:00:15. > :00:18.Smith. And I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories. Fighting for
:00:18. > :00:22.compensation at the high court, the welder whose name was put on a
:00:22. > :00:32.secret employment blacklist. apply for jobs with welders not as
:00:32. > :00:33.
:00:34. > :00:37.good as you, and you are sitting indoors, and they are earning money.
:00:37. > :00:41.Five years on, the family of a young woman killed on her bike in Sussex
:00:41. > :00:44.call for a change in the law to protect cyclists. Also in tonight's
:00:44. > :00:50.programme: the Kent vet battling a crippling disease - bitten by an
:00:50. > :00:53.infected tick in Scotland. ?A treasure trove of Egyptian artefacts
:00:53. > :01:00.loaned from Chiddingstone Castle to one of the biggest museums in
:01:00. > :01:03.America. And the new British comedy being filmed on a former Russian
:01:03. > :01:13.submarine on the River Medway. We'll be reporting live from submarine
:01:13. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:26.B49. Good evening. A welder whose name was included on a secret
:01:26. > :01:29.employment blacklist labelling him a union agitator is suing for
:01:29. > :01:32.compensation at the High Court. Dirk McPherson, from Redhill, is one of
:01:32. > :01:38.70 construction workers taking legal action with the support of the GMB
:01:38. > :01:41.union. He believes he's lost work and money after being blacklisted
:01:41. > :01:44.for raising safety issues with his employer while working in Kent 13
:01:44. > :01:54.years ago - and says the experience has been "soul destroying". Fiona
:01:54. > :01:56.Irving reports. Troublemakers, activists, union supporters,
:01:56. > :02:02.communist sympathisers. Some of the descriptions given to thousands of
:02:02. > :02:06.construction workers whose names were drawn up from a blacklist. Dirk
:02:06. > :02:15.McPherson from Redhill was one of those. He was a welder for over four
:02:15. > :02:18.decades. For the past 13 years, he has struggled to find work.
:02:18. > :02:24.would get 18 months work ahead of you and after two weeks I am no
:02:24. > :02:27.longer require but the other welders are still there. You turn up a job
:02:27. > :02:33.on a Wednesday and they say can you start Monday, then you find you get
:02:33. > :02:37.a phone call, sorry, Mr MacPherson, the has been cancelled. Now we think
:02:37. > :02:43.she knows why. When he was working on the Pfizer site in Sandwich, he
:02:43. > :02:50.complained about the lack of safety equipment. He believes that led to
:02:50. > :02:54.his name going on a blacklist. In 2009, the information Commissioner
:02:54. > :02:57.sees the database from a company called consulting Association. It
:02:57. > :03:01.contained the names of more than 3000 construction workers and
:03:01. > :03:07.environmental activists. The GMB union says that it is used by more
:03:07. > :03:11.than 40 companies. The blacklist operated in an incredibly secret
:03:11. > :03:16.fashion. 40 construction companies, some of the biggest household names
:03:16. > :03:20.in the building industry, paid an annual subscription to the
:03:20. > :03:25.consulting Association to be members, and in addition, they paid
:03:25. > :03:32.a fee, which over time, rose to �2 for every name they either check or
:03:32. > :03:42.every name they added to the list. In the files was a record for Dirk
:03:42. > :03:47.
:03:47. > :03:54.will not, perhaps, as good as you, and they are ending money and you
:03:55. > :03:57.are sitting indoors, skint. It is not a great deal of fun, honestly.
:03:57. > :04:02.We have spoken to some of the big companies allegedly involved. They
:04:02. > :04:06.say that the practices are historic stop there was no evidence that
:04:06. > :04:10.workers are being blacklisted today. And they will defend themselves
:04:10. > :04:20.vigorously in court. The union says that it will be suing for loss of
:04:20. > :04:23.
