:00:00. > :00:00.Minister's exit Strang. Join me now on BBC Two.
:00:00. > :00:00.Today's main headlines in the south-east:
:00:00. > :00:09.Crisis talks are held after a teacher was the victim
:00:10. > :00:14.of an alleged serious assault by a pupil at a Kent school.
:00:15. > :00:17.Southern Rail promises a full timetable next week as Aslef
:00:18. > :00:22.suspends strike action and talks are said to be constructive.
:00:23. > :00:34.And we started today with the lows of minus seven degrees and another
:00:35. > :00:43.bitterly cold night to come. Crisis talks have been taking place
:00:44. > :00:46.tonight after a teacher was allegedly assaulted by a pupil
:00:47. > :00:49.at a Kent school. Teachers had been considering strike
:00:50. > :00:53.action over concerns that the student at St Gregory's
:00:54. > :00:56.Catholic School in Tunbridge Wells Following the talks
:00:57. > :01:02.the National Union of Teachers say they feel progress has been made
:01:03. > :01:05.with the school and that industrial action is no longer
:01:06. > :01:08.an immediate prospect. The incident happened before
:01:09. > :01:13.Christmas, when students were described as being
:01:14. > :01:15.in high spirits. The child was suspended
:01:16. > :01:18.but is now back at school, Parents today backed concerns
:01:19. > :01:24.raised by the teachers. I can understand that the teachers
:01:25. > :01:26.want to ballot to strike I think the child should be
:01:27. > :01:30.expelled or bring the parent in to sort out
:01:31. > :01:35.the situation. In a letter to parents, the school
:01:36. > :01:37.said please be assured that the school
:01:38. > :01:39.has followed procedures They say they have been working
:01:40. > :01:44.closely with the union A recent survey found four in ten
:01:45. > :01:48.teachers have experienced Last year, the Government scrapped
:01:49. > :01:52.the no-touch rules that stop teachers removing
:01:53. > :01:55.disruptive pupils from class, The head ought to weigh up
:01:56. > :02:05.all the factors. Is a particular one-off
:02:06. > :02:09.strong incident? And there are very tight
:02:10. > :02:11.rules, because government is trying to get the number
:02:12. > :02:15.of permanent exclusions down. People I've spoken to here in
:02:16. > :02:22.Southborough say we should all feel safe when we go to work,
:02:23. > :02:24.and that includes teachers. You shouldn't feel, you know,
:02:25. > :02:26.unsafe in your workplace. That should never be a scenario that
:02:27. > :02:29.should ever have to happen, that the teacher should feel
:02:30. > :02:31.they are in a position When you know that something has
:02:32. > :02:36.happened and there is a pupil that could then cause problems again,
:02:37. > :02:39.it probably needs to be stamped out because then
:02:40. > :02:40.every other pupil sees it Talks between the trust and union
:02:41. > :02:45.finished this evening. Chrissie's here now, how much do
:02:46. > :02:58.we know about what exactly happened? Well, we know it was serious enough
:02:59. > :03:01.for the teacher to have to seek medical attention. As you have
:03:02. > :03:06.heard, following the talks earlier this evening, the NUT say they have
:03:07. > :03:10.made progress and are not looking at immediate industrial action. They
:03:11. > :03:14.say they are trying to put in place a plan other pupil can remain at the
:03:15. > :03:18.school and they plan to discuss that with the teachers, but tonight, the
:03:19. > :03:21.trust really wants to reiterate that they are fully committed to the
:03:22. > :03:23.safety of both the teachers and the pupils the school.
:03:24. > :03:26.Hard-hit Southern Rail passengers have been promised the return
:03:27. > :03:30.It comes after Aslef, the train drivers' union,
:03:31. > :03:33.suspended three days of strikes next week, as well as an overtime ban,
:03:34. > :03:35.to allow fresh peace talks to take place.
:03:36. > :03:42.Southern says it will run more than 70% of its trains next Monday
:03:43. > :03:45.when RMT Union action is taking place - that's 10% more
:03:46. > :03:48.of its normal timetable than operated on previous strike days.
