05/12/2013 Spotlight

6pm. It's goodbye from me and on BBC One, we join our teams where you

are. Revealed ` the High Court rules that

Marine A who murdered an Afghan insurgent can be named. Yes, good

evening. He's Sergeant Alexander Blackman who served with Plymouth

based 42 Commando. But the decision to name him has angered some. I

don't know if the judges really know what goes on in Afghanistan. Do they

really understand the pressures are men are under? All of our men.

Also tonight: Jailed ` the gang leader who terrorised the streets of

Torbay with cocaine and the largest ever seizure of stun guns.

And Britain's Ocean City gets ready to welcome some of the world's top

sailors and thousands of visitors. Until this morning the Plymouth

based Royal Marine who murdered an injured Afghan insurgent was only

known as Marine A. Today the High Court ruled the public should know

his name. He's Sergeant Alexander Blackman. The decision to reveal his

identity has been roundly condemned by one former Devon MP. Lord

Burnett, who himself served in the Royal Marines, says the Judges'

ruling has put Sergeant Blackman and his family at great risk. We'll hear

from Lord Burnett in a moment. First Heidi Davey reports on the events

leading to today's court ruling. It was back in September 2011 and

Sergeant Alexander Blackman was serving with the 42 Commando in

Afghanistan. During the tour there was an incident involving Sergeant

Blackman, several other Marines and a wounded Afghan insurgent. Fast

forward a year and in October 2012 seven Royal Marines were arrested on

suspicion of murder. Just a few days later, five of those were charged

following the incident. They were released from custody back to their

units. Nearly a year on again, a court martial was shown footage from

a camera. These servicemen, known only as Marine A, Marine B, and

Marine C, denied the charges. The two of us had their charges

discontinued. At the start of last month, Sergeant Blackman was

convicted of murder by the court martial board. Marine B and Marine C

were acquitted. Sergeant Blackman awaits sentencing tomorrow. Well

earlier I spoke to Lord Burnett, the former MP for Torridge and West

Devon, who served in the Royal Marines. I asked him what he thought

of the decision to name Sergeant Blackman. I am very disappointed. I

was hoping they would be an opportunity for appeal. `` there

would be. But this man's name has been released and it is all over the

media. What you feel the consequences will be? His family

will now be the target of every jihadi terrorist in the country.

That is grossly unfair. I would imagine the High Court had to look

at striking a balance? The convicted murderer is named in every other

trial. Why would it any different? It is not any other murder trial.

This man has been sent out with other service men to serve his

country and he has had to suffer stress, exhaustion... Dealing with

insidious enemies. He has had to go out on patrol and see the lines of

his former colleagues. But the rules of the Geneva Convention... That

will be dealt with in the courts. But this is not fair. He should not

have to endure the kind of level of threat that he and his family will

have to suffer for decades. You know that the Royal Marines consider

themselves to be a family. What effect will this have? The family

will support this man and his family. But there are extenuating

circumstances and I am surprised and greatly disappointed that the courts

have come up with this decision. A drugs gang leader has been jailed

for 12 years following what's believed to be the largest seizure

of stun guns in the UK. David Morrison, from Torquay, admitted

bringing class A drugs to the streets of Torbay, the possession of

prohibited weapons and the possession of criminal property.

Exeter Crown Court heard the weapons were capable of discharging 1.2

million volts ` more than twice as powerful than police taser guns.

Emma Hallett reports. At first glance these could look just like

any other phone. But they're potentially lethal weapons. 68 of

the stun guns were seized from David Morrison's gang. Undercover police

filmed Morrison moving the guns in a car park in Torquay. Moments later

they stopped a car with 58 of the weapons in a bag in the boot. There

are a number of switches. The first gets it semi`activated. A little

light comes on. The next one makes it fully active. So if I press that

against somebody it's going to cause a fair bit of pain. The guns were

clearly a significant seizure. It was the biggest seizure nationally.

