:00:00. > :00:00.A reminder of the main story, Rolf Harris is beginning a
:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to South East Today, I'm John Young.
:00:07. > :00:21.Fighting back against criticism from the Minister, Ann Barnes saxs she is
:00:22. > :00:25.doing a good job. We are live at Kent Police headquarters.
:00:26. > :00:34.Bob Geldof speaks of his unimaginable grief after thd very
:00:35. > :00:39.public death of his daughter. The problem is, for 40 years, for good
:00:40. > :00:45.or ill, the family have been part of the national soap opera.
:00:46. > :00:50.A new twist in the police to stem a nation row, the PC who won her case
:00:51. > :00:53.on Monday is arrested and stspended. The hunt for oil heads to E`st
:00:54. > :00:56.Surrey as work begins to prdpare for test drilling.
:00:57. > :00:59.And Whitstable, whichever w`y you wanted, local people photograph a
:01:00. > :01:08.year in the life of their town. Kent's Police and Crime
:01:09. > :01:12.Commissioner, Ann Barnes, h`s fought back against criticism of hdr
:01:13. > :01:15.performance by the Prime Minister, and invited him to come and see
:01:16. > :01:18.first hand the work she does. She said she was
:01:19. > :01:20."disappointed" by David Camdron s claim that she'd "failed to impress"
:01:21. > :01:23.in the role, following a series They included an appearance in a TV
:01:24. > :01:29.documentary described by crhtics But her supporters say it's no
:01:30. > :01:33.surprise a Conservative Prime Minister has criticisdd an
:01:34. > :01:51.independent Police Commissioner I do not think she is doing a very
:01:52. > :01:56.good job. Back to face her critics. People in Kent will have an answer,
:01:57. > :02:01.which is to elect a new Polhce and Crime Commissioner. Ann Barnes at
:02:02. > :02:04.this response. They Bif he wants to talk to me about the work of the
:02:05. > :02:08.Police and Crime Commissiondr and what we are doing on the ground
:02:09. > :02:13.give me a time and date, I will drop everything and rushed off to Downing
:02:14. > :02:17.Street. From the controversy over hdr
:02:18. > :02:22.appearance in a Channel 4 documentary to the resignathon of
:02:23. > :02:26.her youth crime Commissioner and allegations about her relathonship
:02:27. > :02:32.with a married man of her stccessor, Ann Barnes has found herself a
:02:33. > :02:36.target for criticism. I havd had some dicey moments and some really
:02:37. > :02:40.difficult moments, very personally difficult moments. But I fedl we are
:02:41. > :02:44.doing a good job. Lots of things that have happened that would not
:02:45. > :02:47.have happened if there had not been a Police and Crime Commissioner
:02:48. > :02:56.here. You remain determined today that he will continue in thhs role?
:02:57. > :03:02.You have not had enough? No, I am a strong minded woman. We all make
:03:03. > :03:08.mistakes sometimes. Everybody in public life, with the best of
:03:09. > :03:11.intentions, things sometimes do not go right. But you have to look at
:03:12. > :03:16.things in the round, look at the good things going on. She is widely
:03:17. > :03:21.regarded as someone who has brought the post into disrepute. Shd is not
:03:22. > :03:24.highly regarded by the forcd, or by the public. That is because she
:03:25. > :03:29.seems determined to make a fool of herself. The Prime Minister does not
:03:30. > :03:34.need to see her in action, he has already done that. Less than two
:03:35. > :03:38.miles from her base, we askdd people how they thought she was performing.
:03:39. > :03:46.I do not think she is doing a good job. She has made herself look bad
:03:47. > :03:51.every time she is on TV. Shd has had a hard time, but she would not have
:03:52. > :03:59.such a hard time if she was a man. You might as well give the job to
:04:00. > :04:02.the force. The King at that, is there a problem in getting xour
:04:03. > :04:09.message across to the public `` looking? I think there's a problem
:04:10. > :04:17.that all Police and Crime Commissioners have, because it is a
:04:18. > :04:22.new post, and it is a shame that do not understand the sort of work we
:04:23. > :04:28.do. We have to keep plugging away. You will carry on? How many more
:04:29. > :04:31.times must I say yes? As we saw, you met the Commhssioner
:04:32. > :04:37.earlier today. What impresshon did you get off whether this might
:04:38. > :04:41.change her approach? Well, she admits that appearing in th`t
:04:42. > :04:46.documentary was a mistake. She says she wants to put that to bed, she
:04:47. > :04:51.once to really move on. What she is finding is that more often than not,
:04:52. > :04:56.bad news drowns out the good. So, the challenge she has is to get
:04:57. > :05:01.across the positive things that she says she is doing and get that
:05:02. > :05:05.message to do is `` to voters. She talks about improvements to the
:05:06. > :05:08.recording of crime figures `nd of getting a more visible police
:05:09. > :05:11.presence in Kent, getting more bobbies on the beat. So the
:05:12. > :05:15.challenge for her, getting that message out to the voters.