:04:23. > :04:27.earnings and for defamation. The family of a young woman killed on
:04:27. > :04:30.her bicycle in Sussex have gone back to the scene on the fifth
:04:30. > :04:33.anniversary of her death to demand a change in the law. 19-year-old
:04:34. > :04:36.French student Marie Vesco died when she was hit by two cars on the A23
:04:36. > :04:39.at Hickstead, as she cycled towards Brighton with friends. Her family
:04:39. > :04:41.are campaigning for the introduction of "presumed liability" - meaning
:04:41. > :04:44.motorists would be automatically held responsible in the civil courts
:04:44. > :04:47.for all accidents involving cyclists, unless they can prove they
:04:47. > :04:52.are not to blame. Natalie Graham has more. Five years ago today, Marie
:04:52. > :04:57.Vesco, a 19-year-old student, was killed by the side of the A23. Every
:04:57. > :05:01.year, her parents come from France daughter
:05:01. > :05:07.daughter died, and to reiterate their desire for a change in the
:05:07. > :05:13.law. Everybody considers that nothing happened on this road,
:05:13. > :05:23.nothing happened. You kill a girl, like you kill an animal, like you
:05:23. > :05:31.kill a cat, the same. It is very difficult to live with the death of
:05:32. > :05:34.her, of a child. One of the drivers involved was arrested but the Crown
:05:34. > :05:39.Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to bring a
:05:39. > :05:45.prosecution. In an inquest into the death of Marie Vesco, the coroner
:05:45. > :05:55.said it appeared to her that she and the two drivers of the vehicles
:05:55. > :05:59.
:05:59. > :06:05.involved had misjudged one another's Vesco want presumed liability to
:06:05. > :06:09.apply to drivers involved in fatal collisions with cyclists. They would
:06:09. > :06:15.have to then prove that they were not negligent, so the law would be
:06:15. > :06:18.changed. We want to see more education and enforcement and better
:06:18. > :06:25.engineering on the roads. That would probably help more than just
:06:25. > :06:32.apportioning blame to drivers. family of Marie Vesco has the
:06:33. > :06:42.support of roads charities and her many friends. Yes, she is missed by
:06:42. > :06:48.a lot of people. At the spot where she died, her friends have put up
:06:48. > :06:58.memorials but they feel that a more fitting memorial would be a change
:06:58. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:06.in English law. Coming up: a victory for local parents - or a humiliation
:07:06. > :07:10.for the Education Secretary, as plans to build a free school on
:07:10. > :07:13.playing fields in Hove are shelved. When she started suffering severe
:07:13. > :07:20.pains in her hands, vet Sarah Bignell thought it might have been
:07:20. > :07:22.caused by repetitive strain injury. But the pain spread so rapidly that
:07:22. > :07:25.the 37-year-old from Ashford was left virtually housebound and forced
:07:25. > :07:28.to give up work, and use a wheelchair. After doctors ruled out
:07:28. > :07:32.a string of other conditions, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme
:07:32. > :07:39.Disease - a rare condition that's passed on by bites from an infected
:07:39. > :07:43.tick. Rebecca Williams reports. In just two years, her life has
:07:43. > :07:47.completely changed. She was once a veterinary surgeon, active in the
:07:47. > :07:53.community. Now she has to use a wheelchair after catching Lyme
:07:53. > :07:58.Disease in 2011. Symptoms started with pain in my hands and wrists,
:07:58. > :08:08.which spread into my shoulders, the backs of my knees, my Achilles, and
:08:08. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:13.it was very painful. It is quite hard, seeing someone you love, going
:08:13. > :08:18.through that much pain, turning lights on with her nose, because her
:08:19. > :08:25.fingers hurt that much, crawling or up the stairs on her knees and
:08:25. > :08:29.elbows. And she has only been down the stairs once, because she can
:08:29. > :08:35.only do it that many times. Lyme Disease is caused by a pipe from an
:08:35. > :08:40.infected tick. It causes many problems, and can be confused with
:08:40. > :08:45.other conditions. Lyme disease is thought to affect more than 3000
:08:45. > :08:50.people every year. Sarah believes she was bitten by a tick while on
:08:50. > :08:58.holiday in in Scotland. She is blogging about her experiences to
:08:58. > :09:03.raise money and awareness. There was a perception, I think, that it is a
