Kent Tonight - Tuesday 14th November 2023
Catch up on the latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Good evening and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:29 I'm Abbey Hook.
00:29 Here are your top stories on Tuesday, the 14th of November.
00:33 Crunch time on council costs.
00:36 Medway's overspend 5 million down,
00:39 but 12 million still to go.
00:41 - Waiting to see what their big ideas are.
00:44 - 500 jobs gone.
00:46 Vaccine giant Pfizer announces cull to workforce
00:50 at Fannett Research Park.
00:52 - These poor staff members at Pfizer
00:54 going to work this morning,
00:56 completely unaware of what's going on in the background,
00:58 thinking they're securing their job
01:01 this close to Christmas.
01:02 - A rich indulgence.
01:04 Ex-Kent copper swaps the beat for something sweet.
01:08 - To be able to introduce lots of different tastes
01:10 and flavors really appealed to me.
01:12 (upbeat music)
01:14 - First tonight, Medway Council's second quarter finances
01:26 are on the up.
01:27 As the cabinet is set to debate
01:29 the draft budget for next year.
01:31 Despite an improvement in their financial position
01:34 by more than 5 million pounds,
01:36 the council is still expecting pressure
01:38 of more than 12 million.
01:40 The opposition say it's business as usual.
01:43 Our reporter Oliver Leeder-Sacks
01:45 was crunching the numbers at Gunn Wharf earlier today.
01:47 - Gray skies above the Medway Council building,
01:52 but a few rays of sunshine today
01:54 for a Labour administration facing financial
01:57 difficulties.
01:58 A reduced overspend on child and adult services
02:04 and an underspend on frontline services
02:07 means that finances have improved significantly
02:11 since earlier in the year.
02:13 But that won't be enough to balance the books,
02:18 which is a legal requirement for local authorities
02:22 who aren't allowed to go over budget.
02:25 (indistinct)
02:27 More than 35 million.
02:31 - Apologies for some of those technical issues there.
02:33 We'll try and bring you that report a bit later in the show,
02:35 but let's move on to the next story of this evening.
02:38 There's been widespread condemnation
02:40 amongst MPs and councillors this evening
02:42 as 500 jobs are set to be lost in sandwich.
02:46 Pharmacy giant Pfizer has announced a consultation programme
02:50 as it announces the closure of their research division
02:53 at the Discovery Park.
02:54 They say it's part of a company-wide cost realignment
02:57 so that their operations can operate
02:59 more efficiently and effectively.
03:01 Well, I spoke to deputy leader of the Dover District Council
03:04 and started by asking what this would mean
03:06 for the local area.
03:07 - So first of all, this has come completely out of the blue.
03:11 We were totally unaware of this,
03:13 which is disappointing, I suppose.
03:16 For the local area, a year and a half ago,
03:20 the issues we had at P&O meant hundreds of staff
03:24 were sacked then, and it seems as though
03:26 we're going to have a similar issue in the Dover District now
03:29 with these poor staff members at Pfizer
03:32 going to work this morning,
03:33 completely unaware of what's going on in the background,
03:36 thinking they're securing their job this close to Christmas,
03:40 and now they're going to have to go through the ordeal
03:42 of a 45-day process, potentially,
03:44 not knowing whether they're going to keep their job or not,
03:47 I think is totally unacceptable.
03:49 We can't be certain that these people live in the district,
03:53 but there's a good chance that a good chunk of them will do,
03:55 or they'll live in East Kent, certainly.
03:57 And so, this is going to be troubling times for them,
04:01 particularly given the time of year.
04:03 - And you mentioned there, it comes off the back of P&O
04:06 losing 800 staff members.
04:08 They were axed last year.
04:10 Really looking at the local area,
04:12 what are you going to do as the council?
04:15 How are you going to build it back up,
04:17 make it a desirable place to live and work,
04:20 and keep it functioning?
04:22 What will the impact actually look like?
