Kent Tonight - Thursday 22nd August 2024
Catch up with all the latest news across your county with Bartholomew Hall.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:29Here are your top stories on Thursday 22nd August.
00:34Trial date set.
00:36Soldier stabbed near Gillingham Barracks discharged from hospital.
00:40Anthony Eason charged with attempted murder is expected to face trial in January next
00:47year.
00:48Top grades.
00:50Pre-Covid marking standards return as students across Kent open their GCSE results.
00:57Oh wow, I did really well.
01:01I was not expecting these.
01:02Divisive decision deferred.
01:05Bid for background music at Margate LGBT bar pushed back for greater clarity.
01:13And I think that balance to be struck is for the sound level to be at a certain level.
01:26Good evening.
01:32A Rochester man accused of trying to stab a uniformed soldier to death on the streets
01:37of Gillingham is expected to stand trial next year.
01:40Anthony Eason faces two charges in relation to the reported stabbing, including one of
01:45attempted murder.
01:47The attack near Brompton Barracks garnered national attention when it happened last month
01:52with Prime Minister Sikir Starmer wishing the soldier a swift recovery.
01:56Our reporter Oliver Lleida-Dasax joins us from the KMTV newsroom now with more.
02:00Oliver, what's the latest we have on this case?
02:05Well Bartholomew, we do know that 24-year-old Anthony Eason faces two charges following
02:10the attack on Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teton near the Brompton Barracks last month.
02:17One of attempted murder.
02:18The other possession of a bladed article.
02:21After the hearing today at Maidstone Crown Court, we now know when Eason will be facing
02:26trial over those charges.
02:29Eason's trial date is set to start on the 20th of January, where it is expected to last
02:34around three weeks and will be heard by a High Court judge.
02:38Meanwhile, formal reading of the charging document, known as the Arrangement, has been
02:43adjourned by the judge until September 23rd.
02:47Of course, the reported stabbing of Lieutenant Teton has garnered a lot of attention from
02:52the media and senior politicians alike, as well as figures within the army.
02:57At the time, at the head of the army, General Sir Rowley Walker condemned the stabbing as
03:02horrific and unprovoked, while Prime Minister Sikir Starmer said he was shocked and appalled.
03:09The soldier, who was in his 40s and was wearing uniform when the incident took place, was
03:15reportedly knifed several times as he was walking along Sally Port Gardens with his
03:20wife around 6pm on the evening of July 23rd.
03:25He was believed to be living just minutes away from the military barracks in Brompton.
03:30Teton was then taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition, and four weeks on from
03:37the alleged murder bid, was discharged.
03:39He's continuing his recovery at the moment.
03:41Eason of Mooring Road, Rochester, was arrested by police around 30 minutes after the stabbing,
03:49with emergency services being called to the scene, including the air ambulance and police
03:54helicopter.
03:55Cordons were also established around the location of the alleged stabbing and Mooring Road.
04:01Residents at the time said they were shocked by what happened on their doorsteps, but for
04:06now we'll have to wait until the trial next year for further details.
04:10Oliver, as you say, we'll be following that one closely as we head into next year.
04:16Thank you very much for those details.
04:19Now it's that time of year again when GCSE students across Kent have been finding out
04:23their grades, but reportedly, or for some, it might be the last time that they need to
04:30go into school so early in the morning, but others have been questioning the fairness
04:35of these exams as they've been reportedly on the receiving end of a harsher grading
04:39system since the pandemic ended.
04:43Despite this, there's been positives, like an increase in top grades compared to last
04:47year.
04:48Ving McDermid went to Northfleet Technology College to find out more.
04:52Sitting the exams is hard enough, but only a flimsy envelope separating students from
04:57their results is enough to give anyone butterflies in their stomach.
05:00Over the years, General Certificates of Secondary Education, or GCSEs, have undergone many changes,
05:06from their introduction back in the 1980s to the addition of the A-star grade, then
05:11to adopting the numbers 1-9 for marks in England.
05:14Well now, 16-year-olds from Blackpool to Bournemouth are opening their GCSE results that will determine
05:19whether they pursue sixth form apprenticeships or college, and here in Kent, some of Northfleet
05:24Technology Centre's bravest pupils opened their results on camera.
05:29That is very impressive.
