08/03/2012 South Today

Hello and welcome to South Today. Tonight: Tougher sentences handed

out to 3 p defiles. I am at the Court of Appeal, where three senior

judges say the original sentences were not harsh enough. It is

supposed to prevent domestic violence but a family warns that

Clare's Law may give a false sense of security.

Gearing up for the grand opening of Poole's Newbridge, but it is not

all plain sailing. And taking head challenge to new

depths with an underwater wheelchair challenge routine. --

Three sex offenders who were jailed for their part in an international

paedophile ring based in Portsmouth have been given far tougher

sentences at the Court of Appeal. Both Melissa Noon and Simon Hilton

have had their sentences doubled, and Robert Hathaway has been given

life. The Attorney-General referred the sentences of all three back to

court because in his opinion, they were too lenient. Our Home Affairs

Correspondent is in London. The courtroom here today was packed

full of people wanting to hear the fate of these three offenders,

whose abuse of young children has been described as shocking. They

were all sentenced and imprisoned in December, but the country's top

lawyer, the Attorney-General, said those sentences were not harsh

enough to match their crimes. Today, three senior judges here agreed.

They subjected two children to sustained and extreme cruelty

Bull's double Robert Hathaway and Melissa Noon from Portsmouth won a

nudist website which was a front for an international paedophile

forum with links across Europe, Australia America and Japan. They

arranged for Simon Hilton, an IT consultant from London, to travel

to Portsmouth, where they allowed him to abuse two young children.

All three were sentenced for their part in this paedophile ring last

year but the Attorney General thought their sentences were too

lenient. Today, the Court of Appeal reviewed those sentences at the

request of the Attorney-General, and agreed they should be longer.

In court, the judge, Lady Justice Anne Rafferty, said it is difficult

to find the words to address the outrage that any right-minded

people would feel upon hearing of these deeds. She described how the

packed courtroom fell silent when just an outline of the abuse was

given, and said the offenders had common cause in debauchery and

wickedness. The court agreed to increase or three sentences. Robert

Hathaway, 37, had his indeterminate sentence with a minimum of six

years increased to a life sentence with a minimum of 10 years. Melissa

Noon, 30, had her sentence doubled from four to eight years, and Simon

Hilton, 29, had his jail sentence doubled from four to eight years

and will stay on licence for five years.

I hope it sends out the message that the Crown Prosecution Service,

especially in Wessex, along with the Hampshire Constabulary, do not

abandon them at the sentencing hearing but will continue to use

all avenues open to them to ensure that the matter is brought to its

proper conclusion. Six other people have been previously convicted for

their part in what one senior police officer said was the most

horrific case of child abuse they had ever seen. It is not unheard of

for the Attorney General to step in in cases like this, but he does not

do it readily because he is essentially questioning at decision

made by a judge. In this case, it was Roger Hetherington, who sat

through a six-week trial and had lots of evidence and would have

kept the considered his original sentence. There will be no

ramifications for him but it will be a knock to his professional

pride at his sentences have been both -- considered too lenient. It

was the Crown Prosecution Service who asked the Attorney-General to

look at this and tonight they say it sends out a message that they

will keep fighting for sentences they believe are just.

In the next few months, people in Wiltshire will be able to ask the

police if their new partners have a history of domestic violence. It is

part of a trial called Clare's Law but a family from Berkshire that

was told only part of a convicted sex offender's history has

highlighted how people can be given a false sense of security. Tracey

Williams fell victim to a campaign of harassment by her mother's new

partner. Jason Woods on the extreme left was

a convicted sex attacker, who managed to hide much of his past

even when those caring for him tried to make sure the family

wasn't -- he was marrying in took knew what they were taking on.

think this man has been in my family makes me feel sick. Even

worse that people knew about him but we were never told. We were

never told of any of the history. Everything was played down. We were

not protected at all. Jason Woods was a patient at this hospital when

he first met Tracy's mum. He admitted that he had sexually

assaulted and eight-year-old girl but said that at the time, he was

aged just 16 and that in the 20 years since then, he had changed.

What was not disclosed at that meeting, set up by those caring for

him, was that he had also assaulted at least one other woman and had

harboured a violent sexual fantasies. He had also spent much

of his adult life as a patient at Broadmoor special hospital. Despite

not knowing any of that, Tracey still thought it best to keep her

new step dad at arm's length. But that did not stop him getting

sexual and, at times, sex -- threatening messages over the

internet, which he admitted sending. I had an e-mail on Facebook when I

was 14 asking me to send a picture of my boobs. I did not reply and

died just deleted it. I had no clue who it was at the time. -- by it

just deleted it. I found out he was after he confessed. I did not know

until last year. How did you feel when you found out about that?

