04/06/2013 South East Today


04/06/2013

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Smith. And I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories. Fighting for

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compensation at the high court, the welder whose name was put on a

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secret employment blacklist. apply for jobs with welders not as

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good as you, and you are sitting indoors, and they are earning money.

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Five years on, the family of a young woman killed on her bike in Sussex

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call for a change in the law to protect cyclists. Also in tonight's

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programme: the Kent vet battling a crippling disease - bitten by an

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infected tick in Scotland. ?A treasure trove of Egyptian artefacts

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loaned from Chiddingstone Castle to one of the biggest museums in

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America. And the new British comedy being filmed on a former Russian

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submarine on the River Medway. We'll be reporting live from submarine

:01:03.:01:13.
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B49. Good evening. A welder whose name was included on a secret

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employment blacklist labelling him a union agitator is suing for

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compensation at the High Court. Dirk McPherson, from Redhill, is one of

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70 construction workers taking legal action with the support of the GMB

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union. He believes he's lost work and money after being blacklisted

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for raising safety issues with his employer while working in Kent 13

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years ago - and says the experience has been "soul destroying". Fiona

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Irving reports. Troublemakers, activists, union supporters,

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communist sympathisers. Some of the descriptions given to thousands of

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construction workers whose names were drawn up from a blacklist. Dirk

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McPherson from Redhill was one of those. He was a welder for over four

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decades. For the past 13 years, he has struggled to find work.

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would get 18 months work ahead of you and after two weeks I am no

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longer require but the other welders are still there. You turn up a job

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on a Wednesday and they say can you start Monday, then you find you get

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a phone call, sorry, Mr MacPherson, the has been cancelled. Now we think

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she knows why. When he was working on the Pfizer site in Sandwich, he

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complained about the lack of safety equipment. He believes that led to

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his name going on a blacklist. In 2009, the information Commissioner

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sees the database from a company called consulting Association. It

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contained the names of more than 3000 construction workers and

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environmental activists. The GMB union says that it is used by more

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than 40 companies. The blacklist operated in an incredibly secret

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fashion. 40 construction companies, some of the biggest household names

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in the building industry, paid an annual subscription to the

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consulting Association to be members, and in addition, they paid

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a fee, which over time, rose to �2 for every name they either check or

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every name they added to the list. In the files was a record for Dirk

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will not, perhaps, as good as you, and they are ending money and you

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are sitting indoors, skint. It is not a great deal of fun, honestly.

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We have spoken to some of the big companies allegedly involved. They

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say that the practices are historic stop there was no evidence that

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workers are being blacklisted today. And they will defend themselves

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vigorously in court. The union says that it will be suing for loss of

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earnings and for defamation. The family of a young woman killed on

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her bicycle in Sussex have gone back to the scene on the fifth

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anniversary of her death to demand a change in the law. 19-year-old

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French student Marie Vesco died when she was hit by two cars on the A23

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at Hickstead, as she cycled towards Brighton with friends. Her family

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are campaigning for the introduction of "presumed liability" - meaning

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motorists would be automatically held responsible in the civil courts

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for all accidents involving cyclists, unless they can prove they

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are not to blame. Natalie Graham has more. Five years ago today, Marie

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Vesco, a 19-year-old student, was killed by the side of the A23. Every

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year, her parents come from France daughter

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daughter died, and to reiterate their desire for a change in the

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law. Everybody considers that nothing happened on this road,

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nothing happened. You kill a girl, like you kill an animal, like you

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kill a cat, the same. It is very difficult to live with the death of

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her, of a child. One of the drivers involved was arrested but the Crown

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Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to bring a

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prosecution. In an inquest into the death of Marie Vesco, the coroner

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said it appeared to her that she and the two drivers of the vehicles

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involved had misjudged one another's Vesco want presumed liability to

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apply to drivers involved in fatal collisions with cyclists. They would

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have to then prove that they were not negligent, so the law would be

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changed. We want to see more education and enforcement and better

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engineering on the roads. That would probably help more than just

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apportioning blame to drivers. family of Marie Vesco has the

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support of roads charities and her many friends. Yes, she is missed by

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a lot of people. At the spot where she died, her friends have put up

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memorials but they feel that a more fitting memorial would be a change

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in English law. Coming up: a victory for local parents - or a humiliation

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for the Education Secretary, as plans to build a free school on

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playing fields in Hove are shelved. When she started suffering severe

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pains in her hands, vet Sarah Bignell thought it might have been

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caused by repetitive strain injury. But the pain spread so rapidly that

