26/01/2017 Spotlight

Tonight - facing jail after a dramatic change of plea -

a prominent former Devon NHS executive admits to swindling

?11,000 to the benefit of her husband.

Also tonight - a community up in arms as it's confirmed four

They knew they had decided to close these hospitals.

All they had to do was convince themselves that was the

right thing to do, without any input from the public whatsoever.

And we're in South Devon tonight to mark the 100th anniversary

of a storm which washed away almost an entire village.

This was a village. It happens to be the side of Paul Sands in Devon. Now

a weird fantasy world of ruins and ghosts.

We'll look back at the events which caused the destruction

And a service of remembrance is being held tonight -

one of those taking part is the internationally renowned

I'll be talking to him about his love of Hallsands.

The former boss of Torbay Hospital is tonight facing a jail sentence,

after admitting fraudulently paying her husband money

After a jury heard a day and a half of evidence

against Paula Vasco-Knight, she dramatically changed her plea

to guilty to siphoning off ?11,000 to her husband,

As Hamish Marshall reports, this is not the first time that

Vasco Knight allowed family gain to interfere with her NHS role.

She earned around ?150,000 a year. She was made a CBE and could

compound 1000 pounds a day as an NHS management consultant. But tonight

her reputation is in tatters. This trial was due to last two weeks but

after just a day and a half of evidence there was a major

development. Early this afternoon she sobbed uncontrollably as she

changed her plea to one of the charges of fraud she faced to

guilty. Her husband also admitted the fraud charge he was facing. As

NHS national diversity lead, she authorised a payment of ?11,000 to

her husband. He was a graphic designer and it was for eight

document called Transform. But it never existed. It wasn't her first

error. The tribunal heard that she ploy to her daughter's boyfriend

without declaring she knew him. I wondered whether he had actually

been briefed by before the interview. I didn't know what the

relationship was. It was only later that it came to light and that is

when I was told keep quiet about it. After the tribunal was critical of

her evidence she left Torbay but still works in the NHS, even taking

the unusual step of calling herself a doctor despite only having an

honorary degree. I think she had got to the pinnacle of her professional

career and I think she was tempted to use the power she had

inappropriately. Two charges against a third defendant were dropped. The

judge described the guilty pleas is a momentous decision. He said he did

not know much about the circumstances of the couple but he

was sure they would appreciate the significance of pleading guilty and

that an immediate custodial sentence was a distinct possibility. He said

she had fallen a long way but it is her responsibility. Sentencing will

take place in March. After more than three years

of planning and consultation, health bosses today confirmed that four

community hospitals There were boos and cries of shame

as the South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group

approved proposals to shut Ashburton, Bovey Tracey,

Dartmouth and Paignton It says they will be replaced

with health and well-being centres and clinical hubs, so that more

people can be treated at home. But campaigners say it

just doesn't make sense. The meeting in overlooking

Newton Abbot racecourse, but these campaigners

of South Devon and Torbay

clinical commissioning group's proposals to close four

community hospitals were passed without a single

objection from the board. Outside, by the winner's enclosure,

there was no victory today. It was an attempt to give the public

the impression that they'd have some They had absolutely no

input in the process. All the time they were

talking about the fact that the NHS and our local

services are under increasing pressure from an ageing

population and increasing demand. Cut one and a half

million of expenditures. That doesn't make any

sense to anyone involved. The four hospitals at Ashburton,

Bovey Tracey, Dartmouth and Paignton will close,

but the CCG won't say when. They did say however that nothing

can be done until the system of health and well-being centres

and clinical hubs which will replace Community hospitals

are enormously important to our local communities and I know

there will be huge disappointment. But when what we now

need to do is focus on making sure these

new models of care that have been set

out, and the case for them has been The CCG maintains the

proposals will allow more people to be treated at home

and are the best way of delivering quality care that is

sustainable and affordable. It is facing a ?142

million deficit by 2020. These plans should

save around 1% of that. I've been very open

about that in public meetings, about the spend that we