:09:03. > :09:10.simple bacterial infection that is easily treated. It can be, if it is
:09:10. > :09:12.caught in the early stages, but, there needs to be a greater
:09:12. > :09:19.recognition of the unanswered questions and the complexities of
:09:19. > :09:22.the disease. Sarah has to take more than 20 tablets every day. She is
:09:22. > :09:32.now calling for a specialist research centre into Lyme Disease to
:09:32. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:37.be set up in the UK. Two people have been arrested after a man was shot
:09:37. > :09:40.in the chest in Kent. Police were called to the incident in Arundel
:09:40. > :09:43.Street in Maidstone this afternoon. The victim is in hospital but his
:09:43. > :09:51.injuries are not life threatening. Police are now trying to trace the
:09:51. > :09:54.men who took him to hospital. A diplomat who was stripped of his
:09:54. > :09:55.post as the British High Commissioner to Belize, after being
:09:56. > :09:58.falsely accused of sexual misconduct, has been awarded
:09:58. > :10:02.�320,000 in damages. John Yapp from Eastbourne says his career was
:10:02. > :10:04.destroyed, and his health suffered, as he fought to clear his name. The
:10:04. > :10:10.High Court ruled that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had breached
:10:10. > :10:12.his contract and its duty of care to him. Kent County Council's been
:10:12. > :10:15.accused of failing to provide proper support to a 16-year-old homeless
:10:15. > :10:17.boy who was abandoned by his parents. The Local Government
:10:17. > :10:23.Ombudsman says the council didn't deal with his requests for
:10:23. > :10:25.accommodation and welfare support over a two-year period. The
:10:25. > :10:31.authority has now been urged to check it's meeting its
:10:31. > :10:35.responsibilities to other homeless young people. The Government's
:10:35. > :10:38.controversial "free school" policy suffered a new blow today. A
:10:38. > :10:41.minister has abandoned plans to build a school run by parents on
:10:41. > :10:45.land in Sussex that's already used as a playing field by four other
:10:45. > :10:48.schools. The minister's letter follows a campaign against the plans
:10:48. > :10:54.for a site in Hove - including a petition with nearly 6,000
:10:54. > :10:58.signatures. John Young is live in Hove now. What does this tell us
:10:58. > :11:02.about the prospects for free schools across the south-east? It is not a
:11:02. > :11:06.fatal blow to add and policy. This policy is very popular with some
:11:06. > :11:10.people. But these developments suggest that, if the Government
:11:10. > :11:17.feels that it might be losing votes in a marginal constituency, it is
:11:17. > :11:21.certainly prepared to listen. Practising their high-5s for the
:11:21. > :11:26.cameras, the media savvy campaigners who know that there will be lots of
:11:26. > :11:32.interest in the days ahead. They have taken on the Government and
:11:32. > :11:37.won. If you really believe in something you can change things.
:11:37. > :11:45.Three weeks ago, it was anger, and not joy, that the Government had
:11:45. > :11:49.chosen this land as the site for one of its free schools, outside local
:11:49. > :11:53.council involvement. Campaigners except that new school places are
:11:53. > :11:58.badly needed, but it does not accept that the Government was macro
:11:58. > :12:02.controversial shortlist made this it's site for the controversial new
:12:02. > :12:05.school. It is already used by question might other schools will
:12:05. > :12:13.stop the Government has power to seize the land from the council but
:12:13. > :12:17.it will not. They have maintained it. We have had nothing in writing.
:12:17. > :12:20.The minister involved flatly denies that nobody was consulted. They
:12:20. > :12:29.spoke to officers who are not elected members. We have spoken to
:12:29. > :12:36.residents who would like to lay out the wishes which is not to grant it
:12:36. > :12:43.free status. In Sevenoaks, preschool has been approved on a site that
:12:43. > :12:51.more people hoped would be a satellite grammar school, and in
:12:51. > :12:59.Eastbourne, the parents team was replaced with a team that the
:12:59. > :13:06.Government over. -- preferred. Government has changed this, and is
:13:06. > :13:10.going to look at other sites, now. Whatever the celebrations on this
:13:10. > :13:20.playing field today, school places are still needed, and they have got
:13:20. > :13:39.
