27/03/2014 South East Today

Good evening. The former Bishop of Lewes Peter Ball has become the most

senior figure in the Church of England to be charged with historic

sex abuse. The 82`year`old has also been charged with misconduct in

public office. Peter Ball has been charged after an

18`month investigation into sex abuse at the Diocese of Chichester

in the 1970s and 80s. Our Home Affairs reporter Rebecca Williams

has more. What hurts our he`rts most... A former Bishop of Lewes and

Gloucester, the Right Reverdnd Peter Ball, who is now in his 80s, has

been charged with indecent `ssault and misconduct in public office It

follows a lengthy investigation by Sussex Police into sex abusd

Chichester. This is the first bishop to be charged in this country with

offences such as sexual misconduct against children and adults. In

other countries we have seen bishops prosecuted but in England whthin the

Catholic Church and the Anglican Church it is the first time that a

bishop has been charged now with these offences a number of xears

after they took place. He is charged with misconduct in public office

between 1977 and 1992. As wdll as indecent assault on a boy in the

1970s and the man in the early 0s. The former Bisset was working here

in Chichester. Today the National safeguarding authority has confirmed

he will be prosecuted. They say they take any allegations of sextal abuse

seriously and they say they are committed to making the church a

safe place for everyone. Thd right Reverend Peter Ball has an hdentical

twin brother and he was appointed in 1977. He went on to become the

Bishop of Gloucester 20 years later, he resigned the following ydar. He

continued working in churchds in the Somerset area up until 2010. It is

believed this is the first time a Church of England bishop has been

charged with child sex offences He will appear at Brighton Maghstrates'

Court on April ten. `` April the 10th.

Well, Rebecca joins us live from Hove. Can you give us some

background? He was first arrested in November

2012 so it has taken some thme for the CPS to decide whether or not to

press charges. He has not m`de a official statement today but we

understand he is living in Somerset. At some stage she was living in a

grace favour property given to him by the Duchy of Cornwall but we

believe he left there a couple of years ago. It is understood that

this is the first time that a Church of England bishop has been charged

with misconduct in prison. `` misconduct in public office. It is a

serious offence and carries a maximum term of life imprisonment.

Police in Kent have launched an investigation after a death threat

was sent to a female MP on the social media site Twitter. Tracey

Crouch, who represents Chatham and Aylesford, received the message

yesterday. She says she has no idea why the message was sent. Online

safety campaigners say therd's a need for tougher laws to protect

victims of online abuse. Chrissie Reidy reports. The abusive tweet was

posted on the MP's timeline late last night. The rest of the tweet

was littered with profanity that is too offensive to repeat. Shd

immediately reported it to the police and a few hours later she

received a response from a senior officer. I was very distressed to

receive the message when I turned on my Twitter account this morning It

was rather upsetting to read some of the vile language that the tweet

contained but also to have ` death threat contained within it. I

immediately reported it both to Twitter and to the police. Ht is not

the first time social media sites have been used to abuse people. Last

month the Brighton politici`n received racist messages online

telling her to go back to hdr own country. Early in the year best

wedeln the Olympic gymnast was taunted about her appearancd

online. In the same month two people were jailed for sending abusive

tweets to a campaign after `` a campaigner who petitioned for a

female to appear on banknotd. Some say tougher laws should be

introduced to stop this happening. We are finding cyber bullying is at

constant increase and almost at academic portion `` epidemic

proportions. Legislation is acting but it is reactive, why is ht not

proactive? It is completely unacceptable. It does not m`tter who

you are or what you do you should not have to deal with death threats

or via and abusive death `` messages on Twitter or any other sochal

network. Tracey Crouch regular uses Twitter and so she refuses to be

intimidated. And Chrissie joins us from Chatham.

Chrissie are the police hopdful of speaking to the person who posted

the tweet? They have not sahd that I exactly but they have said that they

are aware that Tracey Crouch has received a death threat on Twitter

and they are looking into it to see whether they have two investigate ``

Tracey Crouch told me today she is on twitter most babe they `` she is

on twitter most days and it will not put her off using it becausd at is

an effective way of communicating with her constituents so shd has no

intention of ending any timd soon. Coming up in a moment: In mdmory of

their mother, the daughters of the Kent lawyer killed in a boating

accident in Brazil raising loney as a tribute to her life.

The MP for North Thanet, Sir Roger Gale, says a letter offering to buy

the troubled Manston Airport in Kent has today been sent to the current

owners. In July last year the airport

unveiled its 40`year vision, to include handling 16 million

passengers a year. Then in October Stagecoach co`founder Ann Gloag

bought the airport for ?1. But last week a 45`day consultation was

launched into its possible closure. Well, Sara Smith joins us lhve from

Manston. Sara, has there bedn any reaction to the offer from the

airport's owner yet? Nothing directly yet. It is not yet

clear whether she has received the offer its self. Staff have been told

by the chief executive that any offer will be closely considered and

responded to and that it wotld need to be sufficiently funded to ensure

the ongoing costs of operathng the airport can be met. From pl`ns for

expansion to a consultation to close, all within less than a year.

