:00:00. > :00:00.Today's main headlines in the South East:
:00:07. > :00:08.The Home Secretary pledges to do more to tackle "sex
:00:09. > :00:10.for rent" exploitation, following our exclusive
:00:11. > :00:16.Sussex Police bring in specialist training to tackle stalking
:00:17. > :00:39.The weather is cold and clearer for tomorrow after rain tonight.
:00:40. > :00:42.The Home Secretary and Hastings MP Amber Rudd has tonight told
:00:43. > :00:45.South East Today that tackling sexual exploitation is a key
:00:46. > :00:50.government priority, following our exclusive
:00:51. > :00:54.Charities have lined up to condemn the practice of landlords
:00:55. > :00:59.advertising free accommodation to people who are often young
:01:00. > :01:04.And another South East MP has revealed he plans to raise the issue
:01:05. > :01:13.Somewhere to live for those who have nowhere to go.
:01:14. > :01:17.Adverts offering free accommodation with sex as payment.
:01:18. > :01:24.Our investigation has prompted one South East politician to demand
:01:25. > :01:27.I have two days left in Parliament before the general election
:01:28. > :01:31.and I intend to do everything I can do drag an answer out
:01:32. > :01:32.of the government, before the election.
:01:33. > :01:35.We haven't got time to wait until after the election
:01:36. > :01:38.because vulnerable young people are being put at risk right now
:01:39. > :01:45.Today the Home Secretary told me she cares deeply about this issue.
:01:46. > :01:55.She says protecting women and tackling exploitation are both
:01:56. > :01:59.Despite the reaction to our investigation,
:02:00. > :02:03.more adverts are appearing on craigslist every single day.
:02:04. > :02:05.Last week, this one on East Grinstead offering
:02:06. > :02:10.accommodation to a passive female partner to attend adult parties.
:02:11. > :02:14.One in Canterbury was posted this morning aimed at a female student
:02:15. > :02:19.And just a few hours ago in Sittingbourne,
:02:20. > :02:21.an advert offering a room in exchange for sex several times
:02:22. > :02:26.a week and basic help with the upkeep of the house.
:02:27. > :02:29.Our investigations uncovered that these adverts are
:02:30. > :02:34.Prompting strong reaction north of the border, to.
:02:35. > :02:39.Well, I was extremely concerned, horrified actually, to read that
:02:40. > :02:43.And the Minister for Housing has already written to the website
:02:44. > :02:45.concerned, that hosted these adverts, asking them to take action.
:02:46. > :02:53.Homeless charities say it shows how deep the housing crisis goes.
:02:54. > :02:55.I think these adverts show up a really much bigger
:02:56. > :02:58.problem in this country, which is there's not enough
:02:59. > :03:01.affordable housing for young people who have nowhere else to go.
:03:02. > :03:04.And too often, young people enter into these arrangements
:03:05. > :03:06.because they have to take some desperate measure to find
:03:07. > :03:11.We've approached craigslist several times for comment,
:03:12. > :03:16.One landlord I spoke with today, who didn't want to go on camera,
:03:17. > :03:20.defended his advert, saying he specifically would not
:03:21. > :03:24.offer the room to anyone who'd been a victim of abuse and isn't able
:03:25. > :03:27.to make a free and informed decision.
:03:28. > :03:30.With a general election just over six weeks away,
:03:31. > :03:33.this could be addressed as soon as the summer.
:03:34. > :03:41.Lauren, your investigation has now been picked up across the country?
:03:42. > :03:47.Yes. It's been covered in many national newspapers, and others are
:03:48. > :03:52.carrying out their investigations into sex for rent adverts in cities
:03:53. > :03:55.across the country. Many ads were taken down after we initially
:03:56. > :03:59.brought this to light, but as you have seen, more are appearing every
:04:00. > :04:03.day. Parliament will be dissolved next week, but the Home Secretary,
:04:04. > :04:07.the MP for Hove and the charities of all told me this is an important
:04:08. > :04:18.issue to them. With the general election coming up, we will have to
:04:19. > :04:20.wait to find out whether that will mean new legislation being brought
:04:21. > :04:22.in, forcing websites to take the adverts down, or than signing a
:04:23. > :04:23.voluntary code of conduct. Lauren, thank you.