Certainly in Devon and Cornwall. But Morrison's main business was class A

drugs and counterfeit goods. He had previously spent more than six years

in a Brazilian jail for drug smuggling. He was arranging for

large amounts of cocaine to be brought into Torbay. Morrison had so

much cash that he hid ?86,000 in a punch bag. In total, police seized

more than ?100,000 and more than half a kilo of cocaine. Sentencing

Morrison, the judge described him as a career criminal who bought and

sold goods from around the world, including class A drugs. He said

that Morrison had the infrastructure in place to take orders for up to

half a kilo of cocaine at a time. Now the money from Morrison's drug

operation is going back into the community. The police have given

?1,500 to Hayes Road School in Paignton to create a sensory garden.

We've been able to bring our lessons up here. We've done Maths and

English. Story time as well. We've been really lucky. The children love

using the garden. The community is now able to enjoy the garden,

knowing that Morrison and his gang are behind bars.

Today's Autumn Statement by the Chancellor has been watched

carefully by people here in the South West. The main points for the

region are that next year's fuel duty rise has been cancelled,

there's to be help for small businesses and there'll also be an

increase in pension payments. Our Correspondent Simon Hall has been

following today's developments for Spotlight. The Chancellor brought an

early Christmas present for small businesses like this. Rate increases

will be capped at 2% and some small firms will get further discounts.

The great majority of South West businesses are classed as small. We

need all the help we can get. A lot of people won't go into small

business because they're scared of the outgoings. I think it's

positive. It's going to build on the growth we're seeing come through.

There's a long way to go. But for small businesses there are positive

messages. Older people will also benefit. From next year the state

pension will rise from almost ?3 a week. That's a little above the rate

of inflation. If you get ?1 extra, something else has gone up ?1. Gas

and electric? I've been in three recessions. I know what it's all

about. It won't make much difference. Our view is that any

increase is welcome, particularly people on a fixed income like

pensioners. But clearly costs are going up, particularly around fuel

and food. Vacant shops have been a problem in parts of the South West.

The Chancellor is now offering tax incentives for businesses to

re`open. Today's Autumn Statement offers some limited help for the

South West, but it is by no means a big giveaway. That's a sign of how

tight the public finances remain. Well, how are the Chancellor's ideas

going down at street level? One town where they've got used to trying all

sorts of new ideas is Liskeard in Cornwall. Liskeard's had government

money to experiment, under the guidance of the retail expert Mary

Portas. But, as our business correspondent Neil Gallacher

reports, there are few easy answers, even following this Autumn

Statement. Liskeard is working hard to reinvent itself and it's not

short on ideas. This shop is now not just a carpet shop, but the HQ of a

tiny FM radio station that has just gone on air. The freezing of petrol

duty is welcome news to many in this town. Even if some would like the

Chancellor to go further and give Liskeard a fuel reduction. This

trader says the people of Liskeard need a car to access everything from

food to health care. Our nearest hospital is in Devon. It's a good 25

miles away. We need cars to get everywhere. A huge issue here is how

to keep town centre shops alive. This former mobile phone shop was

empty for a year until a team of craftspeople were given help to

create a pop`up shop for their creations. These schemes and others

have come out of a process which saw Liskeard win ?100,000 to develop

ideas advocated by the retail consultant Mary Portas. Back at the

carpet shop, or radio station, the boss has a simple idea the

Chancellor didn't go for. Reduced VAT. That would be nice. It's never

going to happen though! You look at all the bills and I think VAT is

quite a big one. Another big one is business rates. Some would like them

abolished altogether for small shops. They were disappointed today.

They should say that some small businesses, under a certain square

footage, do not need to pay business rates. Liskeard can only get so much

out of George Osborne or Mary Portas. But Christmas is just around

the corner, and for retailers where there's Christmas there's hope. Our

Political Editor Martyn Oates joins us now from Westminster. Not many

surprises today really? Especially bearing in mind a lot of the

contentious decisions. And the Chancellor also said there would be

money to help local authorities freeze council tax? He also said he

would not be making any further cuts to the local government funding.

Counsel's will not lose any money from the local housing. It sounds

very technical but it boils down to several facts. They will now be

looking ahead to the government finance settlement. If there isn't

an uplift in what they get from government, then they may be taking

the government off the strip than cheering them on.