:13:39. > :13:45.appeared in court charged with rape. He was remanded in custody to appear
:13:45. > :13:50.at Lewes Crown Court in two weeks time. An American conman who went on
:13:50. > :13:55.the run after faking pilots license and flying jets into Gatwick has
:13:55. > :13:59.been caught and jailed. He flew passengers into Gatwick airport on
:13:59. > :14:02.behalf of Libyan company on eight occasions without the proper license
:14:02. > :14:08.medical documentation. It was arrested last night and has been
:14:08. > :14:13.jailed for three years. The developer of the former pleasure
:14:13. > :14:20.Rama site in Ramsgate has been granted more time to fund the deal.
:14:20. > :14:25.The site is this land is one of the most important regeneration projects
:14:25. > :14:31.in East Kent, but it has been derelict, for a decade. Now the
:14:31. > :14:35.local council says it is looking for ways to make the deal acceptable to
:14:36. > :14:40.both sides. We are going to have to look at it and see we can make
:14:40. > :14:45.changes which are acceptable to the banks and acceptable to us. At the
:14:45. > :14:55.end of the day, I am responsible, and accountable to the residents of
:14:55. > :15:00.
:15:00. > :15:03.Ramsgate and council members. I am not going to sign away this site.
:15:03. > :15:06.This is our top story tonight: A welder from Redhill is seeking
:15:06. > :15:09.compensation at the High Court, after finding out his name had been
:15:09. > :15:13.put on an employment blacklist. Dirk McPherson believes he lost work
:15:13. > :15:23.after raising safety issues with his employer on a job in Kent 13 years
:15:23. > :15:25.
:15:25. > :15:28.ago. Also in tonight's programme: The battered Russian submarine on
:15:28. > :15:32.the Medway that's doubling for a post apocalyptic bed and breakfast
:15:32. > :15:40.in Margate. And again we have had a range of temperatures across the
:15:40. > :15:50.South East, with 11 Celsius in the east, and 19 in the sunnier West.
:15:50. > :15:55.
:15:55. > :15:59.artefacts is pulling in the crowds at one of the biggest museums in the
:15:59. > :16:03.USA - and it's all thanks to the loan of attractions from an historic
:16:03. > :16:06.house in rural Kent. Chiddingstone Castle, near Edenbridge, has been
:16:06. > :16:16.renowned for its Egyptian objects since a former owner started his
:16:16. > :16:19.collection in 1922. More than 300 items have been loaned to the
:16:19. > :16:21.Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas, the fourth largest museum in
:16:21. > :16:23.America, which attracts 2.5 million visitors a year. Alex Beard has
:16:23. > :16:31.tonight's Special Report. treasures of ancient Egypt, right
:16:31. > :16:35.here in Houston. Making headlines in the US. A new exhibition of Egyptian
:16:35. > :16:38.antiquities was big news in Texas. Houston Museum of Natural Science
:16:38. > :16:45.now has more than 600 objects acquired from all the four
:16:45. > :16:49.Corners... Amongst the artefacts being enjoyed a summer came from a
:16:49. > :16:53.quiet corner of Kent. We got a phone call from a cure rate was putting
:16:53. > :17:02.together a brand-new exhibition of Egyptian artefacts in Houston,
:17:02. > :17:10.Texas. And they have the fourth most visited museum in America.
:17:10. > :17:16.museum borrowed 300 items from the collection at Chiddingstone Castle.
:17:16. > :17:20.He bought everything at auction. He did not travel because he was not
:17:20. > :17:30.particularly wealthy. He was just buying at a very good moment when
:17:30. > :17:30.
:17:30. > :17:36.things were not very expensive. This is an ancient Egyptian kohl pot. In
:17:36. > :17:41.a place like ancient Egypt, personal grooming was very important so both
:17:41. > :17:46.men and women would wear make-up. Not all of the purchases were museum
:17:46. > :17:56.quality. Unbeknownst to him, these were fakes. But the collection was
:17:56. > :17:58.
:17:58. > :18:08.impressive enough to stock one of the biggest Egyptian exhibitions in
:18:08. > :18:17.
