15/03/2012 BBC London News

One of the leading food that will run am appalled that there should

be applied before that full We will speak to the head of NHS

London: Plus find out what questions these school children

asked the London Olympic bosses. And the Duchess of Cambridge joins

her father-in-law to a visit to the Good evening. BBC London has

learned that the entire board of governors at a failing school in

north London has been sacked. The Education Secretary took the highly

unusual action at Downhills Primary in Tottenham first they have this

morning. Michael Gove wants to force the school to become an

academy. Parents have been fighting the move. Marc Ashdown has this

exclusive report. She shock and anger at the school

gates, just a few weeks after the head teacher was sacked. Today, in

early morning phone calls, Every governor was removed, to the dismay

of parents. The way this was done was appalling. It was almost like a

dawn raid that you would expect an Eastern bloc country to control

their schools in this way. We live in a democracy, I thought. We want

to know what the secret recipe is for improvement. We could do it.

This school is open and willing to improve. This is not the way to do

it. Our school has been absolutely bullied and we asked sick to death

This recent video shows the passion for the Save Downhills campaign.

They are convinced it will be forced to become an academy, with

their view is ignored. If you look at recent Ofsted inspections, you

can see why people are confused. In January, the school failed, with a

mixture of twos and threes, one being inadequate. Then inspectors

came back and said that the school was making satisfactory

improvements. Then Michael Gove said he wanted to force Downhills

to become an academy. Inspectors were called back in and gave the

school straight fours, failing it. A sponsor is the Harris Federation,

which runs other academies. Two of the five people on the new board

work for that federation. That seems a sensible thing to us. They

are our preferred sponsor, so they can be part of the process and know

what is going on. But also to have the chance to talk to parents,

staff and pupils about what their plans would be to turn the school

around. Some are questioning whether the consultation will be

fair, especially as steps were under way to improve. Yes, we did

have a plan. We were quite pleased that it was robust, there had been

a lot of progress made. Be made representation about the plan and

it was completely ignored. What parents now fear is that they will

be ignored as well. Mark joins us from the school. What

more has the Government said about why it is taking this step? Well,

firstly the Department for Education says they have not taken

this likely. They say in a hierarchy of the school has for

many years failed to provide an adequate education for pupils. They

say there will be a fair consultation, although they make no

secret of the fact that their preferred outcome is to turn this

into an academy, with the preferred sponsor as the Harris Federation,

which has turned around 13 failing schools. Eight of those are now

graded outstanding. In the meantime, the five-strong panel here will run

the school from day-to-day. Parents remain unconvinced and they are not

done. They say the school was improving and was doing much better

before this. They say it needed help, guidance, support, not to be

taken over from afar. They are considering their legal options and

if they can challenge this. They will possibly going to follow that.

The ramifications could spread further afield if Downhills is

forced to become an academy. Many more failing schools will be

watching closely and nervously. Now, lots more to come, including:

We were the warmest part of the UK today, but will it last? What can

we expect this weekend? I will have a full forecast later in the

Next, a special report. One of the country's leading surgeons has

spoken exclusively to this programme about the changes to the

NHS in London. Lord DI, a former health minister, has called on

politicians to stop trying to say votes and help save lives. He also

expressed serious concerns about how the health service will be led

after the Strategic Health Authorities is scrapped next year.

We will hear that interview in a moment. First, how the NHS in the

capital is changing. On July 5th, the new National Health Service

starts... All most since the NHS was born, London has been its most

difficult child. Almost since day one they have been trying to change

it. Bernard Tomlinson had a go, as did Leslie Turnberg and Ben Ara

Darzi. The roundabout of organisation goes on. -- Ara Darzi.

Doctors are being put at the heart of changes in the NHS. 32 new

commissioning groups of GPs will decide what services go where in

London. It will be led by doctors, nurses, patients. That is the right

way to do it, not managers sitting in an office deciding they want to

change the way services are provided. The challenge of London

is huge. In three years, the hospitals and the couple could be

in debt of up to �330 million. Already since the election A&E

closures have been announced at Elsfield and Chase Farm. Across the

capital, big mergers are planned. In east London, the north-west and

the south-west. There is a concentration of real problems as

far as patients are concerned. Too many hospitals, often in the wrong

place, duplicating services. Primary care is good in some places,

but poor in others. How are you doing? I'm doing well, that you.

