:00:00. > :00:13.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories:
:00:14. > :00:17.An MP's shock as our reportdr shows him first`hand the attempts by
:00:18. > :00:30.migrants in Calais to get to the UK. He calls it "brazen".
:00:31. > :00:33.Also in tonight's programme: A reprieve for staff at Manston
:00:34. > :00:36.airport as a consultation on closure's extended. UKIP call for
:00:37. > :00:48.the government to invest ?200 million in the site. A new book by
:00:49. > :00:56.the football fan who followdd his passion around the country `nd
:00:57. > :01:02.witnessed the Hillsborough disaster. Hitting all the right notes, Russell
:01:03. > :01:15.Watson sings on the south coast and he tells us about being back at the
:01:16. > :01:18.top of his game. Good evening. It was the first constituency wide
:01:19. > :01:21.ballot on Britain's membership of the European Union and people in
:01:22. > :01:24.Rochester and Strood voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving.
:01:25. > :01:28.44,000 households were invited to take part in Conservative MP Mark
:01:29. > :01:33.Reckless' survey and just under 10% did. Despite the low return, Mr
:01:34. > :01:45.Reckless calls it a victory, critics say it was just a stunt. Fiona
:01:46. > :01:48.Irving reports. In or out) ballot on our melbership
:01:49. > :01:55.of the European Union. Was ht an outfit for the people to vohce their
:01:56. > :01:59.opinion or just a publicity stunt? We're giving people the chance to
:02:00. > :02:05.have their say. With my loc`l members and supporters raisdd 5 00
:02:06. > :02:10.?6,000 to do this and get a ballot paper to every household. That is
:02:11. > :02:16.thing to be proud of and I `m pleased with the result. 80$ were in
:02:17. > :02:23.favour of leaving the EU. In total, 4000 voters responded to thd ballot
:02:24. > :02:27.representing less than 10%. It is time for a real referendum. That was
:02:28. > :02:33.you back in 2008. Nobody believes you. Nigel Farage thinks we can be
:02:34. > :02:38.isolated and we don't gain by working with other countries,
:02:39. > :02:45.America, China. These countries won't take as as seriously `s the do
:02:46. > :02:48.the world biggest economy. Britain's relationship with the EU is part of
:02:49. > :02:55.an increasingly heated national debate. One that many in thd
:02:56. > :03:00.south`east are joining in. H wanted to stay in because I don't want us
:03:01. > :03:07.to a little island in the North Sea. We need them for trade.
:03:08. > :03:15.Philosophically, I agree with the idea. I would vote to say in the EU.
:03:16. > :03:19.We are linked so closely to you rip in terms of trade, industry, culture
:03:20. > :03:25.and to leave it with levers completely isolated. I don't think
:03:26. > :03:29.we should pull out now. There is too much to do with business. There are
:03:30. > :03:36.too many businesses involved. I think we should pull out. I sell
:03:37. > :03:41.French wine in the UK so it is essential, it makes it so mtch
:03:42. > :03:49.easier. I think we should bd on our own. Stuff Europe. Bring on
:03:50. > :03:53.England! With the relativelx low turnout, some have been questioning
:03:54. > :04:05.the point and validity of it. I think this is a can that publicity
:04:06. > :04:10.stunt by an MP. Very small number of people took part and I would attach
:04:11. > :04:15.little weight to its reliabhlity. David Cameron has promised them in
:04:16. > :04:19.out referendum by 2017 if the Tories win the next general election. There
:04:20. > :04:25.are a few more years and a few more hurdles to jump before people here
:04:26. > :04:28.have a vote that counts. Fiona Irving is in Rochester now.
:04:29. > :04:38.Fiona Mr Reckless thinks th`t other MPs will follow his example.
:04:39. > :04:43.Yes, Mark Reckless says at Conservative MPs have appro`ched him
:04:44. > :04:46.about conducting a similar survey in their constituencies. This hs the
:04:47. > :04:51.ballot paper letter sent to people in Rochester and Strood and ask the
:04:52. > :04:57.question, should the United Kingdom be a member of the European Union?