05:30Nine, nine.
05:31Nine.
05:32Nine, nine, five.
05:35Well done, well done.
05:37Well done, Mum.
05:38You've got a great grade.
05:41Oh yeah, oh wow.
05:43Yeah, I did really well.
05:45I was not expecting these.
05:47I got a nine in English language, which I'm really happy with because I've put a lot of
05:52effort into English and I like to think that I'm quite good at it.
05:55These students might remember the difficult period during and after COVID, where exams
05:59were cancelled in 2020 and based on teachers' predicted grades.
06:03Now, back in my student days, I got easier exams thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but
06:09apparently grade boundaries have now reverted back to what they were like in 2019.
06:14Now, some believe this might be potentially harsher, but it doesn't seem to have bothered
06:18the students here at Northfleet Technology College who are collecting their GCSE results.
06:23But the question remains, is that fair on this year's students?
06:27I think that we've got to look at central government and we have to think about what
06:32is actually best for the students sitting in our schools, giving them more security
06:36with regards to their results.
06:38And I will give you a clear example.
06:41We've just gone through a series of BTEC results here for the first time, which have been marked
06:47quite harshly and I think that's not going to help students move forward.
06:52So I think that we do need to reset and look at the whole curriculum and the whole assessment
06:57process to make it fairer for all students.
07:00Despite the reset, statistics have released that the results are similar to the previous
07:04year, with more than a fifth of entries awarded top marks.
07:08On the other hand, however, the total pass rate has fallen this year at a 1% drop in
07:14students receiving above a grade 4 or C.
07:17The attitudes of the students here at Northfleet have been positive, with many looking forward
07:21to the future and their teachers happy to see them succeed.
07:24Finn McDermott for KMTV in Northfleet.
07:27Well, Finn joins us in the studio now.
07:29Lots of happy faces there.
07:31What can you tell us about how Kent's results fit into the national picture?
07:34Well, a range of results have come in from across the country and the main takeaway is
07:39that there has been a small increase in top grades.
07:42So that's 7 to 9, which is sort of basically an A grade for those unfamiliar with the new
07:48numerical system, and that's being compared to the grades received before the pandemic
07:56around 2019.
07:58In more specific facts, it's been released that the pass rate in key subjects like English
08:03and maths has been on the slight decline, but experts are telling us not to worry as
08:08that's more due to older students taking resits rather than current students failing.
08:13Now, for specific regions, the government has released figures online that give us a
08:18county-by-county breakdown, and Kent has 22.3% of these higher grades, again 7 to 9, which
08:26is good.
08:27The national average is around 21, so Kent is doing better than expected.
08:31So, yeah, it's good stuff to see, and congratulations to all those students.
08:35Of course, and speaking about Kent's results, our sister station, KMFM, tonight is going
08:39to be hosting a GCSE surgery.
08:41What can you tell us about that?
08:43Yep, that's right.
08:44Tonight, until 10pm, the KMFM GCSE surgery will be on air with advice from students and
08:51experts alike about what you can do after you've gotten your results, whether you want
08:55to go into an apprenticeship, A levels, T levels, and what any advice you might need
09:00if you're pursuing further education.
09:02Exciting stuff.
09:03And again, thank you very much for those details.
09:06Five bodies from the sinking of Mike Lynch's Bayesian superyacht have been discovered and
09:11identified, including a Sevenoaks couple.
09:14Jonathan Bloomer, who's chairman of Morgan Stanley International Bank, and his wife Judy
09:18were on board the boat off the coast of Sicily.
09:21The bodies were found by a team of eight divers who have been transporting body bags back
09:25to Waiting Emergency Services at the shore, and this is the fourth day of searching.
09:30The vessel's trip was to celebrate Mr Lynch's acquittal from a US fraud trial two months ago.
09:35The only person still unaccounted for is Mike Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah.
09:42A man who led a police in a car chase on New Year's Day has been sentenced to four years
09:46in prison at Maidstone Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
09:5122-year-old Kieran Gallagher crashed into stationary traffic on the A2 near Gravesend
09:55whilst driving a stolen high-value Jaguar.
09:58Elisa Pare has this report.
10:03A drug-fuelled driver of a stolen car caused absolute mayhem on New Year's Day as he rammed
10:09his way through stationary traffic on the A2 in a high-speed car chase.