:04:24. > :04:26.Sussex Police has become one of the first forces in the country
:04:27. > :04:29.to bring in specialist training about the crime of stalking
:04:30. > :04:33.It follows the case of Shana Grice from Portslade, who was killed
:04:34. > :04:36.She had reported her killer to Sussex Police on more
:04:37. > :04:39.The force is now under investigation for the way
:04:40. > :04:44.Michael Lane, described during his trial as a fixated
:04:45. > :04:46.stalker whose obsession with Shana Grice turned to murder.
:04:47. > :04:49.She reported his disturbing behaviour five times
:04:50. > :04:52.to Sussex Police before he killed her in her
:04:53. > :04:57.The force accepted there may have been systemic failings.
:04:58. > :05:01.Today, an acknowledgement it needs to do better.
:05:02. > :05:06.The recent case, the tragic murder of Shana Grice, awful, awful.
:05:07. > :05:08.And Sussex Police have referred themselves to the Independent Police
:05:09. > :05:11.Complaints Commission, but they've also put in place
:05:12. > :05:16.And so my job is to ensure that that improvement plan
:05:17. > :05:20.In the months before she died, Michael Lane had followed
:05:21. > :05:23.Shana Grice, put a tracker on her car and stole
:05:24. > :05:27.the keys to her home, letting himself in while she slept.
:05:28. > :05:31.Something she confronted him about in a phone call she recorded.
:05:32. > :05:34.If you come near the house again, I'll...
:05:35. > :05:37.I won't come near the house again or contact you again.
:05:38. > :05:58.And yet on one occasion after Michael Lane was reported
:05:59. > :06:00.to police for assaulting Shana, she was fined for
:06:01. > :06:03.Now Sussex Police officers are being given specialist
:06:04. > :06:06.training about stalking, provided by a victim
:06:07. > :06:12.It's extremely encouraging, and they are engaging well with us,
:06:13. > :06:14.and that's the whole point of what we're doing.
:06:15. > :06:17.We need to increase the communication between all
:06:18. > :06:19.the services and to get people to thoroughly understand
:06:20. > :06:24.More than 200 stalking cases were reported
:06:25. > :06:28.They accept that in the past, the response has not been
:06:29. > :06:33.Victims that come forward will often talk about,
:06:34. > :06:36."I've asked them to stop and told them no, therefore this is now
:06:37. > :06:40.stalking", and I think that's a message I would expect
:06:41. > :06:43.It's actually be really clear about what is wanted
:06:44. > :06:46.A clear promise from a force condemned for jumping
:06:47. > :06:53.to conclusions, that they will listen more in future.
:06:54. > :06:55.Juliette is live in Brighton, Juliette this is an area
:06:56. > :07:05.in which the force acknowledges it needs to improve.