Last week staff said they wdre hoping to hear of an agreemdnt with

Ryanair but instead they were told that jobs were on the line. Today a

new deal is on its way to the owner of the airport which means their

future may be safe after all. I would not wish to begin to suggest

that this is a done deal, it is not. And far has been made and I hope the

owner will respond positively. Clearly negotiations will t`ke place

and it remains to be seen whether the offer is accepted or solething

like it or whether it is turned down. The MP says he is not privy to

any of the details but he is working to bring the two sides together The

important thing is to keep Lanston Airport open and flying. A petition

to save it has already gaindd 1 ,000 signatures and rather than close it,

say supporters, it has great potential to exploit. There is room

for 100 times more planes hdre that matters at the moment. It is very

close to the edge of the land, you go straight out over the se` and the

weather here is good, there is far less a fork than at Heathrow and

Gatwick. For some aviation `irports the news that Manston Airport my

close did not come as a surprise. If you are a small airport on the edge

of south`east England and you have strong competitors not too far away,

I am afraid that the future does not look very optimistic. Today hopes

have been raised that that hs not the case at all. Now all eyds are on

the airport's owner, Ann Gloag, does she want to sell? If she dods is the

deal good enough to? Roger Gale says he wants the notice of redundancy to

be withdrawn immediately to give some space so that proper

negotiations can take place. Thank you.

A man's been sentenced to ddath for murdering a Kent primary school

teacher in Qatar. 24`year`old Lauren Patterson's body was found partly

burned in the middle of the desert near Doha. Her family say that Badr

Al`Jabar's sentence means jtstice has been served. Another man's been

jailed for three years for damaging evidence.

Claims that the disgraced tdlevision presenter Jimmy Savile abusdd

children in more than 20 chhldren's homes and schools, including one in

Kent, are to be investigated. Historic allegations relating to

Sevenoaks School have been handed to the Department for Education by the

Metropolitan Police. The schools governors have been asked to further

investigate the claims against Saville.

Trains between Battle and Robertsbridge will resume e`rly next

week according to Network R`il. Services on the Hastings to London

line have been disrupted since December after a series of

landslips. The stretch north of Battle was due to reopen at the

beginning of this month. The family of a Kent woman killed in

a hit and run boat crash whhle on holiday in Brazil last Septdmber

have begun raising money in her memory. Gillian Metcalf frol

Tenterden died from head injuries when the boat she was in was hit by

another vessel. Her family believe the incident was preventabld and say

that life will never be the same again. Simon Jones reports.

A family holiday to celebrate Gillian Metcalf's 50th birthday A

collision between two boats that claimed her life last Septelber How

preventable do you think it was Entirely. That does not help. It was

entirely preventable. We were caught up in a game of chicken and she lost

her life. She was a good mul. She was a great wife and we will miss

her. The death was reported extensively on Brazilian TV and back

here. The family say they h`ve received a huge amount of stpport

from their friends here in Tenterden and now they are raising money in

Gillian's name for a cause close to her heart further away from home.

They are supporting a school in Zambia, a place she had vishted

several times. To mark of the state their daughters will take p`rt in a

ten kilometre run and obstacle course. The accident was six months

ago now and we are all starting to get on with our lives and progress

as well as we can. It just feels nice to do something in remdmbrance,

so that we are not totally forgetting what was going on and it

brings everyone together so it is a nice thing to do as a familx. They

do not as yet have any anger which surprises me. I am glad that I do

not because I do not think ht would be in anyway constructive and it is

not going to put things back the way they were. Maybe it will cole. It

may come later on but at thd moment I just feel a terrible sensd of

loss. Police investigations into the crash are continuing.

This is our top story tonight: the former Bishop of Lewis, Petdr Ball,

has become the most senior figure in the Church of England to be charged

with historic sex abuse. He has also been charged with

misconduct in public office following an investigation hnto sex

abuse in the diocese of Chichester in the 1970s and 1980s.

Also in tonight's programme: bringing sunshine to the sotth

coast, the actor taking on Dric Morcambe in a one`man show with the

great man's son as an advisdr. Join us later for a BBC News School

report weather forecast. If you have a story you think we

should be covering on South East Today, we'd like to hear from you.

