:00:00. > :00:13.In South East Today at 6.30pm: the BBC News
:00:14. > :00:17.In South East Today at 6.30pm: Tonight's top stories.
:00:18. > :00:20.An investigation's launched into the charity that helped a Sussex man
:00:21. > :00:23.travel to Syria, before he became the first UK suicide bomber there.
:00:24. > :00:25.We're live in Crawley with the details.
:00:26. > :00:29.The big beasts fighting for your vote. George Osborne and his Labour
:00:30. > :00:31.Shadow Ed Balls come to the South East, ahead of this month's
:00:32. > :00:33.elections. Also in tonight's programme: Legal
:00:34. > :00:36.high shops want a trade association to legitimise the industry.
:00:37. > :00:42.Victims' families say it can never be safe.
:00:43. > :00:45.We don't know what's in them and our kids are playing Russian roulette
:00:46. > :00:48.with their lives. Kent and Sussex are the worst
:00:49. > :00:51.affected areas in the country for ash dieback. Scientists say we could
:00:52. > :00:53.lose three`quarters of our ash trees.
:00:54. > :00:56.And a lifetime's work rediscovered, locked in a filing cabinet for
:00:57. > :00:57.decades, revealing pictures of Hollywood stars and British greats
:00:58. > :01:17.from the '50s and '60s. Good evening.
:01:18. > :01:20.The charity that enabled a man from Sussex to travel to Syria, before he
:01:21. > :01:23.became Britain's first suicide bomber there, is under investigation
:01:24. > :01:26.tonight. The Charity Commission says it has "serious concerns" about
:01:27. > :01:29.Children In Deen which has organised aid convoys to Syria. Abdul Waheed
:01:30. > :01:33.Majeed, from Crawley, joined one of the charity's convoys last year. He
:01:34. > :01:39.then went on to carry out a suicide bomb attack at a Syrian prison in
:01:40. > :01:46.February. Mark Norman joins us live from Crawley. Mark.
:01:47. > :01:53.How serious an investigation is this for the charity?
:01:54. > :01:57.It is serious. I am sure they are taking it seriously. Majeed used to
:01:58. > :02:02.pray at this mosque and lived down the road. The charity is being
:02:03. > :02:05.investigated not just for financial irregularities but the way they
:02:06. > :02:14.vetted people before allowing them to travel to the Turkish Syrian
:02:15. > :02:19.border. After a long 10`15 days, it's
:02:20. > :02:23.emotional at the moment. The boss of the charity Children In
:02:24. > :02:28.Deen leading a convoy towards the Syrian border at the end of last
:02:29. > :02:32.year. In one of the vehicles, the Crawley father Abdul Waheed Majeed
:02:33. > :02:35.who went on to drive a truck full of explosives into a prison in the
:02:36. > :02:40.Syrian city of Aleppo, on an apparent martyrdom mission. When the
:02:41. > :02:43.charity acknowledged Majeed had travelled to the Middle East on a
:02:44. > :02:45.convoy they had organised, the Charity Commission got involved.
:02:46. > :02:49.Initial concerns led to this enquiry. The Charity Commission told
:02:50. > :02:52.us today they had serious regulatory concerns. And that they were
:02:53. > :02:57.investigating the financial controls and management of the charity. Those
:02:58. > :03:03.investigations would include the charity's vetting procedures when
:03:04. > :03:08.administering convoys. If people do want to help,
:03:09. > :03:12.particularly in a war zone, it is right they do that through
:03:13. > :03:18.well`known international agencies, such as the united nations or Red
:03:19. > :03:25.Crescent, and perhaps avoid small organisations whose validity I think
:03:26. > :03:28.must be under question. Abdul from Brighton had also
:03:29. > :03:31.travelled to Syria with an aid convoy. He was killed last month
:03:32. > :03:33.fighting alongside an Al Qaeda`linked group. The commission
:03:34. > :03:37.has reiterated its advice, along with Foreign Office warnings, of the
:03:38. > :03:44.risk of aid convoys travelling to Syria.