:04:58. > :05:01.Regardless of your opinion, the plan on both sides of the argument is
:05:02. > :05:13.only going to get louder and increase as we get to the ndxt
:05:14. > :05:18.general election. Redundancx notices with you to be handed out to staff
:05:19. > :05:23.on the 11th of May at Manston airport. But it is not clear when a
:05:24. > :05:30.final decision is made. UKIP have called for the government to scrap
:05:31. > :05:36.the HS2 project. An empty passenger terminal but UKIP
:05:37. > :05:41.is proposing the building of a second terminal at Manston `nd
:05:42. > :05:44.upgrading rail links. It cl`ims the airport can support 20,000 jobs in
:05:45. > :05:48.the wider economy and would be a much better investment for ` new ``
:05:49. > :05:57.the fan in new high`speed r`il line to the Midlands. It is madndss the
:05:58. > :06:10.government is spending millhons on Anne Gloag but for a small ``
:06:11. > :06:18.spending millions on HS2. Btt some say the scheme will never t`ke off.
:06:19. > :06:23.UKIP's plans are going nowhdre. HS2 is transfixed into the DNA of the
:06:24. > :06:28.current government and assuling also any subsequent government going
:06:29. > :06:35.forward. So, the idea of scrapping HS2 in favour of a hit and liss
:06:36. > :06:40.scheme surrounding Manston `irport, I think is a nonstarter frol the
:06:41. > :06:47.beginning to end. Yesterday, KLM fair `` flew out of Manston for the
:06:48. > :06:53.last time. Workers have put forward three plans to save the airport
:06:54. > :06:55.including setting up an avi`tion recycling business. Unions say the
:06:56. > :07:03.consultation period over thd closure has been extended. I will s`y, stay
:07:04. > :07:05.positive. We are still undergoing consultation. The business plans are
:07:06. > :07:11.still being discussed and considered. They involve sole
:07:12. > :07:18.serious number crunching and the process is ongoing. Further meetings
:07:19. > :07:22.are scheduled for next week. Simon Jones is life at Manston
:07:23. > :07:28.airport. We gather the airport owner, Anne Gloag, is going to come
:07:29. > :07:34.to the negotiating table. Hdr people were supposed to meet the MP last
:07:35. > :07:39.week but that was cancelled at the last minute. The MP believes they
:07:40. > :07:43.were finding his intervention is tiresome but next week for the first
:07:44. > :07:48.time, they will meet face to face in London. As for the idea put forward
:07:49. > :07:53.by UKIP at the Department for transport isn't keen. It saxs the
:07:54. > :07:56.airports of rent on a commercial and competitive basis in the cotntry, it
:07:57. > :08:01.is not for the government to subsidise the running of an airport.
:08:02. > :08:04.Today, we did see some people looking around the airport but I did
:08:05. > :08:12.ask them I view to buying it and they denied it. Not much concrete.
:08:13. > :08:16.Thank you. In a moment: What lessons for
:08:17. > :08:18.Ebbsfleet from the UK's first Garden City? We've been to the
:08:19. > :08:26.Hertfordshire town of Letchworth to find out.
:08:27. > :08:30.A man accused of murdering ` grandmother, who was left to die in
:08:31. > :08:34.the basement of a Kent shop, has told a court he is not a violent man
:08:35. > :08:36.and had no reason to kill hdr. 29`year`old Mohammed Islam from
:08:37. > :08:39.Gillingham denies he attackdd Harjit Chaggar along with two other workers
:08:40. > :08:49.at the Chatham store, last September. Chrissie Reidy rdports.
:08:50. > :08:54.Mohammed Islam worked at a butcher at the time Harjit Chaggar
:08:55. > :09:03.disappeared. Flur Wyn interpreter, the 29`year`old told the cotrt he
:09:04. > :09:09.worked at shop. `` with an interpreter. He was asked, do you
:09:10. > :09:19.have a guilty secret about Harjit Chaggar? No, he said, I swore on the
:09:20. > :09:23.Koran. Did you have any reason to kill a? Do you know how Harjit
:09:24. > :09:28.Chaggar's body came to be in the cellar of the shop? He said, no I
:09:29. > :09:34.did not know her. Woman`mac went missing while out shopping on the
:09:35. > :09:38.2nd of September last year. The prosecution claim on the dax she
:09:39. > :09:42.went missing she spent ten linutes at the food store on the Luton
:09:43. > :09:47.Road. It was 12 days later that two of the shop workers, two of the
:09:48. > :09:52.defendants, found her badly decomposing body in the cellar. The
:09:53. > :09:57.prosecution says she was alhve when she was thrown into the basdment.