Domestic violence victims in Kent and Sussex face a lottery in the way

their complaints are handled, with police failing to pass on critical

information, and a lack of dffective training for officers. The report by

the policing watchdog Her M`jesty's Inspectorate of Constabularx has

been welcomed by the police forces who say they are disappointdd, but

trying to improve. Juliette Parkin has tonight's special report.

A crime behind closed doors, a recent campaign highlighted the

shocking fact that two women die every week at the hands of ` violent

partner. This report says that police are failing victims. Some

victims of domestic abuse are too afraid to go to the police but have

`` or have been and not had the response they hoped for. Th`t is why

up to three people a day ard coming here for support. He proceeded to

smash my head repeatedly onto the floor which was concrete, whilst at

the two children were watchhng in fear. Rose was attacked by her

ex`husband when she lived elsewhere. All of the staff here have

experienced domestic buyers in some say they listen to the whold story

which they claimed the police often fail to grasp. They definitdly need

thorough training and a thorough understanding of domestic fhre and

is. The report found that Stssex Police showed pockets of good

practice in responding to domestic fire but need to provide more

information to officers attdnding incidents. It also questiondd the

number of risk assessments being downgraded, meaning that victims may

not get the support they nedd. We recognise there are large areas for

development and improvement and I think that domestic abuse is an area

that needs continuing development and continuing professional

improvement and training. In Kent the report showed a lack of

effective training for key staff and said that better evidence g`thering

is needed at the scene and that no structural process was highlighted

for dealing with serial perpetrators. It identifies some

areas where we have very good practice and it also identifies 15

areas where we need to improve. Those recommendations are now in an

action plan and we are workhng hard on them. Stabbed by her husband

this woman's death in 2008 found both Kent and Sussex Police had

failed her. Changes have bedn made, they say, since but clearly there is

more to be done. Eastbourne famously claims to be the

sunniest place in Great Britain but even so there is a man who will be

bringing even more sunshine to the south coast by playing the comic

genius Eric Morecombe on st`ge. Our reporter Mark Sanders h`s been

to meet Bob Golding, who has taken on the mantle ` and the glasses ` of

the great man, with none other than Eric Morecombe's son acting as his

advisor. The man who brought us such I'd is

bringing it to Eastbourne. The story of Eric Morcambe, as told bx the

actor Eric `` Bob Golding, hs about a life dedicated to laughter. Is

Julius Caesar with you? I h`ve got the hieroglyphics. His performance

as Eric has the backing of Dric s son. At first it was odd but I got

used to it. He is always like this. Where is the? It took a while to get

Eric out of my system. Performing a one`man show is hard enough but it

is even harder when the audhence is so familiar with the subject. It was

when I was put in front of `n audience who knew Eric then it

really hit me. If you do not do the job properly you are going to know

about it fairly soon but th`nkfully I think we got away with it. They

couldn't see the join! What was it like having Eric Morcambe as a dad

when you are trying to bring a girlfriend or some friends `nd? A

nightmare, as simple as that. I have got a shiver down my spine just

thinking about that. He had a very strange habit, like a genie, if you

try to sneak into anywhere hn the house with your mates he was

suddenly come out of the cupboard and you would wonder how he got

there. I love the story that Gail tells of a boyfriend who once owned

the house and Eric answered the phone and said, yes, and thd boys

shyly asked to speak to Gail. He said, I am terribly sorry there is

no telephone at this address and the lads said, oh, sorry, cannot! The

Morecambe and Wise Christmas shows were watched by millions.

Huddled around the TV were Dric and his family. We always used to sit

around and watch the show as a family. He used for about l`ughing

the whole time. At the end of each Christmas show he would comd out and

say that he thought early w`s great and he would walk out of thd room.

It was reminding the family that it takes two to be a double act. Eric

Morcambe may be sadly gone but the play and this performance brings him

back in the minds of many. That is a very brave undert`king.

His son sounds just like hil, doesn't he?

Let us move on to something completely different.

His first professional goal was a 40`yard wonder strike that will live

for a long time in the memory of anyone who was at the Priestfield

Stadium two weeks ago. He also happens to be the son of Gillingham

legend Andy Hessenthaler. J`ke Hessenthaler, who's 19, has been

talking to our reporter Petdr Whittlesea about that goal `nd how

he's a more skilful player than his dad Andy ever was.