There have been big successes as well. Last year, Matt Lopez

suffered a massive stroke on a plane at Heathrow. He was saved

after taking -- being taken to a new stroke unit. It wasn't for the

team of doctors and the system in place I would be dead. That is

plain and simple fact. It is black and white. I would not be here

today. I came in and luckily this was a specialised unit. Expect to

see more of this as well, an urgent care centre of the Royal Free

Hospital. A sort of A&E light, that sees nurses and GPs treating

patients, with more serious cases going into the fault A&E.

rather go three miles more to know why would be dealt with more safely

with my road traffic accident. If there was a local care centre, like

to go there if I had a cough, a cold, an infection or sprained

wrist. Much has changed since these days. Much more changes around the

We will discuss those issues shortly with the chief executive of

NHS London, Ruth Carnell. First we can hear from Lord Darzi, who wrote

the first blueprint for the NHS in London and was health minister

under the Labour government. The we do have too many hospitals in

London, doing too many things. They are not really compatible with the

latest evidence and all of the technological innovations that we

half. That doesn't mean hospital closure, that means changing what

hospitals do. But ultimately, we need to get the balance right. In

political leadership, what changes we make, based on quality. That is

the leadership that I expect politicians to lead on, rather than

more vested interests and constituency needs. I have always

made a reference to this. The politics of saving lives is what

brings me to work, rather than the politics of saving votes. I fear

that there might be a vacuum. But I urge the 32 chairmen and the

patience and clinicians to come together and fill that gap. If we

do not, we will end up where we were years ago, fragmentation of

care, nobody able to make a decision. I always have confidence

in the NHS, more than I have confidence in those running or

changing the NHS. Ultimately, the NHS has been there for 63 years. It

malts that self-harmed finds the solution to its own problems. -- it

finds the solutions to its own problems. We need clinical

leadership and managerial leadership to come together with

patients and the public to make the changes happen. Change is painful.

But there is no gain without pain when it comes to health care.

We did ask the Department of Health to speak about some of the changes.

They declined, but the chief- executive of NHS London Ruth

Carnell is here. It is going to be broken up into a 32 groups of GPs.

Do you share those concerns about what it might mean because there

was no leadership? There is no doubt this is the biggest change

programme I have seen in my career, 36 years now. Absolutely as he said,

the risks associated with the changes are significant. My job

over the remaining year that I am here is to try to help and support

GPs as leaders locally, both to work with local populations and to

work together in groups so that they can take forward the changes

that we want to see in London. me come back to those changes and

concerns. Let's look at it a different way. But Scotland Yard

was to be broken up into Turkey to command centres and everybody was

looking out for themselves, people would say we could not police

London with everybody looking out for themselves in small pockets of

London. That is what is happening to NHS London. Do you share those

concerns? I am concerned about it, worried about it. As I said earlier,

it is our job to try to make sure that those concerns do not turn

into reality. The people that really need to lead to change our

clinicians. It is they who have driven many of the bigger changes

we have made in London over the last few years. We have supported,

but we have not been in the lead. My job is to make sure that those

same clinicians, the same doctors and nurses that are still there,

they are put in a place where they can lead changed. That is my job.

There have been big changes. Let's look at the stroke and trauma

centres, which have widely been welcomed as a successful stop when

those changes come into place, would they have done if London had

been fragmented, like these proposals sake? There is no doubt

we initiated that change, but it was done on a basis of really

strong political leadership and evidence of what is right. One of

the things I want to do over the next year is to think about changes

like the stroke changes and think how we can make sure that the

evidence is available, that we can lead those in the future. There is

a risk of fragmentation but it is my job to make sure that is

minimise cost of briefly, do you trust the politicians? I have to,

they are my boss! Network Rail has been fined �1

million for breaching health and safety laws at a level crossing

where two schoolgirls were killed in 2005. Olivia Bazlington and

Charlotte Thompson were hit by a train as they crossed the tracks at

As the judge put it today, no fine could reflect the loss of two young

lives. Or the prolonged pain suffered by their families, ever

since six long years. He said Network Rail were guilty of what he

called Nora thinking and culpable corporate blandness and complacency.