:03:45. > :03:53.The government has warned us there are dangers there and charities
:03:54. > :03:56.should be careful. Our advice is to take the government's notice, and
:03:57. > :03:59.not go unnecessarily and risk our lives when so many people are being
:04:00. > :04:02.killed. Speaking to us earlier this year,
:04:03. > :04:05.the mosque in Crawley told us how much money had been raised locally
:04:06. > :04:09.for Syria. Slightly over ?100,000 cash.
:04:10. > :04:11.And added they would now be sending their aid through Foreign Office
:04:12. > :04:14.approved routes. Children In Deen are not alone. The Charity
:04:15. > :04:20.Commission are investigating a number of other charities sending
:04:21. > :04:22.aid. It includes one case of alleged inappropriate links between the
:04:23. > :04:29.charity Al`Fatiha Global, and armed activities in Syria. A full report
:04:30. > :04:38.into Children In Dean will be published later this year.
:04:39. > :04:41.All these reports will be released later this year. Children In Deen
:04:42. > :04:46.would not respond to us but they have told me in the past there won't
:04:47. > :04:48.be organising any more convoys, but will be organising aid through
:04:49. > :04:54.Foreign Office approved routes. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and
:04:55. > :04:58.the Shadow Chancellor have come to the South East today, as the
:04:59. > :05:01.campaign heats up to win our votes in this month's European and local
:05:02. > :05:04.council elections. The Conservative MP George Osborne visited Brighton
:05:05. > :05:07.to announce funding for the ?420 million redevelopment of the city's
:05:08. > :05:10.hospital. Meanwhile, his opposite number, Ed Balls, came to Crawley
:05:11. > :05:13.this morning, to launch Labour's election campaign in the South East.
:05:14. > :05:18.Before travelling onto Chatham this afternoon. In a moment, we'll speak
:05:19. > :05:22.to Ellie Price in Chatham. But, first, our political editor Louise
:05:23. > :05:27.Stewart's live in Brighton. A huge investment announced today by
:05:28. > :05:31.the Chancellor, Louise. But cynics will say it's no coincidence that
:05:32. > :05:35.it's come as we prepare to go to the polls on May the 22nd.
:05:36. > :05:39.It has to be said the Conservatives had repeatedly said they would not
:05:40. > :05:44.be holding an election launch here. It certainly felt like one today.
:05:45. > :05:55.There were two major infrastructure announcements, the announcement of
:05:56. > :06:07.the go`ahead of the dual `` duelling of roadways.
:06:08. > :06:10.George Osborne came `` The Chancellor George Osborne came to
:06:11. > :06:13.the Royal Sussex County Hospital today bearing good news. He's
:06:14. > :06:16.finally given the go`ahead for a ?420 billion redevelopment of the
:06:17. > :06:19.19th`century site. This is a great boost for Brighton. It means a great
:06:20. > :06:25.new hospital facilities, more beds, more space for the patients and
:06:26. > :06:29.staff. New cancer services. This would not have happened if we hadn't
:06:30. > :06:32.had a great local MP in Simon Kirby campaigning for it, or a long`term
:06:33. > :06:34.economic plan. Parts of the hospital even predate
:06:35. > :06:36.Florence Nightingale. Its chief executive says the redevelopment is
:06:37. > :06:44.long overdue. The facilities aren't what you would
:06:45. > :06:48.want in 2014. What this will mean is we are able to match the care we
:06:49. > :06:50.give to our patients with the facilities, and help provide even
:06:51. > :06:53.better care to our patients. Critics have questioned the timing
:06:54. > :06:56.of the announcement, three weeks ahead of the local and European
:06:57. > :06:59.elections. Fellow Brighton MP Caroline Lucas says it shouldn't be
:07:00. > :07:03.a party political issue. The campaign to get a new hospital
:07:04. > :07:06.here has been a cross`party campaign, a community`led campaign.
:07:07. > :07:09.Everybody who has got anything to do with the hospital, doctors, nurses,
:07:10. > :07:11.will be delighted they will be able to care for people now in better
:07:12. > :07:23.surroundings. Local residents welcomed the news.