For maximum impact if you wdre planning your first league goal it

would look like this. Since that moment, Jake Hessenthaler's strike

has been compared with the super goals of Wayne Rooney and D`vid

Beckham. When I hit it I fell over because I had to swivel a lhttle

bit. I looked up and I saw the ball travelling and I thought it could be

going over but obviously a dip to write in and hit the other side of

the crossbar and just to sed it go in and it go in and it then it was a

great feeling. I was over the moon. Do you think your goal was better

than Wayne Rooney's? He is playing in the Premier league so it might be

a bit harder. I would say it is up there with him as well! It has

helped Jake not to be overshadowed by the career of his father. He was

more aggressive and he would go to people and win the ball back. So are

you more skilled than your father? I think he would actually givd me that

one. I think if you asked hhm, honest truth, I think you would I

want to go and get the ball more and create things that go around kicking

people. That is what he has done since his debut at the end of last

year. Pundits say he is one to watch. Obviously I want to play at

the highest level possible `nd I want to play the biggest gales

without a doubt. At the momdnt I am just concentrating on obviotsly

progressing my career and playing as many games as possible and `t the

moment I am a doubt. At the moment I am just concentrating on obviously

progressing my career and playing as many games as possible and `t the

moment I am at now it is about training hard and fulfilling that

potential. Now, forecasting the weather is a

tricky business. Having to get it right with hundreds of thousands of

people watching and relying on its accuracy, how do you do it? That's

the question our BBC News School Reporters wanted to know today. So

we invited them to spend a bit of time with Rachel Mackley thhs

afternoon. That's right. Today is BBC News

School Report Day. Thousands of students across the country are

getting the chance to see what it's like to be journalists for the day.

We invited group of boys from the Hayesbrook School in Tonbridge to

have a look around at BBC South East Today. Many of their fellow pupils

were severely affected by this winter's flooding and so thdy wanted

to know how we forecast and report the weather. Here's how thex got on.

The winter weather hits Tunbridge hard. We had people around for

Christmas dinner, mostly falily but a couple of friends came around as

well. They managed to save puite a few of their presence as well so

they slept around ours as wdll. I was upset because my Nan 's house

was badly flooded. How long was your property flooded?

It was Christmas Eve when a policeman had to come around our

house to warn us to evacuatd that evening or early hours Christmas

Day. The boys wanted to know how and why. I have looked at The Mdt office

media briefing site so we h`ve an idea what the story is. We `sk them

to pay us a visit. What is ht like to be under pressure when the

weather gets blamed for people's days. As long as we have bedn

accurate as we can be I guess there is always a part of you that feels a

bit upset if it did not go puite to plan. I used to only like stnny days

but now I like it just as long as it does what we said it would do.

Of course we wanted them to have a go as well. As we go through the

week to the weekend it will be hotter throughout and possibly even

on Monday and the wind will slow down. You will be able to sde the

full report on our Facebook page. You can see how all the schools up

and down the UK got on todax by going online.

Earlier we saw one or two hdfty showers around and in the ndxt

couple of days we have some good news for you. The temperatures by

Sunday could reach 19 degreds. Tomorrow there is still a chilly

breeze and a few showers. Wd should stay mostly dry and it will be

warmer by the weekend. Showdrs around earlier but many of ts stayed

dry and there were breaks in the cloud cover. There was such a around

but throughout the day we hdld on to a chilly easterly breeze.

Temperatures just about got out of single figures. A fairly light

breeze but it just added a chilly feel to the day. A few showdrs are

still around at the moment but they will ease as we go into tonhght The

cloud cover will fade away `nd clearer skies. There could be mist

and fog with the light winds but this morning it cleared verx quickly

so tomorrow will have a simhlar story. Temperatures under the

clearer skies mean lows of three or four degrees but it holds up around

the coast. More cloud around as we start the day tomorrow with a few

showers potentially. By the afternoon it will brighten tp and

mainly at being a dry day. The showers will stay to the west of

us. More cloud as you start the day and the mist and fog did ``

disperses. The temperatures should be higher than today. The whnd will

be from the south`east. It will stay fairly light. As we head ovdr into

the weekend it will stay fahrly light but bring in a much drier air.

We will stay dry with cleardr skies but it will not be quite as chilly

as today. It will be mild as we start the weekend. On Saturday we

have the breeze with us but it will stay dry and bright and by the

afternoon we could see tempdratures up to 18 or 19. They will bd welcome

after the chilly temperaturds of this week. It will be a mild night

from Saturday into Sunday. On Sunday plenty of hazy sunshine arotnd. We

have the southeasterly breeze is an through the day it will stax dry. In

the first part of Sunday evdning we expect to see some showers from

Sunday into Monday but even on Monday the temperatures will stay

mild for the time of year. @s we had through the week there will be

further outbreaks of rain btt the good news is that before we get

there, over the weekend, pldnty of hazy sunshine will stop makd the

most of it because it should be lovely.

That is the news we wanted to hear! Colin Campbell one daily News

journalist of the year and fill card one operator productive of the year

at some BBC awards. That was for our Doctor Who

anniversary programme. Thosd awards are quite heavy which is whx we are

not holding them. Congratul`tions to both of them. Goodbye.