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the 37-year-old from Ashford was left virtually housebound and forced

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to give up work, and use a wheelchair. After doctors ruled out

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a string of other conditions, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme

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Disease - a rare condition that's passed on by bites from an infected

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tick. Rebecca Williams reports. In just two years, her life has

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completely changed. She was once a veterinary surgeon, active in the

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community. Now she has to use a wheelchair after catching Lyme

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Disease in 2011. Symptoms started with pain in my hands and wrists,

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which spread into my shoulders, the backs of my knees, my Achilles, and

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it was very painful. It is quite hard, seeing someone you love, going

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through that much pain, turning lights on with her nose, because her

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fingers hurt that much, crawling or up the stairs on her knees and

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elbows. And she has only been down the stairs once, because she can

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only do it that many times. Lyme Disease is caused by a pipe from an

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infected tick. It causes many problems, and can be confused with

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other conditions. Lyme disease is thought to affect more than 3000

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people every year. Sarah believes she was bitten by a tick while on

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holiday in in Scotland. She is blogging about her experiences to

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raise money and awareness. There was a perception, I think, that it is a

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simple bacterial infection that is easily treated. It can be, if it is

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caught in the early stages, but, there needs to be a greater

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recognition of the unanswered questions and the complexities of

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the disease. Sarah has to take more than 20 tablets every day. She is

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now calling for a specialist research centre into Lyme Disease to

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be set up in the UK. Two people have been arrested after a man was shot

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in the chest in Kent. Police were called to the incident in Arundel

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Street in Maidstone this afternoon. The victim is in hospital but his

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injuries are not life threatening. Police are now trying to trace the

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men who took him to hospital. A diplomat who was stripped of his

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post as the British High Commissioner to Belize, after being

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falsely accused of sexual misconduct, has been awarded

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�320,000 in damages. John Yapp from Eastbourne says his career was

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destroyed, and his health suffered, as he fought to clear his name. The

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High Court ruled that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had breached

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his contract and its duty of care to him. Kent County Council's been

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accused of failing to provide proper support to a 16-year-old homeless

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boy who was abandoned by his parents. The Local Government

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Ombudsman says the council didn't deal with his requests for

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accommodation and welfare support over a two-year period. The

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authority has now been urged to check it's meeting its

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responsibilities to other homeless young people. The Government's

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controversial "free school" policy suffered a new blow today. A

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minister has abandoned plans to build a school run by parents on

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land in Sussex that's already used as a playing field by four other

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schools. The minister's letter follows a campaign against the plans

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for a site in Hove - including a petition with nearly 6,000

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signatures. John Young is live in Hove now. What does this tell us

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about the prospects for free schools across the south-east? It is not a

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fatal blow to add and policy. This policy is very popular with some

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people. But these developments suggest that, if the Government

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feels that it might be losing votes in a marginal constituency, it is

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certainly prepared to listen. Practising their high-5s for the

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cameras, the media savvy campaigners who know that there will be lots of

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interest in the days ahead. They have taken on the Government and

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won. If you really believe in something you can change things.

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Three weeks ago, it was anger, and not joy, that the Government had

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chosen this land as the site for one of its free schools, outside local

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council involvement. Campaigners except that new school places are

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badly needed, but it does not accept that the Government was macro

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controversial shortlist made this it's site for the controversial new

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school. It is already used by question might other schools will

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stop the Government has power to seize the land from the council but

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it will not. They have maintained it. We have had nothing in writing.

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The minister involved flatly denies that nobody was consulted. They

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spoke to officers who are not elected members. We have spoken to

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residents who would like to lay out the wishes which is not to grant it

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free status. In Sevenoaks, preschool has been approved on a site that

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more people hoped would be a satellite grammar school, and in

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Eastbourne, the parents team was replaced with a team that the

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Government over. -- preferred. Government has changed this, and is

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going to look at other sites, now. Whatever the celebrations on this

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playing field today, school places are still needed, and they have got

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appeared in court charged with rape. He was remanded in custody to appear

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at Lewes Crown Court in two weeks time. An American conman who went on

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the run after faking pilots license and flying jets into Gatwick has

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been caught and jailed. He flew passengers into Gatwick airport on

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behalf of Libyan company on eight occasions without the proper license

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medical documentation. It was arrested last night and has been

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jailed for three years. The developer of the former pleasure

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Rama site in Ramsgate has been granted more time to fund the deal.