10:14Kieran Gallagher was at the wheel of a high-value Jaguar F-Pace bearing false plates as several
10:19police patrol and unmarked cars tried to bring him to a halt in a three-minute car chase.
10:24According to a witness, up to 10 vehicles were damaged during the chase on the A2 near
10:28Gravesend.
10:29When fleeing, Gallagher, who was also banned from the road at the time, took advantage
10:33of the clear path that some motorists were creating.
10:36Police attempts to stop the SUV and bring him to a safe stop included controlling traffic
10:40ahead to create a roadblock.
10:42Although his escape route was eventually blocked, it took the smashing of the Jaguar's windows
10:46and a taser being deployed twice before he could be restrained and arrested.
10:51Gallagher was later tested positive for the breakdown product of cannabis and was more
10:55than twice the legal limit.
10:57He was also subject to a suspended prison sentence imposed less than two months earlier
11:02by a judge at London's Old Bailey for a similar high-speed chase in a stolen car.
11:07Prosecutor Jemima Lovatt told a sentencing hearing that the 53,000-pound Jaguar had been
11:12reported stolen on December 29 last year.
11:15Gallagher's defence said he acknowledges his wrongdoing, he acknowledges his culpability
11:19and has genuine remorse.
11:20He is a two-year-old boy and is anxious to return back to society.
11:24Judge Julian Smith said that by good fortune he had not caused any injury or worse that day.
11:29This has been Elise Opare for KMTV.
11:32Well, time for a quick break now, but coming up we'll be bringing you more from a story
11:36we brought you yesterday about a divisive bid for an LGBT bar in Margate to play background
11:42music which has been deferred for more clarity.
11:45And we'll have a little bit of a chat about Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club being
11:49turned into a film.
11:50More after the break.
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12:45.
13:15.
13:45.
14:15.
14:45.
15:11Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV.
15:14A divisive bid to play cocktail music at an LGBT plus bar in Margate has been described
15:21as unneighbourly and intolerable.
15:23At last night's meeting it was decided to defer Sundowners Wish to play cocktail music
15:28from a single speaker outside.
15:30It's to allow the bar bosses time to clarify their application.
15:34Planning officers had originally recommended refusal fearing its impact on residents.
15:39Our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has the update.
15:43Almost 40 people packed into Fannock District Council's public gallery last night.
15:49They're here supporting the application for Sundowners to play background music on this
15:55terrace.
15:56But that bid has been recommended for refusal leaving staff and punters at the LGBTQ plus
16:02bar miffed.
16:03It is important to consider the fact that to have amplified music on the deck could
16:08be considered to have increased potential user attraction to the venue.
16:14However, obviously you've seen the comments of Environmental Health in the report which
16:17do raise strong concerns with any music even at background noise level on that terrace.
16:24There is no sound mitigation at all.
16:27It is open.
16:28Even if there was mitigation by forms of a structure or a barrier it will still be open
16:33at the top and also the structure itself would be problematic.
16:36The application for a single speaker saw huge support with most of the objections coming
16:41from neighbours.
16:42To allow amplified music to be played on the terrace deck for any hours, days or months
16:47of the year would quite simply be incompatible with the adjoining residential land uses in
16:52Albert Terrace.
16:53It would represent an inappropriate, unably and wholly unacceptable form of development.
16:59The decision now lies in the hands of these councillors.
17:03For sundowners to play their music on the sun deck is their choice.
17:08The residents don't get a choice.
17:11They've got to listen to it.
17:13There could be a balance to be struck and I think that balance to be struck is for the
17:23sound level to be at a certain level.
17:26I just think it has an intolerable effect on residents.
17:31They've lived through it already and at whatever level I think it will be very, very difficult
17:37for them just to get on and live their lives.
17:40And I think there's an incredible amount you can do to diffuse the sound by some reasonable
17:46planting between the houses on the top side of that development which would break that
17:51noise up.
17:52The committee decided to defer the decision to a later date, allowing the Seafront Bar
17:57to come back with more details on what music they'll be playing and how loud that'll be.
18:03Gabriel Morris in Margate.
18:07And there's more on that story from the local democracy reporting service at Kent Online.