:09:58. > :10:05.She died alone and her killdrs showed no mercy. Man`mac and Abdul
:10:06. > :10:09.Hannan and Murshed Miah, all shop workers are accused of her lurder.
:10:10. > :10:18.They are charged with preventing unlawful burial. They deny the
:10:19. > :10:22.charges. The case continues. A court hearing has taken place this
:10:23. > :10:25.morning for a former Bishop of Lewes charged with historic sex abuse and
:10:26. > :10:30.misconduct in public office. 82`year`old Peter Ball was too
:10:31. > :10:33.unwell to appear in court in person. He's the most senior figure in the
:10:34. > :10:38.Church of England to face stch charges. He denies all the charges
:10:39. > :10:42.and his next court hearing will be at Lewes Crown Court on May the
:10:43. > :10:44.23rd. Brighton and Sussex Univershty
:10:45. > :10:47.Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised to patients after a new booking
:10:48. > :10:52.system for appointments in parts of Sussex caused long delays for
:10:53. > :10:55.patients. The Trust said thd backlog is being cleared and the new system
:10:56. > :11:12.is vital, but hope that over the next month any problems will be
:11:13. > :11:15.ironed out. There are plans to make Ebbsfleet the site of the ndw first
:11:16. > :11:20.Garden City in the country for nearly 100 years. More than 15, 00
:11:21. > :11:23.homes are proposed for the site The first garden city was in Letchworth
:11:24. > :11:28.and was established more th`n a hundred years ago in 1903. The city
:11:29. > :11:33.reinvest the money earned from Brent help provide local services to
:11:34. > :11:39.residents free of charge. Over the last 20 years, whereas ?70 lillion
:11:40. > :11:42.has input back into the comlunity in Letchworth. Our correspondent has
:11:43. > :11:46.been to the Hertfordshire towner. This exhibition in Letchworth tells
:11:47. > :11:51.the story of how small vill`ges became the world 's first G`rden
:11:52. > :11:53.City. Apart from a set of environmental principles, the
:11:54. > :11:58.architects considered the fhnancial future of the towns and rents from
:11:59. > :12:02.shops and local industry were to be used for the community, somdthing
:12:03. > :12:08.that continues today. The trust was set up to treating a large portfolio
:12:09. > :12:17.of property that is built in net worth and we have a rental hncome
:12:18. > :12:19.from that. We reinvest back for the generation of communities. That
:12:20. > :12:24.portfolio includes two and 0000 square feet office space, 180
:12:25. > :12:30.industrial units and more than 00 shops. They put ?70 million at into
:12:31. > :12:34.the queue minute in the last two decades. The mini has been spent on
:12:35. > :12:37.things like treatment centrds and community buses at that helped
:12:38. > :12:44.thousands of people a year, all paid for by the foundation. We are aware
:12:45. > :12:49.of it on a daily basis how fortunate that people are that they c`n use
:12:50. > :12:53.this facility. We are uniqud in that we don't have any chess funding and
:12:54. > :13:03.we are funded from the Heritage foundation. We are going to buy that
:13:04. > :13:07.build a garden city in Ebbsfleet. When the Chancellor announcdd plans
:13:08. > :13:10.for a new garden city in Ebbsfleet he believed the new city here in the
:13:11. > :13:15.eastern quarry could offer similar financial benefits to a new Kent
:13:16. > :13:27.community Vostok but only if the landowner takes a long view of the
:13:28. > :13:34.project. If you look long`tdrm, that could be achievable. Letchworth
:13:35. > :13:37.Garden City has survived more than a century including huge
:13:38. > :13:41.house`building in the 1970s but it remains to be seen if the Ebbsfleet
:13:42. > :13:44.Garden City ADA can get off the drawing board and become thd first
:13:45. > :13:56.garden city in this country for more than 100 years. Our top story.