Horrible, I felt sick. I felt scared. I did not know what to do.

It was just awful. Woods was spotted in bushes near Gracie's

home after fleeing her mother's in the wake of his confession. He

admitted harassment and was jailed for five months. He is not thought

to have returned to but after leaving prison. The BBC has been

unable to contact him either directly or through his family.

Tracey has also tried to move on, changing her phone and moving house.

I have had to change everything, you know? My whole lifestyle, my

child's School, and even, to a certain extent, my job and my work

because I could not do my job because of the Shia the year -- the

fear of him at knowing where I am going and sometimes it would be

late at night. The fact that my whole life has had to change and I

am still living in fear because of him.

Business bosses from across the south have been meeting in Brighton

to discuss ways of tapping into Asia, the world's fastest growing

economic market. It comes on the day a new route is launched from

Gatwick to Hong Kong with club class only. Sir Freddie Laker one

stride and executive class airline, as have others, but the airline

behind this venture believes that time is right. -- Sir Freddie Laker

tried once. This morning, Hong Kong Airlines's first ever service to

London arrived at Gatwick. But this is no ordinary service - it is

aimed at the most profitable market, business travellers. There is no

economy on this train. -- plane. Wherever you go, it is club class

all the way. This service has 116 seats, all premium. It is one of

many airlines launching new routes from Gatwick, and it is not

predominantly Far Eastern business people coming here. More than half

of the demand level on the route will come from the UK out, but as

time progresses the scenarios we see coming in front of us are that

the demand out of the China market will be connecting onto the service

in London and start to arise. The indicators are very strong. The new

service is a coup for Gatwick's owners, who are investing millions

of pounds on improvements. They believe it will boost the whole

area. Direct services to these growth destinations increase

employment and generally improve economic activity. We are sure that

Sussex will benefit. In Brighton today, business leaders were

discussing international trade, trying to make the most of the

county's new links to the Far East. If it gets local companies to start

to think about places like Hong Kong as trade routes, they will go

out there. They might go on holiday to start with and as a chamber of

commerce, we are working with the chambers out there to get people to

go out and try things. The return leg of Hong Kong Airlines's

inaugural flight will take place in the next couple of hours.

Still to come: Alexis has been out on the Olympic water.

On Saturday and Sunday, the atmosphere here will be completely

different than what it is now. Years of preparation for the

biggest sporting event on the planet.

The court has heard about a moment that a taxi driver from Reading was

shot because of an alleged family dispute. Qadir Hussain told the

jury he heard noises like fireworks and felt a burning pain when he was

shot three times on his driveway. It is alleged is relative, Imran

Khan, and two others conspired to murder him because of a row over a

plot of land. Work began almost two years ago to

create a new bridge in Dorset. The grand opening of the �37 million

Twin Sails at Poole harbour is tomorrow but there is one major

glitch. The bridge will not be open to cars. The council says more

checks are needed before it is fully open. Roger is live in Poole.

What can you tell us? They are busy rehearsing for

tomorrow's opening ceremony and this is a bit of an embarrassment.

It is the second embarrassment because the Twin Sails bridge was

supposed to open to traffic 10 days ago. That did not happen. We were

confidently told it would be ready in time for today's official

opening, but not any more. This afternoon, engineers were still

busy tinkering with the bridge. We have not been told exactly what the

problem is, but a council spokesman said that a number of minor issues

need to be resolved before they can accept the bridge, and the

contractor is working hard to complete this work. The trouble is,

that is what they said 10 days ago, when 20,000 people were allowed to

walk across the bridge before the first cars was supposed to go over.