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The site is this land is one of the most important regeneration projects

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in East Kent, but it has been derelict, for a decade. Now the

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local council says it is looking for ways to make the deal acceptable to

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both sides. We are going to have to look at it and see we can make

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changes which are acceptable to the banks and acceptable to us. At the

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end of the day, I am responsible, and accountable to the residents of

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Ramsgate and council members. I am not going to sign away this site.

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This is our top story tonight: A welder from Redhill is seeking

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compensation at the High Court, after finding out his name had been

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put on an employment blacklist. Dirk McPherson believes he lost work

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after raising safety issues with his employer on a job in Kent 13 years

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:15:23.:15:25.

ago. Also in tonight's programme: The battered Russian submarine on

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the Medway that's doubling for a post apocalyptic bed and breakfast

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in Margate. And again we have had a range of temperatures across the

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South East, with 11 Celsius in the east, and 19 in the sunnier West.

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artefacts is pulling in the crowds at one of the biggest museums in the

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USA - and it's all thanks to the loan of attractions from an historic

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house in rural Kent. Chiddingstone Castle, near Edenbridge, has been

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renowned for its Egyptian objects since a former owner started his

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collection in 1922. More than 300 items have been loaned to the

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Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas, the fourth largest museum in

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America, which attracts 2.5 million visitors a year. Alex Beard has

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tonight's Special Report. treasures of ancient Egypt, right

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here in Houston. Making headlines in the US. A new exhibition of Egyptian

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antiquities was big news in Texas. Houston Museum of Natural Science

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now has more than 600 objects acquired from all the four

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Corners... Amongst the artefacts being enjoyed a summer came from a

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quiet corner of Kent. We got a phone call from a cure rate was putting

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together a brand-new exhibition of Egyptian artefacts in Houston,

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Texas. And they have the fourth most visited museum in America.

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museum borrowed 300 items from the collection at Chiddingstone Castle.

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He bought everything at auction. He did not travel because he was not

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particularly wealthy. He was just buying at a very good moment when

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things were not very expensive. This is an ancient Egyptian kohl pot. In

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a place like ancient Egypt, personal grooming was very important so both

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men and women would wear make-up. Not all of the purchases were museum

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quality. Unbeknownst to him, these were fakes. But the collection was

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impressive enough to stock one of the biggest Egyptian exhibitions in

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moored in the River Medway is the somewhat unlikely film set for a new

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British movie about a B&B in Margate. They're filming the black

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comedy "The Fitzroy" in the vessel's cramped confines over the next

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couple of days. The cast includes actors from The Inbetweeners and

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Casualty - and Sara Smith is onboard - just downstream of Rochester

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Bridge. Sara, it's quite a change of use for the vessel, isn't it?

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quite a change of use, yes. It was built in 1967 as a Soviet

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hunter-killer submarine complete with nuclear tornadoes. And the

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shell of one of those is still on board. These days it has a more

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benign existence. It is used as an occasional filmset. Now, you go

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beneath the deck, and you can see why filmmakers love it so much.

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rusting hulk of the B 49 Soviet submarine, from its days are nuclear

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torpedoes during the cold war, to the River Medway, permanent to

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pigeons, adored by film crews. The Fitzroy is a story of a hotel mode

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off Margate in the 1950s. It keeps the cast self-contained. They cannot

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escape into the world. They have to live with each other. That is where

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a lot of the fun in the film comes from, this juxtaposition between the

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characters. There was lots of hanging of heads, there have been a

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few scrapes. You really have to be wary of your step, but it is great.

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It is a great script. During the Cold War, 75 submariners would have

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been down here for three months at a time. It is incredibly cramped and

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claustrophobic. But also incredibly atmospheric. And you can see why

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:20:35.:20:40.

Fulham crews are using up as a filmset. -- film crews. Actor, David

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Shalit, is used to working in a variety of other glamorous settings.

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Don't worry about that, your dad has calmed down, now. We were all your

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age, once. It is actually quite good fun. I spend the first ten minutes

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of the film sleep, anyway. Which, in these conditions, is quite a feat in

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itself. The Fitzroy is released this autumn. This was bought in the 1990s

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and brought to London as a tourist attraction but for several years, it

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has been on the River Medway, at Rochester. It seems like there is

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rust everywhere. The owners have got plans to paint it from top to

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bottom, but the filmmakers said they loved the look of all airbrushed and

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it was just what they wanted, so, for now, this is the way that it

:21:42.:21:52.
:21:52.:21:59.

will remain. Earlier today the Queen joined 2,000 guests for a service at

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Westminster Abbey to mark sixty years since her coronation. The

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Archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation that the event was a

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celebration of the Queen's devotion and self-sacrifice - and of course,

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it's brought back memories of celebrations across the South East

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back in June 1953. Thank you for sending us your photos, they're on

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our Facebook site - along with our special My Coronation Photo series.