A man has died after falling from his boat and spending several hours

in freezing water. The man was fishing off the Lizard Peninsula and

despite being pulled alive from the sea by the crew of a nearby boat, he

died later in hospital. Eleanor Parkinson reports. The man had been

rod fishing from a small boat when he fell into trouble. He was

reported missing by a friend after he failed to return home yesterday

evening. The Coastguard launched their lifeboat and asked other

vessels in the area to help with the search. The crew of this Swedish

service ship were nearby, and using their high`powered lights they

located him in the water. `` survey ship. When we approached we could

tell he was breathing so we were positive. The weather conditions

were perfect. We brought him on board. The man was wearing a life

jacket and it's understood he'd spent several hours in the water.

Despite being airlifted to hospital, he later died. The lifeboat crew say

conditions yesterday were good. It's still not clear how this accident

happened. He had a life jacket on. That made detection easier. We'd

like to extend our condolences to the family and thank the crew of the

Swedish ship which did a fantastic job. The man hasn't been named but

it's believed he was in his 60s. Coming up: A major coup for

Plymouth. Find out more in just a moment.

Plus, after the knocks on the rugby pitch, how the medics put the

players back together. And 50 years of service ` the final

nominee for this year's unsung sporting hero award.

Here in the South West we have some of the country's most important old

buildings. But many of them are crumbling away, and there's limited

money for restoration. As Sam Smith reports in a special BBC South West

programme tonight, one of the country's foremost architects argues

that it's time to decide which to save ` and which to let go. The

remains of a once great mining enterprise... Traces of a fishing

industry that was once the biggest in the world... Evidence of our

proud naval heritage... But 2,000 of the area's historic structures are

considered at serious risk. In tonight's programme, it's pointed

out that the budget to save them is just ?1.5 million this year. That's

not going to go far. So how do we decide how we're going to spend the

cash? I think there are some sites we're just going to have to let go.

But which ones? Ten years ago Poltimore House near Exeter was a

finalist in the BBC's Restoration series. It's so picturesque, in this

medieval alleyway. This is how I imagine medieval Exeter would be.

The public could vote for whichever project they felt deserved a ?3

million grant from English Heritage. But it didn't win. Today, ?12

million is needed to complete the job. The interest we get from people

possibly make it worthwhile. But there are also days when we sit

around the table looking pretty glum at each other! What do we do next?

How do we take it forward? Where do we go for the next penny? It's a

difficult project from that point of view. It's feared that for many

projects the passion of local fundraisers just isn't enough ` and

that tough decisions will need to be made, even over buildings of

undoubted historic value. That programme ` Restoring England's

Heritage in the South West ` is on BBC One tonight at 7:30pm.

In the last hour it's been confirmed that Plymouth will be hosting some

of the world's top sailors when the Solitaire du Figaro race comes to

the city next year. It's the first time the four`leg race has ever been

to the region ` and it's expected to attract thousands of spectators.

Emma Thomasson reports. Plymouth's reputation as a leading sailing

destination has been steadily growing. Success in the Americas Cup

has helped reinforce that. Getting part of the Solitaire du Figaro race

is seen as a major thing for Plymouth. One of those behind the

bid is local sailor Sam Goodchild. He achieved the best British result

since 1975 after finishing in 11th place this year. It's a good step

for everybody. Off`shore racing as a whole. The race will start in

Normandy before crossing the channel to Plymouth. Then to Roscoff. Next

Les Sables d'Olonne before finishing in Cherbourg. It's considered to be

the World Championships for single`handed yachtsmen and women.

It will include a fleet of 40 to 50 yachts and bring in up to 30,000

spectators. It's a very different audience to the Americas Cup. It

brings a whole different set of sailors here. Organisers hope by

showcasing the city that more events will be held here in the future.

The Football League's longest serving manager could be leaving

Exeter City. 40`year`old Paul Tisdale has been in charge at St

James' Park for seven`and`a`half years. But City have given Tisdale

permission to speak to Portsmouth about their vacant manager's

position. During his time at Exeter, he restored their league status

after they dropped into the Conference.