04:24 - Well, yeah, it's disappointing.
04:29 First of all, like I said,
04:30 that we were not made aware of this,
04:32 and so Fives were not working with the local area,
04:34 so that's disappointing.
04:36 We will work hard as a council
04:38 to help these people as best we can,
04:39 work with other partners like DWP
04:42 to try and support these staff members,
04:44 if they are indeed made redundant.
04:46 Yeah, we do take hits like this
04:49 when there's industries that employ
04:51 such large numbers of people,
04:52 which is great when it's going well,
04:54 but at times like this, it's very unfortunate.
04:57 What we will do as a district council, though,
04:58 is we will have to keep looking at areas of the district
05:01 that we can promote and can improve on.
05:04 Obviously, there's a lot of tourism,
05:05 given this area of Kent and the South East,
05:08 and so we'll have to keep working on that.
05:10 We will keep working on our relationship
05:12 with other employers, big employers like the Port of Dover,
05:15 to make sure that we can work with them,
05:17 maintain that employment in the area,
05:20 so that we don't lose these big employers.
05:22 But it is set to go to a consultation,
05:24 so there will be a chance to make a decision
05:26 and step in as the council and stop something
05:29 you say you had no idea about
05:31 and you wish to not see happen.
05:33 So, will it be in your hands now?
05:35 I mean, as far as the district council goes,
05:41 you know, this is a consultation for the business,
05:45 to make their business case,
05:46 to work with unions and other interested parties.
05:49 We can make our representations, absolutely,
05:52 and I would hope that Pfizer reconsider,
05:54 they look at what they can do
05:56 to secure the jobs of these staff members.
05:59 But obviously, we can do as much as we can,
06:02 and as I said, we will work with partners
06:04 to make sure that we do the best for those people
06:06 who live and work in our district.
06:08 Jamie, thank you very much for your time today,
06:10 really appreciate it.
06:11 A Pfizer spokesperson said,
06:15 "One of the consequences of this programme
06:16 is a plan to consolidate our pharmaceutical science's
06:20 small molecule capabilities,
06:22 aligned around our portfolio priorities.
06:24 Under the proposals, other functions at our sandwich site
06:27 will continue with a different size.
06:29 They're proud of their heritage
06:31 of breakthrough science in the UK
06:32 and say they'll retain a scientific presence in the UK,
06:36 including at their Discovery Park location in Sandwich."
06:39 More on that as we get it.
06:41 Now, in the last hour, the former Home Secretary
06:44 has been criticising the Prime Minister's policies,
06:46 which includes illegal migration to the Kent coast.
06:49 Soheila Braverman was sacked yesterday,
06:51 and we saw James Cleverley take over as Home Secretary.
06:55 Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott attended her first Cabinet meeting
06:58 as Chief Secretary of the Treasury following the reshuffle.
07:01 And we also saw Lord Cameron returning to the table
07:04 for the first time in more than seven years,
07:07 after he was appointed as Foreign Secretary.
07:10 Tambridge and Morling MP Tom Tuganagh
07:11 retained his position as Security Minister.
07:13 A lot to unpack there.
07:15 Well, joining me now is Sevenoaks'
07:17 former Special Advisor for the Home Office
07:19 to talk to me about what all this means
07:21 and what a resignation letter means if she's been sacked.
07:25 How is that possible, Claire?
07:26 What do you make of that?
07:29 Well, this is quite an incendiary letter.
07:31 It is three pages long, and I understand
07:35 that the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary
07:37 had suggested there would be no exchange of letters,
07:41 which is the normal way of dealing with a resignation
07:45 or a sacking from Cabinet.
07:46 There is a polite exchange.
07:48 This is not polite.
07:50 This is incredibly pointed.
07:52 It accuses the Prime Minister of magical thinking,
07:56 saying that he has failed to rise
07:59 to the challenge of extremism and multiculturalism.
08:02 I mean, it is a damning indictment of all
08:05 that she has done within the government.