The news that there is now a second delay has been met with mixed views

from the frustrated to the philosophical. It is new technology,

I suppose, so one has to expect a few of these things. Let's hope

they get it sorted soon. Why don't they get it right the first time,

instead of second time or third time? We have been waiting 28 years

- another week or two will not really matter. Just to declare,

tomorrow a's official ceremony will still go ahead and it should be

spectacular. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are playing,

children are performing and there are light shows, and an illuminated

flotilla under the bridge. But there will be no traffic. The best

a council can say is that traffic A mother from Brighton has set up a

support group for the parents and siblings of injured servicemen and

women in the South. Julia Moloney's son, Captain Anthony Harris, was

injured in Afghanistan. She says there was little help available for

families when her son lost his leg. She hopes The Ripple Pond group can

provide more support for people in a similar situation. More than a

million people lost their lives at Auschwitz during the Second World

War. Sixth formers from the South have been on a trip to the

concentration camp in Poland. It was organised by the Holocaust

Educational Trust, which hopes young people will pass on lessons

Some of these teenagers have families where grandparents do not

remember the war. Nobody recounts the stories first hand. In Poland,

they return to the 1940s. This is more than a school trip. The idea

is they will touch the past but connect with the future and all

through the eyes of the people that suffered. He was taken from his

home in Romania, where he spent his Chartered and ended up in this camp.

It took three hours to get this. The it is, there we are. It took

him 60 years to talk openly about this. He was separated from his

family, who he never saw again. They told me, can't you see the gas

chambers? I still did not now. They are gassing them, they said.

said people lost their shoes and you were looking for them. I was

hoping to find my brother's. In my mind I am thinking, somebody must

have survived. Today, they walk the path he walked, trying to

understand not just how many were killed, but who Bay where. A death

toll of one million is perhaps as difficult to take him as a death

toll of one. They step away from another pile of ashes from the

shadows. It is horrible to think people are capable of this. Is it

something you were aware of before? Only what I know from textbooks but

this shows what awful things happened. One guard said to one

prisoner that even if he survived, nobody would ever believe them. It

is an unbelievable place and sometimes, the closer you can get,

Tomorrow night on South Today, Simon Clemison will be following

the pupils to the deserted Birkenau camp, where they held a service for

the victims of the Holocaust. Now it's Thursday - and here at the BBC,

particularly on the sports side of things, that means it's a special

day. Roisin, tell us about it. Olympic Thursday will be every

single week and it is a series of reports every Thursday. More

details on Twitter and online. Starting with Olympic trials and

two Portsmouth swimmers will go head to head tonight for a place on

Team GB. Katy Sexton and Gemma Spofforth are both through to the

semi finals for the 200 metres backstroke. Spofforth is aiming to

qualify for a second event after securing her place in the 100

metres backstroke earlier this week. Meanwhile, Simon Burnett from

Tetsworth, near Thame, has been selected for the 4 by 100 metres

relay, along with Craig Gibbons from Steeple Claydon near Aylesbury.

This weekend, the GB Rowing team will take to the Olympic course at

Dorney Lake to try to secure their place at the games this summer.

Some of the rowers have returned from overseas camps, training away

from the blustery conditions at home. Alexis Green went on the

course today, and found out that the people behind the scenes are

just as important as those in the spotlight. The rowing team will be

fighting it out in the Olympic beds. David has helped shape every squad

since the Atlanta Games in 1996 and expects great things. It is very

important, these trials. We have trained all winter for best. They

have got to put themselves on the line and try and get in the team

and that is how important it is. His confidence comes from previous

strong results. We got 10 medals last time and we have been to the

regatta and we have got 47 rowers out of B48 and it is looking good.

We cannot promise anything but we will define. They have put in the

ground work but with just four and a half months left, the coaching

staff said a final preparations are underway. Everybody is involved in

high-performance sport and some people have got 43 years of

experience and having that privilege is very special. But also,

it is a big pressure. You cannot hide away. Everybody knows and

expects Super performances. Come Saturday and Sunday the atmosphere

will be different from what it is now. Years of preparation for the

biggest sporting event on the planet, and no doubt it will be a

They've taken a battering recently, but Pompey fans have finally

received some good news. The threat of not completing the season may

have gone away after the Football League agreed to resume regular

monthly payments to the club. Pompey stands to get four

instalments of �200,000. That will go a long way in hoping to make

sure that we at least see the season through. People will be able

to get paid and things like making sure we have got food at the

training ground and using equipment and all of these little things

people forget and did not see. We actually get the opportunity to

operate like a proper football club until the end of the season. A late

equaliser maintained Brighton's unbeaten run for the year as they

drew 2-2 with Cardiff. The visitors took an early lead, which was

cancelled out by Ashley Barnes - who slotted in to level the score.

Cardiff came back, but the advantage didn't last. Sam Vokes

equalised with 90 seconds to go. Gus Poyet's men are now the only

team in the English league to remain undefeated in 2012.