:05:16. > :05:17.The musician Bob Geldof spoke publicly today of the "intolerable"
:05:18. > :05:20.pain he's going through aftdr the death of his daughter, Peaches.
:05:21. > :05:23.The 25`year`old TV presenter was found dead at her home in the Kent
:05:24. > :05:26.village of Wrotham three months ago, after a suspected heroin ovdrdose.
:05:27. > :05:30.As Ian Palmer reports, her father says the pain is "still verx raw",
:05:31. > :05:38.but he's confident her two xoung children will be able to cope.
:05:39. > :05:45.Bob Geldof speaking on television about the pain of losing a child. I
:05:46. > :05:57.am walking down the road and suddenly, out of the blue, there is
:05:58. > :06:04.an awareness of her. And I buckle. I have to be very careful, because
:06:05. > :06:10.walking down the Kings Road, there are cameras everywhere, so H had to
:06:11. > :06:15.duck off into another street, cry for a while and then get on with it.
:06:16. > :06:19.So I imagine that will be there for a long time. Peaches Geldof was the
:06:20. > :06:24.second daughter of the musician Bob Geldof and TV presenter Polly
:06:25. > :06:27.Gates. The 25`year`old was found dead at her home in Wrotham in Kent
:06:28. > :06:33.three months ago. Tests found she had heroin in her body. Her mother
:06:34. > :06:39.had died from heroin overdose in 2001. Peaches Geldof brought her
:06:40. > :06:46.young sons to the village of Wrotham a few months ago in an attelpt to
:06:47. > :06:51.give her children ideal `` the idea of bringing that both she and her
:06:52. > :06:56.mother enjoy. Sadly, that job will have to be carried out by someone
:06:57. > :07:01.else. Every day, we speak to people on the helpline whose neighbours
:07:02. > :07:08.across the street because they do not want to talk to them. Mx hope is
:07:09. > :07:15.that Bob Geldof has increasdd that understanding. The problem hs, for
:07:16. > :07:18.40 years, for good or ill, the family has been part of the national
:07:19. > :07:26.soap opera. I never expected that. You know, people kind of thhnk they
:07:27. > :07:34.know us and to some extent, they do no part of us. So Bob Geldof will be
:07:35. > :07:40.performing with his band, in the autumn, which he says helps to clear
:07:41. > :07:44.his mind. In, the latest on three men who have
:07:45. > :07:49.been arrested in a murder investigation in Brighton.
:07:50. > :07:51.It's emerged that a black firearms officer who's just
:07:52. > :07:54.won a sex and race discrimination case against the Metropolit`n Police
:07:55. > :07:56.is herself under investigathon by Sussex Police, accused of a string
:07:57. > :08:02.PC Carol Howard has been arrested and suspended from duty
:08:03. > :08:05.On Tuesday, an employment tribunal ruled that
:08:06. > :08:08.PC Howard had been singled out and targeted for almost a ydar
:08:09. > :08:12.Tonight, her lawyer says shd's being victimised again
:08:13. > :08:23.Just three days after she won her case against the Metropolit`n
:08:24. > :08:26.Police, it has emerged PC C`rol Howard is being investigated by
:08:27. > :08:32.Sussex Police in relation to a string of allegations. Thesd include
:08:33. > :08:37.harassment, making threats to damage property, perverting the cotrse of
:08:38. > :08:42.justice, witness intimidation and being in possession of an indecent
:08:43. > :08:46.image of a child. Sussex Police have confirmed PC Carol Howard w`s
:08:47. > :08:50.arrested twice in August 2003 in connection with these alleg`tions,
:08:51. > :08:53.and the Metropolitan Police arrested her in April this year on stspicion
:08:54. > :08:58.of assault following an inchdent in south`west London. Some feel the
:08:59. > :09:03.timing of the investigation is something to distract from the real
:09:04. > :09:08.problem. The Met were found guilty of race and sex discriminathon. And
:09:09. > :09:16.I think that is what we really need to concentrate on, the fact that we
:09:17. > :09:20.have racism and sexism, that PC Carol Howard was subjected to, and
:09:21. > :09:26.it was found in her favour that she did suffer that treatment. Carol
:09:27. > :09:30.Howard was one of two black women out of 700 police officers working
:09:31. > :09:34.in the Met's diplomatic protection group, the tribunal found she had
:09:35. > :09:41.been singled out and intimidated by this man, Dave Kellie, senior police
:09:42. > :09:48.officer from Sussex. A solicitor told us this latest developlent can
:09:49. > :09:54.be seen as victimisation. Stssex Police did not have anyone `vailable
:09:55. > :09:58.today, but the confirmed PC Carol Howard has been bailed until August
:09:59. > :10:00.the 2nd, pending further investigations.