:03:49. > :03:50.And routes which were previously suspended -
:03:51. > :03:53.including Eastbourne to Hastings and Lewes to Haywards Heath -
:03:54. > :04:00.Could the talks going on behind these walls finally bring an end
:04:01. > :04:07.Southern's bold announcement that services will return
:04:08. > :04:11.to pre-industrial action levels next week suggest the train company's
:04:12. > :04:15.confident, something even the Prime Minister reflected today.
:04:16. > :04:19.I hope that those sitting around the table are going to ensure
:04:20. > :04:25.that we can see an agreement reached which enables passengers to actually
:04:26. > :04:28.get on with their lives, get on with their jobs and not
:04:29. > :04:30.suffer the misery that was brought about by the strike
:04:31. > :04:33.After months of disruption from overtime bans, increased staff
:04:34. > :04:36.sickness days and all-out strikes, yesterday, Aslef, the train drivers'
:04:37. > :04:44.union, announced it was suspending action while talks took place.
:04:45. > :04:47.The hope this time at the TUC that they'll get somewhere.
:04:48. > :04:49.That's why Aslef has called for these high-level discussions,
:04:50. > :04:52.because we need to get this resolved and as people have been saying,
:04:53. > :04:54.it's about time the railway started providing the service
:04:55. > :04:58.And these talks appear to be the cue for Southern
:04:59. > :05:03.This isn't just people going out for a day,
:05:04. > :05:06.these are people trying to get to work.
:05:07. > :05:09.We have got young people trying to get university,
:05:10. > :05:10.because there is no university in the constituency.
:05:11. > :05:12.People trying to get a hospital appointments.
:05:13. > :05:15.So really crucial journeys became an all-day experience at times
:05:16. > :05:17.and people will be very pleased that the train services back.
:05:18. > :05:20.How confident are Southern's passengers that all will be
:05:21. > :05:26.If they are saying that they are going to do something about it,
:05:27. > :05:28.then I'm fairly confident because they seem to have been
:05:29. > :05:33.pretty strongly no up to now, so I would say 76%.
:05:34. > :05:38.Because it's been going on for so long, I just don't have
:05:39. > :05:43.From staff and passengers to management and ministers,
:05:44. > :05:48.there'll be a lot of fingers crossed over the next few days.
:05:49. > :06:05.This news must come as a great relief for commuters down there?
:06:06. > :06:08.Yes, Polly, that's because the people here are finally getting
:06:09. > :06:12.their trains back after putting up with replacement buses full such a
:06:13. > :06:18.long time. This evening, the latest on those talks between Aslef, the
:06:19. > :06:21.train drivers' union and Southern have been described as constructive
:06:22. > :06:25.and will resume tomorrow but tonight, the local MP here says
:06:26. > :06:29.despite the progress, she plans to hold an adjournment debate on Friday
:06:30. > :06:30.because the normal southern rail service is still inadequate, she
:06:31. > :06:32.says. A further 532 homes have
:06:33. > :06:34.been given planning permission tonight as part
:06:35. > :06:36.of the Ebbsfleet Up to 1,500 new jobs will also
:06:37. > :06:40.be created on the site of an old cement works,
:06:41. > :06:42.as well as food and drink outlets along the Thames
:06:43. > :06:44.and pedestrian and cycle routes. 15,000 homes are set to be built
:06:45. > :06:47.over 15 years to create the Garden City around the site
:06:48. > :06:56.of Ebbsfleet International Station. Hastings is to receive
:06:57. > :07:00.a share of ?12 million as part of the Government's
:07:01. > :07:03.new "research schools" initiative. It's been chosen as a so-called
:07:04. > :07:05."opportunity area" that will improve the quality of teaching in deprived
:07:06. > :07:09.parts of England. The Education Secretary says
:07:10. > :07:12.it will build better relationships between schools,
:07:13. > :07:21.colleges and careers services. Eurotunel today unveiled its latest