:13:57. > :13:59.People in Rochester and Strood devoted to leave the Europe`n Union
:14:00. > :14:05.in a referendum held by the local MP, Mark Reckless. Empty 5% of those
:14:06. > :14:15.who responded to the ballot papers didn't want out of the EU. `` 7 %.
:14:16. > :14:22.The tweedy turnout less than 70 `` but with the turnout less than 0%,
:14:23. > :14:25.people have called it a gimlick Russell Watson sings on the south
:14:26. > :14:32.coast and tells us about be`ting illness to become one of thd world
:14:33. > :14:35.'s top classical singers once again. We have unsettled weather as we head
:14:36. > :14:48.into the weekend. Join me l`ter for the details. The Dover MP Charlie
:14:49. > :14:51.Elphicke has expressed his shock at seeing what he's called "br`zen
:14:52. > :14:55.attempts by migrants trying to get to Britain illegally from the Port
:14:56. > :14:57.of Calais. Mr Elphicke, on ` visit to France organised by BBC South
:14:58. > :15:01.East following our investig`tion last month into illegal immhgration,
:15:02. > :15:06.watched as migrants tried to jump in broad daylight onto trucks bound for
:15:07. > :15:08.Dover. He then witnessed thd French Police detaining then, almost
:15:09. > :15:16.immediately, releasing the ligrants they'd arrested.
:15:17. > :15:20.Well, the MP, Charlie Elphicke, who you saw in Colin's report, hs back
:15:21. > :15:26.in his Dover constituency now and joins us from there. Physic`l
:15:27. > :15:30.reaction to what you have sden? I was quite shocked. People wdre able
:15:31. > :15:35.to jump into lorries, the police then arrived and immediatelx release
:15:36. > :15:39.them. It says to me the levdl of security and policing in Calais is
:15:40. > :15:43.completely ineffective. What message would you be taking to the Home
:15:44. > :15:47.Secretary, to the Prime Minhster? It is welcome we have had some great
:15:48. > :15:51.cross`border co`operation bdtween the British and French governments
:15:52. > :15:53.but it is clear more needs to be done. British security is working
:15:54. > :15:59.well, the British dogs are working even better if that is posshble and
:16:00. > :16:02.clearly, there is good borddr security for us. We need to help
:16:03. > :16:10.Calais in ensuring these I got rid of. The French police need to be
:16:11. > :16:13.more effective. But once thd French police have arrested migrants, they
:16:14. > :16:17.are then bound to return thdm to the country which they left frol. They
:16:18. > :16:23.say they don't have the resources to do that. There is a stalemate there.
:16:24. > :16:27.That really is something th`t has to be acted on. I you going to be
:16:28. > :16:32.talking to these Home Secretary and moving on that issue? I am going to
:16:33. > :16:36.be making the case that the minister talked to the government in Paris
:16:37. > :16:42.and say there needs to be greater police action in France but also the
:16:43. > :16:47.European union has a role. Hf they are coming through Greece, Htaly and
:16:48. > :16:51.through Spain so we need a Duropean continent to take action to deal
:16:52. > :16:53.with this problem. The French authorities say the British
:16:54. > :16:58.government needs to be stumping up the cash to help them do thhs. We
:16:59. > :17:03.have taken a lot of action. A head today visiting the camps, British
:17:04. > :17:06.security catches them every single time. It is not the officers
:17:07. > :17:11.themselves, the dogs sniff them out and they are handed over to the
:17:12. > :17:15.French police and released them The British security is working but we
:17:16. > :17:20.have been dealing with the lagnet issues of welfare tourism. Xou have
:17:21. > :17:25.been meeting the mayoral officials in Calais and you said you would
:17:26. > :17:31.like them to put up a barridr, the road that leads down to the docks,
:17:32. > :17:36.have you had any progress whth that issue? I raised that the deputy
:17:37. > :17:39.mayor of Calais today that ht would be important for them to do that.
:17:40. > :17:43.There are practical considerations that he pointed out. I think the
:17:44. > :17:46.more badly as one can have to make it harder for people to get in
:17:47. > :17:57.lorries in the first place the better. Many thanks. Next ydar marks
:17:58. > :18:04.25 years since the Hillsborough disaster. Nottingham Forest fans
:18:05. > :18:09.could only watch as the horror in for now, an author who lives in
:18:10. > :18:12.Canterbury has ridden a novdl which follows the story of one of those
:18:13. > :18:16.away fans and draws on his experience of Hillsborough.
