:00:00. > 3:59:59Adebowale show nod remorse. That is all from us. Now we join our news
:00:00. > :00:19.teams We'll be getting all the details
:00:20. > :00:22.live from our correspondent. Accused of flying into a wild
:00:23. > :00:27.tantrum and harassing a Paralympic official. Heather Mills storms out
:00:28. > :00:35.of contention for next year's Winter Games. She was harassing her,
:00:36. > :00:39.pushing her, and saying some very unkind things.
:00:40. > :00:42.Also in tonight's programme. Four people are jailed for their
:00:43. > :00:44.part in the ordeal of a woman trafficked into Kent and sexually
:00:45. > :00:47.abused. Unfinished business, champion judo
:00:48. > :00:55.athlete Ben Quilter tells us about his tough decision to retire. And
:00:56. > :01:02.join me live from Westfield where the light side getting bigger and
:01:03. > :01:15.better and they are raising more than ?100 for charity every day.
:01:16. > :01:18.Good evening. Record compensation pay`outs have been given to
:01:19. > :01:21.commuters by rail companies in the South East because of delayed
:01:22. > :01:24.trains. Together, Southern, Southeastern and First Capital
:01:25. > :01:28.Connect paid out more than ?2 million in the last financial year.
:01:29. > :01:31.The companies say the amount keeps rising because more passengers are
:01:32. > :01:35.becoming aware that compensation's available. But commuter groups say
:01:36. > :01:38.it's a sign of unacceptable delays. Our correspondent Yvette Austin
:01:39. > :01:47.joins us from Brighton Station, what's the reaction from passengers
:01:48. > :01:50.there tonight? Well, many commuters will not be surprised at the
:01:51. > :01:52.figures. There have been some serious bad figure delays, more
:01:53. > :02:03.people have been claiming, and ticket prices are not cheap. A
:02:04. > :02:08.return ticket to London is ?33.60. People will get a truly 5% refund if
:02:09. > :02:14.they are delayed for between half an hour and one hour. Between one hour
:02:15. > :02:18.and two hour, they will get 50%, and they get a 100% refund after.
:02:19. > :02:21.Commuters groups say more can be done.
:02:22. > :02:26.Stranded in the snow, something south`east commuters are familiar
:02:27. > :02:29.with. Delays and cancellations are commonplace when the weather turns
:02:30. > :02:34.and occasionally when it doesn't. Russia by commuter groups has led to
:02:35. > :02:37.a new compensation scheme whereby commuters can claim refunds more
:02:38. > :02:41.easily. They said the train companies could still be more open.
:02:42. > :02:45.We are calling on train operators to make passengers more aware of their
:02:46. > :02:48.rights, to promote the system and when trains are delayed for 30
:02:49. > :02:53.minutes or more, to make greater efforts to take things out
:02:54. > :02:58.passengers. The train companies are paying out more than ever. In the
:02:59. > :03:06.last financial year, Southern trains paid 100 5,000 `` 800 ?5,000. First
:03:07. > :03:10.capital connect us hundred 22,000, and a total of more than ?2 million.
:03:11. > :03:17.Increases because more people are learning about the scheme. More
:03:18. > :03:20.passengers are claiming. They are entitled to this compensation. In
:03:21. > :03:24.the last you, we've spent a great deal of effort advertising this fact
:03:25. > :03:29.and customers are aware. Whilst the train companies are paying out, they
:03:30. > :03:34.feel wrongly blamed at times for the cows. The instance, the fire at
:03:35. > :03:39.London Bridge station was a Network Rail problem. A recent report said
:03:40. > :03:44.more than half of delays are caused by problems attributed to a Network
:03:45. > :03:49.Rail. Passengers often know there is only a delay. Quite often the first
:03:50. > :03:55.capital connect it are pretty appalling, usually. Southern are not
:03:56. > :04:00.quite as bad. But I think most days of the week, I get at least a couple
:04:01. > :04:04.of minutes delay. For the last three weeks, I have given up saying I'm
:04:05. > :04:11.late at work because it is getting embarrassing. Every single day, Mike
:04:12. > :04:15.Trainor is best to get in at ten minutes pass and it is 20 past every
:04:16. > :04:21.single day. It is not good enough. The service they provide. They are
:04:22. > :04:25.constantly ruler `` late at the moment. Network rail says it is
:04:26. > :04:30.investing millions of pounds of the next five years and stands to face
:04:31. > :04:36.steep and `` financial penalties if targets are not met. The London
:04:37. > :04:41.Bridge fire and the October storm delays will be reflected in next
:04:42. > :04:44.year's refund figures. So we'll delays expensed on the network
:04:45. > :04:51.today. There have been more signalling problems today in Dover
:04:52. > :04:54.and Gatwick. Those figures, two will be reflected. Some of the problems
:04:55. > :04:57.will be down to network rail. Let's cross to Westminster where
:04:58. > :05:03.we're joined by the MP for Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd. Thank you for
:05:04. > :05:08.being with us. You're not impressed with either the train companies, or
:05:09. > :05:14.network rail. I am not impressed. I think commuters deserve a much
:05:15. > :05:18.better service. The idea of fighting and blaming each other is absurd.