:07:24. > :07:27.I used to work there two years ago, and the old building here, the wards
:07:28. > :07:30.are very small. You can't even get the patients in and out. It is
:07:31. > :07:34.brilliant, personally I would have put it in the middle of Brighton
:07:35. > :07:37.but, for the population, it is superb. If the elections give the
:07:38. > :07:41.impetus to politicians to do something, then I am not surprised.
:07:42. > :07:44.It is good anything will be done. Redevelopment work is due to begin
:07:45. > :07:49.later this year and won't be completed until 2024.
:07:50. > :07:56.The chief executive has said preparatory work had started `` will
:07:57. > :08:05.start as early as next week. There is a long awaited infrastructure
:08:06. > :08:11.project of the duelling of that road. It has been given the final go
:08:12. > :08:12.ahead and work could start by this autumn, a year ahead of the previous
:08:13. > :08:18.schedule. While the Chancellor was in
:08:19. > :08:21.Brighton, Labour sent the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls to campaign for
:08:22. > :08:24.votes in Crawley and Chatham, key electoral battle grounds where the
:08:25. > :08:32.party's desperate to win back support. Our political reporter
:08:33. > :08:37.Ellie Price has more. Labour have their own deadline,
:08:38. > :08:41.elections in three weeks. On a visit to an audiovisual warehouse in
:08:42. > :08:46.Crawley, the Shadow Chancellor was making sure his message was being
:08:47. > :08:51.seen and heard. There are very many of your viewers whether they are in
:08:52. > :08:59.the Medway towns or Brighton, Dover or Hastings. In Crawley, they are
:09:00. > :09:02.finding things hard. When they hear George Osborne sing his plan is
:09:03. > :09:05.working, they say it is not working for them because people feel under
:09:06. > :09:10.pressure. Labour has two show we have the answers to the challenges.
:09:11. > :09:15.Labour lost the Crawley Parliamentary seat in 2010 and they
:09:16. > :09:19.want it back next year. I have spoken to some people in Crawley,
:09:20. > :09:28.some Labour voters who are still not convinced. Have you voted Labour in
:09:29. > :09:34.the past? I have, but not this time. Because I think they have lost their
:09:35. > :09:41.way a bit. Have you ever voted Labour? All. Will you again? I don't
:09:42. > :09:46.know, I'm not very taken with any parties at the moment. Have you
:09:47. > :09:53.voted Labour in the past? All my life. Will you be voting again? No,
:09:54. > :09:58.I am voting UKIP because I want to run our own country. I am sick and
:09:59. > :10:02.tired of it. Shouldn't you be doing better at
:10:03. > :10:07.this time in the political cycle than you are? There will be Labour
:10:08. > :10:14.voters who are angry at politics and asking if UKIP has the answer. The
:10:15. > :10:20.UKIP leader says he wants to privatise the NHS, have tax cuts
:10:21. > :10:25.only for the rich then `` for the rich, then they will realise he is
:10:26. > :10:32.not for them. Are you taking UKIP seriously enough? Over time, people
:10:33. > :10:37.will look at UKIP, people who are angry, and say they don't have the
:10:38. > :10:42.answers. The party will put that to the test on the 22nd of May.
:10:43. > :10:47.So, looking ahead to the local elections in three weeks' time, how
:10:48. > :10:51.tough is the task facing Labour in the South East? Seats are up for
:10:52. > :10:55.grabs on six of our councils, with Labour in control in Hastings, and a
:10:56. > :10:58.close second to the Conservatives in Crawley. But the party has just two
:10:59. > :11:04.seats in Tunbridge Wells. One each in Adur and Maidstone. And none at
:11:05. > :11:08.all in Tandridge. And the party has just one of the ten South East MEPs
:11:09. > :11:12.ahead of the European elections on the 22nd of May. Ellie Price is live
:11:13. > :11:22.in Chatham. What does Ed Balls say will constitute success for Labour?
:11:23. > :11:25.Labour are realistic about their chances. They want to win back
:11:26. > :11:31.Crawley Council from the Conservatives, they need for seats.
:11:32. > :11:39.In Europe, they would like to increase their number of MEPs up to
:11:40. > :11:44.two MEPs. He has said people use the European
:11:45. > :11:49.elections as a protest vote. Ed Balls is in Chatham and Crawley is
:11:50. > :11:56.because of the general election next year. In 2010, Labour were wiped off
:11:57. > :12:00.the political map here. They need to win these seats if they are to win
:12:01. > :12:07.that election. The campaign said that starts here.