:18:17. > :18:19.moored in the River Medway is the somewhat unlikely film set for a new
:18:19. > :18:22.British movie about a B&B in Margate. They're filming the black
:18:22. > :18:31.comedy "The Fitzroy" in the vessel's cramped confines over the next
:18:31. > :18:33.couple of days. The cast includes actors from The Inbetweeners and
:18:33. > :18:37.Casualty - and Sara Smith is onboard - just downstream of Rochester
:18:37. > :18:44.Bridge. Sara, it's quite a change of use for the vessel, isn't it?
:18:44. > :18:47.quite a change of use, yes. It was built in 1967 as a Soviet
:18:47. > :18:51.hunter-killer submarine complete with nuclear tornadoes. And the
:18:51. > :19:00.shell of one of those is still on board. These days it has a more
:19:00. > :19:06.benign existence. It is used as an occasional filmset. Now, you go
:19:06. > :19:14.beneath the deck, and you can see why filmmakers love it so much.
:19:14. > :19:23.rusting hulk of the B 49 Soviet submarine, from its days are nuclear
:19:23. > :19:29.torpedoes during the cold war, to the River Medway, permanent to
:19:29. > :19:37.pigeons, adored by film crews. The Fitzroy is a story of a hotel mode
:19:37. > :19:47.off Margate in the 1950s. It keeps the cast self-contained. They cannot
:19:47. > :19:52.escape into the world. They have to live with each other. That is where
:19:52. > :20:01.a lot of the fun in the film comes from, this juxtaposition between the
:20:01. > :20:09.characters. There was lots of hanging of heads, there have been a
:20:10. > :20:15.few scrapes. You really have to be wary of your step, but it is great.
:20:15. > :20:20.It is a great script. During the Cold War, 75 submariners would have
:20:20. > :20:25.been down here for three months at a time. It is incredibly cramped and
:20:25. > :20:35.claustrophobic. But also incredibly atmospheric. And you can see why
:20:35. > :20:40.
:20:40. > :20:45.Fulham crews are using up as a filmset. -- film crews. Actor, David
:20:45. > :20:51.Shalit, is used to working in a variety of other glamorous settings.
:20:51. > :21:01.Don't worry about that, your dad has calmed down, now. We were all your
:21:01. > :21:03.
:21:03. > :21:09.age, once. It is actually quite good fun. I spend the first ten minutes
:21:09. > :21:18.of the film sleep, anyway. Which, in these conditions, is quite a feat in
:21:18. > :21:21.itself. The Fitzroy is released this autumn. This was bought in the 1990s
:21:21. > :21:28.and brought to London as a tourist attraction but for several years, it
:21:28. > :21:32.has been on the River Medway, at Rochester. It seems like there is
:21:32. > :21:37.rust everywhere. The owners have got plans to paint it from top to
:21:37. > :21:42.bottom, but the filmmakers said they loved the look of all airbrushed and
:21:42. > :21:52.it was just what they wanted, so, for now, this is the way that it
:21:52. > :21:59.
:21:59. > :22:01.will remain. Earlier today the Queen joined 2,000 guests for a service at
:22:01. > :22:04.Westminster Abbey to mark sixty years since her coronation. The
:22:04. > :22:07.Archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation that the event was a
:22:07. > :22:09.celebration of the Queen's devotion and self-sacrifice - and of course,
:22:09. > :22:13.it's brought back memories of celebrations across the South East
:22:13. > :22:16.back in June 1953. Thank you for sending us your photos, they're on
:22:16. > :22:26.our Facebook site - along with our special My Coronation Photo series.
:22:26. > :22:38.
:22:38. > :22:42.And we'd love you to add more of your pictures and memories there.
:22:42. > :22:45.She may be just seven years old, but Laura Marolia from Maidstone is
:22:45. > :22:48.already something of a veteran in the art of beekeeping. She's been
:22:48. > :22:51.working alongside her dad since she was just four - making her one of
:22:51. > :22:54.Britain's youngest apiculturists. She runs the family hives and helps
:22:54. > :22:57.to market the honey, too. Something to celebrate when there are fears
:22:57. > :22:59.that beekeeping could be a dying art. Robin Gibson has the details.