:05:19. > :05:25.They need to work closer together to get a to result. These fares are not
:05:26. > :05:29.cheap. I think most commuters are pretty reasonable when it comes to
:05:30. > :05:34.an exceptional circumstance or something really damaging. When it
:05:35. > :05:36.comes to relentless delays, they are rightly infuriated. So you don't
:05:37. > :05:43.think it's just more people becoming aware of the delay would pay
:05:44. > :05:46.scheme? I don't buy that. It's essential for the companies to face
:05:47. > :05:50.up to the fact that this is to do with the poor service and we deserve
:05:51. > :05:54.much better. As for this compensation anyway, it's good to
:05:55. > :05:57.have some sort of financial compensation but it doesn't
:05:58. > :06:01.compensate you for the aggravation, irritation, the inconvenience of
:06:02. > :06:07.being made to work. We need real improvements. How do we make `` how
:06:08. > :06:11.do they make real improvements? The real problem is you have Network
:06:12. > :06:16.Rail and the train companies but if you had one organisation in charge
:06:17. > :06:20.of everything, that would simplify the whole thing. There is no
:06:21. > :06:24.evidence of that. That is a smoke screen. It is very clear who has
:06:25. > :06:33.responsibility for what and we need to make some work closely together.
:06:34. > :06:38.The have been some improvements. But they just needs to be more joined up
:06:39. > :06:41.thinking and joined up thinking. Network rail has been supported by
:06:42. > :06:45.the government and we need to make sure they invest properly and find
:06:46. > :06:49.out where the pinch points so we can get better outcomes. This isn't
:06:50. > :06:51.rocket science, we need people to work together for a better outcome.
:06:52. > :06:54.Thank you. Heather Mills, the former wife of
:06:55. > :06:57.Sir Paul McCartney, has been accused of verbally abusing and physically
:06:58. > :06:59.harassing an official from the International Paralympic Committee.
:07:00. > :07:04.The former model, who lives in Sussex, had been hoping to compete
:07:05. > :07:08.in the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi. But she was told the prosthetic leg
:07:09. > :07:13.she was competing on had not been approved, leading, according to one
:07:14. > :07:16.source, to a wild tantrum. Her coach claims she's the victim of a
:07:17. > :07:21.vendetta. Claudia Sermbezis has more.
:07:22. > :07:24.Heather Mills has been one of the most high`profile athletes
:07:25. > :07:27.attempting to qualify for next year's Winter Paralympics. It seems
:07:28. > :07:33.her dreams of competing in Russia art over the accusations see ``
:07:34. > :07:37.should be used in International Paralympic Committee official who
:07:38. > :07:41.ruled her new prostatic leg was illegal for competition. She alleges
:07:42. > :07:47.the former model jumped on her, swore at her and said, you don't
:07:48. > :07:51.know who I am. She was harassing and pushing her, saying some very unkind
:07:52. > :07:58.things to someone who has over 25 years experience. It is absolutely
:07:59. > :08:02.disgraceful behaviour and we expect better from athletes. Heather Mills
:08:03. > :08:05.began her career in skiing soon after her divorce from Paul
:08:06. > :08:10.McCartney. She lost the lower half of her leg with a collision with the
:08:11. > :08:14.police motorbike in 1993. She had a new prostatic limb made earlier this
:08:15. > :08:17.year but it was not clear by the IPC, who insisted on less germane
:08:18. > :08:23.changes to the boot, she would be disqualified from competing. She has
:08:24. > :08:29.trained hard, it's sad the situation, but I don't know the
:08:30. > :08:34.facts. I don't know a great deal about the situation. It is sad for
:08:35. > :08:37.her she is not here. But, at the end of the day, I'm focusing on my
:08:38. > :08:53.performance. In a statement, a spokesperson said...
:08:54. > :08:59.Not at home here in Sussex today, Heather Mills is still in Austria
:09:00. > :09:04.and her spokesperson says that she is now focusing on Christmas with
:09:05. > :09:08.her daughter. The IPC are seeking to take disciplinary action and it's
:09:09. > :09:11.likely Heather Mills will be fined up to 1000 euros and the incident
:09:12. > :09:16.will be referred to their legal and ethics committee for its
:09:17. > :09:19.consideration. In a moment, the primary pupils
:09:20. > :09:24.who've been to tell the Prime Minister they don't want their free
:09:25. > :09:31.school to be shut down. Save our school! Save our school!