:12:08. > :12:11.In the run`up to the local and European elections, which take place
:12:12. > :12:14.on the 22nd of May, we'll be bringing you more details of the
:12:15. > :12:17.main parties in the South East and their campaigns, plus giving you
:12:18. > :12:20.information about all the other political parties asking for your
:12:21. > :12:23.vote. And there's in`depth coverage on our website, bbc.co.uk/news.
:12:24. > :12:28.The jury in the trial of three men accused of murdering a Kent
:12:29. > :12:30.pensioner has retired to consider its verdicts. 69`year`old
:12:31. > :12:33.grandmother Harjit Chaggar was reported missing in Chatham last
:12:34. > :12:37.September. Her badly decomposed body was discovered 12 days later in the
:12:38. > :12:46.basement of a shop in the town. Three shop workers deny murder.
:12:47. > :12:50.Ten children exposed to a potentially fatal strain of the
:12:51. > :12:53.E`coli bug at a Surrey petting farm have been awarded compensation
:12:54. > :12:56.payments, after the owners admitted full liability. They include Paddock
:12:57. > :12:58.Wood twins Todd and Aaron Furnell, who both needed hospital treatment
:12:59. > :13:02.and dialysis after visiting Godstone Farm in 2009, when they were just
:13:03. > :13:03.two years old. Three of the ten children have developed chronic
:13:04. > :13:17.kidney disease. A 54`year`old French man, whose two
:13:18. > :13:20.daughters were killed in a crash on the M26 motorway in Kent two weeks
:13:21. > :13:23.ago, has died in hospital. Two lorries and three other vehicles
:13:24. > :13:26.were involved in the collision near Sevenoaks. Two people are still in
:13:27. > :13:29.hospital. A 45`year`old man arrested in connection with the incident has
:13:30. > :13:33.been bailed until August. The mother of a Sussex student, who
:13:34. > :13:35.died after taking a so`called legal high, says young people are
:13:36. > :13:41.continuing to play Russian roulette with their lives. Maryon Stuart's
:13:42. > :13:44.comments come as the shops selling the drugs seek to form a trade
:13:45. > :13:47.association. They're pressing for greater government regulation of the
:13:48. > :13:50.industry so they can sell substances deemed to pose a low risk of harm.
:13:51. > :13:53.But campaigners say it's difficult for legislation to keep up with
:13:54. > :13:59.drugs that change every week. Fiona Irving reports.
:14:00. > :14:03.It is a tragic roll call, victims many believe of so`called legal
:14:04. > :14:12.highs. Sussex University student Hester Stewart died in 2009 after
:14:13. > :14:15.taking GBL. In 2012, the deaths of Daniel Lloyd and Hugo Wenn from
:14:16. > :14:19.Canterbury were linked to a substance called MXE. Last year,
:14:20. > :14:22.Jimmy Gouchard from Gravesend died from a massive heart attack and
:14:23. > :14:25.brain damage. His toxicology report came back clean. The legal high
:14:26. > :14:31.industry is now calling for regulation.
:14:32. > :14:43.The industry does exist, and there is a demand to be met, through the
:14:44. > :14:46.general public. Whether the market is regulated or not, we are trying
:14:47. > :14:48.to introduce a regulated market for public safety.
:14:49. > :14:51.Maryon Stewart has been campaigning against the substances since her
:14:52. > :14:54.daughter Hester died five years ago. What do you think about the call to
:14:55. > :14:58.regulate the industry? You can't have things to sell in
:14:59. > :15:01.retail outlets that have not been tried and tested. You can't sell
:15:02. > :15:09.research chemicals to young people thinking they are legal and safe. We
:15:10. > :15:12.don't know what's in them and our kids are playing Russian roulette
:15:13. > :15:14.with their lives. The Home Office has been looking at
:15:15. > :15:18.how other countries legislate against legal highs. In New Zealand,
:15:19. > :15:22.the government decided on a policy where they tested them before they
:15:23. > :15:26.could be sold. In the last few days, the prime minister John Key has made
:15:27. > :15:31.a U`turn. Now he has issued a blanket ban against them. Those who
:15:32. > :15:37.wish to market this product can go through an approval process as for a
:15:38. > :15:41.medicine. The concept is they have withdrawn the temporary approvals.