have to save within our area and And therefore we have to use every

penny wisely and be able to look after the most people

for that amount of money. Three of the hospital

sites will be sold off, with the proceeds being

reinvested in services. It will be evaluated as a possible

health and well-being centre with a GP's

surgery also on site. The Devon and Cornwall Police

force is to get 100 new constables, 50 extra

investigators and a team of 30 online staff in what's being called

a transformation of the service. The Police and Crime Commissioner

says she has found ?24 million to pay for the new officers,

but part of that sum includes asking for more money

from council tax payers. The plan is yet to be approved

by the Police and Crime Panel. The news has been filled

with stories of police cuts but now 180 new recruits

are being drafted in. They tried to kick the restaurant

draw down to get to us so obviously my husband protected me

and they did not get in. I was on a 999 call

and they were outside, trying to attack us,

cos I was asking for help. As a victim of crime,

Gail has been left feeling vulnerable and it has

affected her business. She feels there isn't

the police support. The police station here is closed,

it's boarded-up, but No-one is there at the moment,

but Alison Hernandez, the Police And Crime Commission, wants a lot more

of this sort of office dotted around the region, in order to connect up

the public with the police. The biggest thing coming out of this

plan is that I am able to invest in policing

to help with that cause, so I am looking to secure ?24 million

worth of additional funding for the Chief Constable to deliver

a better police force. ?10 million has been found

from police reserves and there'll be a hike

in the council tax - an extra ?3.40 for every band D

household - to pay for the He's not such good news

for police community 350 officers at present will be

reduced to a minimum of 150 within We're told there will

be no redundancies. If I can get that to

160, 170, 200, I will. Over the four years will be looking

at how else we can use our budget, but we need to have

certainty while we set If we can make it less

impactful we will. PCSOs are the most important

and powerful way by which the police interacts directly

with communities, not responding to incidents but every day, day in, day

out, interacting with communities. They are being cut -

it is as simple as that. The 100 new PCs will be stretched

across the whole of the It's a little bit like a drop

in the ocean, I imagine. Two theatres may have

closed in Devon this week, but that's not stopping

Exeter City Council from going ahead with moves that could lead

to the creation of a big new theatre Our correspondent

Neil Gallacher reports. The timing of Exeter's move,

just as the Queen's Theatre along with The Landmark

in Ilfracombe, is just coincidence, but it underlines that councils

cannot afford to get involved All the same, Exeter is asking

the question - should someone, council or private

sector, create a 1000 seater entertainment venue

or bigger, somewhere in Exeter? The City Council owns

and operates the Corn Exchange - These posters give

a pretty good idea of what the offer is in Exeter as far

as the Corn Exchange goes - somewhat dictated by

the 500 seat capacity. Plymouth, for example,

has a 1300 seat theatre and a concert hall seating

twice as many as that. We have the Northcott Theatre,

we've also got smaller venues like the Bike Shed,

we have Exeter Phoenix. So, in a way, Exeter's offer

is complementary to Plymouth's offer But Plymouth is three

times the size of Exeter. For all that Exeter is getting

consultants in to establish if there is a market for a much bigger venue

here. So what are the region's biggest regularly used entertainment

venues? It is not easy to know how to measure? By ticket sales? By bums

on seats? We decided to go so, there you go, Exeter. That is

the competition. Now to the anniversary of a disaster

in South Devon which washed Welcome to St Michael's Church

in Stokenham near Kingsbridge. A special service of commemoration

is currently underway here tonight to remember the events on this day

100 years ago which all but destroyed the coastal village

of Hallsands just a few miles A violent storm washed away homes

which had been left increasingly vulnerable after years of dredging

off the coast nearby. The event is part of the history of

this area but it has remarkable similarities with the modern day

dilemma about how much money and time to spend protecting our coastal

communities. Tonight we will look at that modern day battle and reflect

on the events of 1917. First, John Henderson has looked at how today's

anniversary has been commemorated. Retracing family footsteps. My

grandmother had to do this in the gale thunderstorms. With all her

family. I felt today I should do it as well on her behalf. And I'm

wearing herring gauge mirroring! The remembrance walk started just above