:18:17. > :18:24.These days, which the board found is the closest club but as a tdenager
:18:25. > :18:30.he `` it was Nottingham Fordst. That is how he came to be in this match.
:18:31. > :18:34.The pictures of what unfolddd cant be shown for legal reasons because a
:18:35. > :18:40.new inquest is underway, 25 years after it happened. For two hours we
:18:41. > :18:45.were forced to stand and watch this event take place. There was nothing
:18:46. > :18:51.you can do about it. There was nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. The
:18:52. > :18:55.lead character in his new book is, he admits, based on himself and stop
:18:56. > :19:02.looking back over the years at the effect on his and so many lhves of
:19:03. > :19:06.Hillsborough. John Finch is one person before Hillsborough `nd
:19:07. > :19:11.another afterwards. The samd as I was a different person before and
:19:12. > :19:14.after. I went to the game as a 17`year`old with no real worldly
:19:15. > :19:19.cares and came home with th`t on my shoulders. His experience, he knows,
:19:20. > :19:24.doesn't compare to those at the other end of the stadium. A new
:19:25. > :19:29.inquest, he hopes, will bring some answers for the families of those
:19:30. > :19:33.who died. There are lots of people who live in that horror and don t
:19:34. > :19:39.have the answers they need, the families particularly. I can't
:19:40. > :19:46.imagine how that must feel for them. The book also explores his changing
:19:47. > :19:50.feelings about the game. Wanted to write about Hillsborough and
:19:51. > :19:55.football, watching football in the 80s, through all the good and bad
:19:56. > :20:00.things. It was a gritty, earthy pretty horrible experience when a
:20:01. > :20:05.look at it. It was also what made so thrilling for a lad in his teens. I
:20:06. > :20:08.still love football, I am not in love with the premiership. H don't
:20:09. > :20:14.make the money, I don't likd the fact it is no longer a game for
:20:15. > :20:18.working people. But Hillsborough has united fans and from which the ball
:20:19. > :20:29.down to the premiership, on Saturday all will mark the quarterly century
:20:30. > :20:33.since the tragedy. He is the best selling classical
:20:34. > :20:36.artist in the UK and he's sold more than seven million albums worldwide.
:20:37. > :20:39.But Russell Watson's glittering career took a backward step when he
:20:40. > :20:43.was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2006. After a return to mushc he was
:20:44. > :20:47.diagnosed with a second tumour the following year. Now, against the
:20:48. > :20:50.odds, he's back at the top of his business as one of the world's most
:20:51. > :20:56.prominent tenors. Tonight, he performs at Brighton Dome and Jane
:20:57. > :21:01.Witherspoon is there with hhm now. He has performed for the Pope, the
:21:02. > :21:06.Queen and Barack Obama but tonight, it is a treat in store for Brighton
:21:07. > :21:10.residents. Russell Watson, how are you feeling about performing here
:21:11. > :21:14.tonight? This is my 10th visitor nights, I still get lost in there,
:21:15. > :21:23.it is like a rabbit warren! We're going to chat with you in a moment
:21:24. > :22:22.but let's remind ourselves of your fabulous career.
:22:23. > :22:30.I sneak into your rehearsal little bit early and it sounded fantastic.
:22:31. > :22:35.What is it about performing live? I love it, I love the tooling. I enjoy
:22:36. > :22:40.making the record but I likd the connection with my audience. This is
:22:41. > :22:46.one of the great venues where they live a good night out. It is always
:22:47. > :22:52.guaranteed to be a winner. We have got the Brighton Gay men's chorus
:22:53. > :22:56.joining us the night. It'll be a fantastic night. And you have
:22:57. > :23:00.brought the sun with you as well. I haven't brought the sun with me We
:23:01. > :23:04.were discussing this on the way down. When I leave Manchestdr, there
:23:05. > :23:08.are clouds everywhere and there is a threshold you pass when you drive
:23:09. > :23:14.into the south with the sun pops out. It is always Sunny in Brighton.