08:07 She has supported the Prime Minister.
08:09 She's sat in Cabinet, and now she is laying out there
08:12 what she really thinks.
08:13 And I do wonder if this is the first stage of the Siwella
08:16 Braverman leadership bid.
08:19 Do you think that this has been done for a reason, though?
08:22 She said that he's repeatedly failed
08:23 to deliver on every single one of the key policies
08:26 she's listed for in this, to do with the Northern Ireland
08:28 Protocol, guidance to schools, of course, legal migration,
08:32 and legislation to stop the boats.
08:34 Obviously, she worked alongside him very closely for a while
08:38 to fix what she thinks are key four issues.
08:43 So surely this is coming from some sort of reason,
08:45 or do you just think that it is just an attack?
08:48 Is there no backing behind this and reason behind it?
08:53 Well, I think one of the reasons is the leadership
08:55 bid, as I've just said.
08:56 But I also wonder if she is trying to distance herself
09:00 from some of the decisions, like the Rwanda judgment, which
09:03 we are looking forward to tomorrow.
09:05 I wonder if there is an awful lot of,
09:07 this is your problem, Rishi Sunak.
09:10 I tried to tell you.
09:11 I tried to warn you.
09:12 So it's backing herself away from the consequences
09:16 of these actions.
09:17 But what she can't get away from is
09:19 that she was Home Secretary for over a year.
09:22 She sat in cabinet.
09:23 So the responsibility does lay with her.
09:25 And it feels like there is a bit of a call to arms
09:28 to those Tories on the right wing who
09:31 are incredibly angry at the sacking of Siwella Braverman.
09:34 It feels like a gathering of the troops
09:36 to cause some real trouble for the prime minister.
09:39 Could it not be perhaps a reflection
09:41 of the position the Conservative Party are in at the minute?
09:43 It seems very divided.
09:45 And of course, that isn't a good look.
09:49 It's been very, very divided for at least the last three years.
09:53 It is very fractured.
09:55 It is very fractious.
09:56 We are coming to the end of a parliamentary term.
09:59 And I think that all sense has gone out of the window.
10:02 That's how it feels.
10:03 The atmosphere here today is very febrile.
10:07 There are people either walking around plotting
10:09 with others in corners or people just
10:11 looking seriously depressed.
10:12 I think that this is a really bad state for a government.
10:15 It's a really bad state for a party.
10:18 The prime minister was hoping for a reset with his cabinet
10:21 reshuffle yesterday.
10:22 But unfortunately, that seems to have fallen flat
10:25 only 24 hours later.
10:26 And given all of that, do you think that it's a party
10:29 that our country can believe in, that they'll get behind?
10:34 The one thing you must never do is underestimate
10:36 the Conservative Party.
10:37 It has the ability to rebuild.
10:40 It has the ability to gather everybody together.
10:43 Whether there is enough time to do that before the next election
10:46 remains to be seen.
10:47 And I really hope it does.
10:49 But it does depend now on individual MPs
10:53 putting their grievances to one side
10:55 and doing what is best for the country.
10:56 And I think that is the most important part of the job.
10:59 It isn't the party.
11:00 It is the country.
11:01 And people deserve so much better
11:03 than they've had currently.
11:05 Just very quickly, Claire, we're running out of time.
11:06 But something you'll know very well,
11:08 the Sevenoaks MP appointed as Chief Secretary
11:10 of the Treasury.
11:11 What does this mean for the area of Sevenoaks and broader
11:13 for Kent too?
11:15 Well, I think it's extremely good news.
11:17 Laura Trott is a great MP.
11:20 She is very experienced now with working her way
11:23 through cabinet.
11:24 And I think she will do a fantastic job.
11:26 It is incredibly hard for an MP to balance
11:28 their constituency work and their ministerial work.
11:31 But she has a good team behind her.
11:33 And hopefully, some of the training in the Treasury
11:37 Department will lead her to putting pots of money
11:40 into our great county of Kent.