the ruins of the lost village. There are two cottages left. This was

purchased many years ago over ?20 and is now used as a Fairweather

holiday home. Oh we pay council tax! ?1200 a year, I think. Not much

rubbish collection down here! This plaque was officially unveiled. 100

years ago there was no loss of life and nobody was injured. So please

can we repeat that feat as we walk! The Lord Lieutenant was among those

making the mile and a half track across the rugged coastline. This

place is an example of what happens when nature overtakes what humans

have done. I think that is an interesting lesson and a difficult

one for the people down here. 50 people made the hike for one

historic moment. So how did almost an entire village

vanish into the sea? Well, on this day in 1917 spring

tides and a strong easterly gale combined to overcome defences

which had already been weakened. Many in the area had long argued

that dredging off the coast of Hallsands had left

the village at risk. John Ayres has looking back

at the events of 100 years ago. We're used to the sea and the storms

causing huge damage, but the scale Against the wishes of the villagers,

the beach below was dredged as the Admiralty

was expanding the naval dockyard. This left the village

exposed and the Tim Lynn descends from a well-known

fishing family based here. Just can't imagine what

that must have been... The storms here must

have been horrendous. In this day and age there'd

be a big rescue and everybody would be rushing

here, but then we just Eventually the villagers were

compensated, but many felt it wasn't This gable end here, that belonged

to the Mitchell's house. Four generations of Roger Stone's

family were born at Hallsands. There was a pub,

there was a London In. There was a pub,

there was a London Inn. I think it was first

opened in the late 1700s. There was a shop owned

by two sisters, which And in its heyday there

was a blacksmith's shop Eventually everyone left,

except for one brother and sister. ANNOUNCER: In the only house

in old Hallsands, John and And in his workshop, old John, now

82, still makes models of the three-masted schooners

in which he spent his boyhood. And that model boat

is still around today. That was built by Lisanne's brother

at the end of the garden, in And all carved out of

a pocket knife and bits of Which, when you see it,

it's absolutely fantastic. ANNOUNCER: 60 years ago,

this was this was a village - warm and alive with folk

who had their roots here. Today it is deserted but for one

person, the last inhabitant Today, nearly 80 and

still refusing to give way to the irresistible

advance of the sea, Elizabeth continues

to live her strange but full life. And that lady's granddaughter

is still in the area. Elizabeth Lee lived there with her

grandmother when she was very We just remember playing

among the ruins. You know, you played

among the ruins, probably We played down there

and on the beach and went These days local schoolchildren

are being taught about that eventful storm and what life was like the sum

of their ancestors. It's kind of quite sad thinking

that people lived there and now there's

nothing really there. I find it really interesting,

because I get to know what actually Many descendants of

the original Hallsands families still live locally,

and they are keeping the legend

of the old village very much alive. Well, many feel the village

is still as vulnerable today. The last big storm was in 2014,

when many of the village's There's a campaign to get

the authorities to change the official policy,

which is to let nature take its course and not

invest any more money Sophie Pierce been to take

a look at the challenges These defences are all that protect

Hallsands from the sea. They were repaired by

villagers at their own expense in 2014, and they have

recently paid for more. They are unhappy the village

is being left exposed, unlike Two years ago, the then Government

minister Oliver Letwin visited I think what I need to do is have

conversations with the Environment Agency about that, because I found

in my own constituency there was a time when there were parts

of my constituency which were The residents didn't find that

a very attractive proposition, we changed that, and I think

we probably need to find a A few months later villagers learned

that nothing had changed and The shoreline management

plan says that there's nothing worth saving in this

village - we beg to differ. You can't just say to some

people, your houses are going to fall in the sea

and there's nothing were going to We pay our council tax

and our national taxes the same While the authorities

are sympathetic, they say Do we spend ?1 million

protecting the coast here or do we spend that ?1 million

protecting adult services, special educational needs, youth clubs,

libraries, mending the roads? It's a balance and

unfortunately it is not an infinite pot of money