:10:01. > :10:02.Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder
:10:03. > :10:04.following the death of a 30`year`old man in Sussex.
:10:05. > :10:13.He was found this morning whth head injuries at a property in Brighton.
:10:14. > :10:19.This evening, a body has bedn removed.
:10:20. > :10:25.Rebecca Williams joins us now from the scene. Rebecca, what more do we
:10:26. > :10:29.know? As you can see, there's still a strong police presence here
:10:30. > :10:35.tonight. Have launched a full murder investigation, police were called to
:10:36. > :10:39.this property at around 4am today. And were also in attendance, trying
:10:40. > :10:43.to resuscitating the man, btt failed, and he later died.
:10:44. > :10:46.Neighbours have spoken of their shock about what happened, the
:10:47. > :10:49.police say they are very much continuing their investigathons and
:10:50. > :10:53.are calling for anyone with information to come forward. Three
:10:54. > :10:56.men from the Brighton area have tonight been arrested.
:10:57. > :10:59.The future of Manston Airport could be investigated by an
:11:00. > :11:02.The Thanet airport closed in May, and as we reported last night,
:11:03. > :11:05.local councillors came away from a meeting with its owner yesterday
:11:06. > :11:11.But the area's two MPs, Laura Sandys and Sir Roger Gale are
:11:12. > :11:14.hoping the Commons Transport Select Committee will agree to look at
:11:15. > :11:19.the role of Manston Airport and its place in the UK aviation market
:11:20. > :11:31.A perfect day for flying today. But at this one busy airport, the
:11:32. > :11:36.approach lights are off and virtually no one is home.
:11:37. > :11:39.Suggestions today that a Parliamentary committee enqtiry
:11:40. > :11:43.could bring hope to the runways being put back to use. We hope very
:11:44. > :11:51.much that the committee will investigate, first of all how an
:11:52. > :11:56.asset like that is suddenly closed and stripped, but secondly, the role
:11:57. > :12:02.that Manston should be playhng in our wider aviation strategy. Tap in
:12:03. > :12:06.as are delighted with the ndws of the enquiry. We hope maybe some of
:12:07. > :12:12.these things in the report will be given Westminster can take ht more
:12:13. > :12:15.seriously. There is always hope But there is uncertainty about how much
:12:16. > :12:22.focus, if any, the enquiry will put on Manston. A spokesperson says that
:12:23. > :12:26.an enquiry of this kind has been discussed, but not yet confhrmed.
:12:27. > :12:32.They also said that should `n enquiry go`ahead, it will look at
:12:33. > :12:39.smaller airports in general and not focus on Manston. The airport closed
:12:40. > :12:43.on May 15 after three bids from a US firm were rejected. A few d`ys
:12:44. > :12:47.later, campaigners called for them `` for the compulsory Purch`se of
:12:48. > :12:52.the site by the council. Yesterday the Council Leader said she was
:12:53. > :12:56.disappointed after meeting the airport's owners. But it emdrged
:12:57. > :13:00.today that the leader of Kent County Council had his own separatd meeting
:13:01. > :13:06.yesterday. I made it clear that if you are not going to run it as an
:13:07. > :13:12.airport, what is your plan for it? Because it is an extraordin`ry
:13:13. > :13:16.location in East Kent, which lends itself to other commercial tses
:13:17. > :13:20.that could implicitly figurd number of people. Alnwick District Council
:13:21. > :13:23.will discuss the option of laking the compulsory Purchase orddr next
:13:24. > :13:33.Thursday. `` Thanet District Council.
:13:34. > :13:36.Our top story tonight. Ann Barnes, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner,
:13:37. > :13:39.has invited the Prime Minister to come and see how work first hand
:13:40. > :13:44.after he criticised her performance. David Cameron said she had failed to
:13:45. > :13:48.impress after a series of controversies including our decision
:13:49. > :13:52.to take part in a fly on thd wall documentary.
:13:53. > :13:55.Also tonight, hands up for `ll, a new exhibition of photos by the
:13:56. > :13:58.people who love the town, w`rts and all.
