > :26:08.temperatures quite recently. But there will be no match for those
:26:08. > :26:18.1948 temperatures for the rest of this week. We still have cloud
:26:18. > :26:19.
:26:19. > :26:24.cover and for the rest of the week. Temperatures of around 12 degrees.
:26:24. > :26:32.But still above average for the time of year. Certainly by night it
:26:32. > :26:37.is not Julie. Not much lower than around nine or 10 degrees overnight.
:26:37. > :26:43.But the difference is that we will start to see a bit more mist and
:26:43. > :26:49.fog returning especially around the coast. And also in the land which
:26:49. > :26:57.could be slow to clear up tomorrow. So Omagh Keet start to the day
:26:57. > :27:06.tomorrow and the cloud once again struggling to clear. -- a murky
:27:06. > :27:12.start. Temperatures up around 12 degrees, a couple of degrees lower
:27:12. > :27:22.than today. Tomorrow night, again and that mist and fog return
:27:22. > :27:23.
:27:23. > :27:29.especially around the coast. So not a lot of change through the rest of
:27:29. > :27:32.the week. Again that rainfall we so desperately need is not on the