:22:16.:22:26.
:22:26.:22:38.

And we'd love you to add more of your pictures and memories there.

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She may be just seven years old, but Laura Marolia from Maidstone is

:22:42.:22:45.

already something of a veteran in the art of beekeeping. She's been

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working alongside her dad since she was just four - making her one of

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Britain's youngest apiculturists. She runs the family hives and helps

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to market the honey, too. Something to celebrate when there are fears

:22:54.:22:57.

that beekeeping could be a dying art. Robin Gibson has the details.

:22:57.:22:59.

Coming face-to-face with a swarm of bees would be terrifying for anyone

:22:59.:23:02.

of any age, but for seven-year-old, Laura Marolia, she is at home near a

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beehive. They get through, then we start taking things out and seeing

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stuff, and sometimes you see the queen bee. It is a father and

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daughter enterprise started in the back garden, a hobby which grew into

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something of a cottage industry. Laura is into insects and

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butterflies and bits and pieces, so we decided to get some beehives.

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was a good opportunity to get her to learn other things such as woodwork

:23:36.:23:43.

for the beehives, building the website, putting honey and jars, so

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it is learning in a fun, practical way. There was a lot more to

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beekeeping than what goes on in the beehive. She's pretty frank about

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that. You do get stung. Don't wave your hands about. And scream or

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shout or kick anything they will just come racing after you and bees

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can fly very fast. The first and unforgettable lesson of beekeeping!

:24:20.:24:27.

What a lovely day it has been for most of us. Yes, some of us have

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been lumbered with this low, lingering cloud, but elsewhere,

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there have been some optical delights. Most of the region saw a

:24:41.:24:49.

sun halo, where you have a ring around the sun. It is made from a

:24:49.:24:52.

cloud made of ice crystals. The signs raise are reflected and

:24:52.:25:02.
:25:02.:25:03.

refracted by it. -- the sun's rays. Normally when you see something like

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this it can mean that brain is going to be imminent in the next 24 hours,

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but that is not going to happen, because the pressure is too high.

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You are not going to be getting rain in the next 24 hours. We still have

:25:19.:25:24.

some of this stubborn cloud towards the east. It may just clear of what

:25:24.:25:29.

a time, but the main problem with it is that it is keeping temperature is

:25:29.:25:33.

keeping temperatures low. Under that cloud, temperatures have only got up

:25:33.:25:41.

to 11 at the maximum. Elsewhere, in the glorious sunshine, it has got up

:25:41.:25:44.

to 19 Celsius, which is where it should be at this time of year. For

:25:44.:25:50.

the rest of this evening, lots of sunshine at the moment, but

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temperatures will drop to single figures overnight, with that cloud

:25:55.:25:58.

rolling back again from the North Sea, then it will start to disappear

:25:58.:26:02.

into tomorrow morning. Because of slight changes in the wind

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direction, some different places will be affected Chamorro. In the

:26:07.:26:13.

West, temperatures up to 18 or 19, but in the East, if you are close to

:26:13.:26:23.
:26:23.:26:26.

that East Seacoast, you're likely to have cloud. And temperatures a bit

:26:26.:26:34.

down, but slightly lack -- -- slightly lighter winds tomorrow. We

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have high pressure moving into the North Sea which will impact

:26:36.:26:40.

temperatures, and that easterly wind when it gets up to 20 miles an hour,

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you will feel it, because sea temperatures are still only around

:26:46.:26:51.

20 degrees. If you are stuck under that cloud, still only around 11

:26:51.:26:56.

Celsius, but into the weekend, that high pressure will shift, which

:26:56.:27:00.

means that the cloud moves, so, if you have been plagued by that cloud

:27:01.:27:06.

in East Kent coast, you may find that it disappears by the weekend

:27:06.:27:16.
:27:16.:27:19.

and all of us across the Southeast will enjoy that sunshine. Let's

:27:19.:27:22.

recap tonight's top stories. The Queen has attended a service at

:27:22.:27:31.

Westminster Abbey to mark sixty years since her Coronation. Waiting

:27:31.:27:34.

times for Accident and Emergency at hospitals in England are the longest

:27:34.:27:36.

for nearly a decade according to research from the medical thinktank,

:27:36.:27:42.

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