11:42 But obviously, she would do that in a fair way.
11:44 Claire, thank you very much for your time today.
11:47 Really appreciate your time talking to us.
11:49 Now time for a very quick break.
11:50 But I'll see you in a few minutes with more news
11:52 from across the county.
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15:10 Good evening and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:17 Now to bring you back up to date with our top story this evening,
15:20 Medway Council's second quarter finances are on the up
15:23 as the cabinet is set to debate the draft budget for next year.
15:27 Despite an improvement in their financial position
15:30 by more than £5 million,
15:32 the council is still expecting pressure of more than £12 million.
15:36 The opposition say it's business as usual.
15:39 Well, our reporter Oliver Leeder-Sacks has more.
15:42 Grey skies above the Medway Council building,
15:45 but a few rays of sunshine today for a Labour administration
15:48 facing financial difficulties.
15:50 A reduced overspend on childhood and adult services
15:53 and an underspend on frontline services
15:55 means that finances have improved significantly since earlier in the year.
15:59 But that won't be enough to balance the books,
16:02 which is a legal requirement for local authorities
16:04 who aren't allowed to go over budget.
16:07 More than £35 million of savings will be needed to reach a balanced budget,
16:11 and this could mean difficult decisions.
16:14 So adult services is one of the statutory areas we have.
16:17 We'll be looking at everything.
16:19 So we've got a budget hold both this year and next year.
16:22 We're working through it. This year we've made progress.
16:25 We were at £17 million.
16:27 We're at a £12 million gap in our budget,
16:29 but there's still more to be done.
16:31 Viewers would have seen that we've had to take difficult decisions already.
16:34 Regrettably, there'll be more difficult decisions to come,
16:37 but it's the right thing to do to balance the books here in Medway Council.
16:41 One of these decisions happened last month
16:43 when Medway Council cancelled their Christmas lights
16:46 to the tune of £75,000.
16:50 The Council say they are focusing more on their statutory services
16:53 with more than £8 million of additional funding
16:56 for services helping vulnerable young people and adults.
16:59 But opposition politicians say these cuts won't fix the problem.
17:03 I'm waiting to see what their big ideas are.
17:06 I mean, we've had all the rhetoric about, oh, there's hard work to be done,
17:11 but what is that hard work?
17:14 We've had a piddling little cut by doing away with the Christmas lights.
17:22 You know, there seems to be a policy here of inflicting
17:27 the maximum amount of pain for the minimum amount of gain.
17:31 I'm outside the Medway building where the Cabinet next week
17:34 will be meeting to discuss the draft budget.
17:37 What is clear is that any costs they save could lead to cuts,
17:41 and cuts could lead to a very bleak midwinter indeed.
17:44 They have to balance the books by next February,
17:46 but they don't know how they're doing it just yet.
17:48 Oliver Leeds of the Saks for KMTV.
17:51 Next tonight, a 12-tonne Nazi rocket has been dug up in Medway's marshes
17:56 nearly 80 years after it was fired.
17:59 Researchers have managed to find out exactly when and where it was fired,
18:03 the team pinpointing the barrage to one fired in February 1945
18:08 all the way from Holland.
18:09 The V2 missile was the first of its kind,
18:12 with the Nazis firing around 100 of these ballistic rockets during the war.
18:17 Very interesting discovery there.
18:21 Next tonight, a charity in Maidstone is highlighting the struggles
18:24 for those affected by baby loss and high-risk pregnancies.
18:28 Handmade with Love organises knitting groups across the county
18:32 to raise money for the cause.
18:33 Crafters met up for the first time since the pandemic in Rochester Cathedral
18:37 to work together on thousands of knitted and crocheted squares.
18:41 Bronnie Hughes reports.
18:44 A Kent charity is offering support to families struggling with grief
18:47 as one in four pregnancies end in baby loss.