and we have to make priorities. As it happens there is more shingle

on the beach today than there has been for many years,

and it acts as a natural defence. Some in the village now feel that

keep campaigning is a waste of effort, as the authorities

are unlikely to change their minds. Well, as I mentioned, a service

of remembrance is taking place here tonight in Stokenham,

just a few miles form Hallsands. Descendents of those who lived

in the village have joined today's residents and others

from the surrounding area to remember the events

of 100 years ago. Among them is internationally

renowned musician Damon Albarn, I asked him about his

connections with Hallsands. I think late '94 decided I wanted

to buy something by the sea. And there was this place that looked

kind of interesting side just came down here and fell in love

with it straightaway. And how much of an inspiration

has it been to you as a musician, as a songwriter,

over the years? You've got the hills,

you've got the moors. It's the place I go

to think, and swim. And what about the disaster

itself, 100 years ago? I was always kind of

looking like, what's that Went out in the dinghy

or whatever into the bay I started reading up about it and,

you know, the whole... The drama of it

and the fact that the descendants then moved just a little

bit round the corner to Yeah, it just seemed like it was

such a nightmarish night. How do you feel about

the vulnerability of The whole of this coast

is in a constant state of erosion. Obviously, you have explained

the story of why Hallsands fell Sometimes, if I don't come down

here for, like, six months, I always imagine what life

must have been like for everyone in these

villages, before roads. And, briefly, what

does it mean to be here tonight, to join the community

for this commemoration? I thought about it, it

inspired me so much. I feel like I want to be

part of this, you know? Yeah, I'm connected,

so that's why I'm here. Damon Albarn, thank you very much

indeed for talking to us. course and destruction and weather

conditions. What was it like 100 years ago? It was dry, it was cold

but it was incredibly windy. We had winds today around 30 to 40 mph. On

this night 100 years ago they had winds of 70 to 80 miles an hour. But

also exceptionally high tides. It is the two combined the release smashed

into the village. Most of the year it is well protected from the wind

from the south-west. It's unusual to see an easterly gale and one that

was quite so strong. What about tonight's forecast?

The cold is still with us but that is about to change as we start to

warm up heading to the weekend. Let's start with a summary of

tomorrow's forecast. It's going to be less windy, perhaps feeling less

cold as well. But there is a chance for patchy rain. That slowly

creeping in from the Atlantic. It's the first real change for us to get

less cold. There is the satellite picture. You conceive how the cloud

is building, that will make its way towards us eventually. At the moment

we're still the influence of high pressure. If we run the sequence,

you can see how the web front approaches from the West. By the

morning that could reduce outbreaks of rain across Cornwall. The rest of

us not faring too badly. By Saturday low-pressure is taking charge.

Atlantic air has made its way in and it is a similar setup on Sunday.

Sunday looks like it will be rather cloudy but at least the temperatures

are on the rise. A closer look at that picture shows us the clouds

today which made it feel very cold and grey. There was some late

sunshine and is now a good deal of clear sky. Tonight's forecast is for

it to remain breezy and clear, the exception being the far west of

Cornwall where we will see patchy light rain. Night-time temperatures

probably getting to freezing overnight tonight. Tomorrow we have

a blustery day and patchy rain coming from the West. More rain

coming from the south. By the end of the day it is milder and also cloudy

with patchy rain. Temperatures finally getting up to double

figures. That's the forecast for the Isles of Scilly. Patchy rain and not

as windy. That's the times of high water. Some big waves as well for

the surfers. The winds from the South slowly veering south-westerly.

Patchy rain coming in eventually. Outlook for the weekend is for it to

get a lot less cold, temperatures back into double figures, and patchy

rain around on Saturday and Sunday. Have a good evening.

And that is it for tonight, on the day that the 100th anniversary of

the destruction of Hallsands. Einstein replaced Newton's theory

of universal gravitation with a more accurate theory -

general relativity. So, why's my apple falling?

Well, it's not. It is the ground that accelerates up

to meet the apple. So that's why the chair

that I'm sitting on now that actually feels

as if it's accelerating up It's really changed my relationship

with this chair. Mm-hm. The FA People's Cup -

a free five-a-side tournament