-- narrow thinking. Two mothers are riding a tour -- Court. Olivia

Bazlington's mother and Charlotte Thompson's, entering the court with

their husbands. The judge said that impact statements from the families

had been deeply moving. They died instantly after opening the gate

while warning lights were flashing. They wanted to catch a train that

had just Paul Le Guen. They do not see the Stansted train hurtling

towards them a 65 mph. The coroner, along with an inquest jury, visited

the crossing into 1007, returning a verdict of accidental death. But

they were denied access to key documents, including a report from

a level crossing standards manager in 2001, warning that the risk of

disaster was real. A new footbridge has been installed at the station.

The pedestrian gates are now locked when a train is approaching. But it

How critical was the judge of Network Rail? Very critical. We did

not see any conspiracy. We saw warnings going unheeded, critical

questions unasked and unanswered. He said the level of complacency

entered the re all -- realm of criminality. Let's hear the

reaction of the families. I didn't really want to come to court. What

I wanted to do was to be able to go to parents' evening and here the

teachers say that she talked too much in class, to sit in the seat

when she took her driving test, cling to it and see her bring a bag

of washing home from university, seeing her walk down the aisle,

look into the eyes of her newborn babies. They took our daughters

from us. They broke our hearts. That is all I would like to save.

do believe that because of what has been done, because of what they

have done, that because they at least have meant that the railways

will be saved a. -- saver. We made some mistakes and that led to the

deaths. I also know that there is nothing I or my company can say

that can really deal with the pain that their families must feel. This

is a case where actions are just as Well, Network Rail said its

approach to level crossing safety has changed. It says it is

investing �130 million in improving railway crossing safety over the

next two years. Thank you very much. A controversial tactic used by the

police to control crowds has been ruled lawful by the European Court

of Human Rights. Oxford Circus was sealed off to contain 1500 people.

Today, the court found the tactic, known as kettling had not the

rights of a passer bi. It says the change will save more

than �5 million over a decade. The contract has gone to Capita. Unions

have condemned the decision, claiming it could mean profit is

put before safety. Two men have been jailed for robbing a Malaysian

student during the riots last summer, after pretending they were

coming to his aid. Reece Donovan, 22, was sentenced to five years for

violent disorder and for burging a Tesco store. John Kafunda was

sentenced to four years for robbery and violent disorder. The number of

farms in the southeast which have been affected by the Schmallenberg

virus has doubled in just two weeks. The infection causes lambs and

kafls to be still born or deformed. We have spoken to a livestock

farmer in Surrey. A difficult birth for this ewe. But a moment of great

relief for the farmer. So far, no sign of the Schmallenberg virus in

these newborns at Prestwick Farm in Surrey. Last week, this lamb was

one of the latest victims. angles of his legs were wrong. They

would normally come out streamline and birth is a flowing, natural

process. This lamb had come to a full stop. When I checked his legs

were at 90 degrees to where they should have been. With assistance

he came out, I did realise they were locked in that position.

number of farms in the area reporting deformities and

stillbirth has doubled to nearly 50 in the last two weeks. We don't

even know whether to replace our sheep because we might be buying in

infected sheep that we could be bringing in deformed lambs for next

year. Scientists at Pirbright are leading urgent Europe-wide research

into the virus. These are a few of the midges from the colonies here.

It is hoped they will provide vital clues for scientists trying to

understand more about the Schmallenberg virus and to stop it

spreading. So far, they believe it has been spread by biting midges

blown across the channel. We are to confirm that midges were involved

in the transmission. That will help us to understand how to control the

spread. The second area is to pick up antibodys in the blood spread of

infected animals. Farmers know a full vibg sin could take years --

Now, still to come: Why the Duchess of Cambridge joined

Team GB on the Olympic hockey pitch in East London.

As you may have heard, it is BBC News School Report Day. Hundreds of

school children have taken part doing what we do, making news. In a

moment I will speak to a couple of budding reporters from Chigwell

School. First here is their story about sexism in sport.

Hello. My name is Michael.

My name is Owen. My name is Aron. My name is Max. For our report we

decided to look at sexism in sport. We wanted to find out if the

Olympics would make a difference. We looked at coverage of women's

sport in newspapers. How does it compare? Well in our local

newspaper there are three times more male stories than women

stories. In our national papers there are ten times more. Next we

went to the hockey team. The men get a big audience. The women don't.