18:11Now drivers are facing 90 minute delays at the Port of Dover as travel experts issue
18:16a warning over congestion ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
18:20The Port of Dover expects to be used by more than 20,000 cars over the bank holiday period
18:26but forecasts of bad weather today have prompted DFDS seaways to predict delays of 90 minutes
18:31for passengers travelling between Dover and Dunkirk.
18:35It comes as transport analytics company Inrix warns the worst times for traffic jams on
18:39major roads across the country are likely to be between 10am and 6pm on Friday
18:44and 10am to 1pm on Saturday.
18:48Thanet District Council has been threatened with court action over its anti-swearing rules.
18:53The free speech union is arguing that public space protection order breaches human rights.
18:59We reported a few weeks ago the order itself came into effect at the end of July.
19:03It states that all persons are prohibited from using foul or abusive language in such a manner
19:08that is loud and can be heard by others in a public space.
19:12Offenders could see up to £100 worth of fines with the council hoping to stop foul language
19:17in certain areas like Birchington, Margate and Broadstairs.
19:22Don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent
19:25by logging on to our website kmtv.co.uk
19:28where you'll find all of our reports including this one about a Canterbury student
19:32being the first in Europe to take part in a groundbreaking new drug trial for multiple sclerosis.
19:39I woke up and I saw everything in double vision.
19:44Zhengwei Liao had been studying towards his PhD here in Canterbury for just over three years
19:49when he woke up one day with double vision.
19:52After being recommended to see a doctor by his painting instructor
19:56he was quickly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or MS.
20:00But at first I'm not really thought they're really serious
20:04because I just thought if I cover just one of my eyes everything keeps the same
20:07and there's no pain, no itches, everything except the double vision keeps normal.
20:12It's a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord
20:15and can affect patients in a variety of different ways
20:18including problems with vision such as in Zhengwei's case,
20:21difficulty walking, issues with balance and coordination
20:25and give them challenges with thinking, learning and planning.
20:29After learning that his lifelong condition meant his symptoms would only get worse
20:33Zhengwei decided to take part in a trial for an experimental new drug
20:37that aims to slow down the progression of the disease.
20:40However the trial means that Zhengwei may never see the benefits of the new drug.
20:45He may be taking a placebo or it might just not work for him.
20:48But Zhengwei told me that taking part means more than just his own MS journey.
20:53Well I'm proud of that because finally I can do some contribution
20:56because I'm not like my other family members, they're doctors
20:59so they can cure people, care for other people's health
21:02so do something which I think is meaningful
21:05but I think because I'm taking the trial I can do some contribution to others' health
21:11like my family members, yeah I can say I'm proud of myself.
21:16So all of the patients on this trial will be receiving an active treatment.
21:20It's either the standard treatment that they would have outside of the trial or the new drug.
21:25Without patients taking part in trials we just wouldn't have an evidence base
21:28to say actually the treatment that we're offering is the best treatment we can offer for you.
21:32They're basically pushing medicine forward
21:34and progressing the treatments that we can offer our patients.
21:37Zhengwei is the first patient in Europe to be taking part in the experimental new drug
21:42and already that has doubled.
21:43There's now two patients here in Canterbury involved.
21:46It's understood more than two million people worldwide live with multiple sclerosis
21:51which is why the work being done here at Kent and Canterbury Hospital with Zhengwei is so important.
21:56It's hoped that if the trial is successful
21:58hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in the future
22:01will be able to live without fear of the rapid progression of the disease.
22:06Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Canterbury.
22:09Now let's take a quick look at the weather.
22:17It's looking to be rather cloudy this evening.
22:19Highs of 18 degrees down in Dover.
22:22As we head into tomorrow expect rain wherever you are
22:25unless you're in Margate where it's just staying cloudy.
22:27Highs of 20 degrees there as we go into Friday afternoon.
22:31However that cloud dissipating away.
22:33Highs of 24 in the north of the county.
22:36And as we go towards the weekend it will be rather sunny with some cloud.
22:41Highs of 23.
22:52And finally this evening Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club
22:55which follows the mystery of the murder of a property developer
22:58in a fictitious Kent retirement village is being adapted into a feature film.
23:03Well there's no new episode of our movie discussion show
23:06The Kent Film Club this week.
23:07It will be returning next week but we'll be having our own discussion here.
23:11I've got Kent Film Club presenter Chris Deasey here with me.