:23:15. > :23:18.You have been through the mhll health`wise but you are in the top
:23:19. > :23:21.of your game. How did that change you? It changes you profoundly but I
:23:22. > :23:27.am fit and healthy now and thank God. One of the things I have done
:23:28. > :23:32.is get myself into charities related with one has been wrong with me You
:23:33. > :23:41.are doing some charity concdrts which is in aid of the centdnary of
:23:42. > :23:46.World War I. We're doing concert in the summer the Palladium. Wd're
:23:47. > :23:51.doing one in Edinburgh. It'll be my first concert in Edinburgh Sir we
:23:52. > :23:56.are excited. And it is a single There is a single with Simon Weston
:23:57. > :24:02.who is reading poetry. We are raising funds for our wounddd heroes
:24:03. > :24:04.and tailor making homes for soldiers who have been seriously injtred and
:24:05. > :24:11.have been decommissioned from the Army. What can people expect here
:24:12. > :24:18.tonight? A lots of fun! Are you going to tell at the stage? I just
:24:19. > :24:21.don't like the saying, I like to chat with the audience and stop I
:24:22. > :24:26.have been doing this now for 15 years. Before that, ten years in the
:24:27. > :24:33.clubs and so on. They are lhke my friends. We have to wrap thhs up.
:24:34. > :24:38.Thank you for joining us. A lovely evening there in Brighton.
:24:39. > :24:44.This was the scene in Eastbourne this morning. Plenty of clotd cover
:24:45. > :24:50.around the block at that sunshine streaming through. That was a view
:24:51. > :24:54.this morning. Over the next couple of days, all of us are going to see
:24:55. > :25:02.this dry weather. Sunlight patchy rain. But it is great to be settled
:25:03. > :25:07.at the weekend. Gardner bew`re because we will see some chhlly
:25:08. > :25:14.nights. The high pressure btilds up over the weekend. Earlier today
:25:15. > :25:18.there was some cloud around but by the afternoon all of us are seeing
:25:19. > :25:25.plenty of sunshine and tempdratures in the low teens, around 13`14
:25:26. > :25:29.degrees. We saw the sunshind and attendances rising. We will see a
:25:30. > :25:34.little bit more cloud this dvening. The reason for that is we h`ve a
:25:35. > :25:41.week whether French sinking its way southward. You might see patchy rain
:25:42. > :25:44.and drizzle. That cloud covdr means temperatures are not going to be
:25:45. > :25:52.chilly. We will drop to 8`9 degrees. As we had `` start Friday,
:25:53. > :25:56.there will be some cloud cover that bind it is bright enough by the
:25:57. > :25:59.afternoon. All of us should be seeing a lots of sunshine. Lostly we
:26:00. > :26:06.will stay dry and the wind staying light. Perhaps just a littld bit of
:26:07. > :26:11.a fresher feel tomorrow. Temperatures still around 13`14 As
:26:12. > :26:15.we go through tomorrow night, it is going to be slightly chillidr. We
:26:16. > :26:20.might see some light patchy rain but we're going to be staying dry with
:26:21. > :26:27.temperatures in towns or cities 5`6 degrees. As we had into Sattrday, we
:26:28. > :26:34.pick up the breeze but it is going to be settled with lots of sunshine.
:26:35. > :26:42.By the afternoon temperaturds around 15 or 16 degrees. We will sde highs
:26:43. > :26:45.of 16 or 17 degrees on Sund`y. Over the next couple of days, lots of
:26:46. > :26:51.sunshine around and temperatures in the need teens.
:26:52. > :27:00.A quick kept the cap. My two Evans has been cleared of a string of
:27:01. > :27:10.sexual offences. `` my Jill Evans. He broke down in tears when the not
:27:11. > :27:21.guilty verdict was read out. `` Nigel Evans. On the closure of
:27:22. > :27:24.Manston airport has been extended after a meeting between bosses and
:27:25. > :27:28.union representatives. UKIP course of the government to scrap
:27:29. > :27:34.high`speed two and invest to lend ?1 million in saving the airport. That
:27:35. > :27:46.is it from the evening news team. We'll have a full report on our
:27:47. > :27:47.MP's technicality today. `` trip to Calais today.