:15:42. > :15:45.The numbers of deaths lead to legal highs in the UK is thought to be on
:15:46. > :15:49.the rise. There is growing urgency to find a way to tackle the problem.
:15:50. > :15:56.Fiona joins us live from Westminster. It is proving extremely
:15:57. > :16:02.difficult to regulate the sale of legal highs.
:16:03. > :16:06.It can be incredibly difficult when the chemical compound keeps
:16:07. > :16:10.changing. Norman Baker has called it a race against the chemist who are
:16:11. > :16:13.reducing new products every week. No sooner has one big band than a
:16:14. > :16:21.slightly different one is on the market. There is a concern about the
:16:22. > :16:24.lack of tolerance of side effects. There is a low tolerance of side
:16:25. > :16:29.effects given they are only recreational drugs. The government
:16:30. > :16:30.is committed to addressing the uncertainty and confusion
:16:31. > :16:38.surrounding these drugs. This is our top story tonight.
:16:39. > :16:42.An investigation has been launched into the aid charity that took the
:16:43. > :16:46.Crawley suicide bomber on his way to Syria. The Charity Commission says
:16:47. > :16:50.it has "serious concerns" about Children In Deen which has organised
:16:51. > :16:53.aid convoys to Syria. Abdul Waheed Majeed joined one before detonating
:16:54. > :16:59.a truck bomb in Aleppo. Also in tonight's programme: Hidden
:17:00. > :17:06.in Sussex for decades, a cache of original photos of golden era
:17:07. > :17:11.Hollywood greats and British stars. We have had heavy and thundery
:17:12. > :17:12.downpours but things are improving towards bank holiday weekend. Join
:17:13. > :17:24.me later for the forecast. Three`quarters of all ash trees in
:17:25. > :17:27.the South East could be hit by a deadly disease within the next four
:17:28. > :17:30.years, according to the latest Government statistics. It follows
:17:31. > :17:34.research by scientists at Cambridge University into ash dieback fungus.
:17:35. > :17:37.They've found that Kent is the worst affected county in the UK, with East
:17:38. > :17:41.Sussex a close second. The disease first emerged in the UK in 2012.
:17:42. > :17:44.It's the result of a fungus carried on the wind, and causes loss of
:17:45. > :17:47.leaves, and dieback of the tree crown, usually followed by the death
:17:48. > :17:57.of infected trees. Our environment correspondent Yvette Austin has
:17:58. > :18:02.tonight's special report. Sapling after sapling claimed by the fungus,
:18:03. > :18:06.Ash Didak has taken hold in the woodlands of East Kent and there is
:18:07. > :18:10.no stopping it. We have two young trees here. You
:18:11. > :18:16.can see that the infection has probably entered this tree through a
:18:17. > :18:23.leaf up here and got into the stem. It is killing the tree. This one is
:18:24. > :18:28.still going. But its neighbour has got the full brunt of it and is
:18:29. > :18:35.completely dead. In this particular woodland, this is becoming quite a
:18:36. > :18:38.feature of regeneration. With no known cure, it is expected our ash
:18:39. > :19:12.trees will continue to succumb to the fungus, particularly in the
:19:13. > :20:51.south`east. Experts monitoring sites are waiting to
:20:52. > :20:55.George Douglas was the face behind the lens. The Brighton
:20:56. > :20:58.photographer's work hidden away in a filing cabinet until he bequeathed
:20:59. > :21:00.it his friend and fellow photographer Roger.