:07:22. > :07:22.security initiative - a fleet of drones -
:07:23. > :07:28.which combined with 570 CCTV cameras and miles of fencing have
:07:29. > :07:31.created what it calls Both the British and
:07:32. > :07:35.French governments have The company says there were 21,000
:07:36. > :07:40.break-in attempts last year. But despite this, no
:07:41. > :07:44.services were halted. In addition to the new measures,
:07:45. > :07:47.Eurotunnel has committed to spending 20 million euros each
:07:48. > :07:50.year on security. A fancy video and a fanfare praising
:07:51. > :07:59.French and British co-operation has That was the view of one French
:08:00. > :08:05.official at the launch of new security measures
:08:06. > :08:09.in Coquelles today. The boss of the Channel Tunnel says
:08:10. > :08:12.cutting edge technology has made We have electronic fences,
:08:13. > :08:19.infrared barriers, cameras, and we can do, either day or night,
:08:20. > :08:28.full control of the general. and we can do, either day or night,
:08:29. > :08:34.full control of the terminal. I witnessed the final days
:08:35. > :08:37.of the migrant camp known as the Jungle last year,
:08:38. > :08:39.but will the heightened security at Eurotunnel stop services
:08:40. > :08:44.being disrupted in the future? I would say the measures
:08:45. > :08:46.we have taken place, the figures we now see
:08:47. > :08:49.of intrustions into the site has reflected the tremendous work
:08:50. > :08:51.that's gone on between governments and with the Eurotunnel to put
:08:52. > :08:55.in infrastructure measures The new security centre,
:08:56. > :08:59.with its drones and 570 cameras, It's unclear how much of that was
:09:00. > :09:05.paid by the British Government. But one MP in Kent says a secure
:09:06. > :09:08.Eurotunnel site in Calais It's all about making
:09:09. > :09:13.the route secure. We want a very strong message to go
:09:14. > :09:16.out, don't try and make your way towards Calais or Coquelles
:09:17. > :09:20.with the hope of coming into the country without papers
:09:21. > :09:24.because the border is secure. and that is not
:09:25. > :09:31.a route into the UK. And the French authorities
:09:32. > :09:33.agree the migrant camp has been dismantled,
:09:34. > :09:38.they say the threat is still there. we'll have the national
:09:39. > :09:41.weather in a moment. First, here's the forecast
:09:42. > :09:52.for the south-east with Rachel. Good evening. Well, it has been a
:09:53. > :09:57.crisp, cold, winters day. Lots of sunshine and as we go through
:09:58. > :10:00.tonight, clearer skies mean once again temperatures plummet. Not
:10:01. > :10:05.quite as chilly as last night, we saw loads of -7 but tonight, in
:10:06. > :10:10.countryside sports, temperatures likely to drop to -24 minus three.
:10:11. > :10:18.So we get a frosty start to Thursday. -- -2 or minus three. For
:10:19. > :10:22.us in the south-east corner, a good deal of sunshine, a bit more cloud
:10:23. > :10:29.than we have been seen of late so by the afternoon, temperatures a little
:10:30. > :10:33.less cold, today we had highs of two or three degrees, tomorrow more like
:10:34. > :10:37.five or six. The wind is no from a north-easterly direction but still
:10:38. > :10:40.very light as we go into Friday. Again, less cold for the most part,
:10:41. > :10:47.temperatures just about hovering above freezing in towns and cities,
:10:48. > :10:50.so a cold start to the day for Friday. More cloud around and still
:10:51. > :10:56.that area of high pressure, it will be trite and settled, temperatures
:10:57. > :11:00.creeping up, highs of eight or 9 degrees and towards the weekend,
:11:01. > :11:03.holding on to the area of high pressure, settled picture and
:11:04. > :11:04.staying dry. Here is the outlook in the south-east.
:11:05. > :11:07.next few days, no great changes over the next few days, more sunshine on
:11:08. > :11:18.the way. Despite high-pressure sitting across
:11:19. > :11:21.the country so only slow changes in the weather, we have had a variety
:11:22. > :11:23.of different