18:50 At the Handmade with Love shop in the mall in Maidstone,
18:52 they sell items to raise money for the charity Making Miracles.
18:56 Founder Kelly Wells told us her personal story behind starting the charity.
19:00 So I started the charity coming up to 10 years ago now
19:03 because I experienced a high-risk pregnancy with my daughter
19:06 and was told that she was likely to pass in the womb.
19:10 I had about 85% chance of that happening to me,
19:13 so in that time I looked outside of my immediate family and friends
19:18 for some support and guidance,
19:20 and there wasn't really anyone to provide me with that kind of support.
19:23 So we have what I call a care pathway,
19:27 which is a list of amazing services that lead a family experiencing trauma and grief
19:33 to their new normal.
19:35 Included in that is professional counselling,
19:38 we have a baby memorial garden in Rochester.
19:41 We cater for the whole family, not just for mum and dad.
19:43 We cater for children and we cater for grandparents.
19:46 I'm at Rochester Cathedral this morning to take part in the Big Knit for Making Miracles.
19:52 I went along to the charity shop yesterday to see the sort of things they make,
19:56 and today I've got my hook and I've got my wool
19:59 and I'm ready to get involved and talk to some of the ladies
20:02 who donate their time and energy to the charity.
20:06 Around 100 crafters came to Saturday's event to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
20:10 3,295 knitted and crochet squares were brought along
20:13 and made there at the Big Knit to make blankets to raise money.
20:17 I asked one of the volunteer knitters about the sorts of things she usually makes for the charity.
20:22 Everything. Toys, Christmas toys, blankets, cardigans, baby cardigans.
20:30 The Big Knit wasn't just an exciting day for Making Miracles.
20:34 They also celebrated the 100th birthday of Doris,
20:37 a knitter who's made more than £8,000 for the charity.
20:40 Bronnie Hughes for KMTV.
20:42 ...report from Bronnie there.
20:45 Now, another yellow thunderstorm warning was issued for Kent today by the Met Office,
20:49 ending around 3pm earlier but still looking drizzly across the county.
20:53 So let's see what it's looking like over the next few days.
20:56 [Music]
21:02 This evening looking pretty mild across Kent.
21:06 Lows of 8, highs of 9, some clouds.
21:09 Tomorrow morning though the sunshine should come out and staying pretty dry by 10am.
21:13 10 degrees across most of Kent.
21:15 A bit of wind too, slowing down in the afternoon though.
21:18 Temperatures around the same, lows of 9, still some sunshine.
21:22 But the next few days look pretty wet right across Kent.
21:25 Friday looking a bit dry in some places though.
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21:35 Now, from counter-terrorism to counter-top chocolates,
21:41 one man from Birchington has had quite the retirement.
21:44 Nick Johnson left the police force a couple of years ago
21:47 and decided to pursue a lifelong ambition of creating these homemade culinary delights.
21:52 In that short space of time, the ex-copper has won himself an award for his luxury dessert.
21:57 Well, our reporter Gabriel Morris visited his back garden kitchen to find out the secret behind the success.
22:03 Master chocolatiers take decades to craft their technique.
22:09 But for this ex-copper, he's been in the business for a little under two years.
22:14 Spending much of his career in counter-terrorism deployed to Belgium.
22:19 And from all that chocolate influence in Bruges, he's now specialising in bonbons.
22:25 It's a product that in this country hasn't got the same cultural appeal as in Belgium and Holland.
22:31 It's all a different kind of culture where people often buy luxury chocolates
22:35 instead of going out and buying more mass chocolate, shall we say.
22:38 There's nothing wrong with mass chocolate.
22:40 However, it's a different culture.
22:42 And I think that aspiration to produce something I was very proud of
22:46 and to be able to introduce lots of different tastes and flavours really appealed to me.
22:51 All of these products are completely handmade, coming up with his own unique recipes.
22:57 And although his career might have had a lot of secrecy, Nick is more than happy to share some secrets.