:09:32. > :09:36.Four people have been jailed tonight for their role in the trafficking
:09:37. > :09:39.and sexual exploitation of an Eastern European woman brought into
:09:40. > :09:43.Kent, then forced into a sham marriage. The Slovakian woman was
:09:44. > :09:53.brought to Gravesend, and eventually sold for ?4,500 to a man who went on
:09:54. > :09:58.to rape her. Simon Jones reports. This grainy CCTV image shows on the
:09:59. > :10:03.left the victim being taken by the man controlling the trafficking
:10:04. > :10:10.family business, seen in the middle, to a bank. There he will withdraw
:10:11. > :10:14.money to why have. In the trafficking case linked to this
:10:15. > :10:18.street in Gravesend. This is an appalling case and we are pleased to
:10:19. > :10:21.see the perpetrators have been brought to justice. What's the most
:10:22. > :10:25.important thing is the victim is kept safe. The victim had been
:10:26. > :10:29.living on the streets in Slovakia. Two men convinced her to go to
:10:30. > :10:33.England to marry a man in exchange for a better life. Another man drove
:10:34. > :10:38.her from Slovakia through Europe to Dunkirk where they took a ferry to
:10:39. > :10:42.Dover. She was then driven to Abbey Road in Gravesend before being sold.
:10:43. > :10:49.I just think it's appalling, dreadful. I find it shocking people
:10:50. > :10:54.were living like that. And it is happening all around. It worries me
:10:55. > :11:01.it has been in the street and I didn't know. It's disgusting, in our
:11:02. > :11:05.street? Never. The man bought the woman to legitimise his stay in the
:11:06. > :11:11.UK. He was jailed for 8/2 years. This is him taking her home where he
:11:12. > :11:16.raped her. Injuring has she had to go to hospital, alerting the
:11:17. > :11:19.authorities. In order to catch the culprit, the police of the victim
:11:20. > :11:27.around the streets of Gravesend until she was able to identify she
:11:28. > :11:35.had been held in this street. This man was jailed for ten years. His
:11:36. > :11:40.wife for 16 months. And her brother for three years. The judge said
:11:41. > :11:47.trafficking people is a modern day form of slavery.
:11:48. > :11:53.He said it was clear the family was involved in a much wider trafficking
:11:54. > :11:56.operation. 40 firefighters have been dealing
:11:57. > :11:59.with a house fire in Gravesend today.
:12:00. > :12:02.It's believed the fire broke out in the kitchen this morning, before
:12:03. > :12:05.spreading throughout the house. No`one was seriously injured, but
:12:06. > :12:13.paramedics treated one man at the scene for the effects of breathing
:12:14. > :12:16.in smoke. Pupils from the Pent Valley
:12:17. > :12:19.Technology College in Folkestone met the Prime Minister today at a visit
:12:20. > :12:23.to a First World War cemetery in Belgium. They were joined by the
:12:24. > :12:27.Folkestone Hythe MP Damian Collins during a trip to announce ?5 million
:12:28. > :12:29.in new funding to help conserve and repair war memorials and graves in
:12:30. > :12:32.the UK and overseas. Detectives investigating a robbery
:12:33. > :12:36.at a Kent betting shop have released CCTV images of the suspects. Two
:12:37. > :12:39.men, who were both wearing ski masks, escaped with hundreds of
:12:40. > :12:42.pounds in cash from the Ladbrokes store in Snodland.
:12:43. > :12:45.Parents and pupils from the Discovery Free School in Crawley
:12:46. > :12:49.have delivered letters to the Prime Minister today, in a last`ditch
:12:50. > :12:52.attempt to save it from closure. It was one of Britain's first free
:12:53. > :12:55.schools, but the government announced last week that it will
:12:56. > :12:59.close in April, because of concerns about poor teaching standards. Our
:13:00. > :13:03.correspondent Mark Norman joins us from Downing Street. What do they
:13:04. > :13:08.hope to achieve by handing in their petition today?
:13:09. > :13:13.I suppose realistically they would hope to get a bit more time to try
:13:14. > :13:17.to get this school up to scratch. However the chair of governors said
:13:18. > :13:20.the school was being used as a scapegoat and the government wanted
:13:21. > :13:31.to crucify the school. Very strong words from him. Less so from the
:13:32. > :13:35.parents. If Discovery Free School is too
:13:36. > :13:41.close, it went be without these pupils and their parents having
:13:42. > :13:46.their say. Schmidt is `` it will not be without these pupils. This was
:13:47. > :13:50.decided over two years ago that we would fail. We have no reason to
:13:51. > :13:56.fail, we have a brilliant headmistress, brilliant children.
:13:57. > :14:02.It's horrific. My bed goes to bed `` my daughter goes to bed crying. She
:14:03. > :14:05.loves the school and the staff. Despite Ofsted criticising basic
:14:06. > :14:09.learning at the school, the pupils have written letters for the Prime
:14:10. > :14:14.Minister. If you ruin my education by shouting the school, we will
:14:15. > 0:07:20never forgive you. One person can make a difference.