:13:59. > :14:00.And after a very warm and to the week, big change tonight. The
:14:01. > :14:11.weekend is not a write`off, though. Preparatory work is underwax at a
:14:12. > :14:14.site near Gatwick Airport to enable an oil exploration company to start
:14:15. > :14:16.test drilling. The land's on the edge of the
:14:17. > :14:19.Weald Basin, identified by geologists as an area likely to
:14:20. > :14:22.contain oil, and developers hope to begin their search within wdeks
:14:23. > :14:24.at Horse Hill, in East Surrdy. The drilling area is roughlx
:14:25. > :14:27.the size of a football pitch and it's believed a well gohng
:14:28. > :14:30.down 8,600 feet could extract But residents fear the site could
:14:31. > :14:36.be used for the controversi`l Our environment correspondent Yvette
:14:37. > :14:53.Austin has tonight's special report. The first stages of construction at
:14:54. > :14:57.the Horse Hill site, the pl`n to be ready soon `` to search for oil next
:14:58. > :15:01.month in a concealed field buying these woods. This is the site where
:15:02. > :15:08.the test drilling will happdn. You can see the entrance road bding
:15:09. > :15:12.built. It will stand 100 fedt tall, reaching just below the tred line,
:15:13. > :15:20.but it will drill down more than a thousand 500 feet. The projdct have
:15:21. > :15:25.permission to explore for 47 days. This is conventional drilling. It is
:15:26. > :15:30.not fracking. It is an exploration well, we have been in dialogue with
:15:31. > :15:34.all the bodies, the Environlent Agency are happy with what we are
:15:35. > :15:43.doing, the Government are h`ppy It is a nodding donkey that has been in
:15:44. > :15:49.this area for 25 years. The company knows it is treading on potdntially
:15:50. > :15:54.inflammatory soil. In Balkan, people have also been told there whll be no
:15:55. > :16:00.fracking. The concerns therd and here's what happens in future. We
:16:01. > :16:06.are going along with what wd have been told. But as we all know, in
:16:07. > :16:10.the future, that could change. What we are more worried about the `` is
:16:11. > :16:13.what happens down the line. Fracking could well come later. Therd could
:16:14. > :16:19.be further sites for drilling, not far from here. There could be
:16:20. > :16:25.multiple sites for drills ftrther along. But it is early days. First,
:16:26. > :16:29.a permit from the Environment Agency is needed. The company says it has
:16:30. > :16:35.about eight 20% chance of fhnding oil, and how close it is to the
:16:36. > :16:36.surface is also key. The residents say they will be monitoring
:16:37. > :16:52.everything closely. It has become known by some as a
:16:53. > :16:56.weekend retreat for wealthy people from London. But the people who live
:16:57. > :16:59.there all the time are keen to point out there is more to Whitst`ble and
:17:00. > :17:02.beaches and oysters. I hear in the life of Whitstable is
:17:03. > :17:06.a new exhibition of photos documenting every day of thd year.
:17:07. > :17:08.And they have all been taken by people wanting to reflect their
:17:09. > :17:22.town, warts and all. When the people of Whitstable were
:17:23. > :17:32.asked to record the life of the town in pictures, there was no shortage
:17:33. > :17:38.of submissions. The point is to bring people together, to h`ve this
:17:39. > :17:43.sense of place. They like the place they live in. It is important to
:17:44. > :17:47.express it. To tell everyond that the place you live in is important
:17:48. > :17:52.to you. This is the sixth project of its kind organised. It shows how
:17:53. > :18:00.much enthusiasm people have for their local area and how much talent
:18:01. > :18:10.there is. I did a shot at nhght the reflection of the Playhouse. The
:18:11. > :18:16.shot was taken quite low down, so I caught was much of the refldction as
:18:17. > :18:26.I could. `` High Court as mtch. `` High Court. This project proves to
:18:27. > :18:31.be pretty popular because 147 people submitted a total of 3800 photos,
:18:32. > :18:39.and they were whittled down to 65 for this book. We got a judging
:18:40. > :18:45.panel to select the pictures. We showed them to all people and they
:18:46. > :18:51.chose only one photo. And I swear we did not cheat! I chose this because
:18:52. > :18:55.there was a box of fish that had come all the way from Denmark. But
:18:56. > :19:04.it did not make the cut! But I am pleased that one of the 365 shows me
:19:05. > :19:10.here, looking a little bit chilly. Those of us who love the Kent coast,
:19:11. > :19:11.we are here all year round. The wonders of Whitstable, capttred by
:19:12. > :19:18.the people who live there. Most of us have played it `
:19:19. > :19:20.on holiday, But despite its popularity,
:19:21. > :19:24.table tennis is not seen The organisers of an intern`tional
:19:25. > :19:31.tournament in Crawley hope so. They're laying
:19:32. > :19:33.on a big event this weekend in the build`up to the Commonwealth
:19:34. > :19:47.Games, as Neil Bell reports. There is something mesmerishng, even
:19:48. > :19:51.addictive, but watching top`class table tennis players in acthon. The
:19:52. > :19:55.speed, skill and drama are captivating. Jonathan Cole was in
:19:56. > :20:00.the GB team at London 2012 `nd is delighted to be competing hdre
:20:01. > :20:04.alongside top players from lore than a dozen countries this weekdnd. You
:20:05. > :20:13.need the experience and the matchplay as well, to improve as a
:20:14. > :20:17.player. I think there are nhne Olympians playing at this event So,
:20:18. > :20:21.it is good to be really good. The action today features some of the
:20:22. > :20:26.top juniors in the South East, laying and practising alongside some
:20:27. > :20:31.of the well's best players. It is like playing chess at 90 mph, you
:20:32. > :20:37.cannot lose your focus for ` second. You have to stay with it. I think it
:20:38. > :20:42.is that combination of talent and hard work, it can get you to where
:20:43. > :20:45.you want to be. Table tennis really makes it onto the back, let alone
:20:46. > :20:49.the front pages, but the upcoming Commonwealth Games will help.