:07:06. > :07:11.Yes, that's right, and it seems improvement are urgently needed. In
:07:12. > :07:17.sentencing Michael Lane to a minimum of 25 years in jail, the judge in
:07:18. > :07:21.this case criticised Sussex Police for stereotyping his victim. But it
:07:22. > :07:26.seems steps are being taken to stop that happening again. Katie Bond
:07:27. > :07:30.holders an interview today that she has commissioned Her Majesty's
:07:31. > :07:33.inspectorate to look at how Sussex Police deals with stalking and
:07:34. > :07:35.harassment, and says she'll be holding them to account for how they
:07:36. > :07:38.deliver and tackle it. Thank you. Former soldiers who are among
:07:39. > :07:41.the last to serve in the Queens Own Buffs Regiment -
:07:42. > :07:44.which was the regiment for East Kent for almost 400 years -
:07:45. > :07:47.have taken part in a special ceremony to mark the re-opening
:07:48. > :07:49.of their Warriors Chapel The chapel's been closed for eight
:07:50. > :07:52.years so repair work could be carried out -
:07:53. > :07:54.including the restoration A simple, moving moment
:07:55. > :08:05.which has happened here each The ringing of the bell
:08:06. > :08:09.from HMS Canterbury, a cruiser in the Great War,
:08:10. > :08:12.is followed by the turning of a page It records the names of soldiers
:08:13. > :08:19.from the Queen's Own Buffs who fell in the First and Second World Wars
:08:20. > :08:21.and other conflicts. I marched down the hill
:08:22. > :08:30.from the barracks into this chapel to turn the page in May 1957,
:08:31. > :08:35.and here we are, 60 years on, The Buffs were originally
:08:36. > :08:41.the East Kent Regiment, amalgamated in the '60s
:08:42. > :08:45.with the Royal West Kent Regiment. The chapel and its ceremony
:08:46. > :08:47.was their special place of remembrance, until it was closed
:08:48. > :08:50.to allow restoration We took the decision to move
:08:51. > :08:57.the ceremony to another part of the cathedral for a few months,
:08:58. > :09:00.and here we are seven years and nine months later,
:09:01. > :09:03.and the last piece of the jigsaw is back in its home
:09:04. > :09:05.in this transept. It is one of the most colourful
:09:06. > :09:08.corners of Canterbury Cathedral, the Warriors' Chapel with its tombs
:09:09. > :09:11.of plaques at ground level. But your eyes almost instantly
:09:12. > :09:15.drawn to these colours hanging from the walls,
:09:16. > :09:18.which formed a key part The trick was to have them cleaned,
:09:19. > :09:23.to remove all that surface dust, but not to interfere
:09:24. > :09:30.with the natural disintegration and decay, which is what is expected
:09:31. > :09:34.that the colours will achieve. So the colours, some
:09:35. > :09:36.of which were carried into battle during the Crimean War,
:09:37. > :09:38.will be allowed to fade away, but the regiment behind them will be
:09:39. > :09:41.honoured here as long here's the forecast
:09:42. > :10:09.for the South East with Rachel. Frosty start tomorrow, we have been
:10:10. > :10:12.seeing more cloud as we've gone through the day today. This cold
:10:13. > :10:18.front has been giving us some rain for a time during the first part of
:10:19. > :10:22.this evening. That clears. Behind it, cold northerly winds and
:10:23. > :10:27.temperatures will be tumbling. Lows of one two degrees, in towns and
:10:28. > :10:33.cities, but hovering below freezing in rural areas. Frost to start
:10:34. > :10:36.Tuesday, but clear, blue skies, particularly in the morning. By the
:10:37. > :10:40.afternoon, cold northerly winds and we will see scattered showers, some
:10:41. > :10:44.of which may have some hail in them as well. First thing, lots of
:10:45. > :10:49.sunshine, but feeling very cold with the strength of the wind. By the
:10:50. > :10:55.afternoon, temperatures at perhaps ten or 11 degrees, but feeling more
:10:56. > :10:58.like four or five. Tuesday into Wednesday, some scattered showers
:10:59. > :11:02.and a game temperatures dropping below freezing in more rural spots,
:11:03. > :11:02.eventually things warming up this week.
:11:03. > :11:05.course, there'll be the threat of some rain. More with the national
:11:06. > :11:12.forecast now. Good evening. It's been turning
:11:13. > :11:15.colder from the north so far today. It's been cold enough for
:11:16. > :11:19.significant snow in northern Scotland. This was mid afternoon.
:11:20. > :11:24.More recently it's been blowing around over the tops of the
:11:25. > :11:28.mountains. Snow in April not necessarily unusual but it's usually
:11:29. > :11:32.unwelcome. The colder air coming in behind the front which clears
:11:33. > :11:34.towards the near continent, opening the floodgates to this