:21:01. > :21:16.Astonished. I just didn't realise how much there was. I knew about the
:21:17. > :21:20.filing cabinet in the locker downstairs. If you opened it, all of
:21:21. > :21:26.the negatives fell out. But I didn't know what the quality was going to
:21:27. > :21:28.be like. George Douglas worked for Picture
:21:29. > :21:32.Post, his position giving him extraordinary access to the stars of
:21:33. > :21:36.the day. What we have got going on here is a
:21:37. > :21:44.story of a photographer, and we want to represent it we can. `` if we
:21:45. > :21:47.can. We start in his days in Santa Monica, taking documentary images of
:21:48. > :21:51.regular people around the beach life which he enjoyed. That's why he
:21:52. > :21:55.liked Brighton. At the same time, he is walking up to big film stars, and
:21:56. > :21:59.taking photos of them. Jane Russell, Peter Lawford, part of the Rat Pack,
:22:00. > :22:04.Ocean's Eleven. A lot more of that and we are still discovering
:22:05. > :22:10.negatives as we go along. As this sifting process continues, more bits
:22:11. > :22:14.of photographic pressure are being uncovered day after day. Piles and
:22:15. > :22:23.piles of negatives being printed to reveal the heroes hidden within. The
:22:24. > :22:27.newly unearthed collection will now go on display as part of the
:22:28. > :22:29.artists' open houses festival which opens on Saturday.
:22:30. > :22:40.A life's work we discovered. A host of celebrities have gathered
:22:41. > :22:43.in Canterbury today for the unveiling of a bronze statue of the
:22:44. > :22:46.Kent comedian Dave Lee. He starred in more than 1,000 pantomime
:22:47. > :22:49.performances over 16 years at the city's Marlowe Theatre, and raised
:22:50. > :22:56.millions of pounds for charity, before his death through cancer two
:22:57. > :23:02.years ago. Within five minutes, I felt I had known him for years. All
:23:03. > :23:08.the wonderful work he did the less privileged children here in Kent. He
:23:09. > :23:19.has raised over ?2 million so that those children have holidays. What a
:23:20. > :23:21.brilliant, generous man he was. It has not been a day for
:23:22. > :23:32.maintaining a nice hairdo! For the weekend, it should be
:23:33. > :23:36.staying dry and bright. We have seen heavy and thundery downpours, we
:23:37. > :23:40.have a warning for heavy rain added during the first part of this
:23:41. > :23:45.evening. Generally it will be an improving picture. High pressure is
:23:46. > :23:52.building from the north. Still the chance of a shower. The Bank Holiday
:23:53. > :23:57.will be settled with sunshine. The showers have been feeding in from
:23:58. > :24:02.the west. Heavy, thundery downpours, feeling cooler than yesterday.
:24:03. > :24:09.Temperatures yesterday, 17. Today, 13 degrees with a gentle westerly
:24:10. > :24:14.breeze. Tonight, we will see outbreaks of rain. Generally, an
:24:15. > :24:22.improving story. Temperatures staying relatively mild, down to
:24:23. > :24:28.eight degrees. Quite a mild, cloudy start tomorrow. Mostly staying dry,
:24:29. > :24:35.still the chance of a shower but not as heavy as today. Top temperatures
:24:36. > :24:40.tomorrow, 13. The reason for that, these north`easterly winds, 50 mph
:24:41. > :24:48.giving a chilly feel. Tomorrow night, clearer skies will develop.
:24:49. > :24:54.Feeling chilly, down to three degrees. A frosty start in rural
:24:55. > :25:02.spots on Saturday. Quite a pleasant weekend, plenty of sunshine and
:25:03. > :25:07.staying dry. High pressure will build and temperatures will rise to
:25:08. > :25:10.15 degrees on Saturday. An improving picture. More like 16 degrees on
:25:11. > :25:21.Sunday and Monday. That is what we want to hear.
:25:22. > :25:23.Sunshine. That is it from us for the moment.
:25:24. > :25:24.We will be back with the late bulletin later on, and tomorrow.
:25:25. > :25:52.Goodbye. 'The last two generations have been
:25:53. > :25:55.robbed of an opportunity 'And yet it has greater impact
:25:56. > :25:59.on our everyday lives than anything 'We need to put this issue
:26:00. > :26:03.to bed now, 'and not leave it
:26:04. > :26:05.for another generation.' I want a Britain that is free
:26:06. > :26:22.to control its own destiny. 'another three million people
:26:23. > :26:27.in Britain by 2020. 'Our public services
:26:28. > :26:30.are already stretched.