23:15We'll be discussing another type of club today.
23:17Well I was just thinking we may not have an episode Bartholomew
23:19of Kent Film Club but the Thursday Murder Club would be a very fine substitute.
23:24Absolutely and it's an interesting one as well
23:26because obviously it's a very popular book.
23:29Have you managed to pick it up?
23:30No I haven't but of course this came out in 2020, early 21
23:34and I think there are three subsequent sequels
23:37and of course now the big movie adaptation.
23:39Yes and we know that Hollywood and the like loves a sequel and loves a trilogy
23:45and part of that being directed by Chris Columbus.
23:49Spot on of course.
23:50Well Home Alone and he directed the first two of those
23:53but of course Harry Potter as well.
23:55Oh and Mrs Doubtfire.
23:56Yes, brilliant.
23:57If I was a guest on my own programme I'm sure even Mrs Doubtfire would be up there
24:01so I can't wait to see this.
24:02Yes, brilliant.
24:03Does that give you a bit of an indication of what we could expect
24:05from an adaptation from Chris Columbus?
24:07Obviously he's done those before.
24:08Yes and he's very family oriented but also working well with cast.
24:13I don't know if you've seen the cast of this but you've got James Bond himself
24:18in one of the iterations.
24:21Not Timothy Dalton, what am I saying?
24:22Pierce Brosnan.
24:23Yes.
24:24Who's not playing the spy.
24:25I think that's going to be Helen Mirren.
24:26He's going to be playing the trade union official.
24:27So a cast to die for.
24:29I saw Jonathan Pryce, Ben Kingsley, Richard E. Grant.
24:32Some of them on the screen there.
24:33Now David Tennant is supposedly coming with it and fans of EastEnders.
24:37Danny Dyer is going to be part of it as well.
24:39Yes, I mean this is a really packed out cast.
24:41I wanted to ask about adaptations.
24:44Do you tend to read the books before the films?
24:47That's a really interesting one I wanted to see from you.
24:49It is.
24:50Now I remember reading The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
24:53and I think I saw the film first.
24:55It prompted me to read the novel.
24:57Sometimes it works both ways because sometimes a novel can be better
25:01in terms of developing character.
25:02It can be very good in terms of wetting the audience's, the reader's appetite.
25:06I mean some of the Da Vinci Code adaptations,
25:09I always found that they tried to make the film version
25:12very literally almost like chapter one, chapter two, chapter three
25:15and sometimes you just feel that they've literally turned
25:18a page into a film.
25:19The best film adaptations are those when they get the gist of the film
25:22but you have the real sort of texture and it goes its own way
25:25and you have all the lighting, the cinematography.
25:28It's not simply a case of relocating a plot
25:30because there's more to a film than the story.
25:32So adaptations can work but it doesn't always follow,
25:36I hope that this will be an exception,
25:38but it doesn't always follow that a really good book
25:40translates into a really excellent film.
25:42But with a cast like this, how can it not?
25:44Absolutely, and as well with a murder mystery novel,
25:48if you've already read the book you know what's going to happen at the end
25:51so maybe some twists could be in there along the way
25:53and people would like that.
25:54But when you think of all those adaptations of the moment
25:56sort of based on Agatha Christie,
25:57but those films where Daniel Craig has been playing
26:00the elusive detective with the funny accent,
26:03there's so many twists and also set in East Sussex
26:07but is there not a KMTV connection?
26:10Well potentially, I was going to mention it.
26:12It's great to see a Kent connection to any film.
26:14Obviously there was The Empire of Light and Margate
26:16which drew loads of people to Margate.
26:19But yeah, there is a Kent Tonight mention in the book.
26:22People can go and buy the book and have a read of it
26:24and they'll see where Kent Tonight is.
26:26So who knows, maybe we'll get an invite at some point
26:28from Richard Osman himself.
26:29We might be one of the characters.
26:31Maybe, brilliant.
26:32Chris, thank you very much for joining us.
26:34Kent Film Club back next Thursday,
26:36but I'm sure this evening and throughout the week
26:38there'll be repeats to watch back on.
26:40So good stuff, thank you very much.
26:41That's all for this evening.
26:42We'll be back tomorrow with another Kent Tonight.
26:44See you then, bye bye.