:20:50. > :20:54.Hopefully we will come back with quite a few medals. With it being in
:20:55. > :20:57.Glasgow, family and friends are there so we should have gre`t
:20:58. > :21:02.support. Hopefully as a teal and individuals, we can get somd medals.
:21:03. > :21:06.To transform the sport in this country, table tennis needs to find
:21:07. > :21:09.a new world`class player. Organisers hope one of the competitors or even
:21:10. > :21:17.spectators this weekend could be that new star.
:21:18. > :21:20.They are fast! Iron and then to get some can place, but I am looking
:21:21. > :21:24.forward to the lower temper`tures tomorrow.
:21:25. > :21:31.Actually, there will be somd sunshine will stop `` some
:21:32. > :21:36.sunshine. Today was very warm. Yesterday, we had highs override
:21:37. > :21:45.2526 and today, we saw valuds on that creeping up.
:21:46. > :21:50.So, in the next couple of d`ys, it is going to be increasingly feeling
:21:51. > :21:57.fresh, and we have some rain showers as well. Earlier, we had allost
:21:58. > :22:00.clear blue skies. Temperatures comfortably in the 20s for ts all. A
:22:01. > :22:06.gentle south`westerly breezd. What it has been picking up, bec`use of
:22:07. > :22:10.this band of rain we are expecting to see. That spreads East from about
:22:11. > :22:14.nine o'clock this evening. But we will start to see some more close
:22:15. > :22:21.reading in from the West. Eventually losing those clearer skies. All of
:22:22. > :22:25.us seeing rain for a time. Hnitially it will be fairly light.
:22:26. > :22:31.Increasingly heavy. But look at those temperature that lackdd
:22:32. > :22:35.averages. 15 or 16. A bit of wet start to Saturday. It clears out of
:22:36. > :22:39.the way pretty quickly. Behhnd it, we start to see some holes hn the
:22:40. > :22:44.cloud. Showery rain will be like and patchy. From about three or four in
:22:45. > :22:49.the afternoon, increasingly dry You might see some brightness, `nd where
:22:50. > :22:54.you do, temperatures of 20 or 2 . Feeling fresher than today. Still
:22:55. > :22:59.quite a pleasant afternoon. The South West. They will be
:23:00. > :23:03.increasingly blustery during the morning but easing off in the
:23:04. > :23:07.afternoon. Tomorrow night, xou might catch the odd shower, but for many,
:23:08. > :23:13.dry picture the further West you are. In the East, some rain for time
:23:14. > :23:18.but temperatures more comfortable for sleeping, lows of 12 or 13. A
:23:19. > :23:21.bit more cloud cover starting the day on Sunday. By the afternoon
:23:22. > :23:27.starting to see some brightness The chance of an odd like a shower, but
:23:28. > :23:33.averages still in the top tdams and low 20s. A pleasant Sunday
:23:34. > :23:37.afternoon. Next week, feeling quite a lot fresher. Mostly dry for
:23:38. > :23:42.Monday, but that could be one or two showers. It will be unsettldd and a
:23:43. > :23:45.bit fresher. But over the ndxt couple of days, some rain tonight,
:23:46. > :23:53.temperatures tomorrow still in the low 20s.
:23:54. > :23:58.I like that phrase, very us`ble We need the rain. That it from us,
:23:59. > :24:03.we will be back with the late news. Goodbye.