Home Secretary Orders Inquiry into Undercover Policing

17:26 Thursday 6th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: A public inquiry is to be held into the way undercover police officers operated during the investigation into the murder of London teenager Stephen Lawrence. It follows a review described by the Home Secretary Theresa May as “profoundly shocking”. More now from our political reporter John Adderley.
JOHN ADDERLEY: Well this will be yet another inquiry relating to the murder of Stephen Lawrence 21 years ago. Two men were jailed for murder, but not until 2012. And this new inquiry, to be led by a judge, follows a review published today into the police investigations into the case. And the Government says that public trust in policing is at stake, and that’s why the Home Secretary has announced the new public inquiry. The review out today finds reasonable grounds to suggest that corruption was taking place on the part of one police officer, and that key evidence about police corruption was subject to mass shredding in 2003. So there could have been more corruption, but the evidence maybe was lost or destroyed. And the review talks about undercover policing. The review found that a Metropolitan Police spy, so called, worked within the wider Lawrence camp. And the review finds this highly questionable.
CHRIS MANN: So John, what’s the reaction been in Parliament?
JOHN ADDERLEY: I think it’s fair to say there was shock on all sides in the Commons as the Home Secretary gave details of the review, and then announced the public inquiry. She said it’s of “the utmost seriousness”, and “of grave concern” to everyone. And it isn’t just about the Stephen Lawrence case, because the revelations about undercover police operations and the extraordinary level of secrecy involved, as the review puts it, the failure to reveal officers’ true identities to court, or to correct evidence they thought was wrong, all that meant according to Theresa May that there is actually the real potential for miscarriages of justice spanning decades.
CHRIS MANN: John Adderley there, our reporter from Westminster.

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Catherine Smart on Tackling Homelessness in Cambridge

08:10 Friday 7th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: A new accommodation service for the homeless officially opens today in Cambridge. It’s already got rave reviews from folks who stayed there. The Springs, based on Victoria Road, is an adult training foyer. It’s run by the social housing provider Riverside. Their area manager Kevin Scanlon explains how The Springs differs from a traditional hostel or shelter.
(TAPE)
KEVIN SCANLON: To stay here you have to agree to enter into education training and employment. The idea behind that is certainly we want people to learn new skills, and be able to be employable and contribute to society. It gives them a batter opportunity to move on into their own home. And certainly in Cambridge it’s very difficult to find accommodation. And you’ve got a much better chance of finding a real home if you’re employed. ..

PAUL STAINTON: Let’s speak to Cambridge City councillor with responsibility for housing, Catherine Smart. Catherine, good morning.
CATHERINE SMART: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: This facility plugs a real gap, doesn’t it, for people who don’t need the sort of intensive support of a homeless shelter, but who aren’t yet ready to live on their own. It’s sort of helping them help themselves, isn’t it?
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Tom Woodcock on the Role of the Trade Union

09:35 Wednesday 5th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: We’re marking the 30th anniversary of the commencement of the (miners) strike in March 1984. It put the Government and the miners on a collision course, and there have been accusations over the years that there were plans to shut more mines than were revealed. They initially said they wanted to close 20, but recently revealed documents show that they wanted 75 mines to close over three years. A key adviser to the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher denied any cover-up claims, but newly revealed papers, as I say, show that there was a hit list of 70 pits. The Cambridge TUC actively supported the miners in 1984/5 and adopted two of the striking communities in Nottinghamshire, Blidworth and Rainworth, and many lasting friendships were formed. Well its Secretary is Tom Woodcock. It’s currently of course called the Cambridge and District Trades Council. Tom, good morning to you.
TOM WOODCOCK: Good morning Andie.
ANDIE HARPER: Now you’re far too young, aren’t you, to remember the intricacies of the miners strike.
TOM WOODCOCK: You’re too polite.
ANDIE HARPER: But it’s indelibly printed on my mind as if it were yesterday. But it was a seminal moment in British industrial relations, wasn’t it?
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Edward Lucas on Putin’s Gambit

17:38 Tuesday 4th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The Foreign Secretary William Hague is warning of a grave risk of escalation in tensions between Russia and Ukraine, after Russian troops fired warning shots in Crimea. The Russian President Vladimir Putin has described events in Ukraine as an unconstitutional coup. Sir James Paice the Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire told the Foreign Secretary that Russia’s been emboldened by the international community’s failure to act in previous stand-offs.
(TAPE)
SIR JAMES PAICE: Can I really urge my Right Honorable Friend, particularly on the Thursday’s European Council, to push for the toughest possible economic sanctions? It’s the only lesson that they will learn, otherwise we will see this happen over and over again. And it’s not surprising that former Soviet Union countries are worried.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: So Cambridgeshire MP Sir James Paice there. Let’s get some analysis of how the current situation came to be. Edward Lucas is Senior Editor at the Economist magazine, and an expert on Europe. I spoke to him earlier.
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New Lanes an Option for Cambridge Cyclists

08:47 Tuesday 4th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: A brand new type of cycle lane never seen in Cambridge before could be built on two main routes into the city. The County Council wants views on plans to make Huntingdon Road and Hills Road, the busiest cycle routes in the UK, safer for drivers and cyclists. A consultation on the proposals is being launched this morning, and Johnny D has been to find out more.
JOHN DEVINE: Paul, I’m in a very busy part of Cambridge this morning, Huntingdon Road. It’s right near Girton, about two miles from the city centre of Cambridge. But in front of me I’ve got four lanes of traffic that goes down to three. There’s traffic lights in front of me. There is a cycle lane which is about four foot across, not very wide at all. I’ve got with me Mike Davies, Team Leader for Cycling Projects at Cambridgeshire County Council. So what’s happening today then Mike?
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Peterborough MP Held Blameless in IPSA Ruling

18:40 Monday 3rd March 2014
BBC Look East West

[A]MELIA REYNOLDS: The MP for Peterborough has won his legal battle with the Parliamentary expenses watchdog. Stewart Jackson was threatened with court action after he refused to repay more than £50,000. But he’s now been told it was all a mistake, and he actually owes nothing. A short while ago I spoke to our political correspondent Andrew Sinclair about the significance of the case.
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Robin Page on Development in South Cambridgeshire

17:08 Tuesday 25th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[D]OTTY MCLEOD: Heads should roll at South Cambridgeshire District Council. That’s according to the Chairman of the Countryside Restoration Trust. Robin Page says the planned development of Bourn Airfield could endanger important wildlife, and that the Council hasn’t done enough to protect it. It’s possible new development is part of a bigger local plan to build nearly 20,000 new homes in the countryside around Cambridge over the next two years. Robin Page joins me now. So Robin, what is so outrageous about what is going on?
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Dale McKean On the Reliability of Projected Income from Solar Energy at America Farm

17:15 Monday 24th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]ETER SWAN: We’re hearing about Peterborough City Council and their plans to build a wind farm and a solar farm in order to both provide power of course and indeed to help their budget situation as well. The only downside is Marco Cereste very keen, unfortunately his own Scrutiny Commission for Rural Communities believe the figures aren’t strong enough to justify the huge expense of setting the farms up, or that the revenue they generate once they’re up and running will be big enough. Dale McKean is from the Committee. Let’s hear from him now. Earlier he expressed his concerns to me and his disappointment that their advice had been ignored.
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