:22:59. > :23:02.Coming face-to-face with a swarm of bees would be terrifying for anyone
:23:02. > :23:09.of any age, but for seven-year-old, Laura Marolia, she is at home near a
:23:09. > :23:18.beehive. They get through, then we start taking things out and seeing
:23:18. > :23:22.stuff, and sometimes you see the queen bee. It is a father and
:23:22. > :23:28.daughter enterprise started in the back garden, a hobby which grew into
:23:28. > :23:33.something of a cottage industry. Laura is into insects and
:23:33. > :23:36.butterflies and bits and pieces, so we decided to get some beehives.
:23:36. > :23:43.was a good opportunity to get her to learn other things such as woodwork
:23:43. > :23:48.for the beehives, building the website, putting honey and jars, so
:23:48. > :23:55.it is learning in a fun, practical way. There was a lot more to
:23:55. > :24:02.beekeeping than what goes on in the beehive. She's pretty frank about
:24:02. > :24:10.that. You do get stung. Don't wave your hands about. And scream or
:24:10. > :24:20.shout or kick anything they will just come racing after you and bees
:24:20. > :24:27.can fly very fast. The first and unforgettable lesson of beekeeping!
:24:27. > :24:31.What a lovely day it has been for most of us. Yes, some of us have
:24:31. > :24:41.been lumbered with this low, lingering cloud, but elsewhere,
:24:41. > :24:49.there have been some optical delights. Most of the region saw a
:24:49. > :24:52.sun halo, where you have a ring around the sun. It is made from a
:24:52. > :25:02.cloud made of ice crystals. The signs raise are reflected and
:25:02. > :25:03.
:25:03. > :25:06.refracted by it. -- the sun's rays. Normally when you see something like
:25:06. > :25:14.this it can mean that brain is going to be imminent in the next 24 hours,
:25:14. > :25:19.but that is not going to happen, because the pressure is too high.
:25:19. > :25:24.You are not going to be getting rain in the next 24 hours. We still have
:25:24. > :25:29.some of this stubborn cloud towards the east. It may just clear of what
:25:29. > :25:33.a time, but the main problem with it is that it is keeping temperature is
:25:33. > :25:41.keeping temperatures low. Under that cloud, temperatures have only got up
:25:41. > :25:44.to 11 at the maximum. Elsewhere, in the glorious sunshine, it has got up
:25:44. > :25:50.to 19 Celsius, which is where it should be at this time of year. For
:25:50. > :25:54.the rest of this evening, lots of sunshine at the moment, but
:25:55. > :25:58.temperatures will drop to single figures overnight, with that cloud
:25:58. > :26:02.rolling back again from the North Sea, then it will start to disappear
:26:02. > :26:07.into tomorrow morning. Because of slight changes in the wind
:26:07. > :26:13.direction, some different places will be affected Chamorro. In the
:26:13. > :26:23.West, temperatures up to 18 or 19, but in the East, if you are close to
:26:23. > :26:26.
:26:26. > :26:34.that East Seacoast, you're likely to have cloud. And temperatures a bit
:26:34. > :26:36.down, but slightly lack -- -- slightly lighter winds tomorrow. We
:26:36. > :26:40.have high pressure moving into the North Sea which will impact
:26:40. > :26:46.temperatures, and that easterly wind when it gets up to 20 miles an hour,
:26:46. > :26:51.you will feel it, because sea temperatures are still only around
:26:51. > :26:56.20 degrees. If you are stuck under that cloud, still only around 11
:26:56. > :27:00.Celsius, but into the weekend, that high pressure will shift, which
:27:01. > :27:06.means that the cloud moves, so, if you have been plagued by that cloud
:27:06. > :27:16.in East Kent coast, you may find that it disappears by the weekend
:27:16. > :27:19.
:27:19. > :27:22.and all of us across the Southeast will enjoy that sunshine. Let's
:27:22. > :27:31.recap tonight's top stories. The Queen has attended a service at
:27:31. > :27:34.Westminster Abbey to mark sixty years since her Coronation. Waiting
:27:34. > :27:36.times for Accident and Emergency at hospitals in England are the longest
:27:36. > :27:42.for nearly a decade according to research from the medical thinktank,