Rugby has a reputation for being one of the most physically demanding

sports and the professional era has seen the players get bigger and the

knocks get harder. That puts even more pressure on the medical teams

to patch up the players quickly so they can back out on the field. Andy

Birkett has been behind the scenes at Plymouth Albion. His report does

contain pictures of some injuries. It does look like the guys are

getting bigger and faster. The collision forces are getting beyond

what the human body can deal with. I think my experience of incidents

like this has gone up. It's still two hours before kick off, but

Albion's physiotherapist is already treating the first of his customers.

It's not really enjoyable but it has to be done. Especially with training

and all of the scrums. It's getting ready for battle, really.

Preparation over... It's game time. There's no time to rest as the team

have their first casualty of the night. Keep the pressure on it.

Let's go. It looked like Tom Harrison's night had come to a

premature end. Except this is rugby. Six stitches and half a roll of tape

later, he was heading back out! It looked nasty. What are the worst

things you've had to deal with? Things you dread? I don't dread the

ones with lots of blood, or the ones with any bones sticking out. Those

are fairly straightforward. What worries us are the ones when players

are unconscious or not moving. I'll be back in a second. And he's off

again. But this time it's nothing serious. The crowd understand that

these stoppages are part and parcel of the modern game. How about our

first casualty? How's he getting on? There were no signs of concussion.

He got a bit of a doing. They're a special breed. You don't end up at

this level unless you have a certain mentality. It's our job to protect

them from themselves at times. The game may be over, but the work

carries on. Stretch it off. Clean it out. Get a shower. We might put a

stitch in. There's still a long night ahead.

It's time now to meet the final person you've nominated as the

unsung sporting hero of the South West. Michael Young is a founder and

Honorary Secretary of Penryn Athletic Football Club. John Ayres

has been to meet him. Penryn Athletic have come a long way. 50

years ago it was three teenage boys who wanted to play football. Aged

16, Michael Young was one of them. He's been here and helped guide the

club as Honorary Secretary ever since. In the 50s we had nothing

really. We had to do it for ourselves. There was a pitch nearby

so we went there on Saturday mornings and tried to pinch a game

of football for ourselves! Back then, Penryn was a rugby stronghold.

Finding a pitch was one of their biggest problems. They played at six

different venues, including a farmer's field. Mike has been the

driving force behind the existence of the club. The running of it. The

paperwork. The secretary, within the club, has got so much work to do.

Goal! So after all this time, what does it take to do this? You need a

good knowledge of the game. And you need to be stupid enough to think

it's important! Every season you always look to make progress, but

these days it's a bit more difficult. You can say job done but

it's never job finished. The club is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It

now has four men's teams and a ladies' team. It's come a long way

since its humble beginnings. We'll find out who wins tomorrow.

Now for the weather. We have had winds of 49 mph. It will be a great

day tomorrow. A small chance of showers. We are likely to see some

quite weather. `` quiet. The weather system nearby may produce some

showers. By the time we get to the middle of the day the high pressure

starts to come back. It will be with us for the weekend and a good part

of next week. Here is the detailed satellite picture. It is steadily

making its way southwards. You can see the strength of the wind. Bad

news for some but good news for others! You need to know what you

are doing with these sorts of conditions. These pictures are

great. The structure of the cloud will allow some breaks to develop.

Later on we will see some clear spells. Particularly across the East

of origin. `` of our region. Temperatures down to one or two

below freezing. It could be quite cold near Dartmoor. Sunny spells are

possible in the morning. More cloud in the afternoon. Possible showers.

Much later winds than we have seen today. It will feel a bit warmer

even though temperatures are not much different. There is the

forecast for the Isles of Scilly. The winds will drop. Times of high

water on your screen. The soft is clean on the south coast. `` The

surf. The winds drop during the day. It is generally fair with good

visibility. Saturday could be a bit grey, with some cloud that could

provide some rain, but on Sunday and Monday there will be some sunny

spells during the daytime. Goodbye for now. Tomorrow we find out who

has won the sporting award.