Southampton supporters also got a shot in the arm last night, after

West Ham failed to overtake them at the top of the Championship. Saints

still have a one point lead after the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw

at home to Watford. London Irish have appointed former England

attack coach Brian Smith as their new Director of Rugby. He returns

to the club, having also held the role between 2005 and 2008. Smith

left his role with England following a World Cup tournament

beset by on-field failings and off- field disciplinary problems. Toby

Now, returning to Olympic Thursday, and the event is running alongside

the sports as part of the games. It's called the Cultural Olympiad -

and here in the South, a woman is busy training in Portland for a

ground-breaking performance. Austin is thought to be the world's

first underwater acrobat who performs in a wheelchair. Her aim

is to shake up stereotypes about disability... She lost the use of

her legs after a viral illness. She had the idea of underwater

acrobatics after a diving trip to Egypt. In 2005, I started diving. I

realised the associations of scuba- diving gear and that activity, it

operates like a wheelchair. But would that get, you have got the

freedom, excitement and adventure and I thought, if I put these

together, what would happen? It has taken almost seven years of

development and she is testing kit at a leisure centre in Portland and

is learning how much it can do. is a much more acrobatic version of

the chair and is harder to control. The chair is always kicking up and

it is brilliant for filming but it makes it very difficult to control.

Since making eight film of her performance using a special camera,

it will be shown in Weymouth as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Her

performance will also be viewed by an underwater audience. I am sure

the audience will not be drowned because of health and safety

regulations! The key is not just achieving the impossible but what

others get out of it as well. people have said, it you can do

that, I can do anything. That is what this is all about. It is

amazing what can be involved with the Cultural Olympiad. Amazing

dedication, turning the chair in a deep water. A new exhibition to

mark the centenary of the birth of Sussex painter Keith Vaughan is

about to open in Chichester. He was born in the Sussex village of

Selsey and was one of the most significant artists of his

generation. Mark Sanders reports We all come from somewhere. That

somewhere for Keith Vaughan was in Selsey in Sussex. He was born there

in 1912 and 100 years later, a major introspective's work is being

shown at this gallery. It is celebrating his work, just eight

miles from where he is -- was born. It is a great thing to do. These

images, in his paintings, they often look like the work of artists

like some of the great French Impressionists. They have got

images of the Sussex beaches. was self-taught as an artist. He

abandoned a career in advertising in the 1950s to pursue painting. He

was not a household name but is regarded as one of the best

painters to emerge from post war Britain. As a painter of the

figures and landscapes, I think he ranks amongst the best. Bet is a

work we have borrowed from a gallery and look at the back and we

have got modern art and we can see how significant he was. He was

significant as a painter in the post-war age. Although he enjoyed

considerable success during his career, sadly it was not in his

life. He became reclusive and took his life in 1977. There is no

plaque for him Kim Selsey but organisers believed that showing

his work in the town of his berth should be a fitting tribute. A

significant artist and self- taught. Impressive. We will move on to the

weather forecast. It is feeling like spring but we are desperate

for rain. Yes, we are. We definitely need rain. The frogs are

definitely need rain. The frogs are enjoying the sunshine. This was

taken from Chichester. Ms by the lake in Basingstoke. Thank you for

this picture. And the glorious sunrise here with the Isle of Wight

in the distance. Many of you will be enjoyed the dry weather but the

lack of rain is deeply concerning. We have seen less than the average

rainfall. Less than 75 %. Certainly tonight and for the rest of the

weather forecast, we have not got any rain. Dry for the next few days

and mild. Cloud in the south-west. Cloud building up, particularly in

the far west. Damp conditions but generally dry by dawn. A bit of

cloud in Sussex. Eight miles starts tomorrow but it will be much more

cloud began today. -- a mild start. Temperatures rising to 12 and 13

degrees. Dry once again it. Cloud still there in the evening.

Temperatures not getting lower than eight degrees. Saturday morning is

very mild. It will become increasingly mild. Wind easing as

the day continues. Saturday, not a lot of sunshine. Cloud and bright

conditions and mild. Temperatures above 13. By Sunday, we have got a

warm embrace. The top temperatures are bigger and better by the end of

the weekend. Sunday is the best of the days. Wind lighter and milder.

Top temperatures of 14 and 15 degrees. On Monday, a bit cloudy

but for the weekend, mild, dry and mild conditions. Top temperatures

of 15 and 14 degrees on Saturday of 15 and 14 degrees on Saturday