We asked a player. People should be credited on their success and not

take into consideration whether they are male or female. So three

of us are staying at school to produce our BBC school report.

and Michael are here at the Olympic Park. We are going to interview

Lord Coe. Is part of the Olympic legacy to help women get more

recognition in sport? If so, how will you help them do it? It is a

very important part of the legacy. We want more women off the back of

the Games to take up coaching. I have been speaking a few moments

ago, we have somebody who wants to be a PE teacher. That is important.

This is Michael and Owen at the Olympic Park, reporting for BBC

News school report. Well Michael and Owen, from Chigwell School are

with me now. Was it as you imagined being a reporter? Yes. Especially

asking questions to Lord Coe. It was amazing. Is it something you

thought about before? Say the option came up at school, I just

knew I wanted to do it. To get this far is amazing. What were the good

bits and what were the bad bits? bad bits today, definitely. It was

worrying when we were not sure what story we would do. Today was

probably the biggest highlight of it all. Like I said, meeting Lord

Coe. Having the whole experience. Amazing. What about a job now? Do

you think it will be for you? think it would be a great career to

go into. I was thinking of being a reporter of what you do. OK, well

here is your chance then. You take over the interview. When was the

last time you interviewed a female sports person? I would have to say

a year ago. What a good question. That shows how important your

report was. Let me get you to read the next bit of the news. Look at

the camera and do your bit. If you want to see our and other school

reports in full, from around London and the rest of the country, go to:

Wonderful! I think that is very good. You can do my job any time.

Thank you, boys. The Duchess of Cambridge has joined her father-in-

law and the Duchess of Cornwall in South London this afternoon. They

were in Dulwich to visit the oldest public art gallery.

While William is away Catherine spends time with the in-laws. It is

a chance for her to learn about being a working member of the Royal

Family. This is also another clear

indication that far from being left to her own devices while her

husband is away, Catherine is being supported by the Royal Family and

they are grooming her for the future. A Duchess she may be, but

it does not stop Catherine getting down to speak to children at their

level. It doesn't stop her getting stuck

in at the arts and crafts table. Her father-in-law joining in too.

Am I allowed? The relationship between the two is clearly relax

and cordial. Even ironing together for the sake of art.

Can I see your one? When it comes to banter, Catherine comes out on

top. I almost fainted when she spoke to me. I was terrified.

Because she is a princess. She said that it's a nice sunny day

and she asked me what my name was and where I got these flowers.

morning, she was at the Olympic Park, having a knock about with the

women's British hockey team. It was a sport she played at school. Now

she is an Olympic ambassador. Today's visit was another first for

Catherine. The first engagement with her in-laws. Next week she

will make her first speech at one of her charities. There's nothing

like learning on the job. OK, let's go over to Peter for a

OK, let's go over to Peter for a look at the weather forecast. $$

what a lovely day. It is a summer evening feel here in Trafalgar

Square. I have had to put my coat on because there is a chill in the

air. Earlier Gravesend was the hot spot. Got up to 19 Celsius. 66

Fahrenheit. 17 Celsius in East London. The average at this time of

year is closer to 11 Celsius. Because of the light winds over the

last few days pollution levels have picked up in central London. The

good news on that one is this evening the breeze will start to

freshen and blow that pollution away. It will start to blow some

cloud across our skies. So, over the next few hours, that cloud will

arrive. We will eventually end up with a cloud blanket tonight. That

means it will not be as cold as last night or as foggy. Yes, mist

and drizzle over the hills. Minimum temperatures around five Celsius.

Tomorrow, well tomorrow any dampness will go in the morning. It

will be a cloudy day. A bit of sunshine breaking through in the

afternoon. It will feel chillier than today in the breeze. The top

temperature tomorrow just 14 Celsius. This weekend, expect to

get wet. We are going to get some showers, longer spells of rain. A

lucky few might get as much as 25mms, or an inch of rain - welcome

rain, of course. The outlook is colder and the outlook, a lot

wetter. Back to you. Thank you very much for that.

OK, looking at tonight's main headlines: The BBC has seen leaked

documents which show a senior Merseyside police officer claimed

the Hillsborough disaster was the fault of drunken fans.

A Government commissioned report looking at a wide-ranging review of

the police service suggests police officers should be made to take an

annual fitness test with a pay cut if they repeatedly fail it. David

Cameron has visited Ground Zero to remember those who died in the 9/11

terror attacks. And the entire Board of Governors at a failing