23:03 And apparently, it's all about getting the temperature right and plenty of patience.
23:09 But the final product has some spectacular designs.
23:12 They are sprayed onto the mould first.
23:15 Once you get the design into the mould, obviously that then, you can see it's just stuck, I suppose,
23:21 or resting on top of the polycarbonate.
23:24 The reason for the importance of getting the right temperature of chocolate in there
23:27 is the chemical process that allows the chocolate you put in to bind with that cocoa butter.
23:32 They then become stuck together, cohesively stuck together,
23:36 at which point, once that then crystallises, the shell crystallises,
23:40 that kind of pulls the cocoa butter with it,
23:42 which is where you get the retraction that you saw earlier on.
23:45 And there we go, the finished product.
23:48 But with recent rises in inflation, the cost of making chocolate has skyrocketed.
23:54 Nick says he will always ensure the products are sustainable.
23:58 I think chocolate has had a very bad name in the past,
24:00 where the growers and the producers have had near-on slave conditions at times.
24:05 And I think that's something that all of the big suppliers now have recognised
24:09 through pressure from others, which is great.
24:11 And now we're looking much better at fair trade.
24:14 People are very much more involved in people getting the fair prices.
24:18 I mean, if that were the reason for the rising price of chocolate, then I would accept it.
24:22 It's not, because I think it's inflation.
24:24 However, you don't mind paying slightly more for something that is much more ethical.
24:29 For an ex-police officer, you have to say,
24:31 his retirement and his chocolates are criminally good.
24:35 Gabriel Morris for Cain TV in Birchington.
24:40 Well, Gabriel joins me in the studio now,
24:42 ahead of another episode of Made in Kent, straight after Kent tonight.
24:46 But before I hand over, tell us a bit about what's to come on.
24:49 Obviously, that was a piece that you did a couple of weeks ago with a copper-turned-chocolateer.
24:54 No, exactly. You can go and watch that report shortly back on our website
24:58 and all our others for Made in Kent.
25:00 But we've got an exciting brand new episode of Made in Kent
25:02 coming straight after Kent tonight, this evening at 6 o'clock.
25:06 So, stay watching for that one.
25:08 Tonight, we're going to be learning about a hobby that you might have not heard about before.
25:13 I certainly wasn't really aware of this. It's wood-turning.
25:17 We've sent our reporter, Finn McDermott, down to this centre.
25:21 You can see some of the artwork and crafts that they do.
25:24 It's quite incredible how they make all of this.
25:26 Some of it is actually burnt into the wood as well, the designs and the practice as well.
25:31 But a lot of it's done, it's wood-turning for a reason, because the wood's spinning as well, isn't it?
25:35 But the issue is, this is a craft that's learnt over many years.
25:39 But many people at this club are retirees.
25:42 And the fear is, by the club, that this skill is going to die out.
25:47 So, we're going to be talking a little bit about that on the programme this evening.
25:51 Alongside that, we are also going to be looking at how to be sustainable this Christmas.
25:57 It's just around the corner. We're pretty much two weeks away from December.
26:00 Christmas trees are going to be going up in a couple of weeks' time.
26:04 We quite often talk about sustainability. You have your show, Kent on Climate.
26:08 We're going to be talking a little bit about how you can be a little bit more eco-friendly come Christmas.
26:13 We've got more on that tomorrow in Kent on Climate as well, about sustainable decorations too.
26:18 So, it's really good to make people aware ahead of the season as well.
26:21 And there's lots more coming up as well.
26:23 Kombucha, allotments, all that and more, made in Kent in a few minutes.
26:28 Wow, a wide range of things in made in Kent. Brilliant. Thank you so much, Gabriel.
26:33 Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
26:36 There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening, straight after this in just a few minutes' time.
26:41 Another episode of Made in Kent. As Gabriel was saying, lots to come. Don't miss it.
26:45 See you in just a few minutes. Bye-bye.
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