16/04/2012 BBC London News

Tonight on BBC London News: Yet more hold-ups at Heathrow -

passengers face lengthy queues at immigration. A union warns of

problems for travellers flying in for the 2012 games. We have got the

Olympic period coming up. We predict there will be chaos.

And we will be live with the latest from Gatwick where a plane was

forced to make an emergency landing. Also tonight: There is no reason

why we should not be using this lane. Challenging the ban on using

bus lanes. The minicab company that is encouraging its drivers to break

the law. And recognised for many a hit West

End musical - we talk to Sir Tim Rice as he is honoured for his

Good evening and welcome to the programme. It has been a day of

disruption at the capital's two major airports. An emergency

landing by a Virgin aircraft bound for Orlando closed Gatwick for

almost two hours. While at Heathrow, thousands of passengers faced

delays at immigration this morning. It is the second time in less than

a week that lengthy queues have been reported at one of the world's

busiest airports. And today, a union warned of chaos during the

Olympics and called on the government to intervene. Let's get

more from Alice Bhandhukravi who is at Heathrow.

That is right. Once again, passengers facing long queues on

arrival at Terminal 5 and anecdotally at Terminal two. They

faced similar problems last week. The target for clearing passengers

through immigration is 25 minutes for EU passengers and 45 minutes

for passengers outside the EU. This morning, they had to wait a lot

longer. Welcome to Britain. Please form a very long queue. Pictures of

the crowds this morning hosted on social networking sites by

frustrated passengers. They were fed up. Others were not surprised.

Things will get worse. We have the Olympic period coming up. The union

is frantically trying to put in place some contingency plans to

deal with the increased flow and traffic. We believe there will be

chaos that that point for if they do not do anything about the

numbers. It is not the first time this summer we have heard that

warning. Today, some had to queue for two hours, it seems because of

staff shortages. The airports operator BAA says while it is a

matter for the Home Office and the border force, a peak waiting times

at Heathrow recently have been unacceptable. The airlines are also

having their say. We think it is regrettable that passengers are

facing delays. We think it is disappointing if it is a result of

the fact the UK Border 4th has not been able to commit itself to

giving the resources that it should dear. The UK Border force is

expected to announce the strategy for dealing with the travellers.

They said today queues were only slightly longer than normal but

patience is wearing thin. Today's kerfuffle is more embarrassment for

London which is the world hub for aviation and it really needs to act

like it. I can only imagine people will switch to serve the struggle

rather than relying on the air. That is not the kind of talk

airlines want to hear. What they and their passengers do want is

some good news from passport control.

We asked the UK Border force for an interview last week. We asked them

again today but they declined. They have sent us an out-of-date

statement which says the border force his busy -- prepared for the

busy Easter period and staff will be working to carry out vital

security checks. Easter is well and truly behind us that and those

reassurances will not do much to ease the growing pressure on the

border force to deal with the long queues and bring down the waiting

times in time for the Olympics. Thank you. And later in the

programme we will have the latest from Gatwick following the

emergency landing by a Virgin plane. Also coming up: Hoping to make a

splash at the Olympics - but could the Games be disrupted by

protesters angry over the choice of Drivers at one of the capital's

largest minicab companies are being told by their bosses to use bus

lanes, even though it breaks the law. Addison Lee is angry that

black-cab drivers can use their lanes but mini cabs cannot,

claiming it is discrimination. Transport for London say the

company is being utterly irresponsible. Here is our

transport correspondent Tom Edwards. There is no reason why we should

not be using this lane. John Griffin is the chairman of Addison

Lee private hire cars. This morning he told all his 3,500 drivers to

start using the capital's bus lanes. He says he will pay any of the

drivers' fines. We want to have a fair opportunity to compete. There

is nothing wrong with that. There is no reason why that taxi in

French should have preference over this taxi. We are both taxes. We

can only compete fairly if we are allowed into the same spaces as the

taxi -- taxi. Addison Lee used the same strategy on the M4 bus lane.

They told the drivers to Grote -- go in and got 200 tickets. The aim

was to have their day in court but before that could happen the lane

was scrapped. They have already got a judicial review on London's bus

lanes later in the year. They want action sooner. Not surprisingly

this plan has gone down badly with cyclists and black cabbies. If they

go in the bus lanes the bus lanes will grind to a halt. The major

point ways it is against the law. All at once is someone to enforce

the law. On the Euston Road this morning we did not see any of

Addison Lee's drivers using bus lanes. Although the company has

disputed it, TfL has warned drivers that if they going bus lanes they

could face criminal charges and have their licences revoked. It is

important that the black cabs are in the kerbside lane so if they are

hailed they can stop. Private hire cars are booked in advance. He

60,000 more vehicles going our bus lanes it will be bad news for bus

passengers and all the passengers in 24,000 taxes. Transport for

London say they are also considering legal options and could

revoke an assembly's operator's licence. The case will almost

certainly end up in court. The police watchdog has announced

tough action to tackle alleged racism in Britain's biggest force.

The IPCC says it will ask the Met to refer all allegations of racist

behaviour to its independent investigators. Last year there were

more than 250 complaints. It follows controversy over multiple

complaints of racism. Tube workers who maintain and

upgrade the lines have voted to strike. The RMT workers work on the

Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines but are - that are contracted

to Tube Lines. They want to join Transport for London's pension

scheme and get the same concessions. The latest poll has suggested that

the race for City Hall is still a close one. It puts Boris Johnson

six points ahead of Ken Livingstone, two points down from a poll two

months ago. David Cameron joined the Conservative candidate on the

campaign trail. Ken Livingstone promised to extend credit's tram.

A shout, a wave and a reassuring pat on the back. Followed by a few

more waves and then some handshakes. There must be an election on. They

do not always see eye-to-eye but it is in both these men's interests

for Boris Johnson to do well on May 3rd. This morning they met

entrepreneurs at the Hotel in London. A pulse just the current

mayor is more popular than his party is. His latest bid to win

City Hall is still a close call. Was it nice to have the Prime

Minister in tow was here hundreds? We have been able to make some

points to the Prime Minister about what London needs. The key thing I

would say is this city generates huge quantities in tax baguette

spent in the rest of the country. The Art Now we are making is that

London needs a bigger share of the resources it generates -- the

argument now. Can you tell us Prime Minister how important London is

for you? It is very important and Boris is doing a great job. Boris

has put the police back on the streets in London. Boris brings

people together. He is investing huge amounts of Transport and he is

firing up the city. He is the candidate who brings people

together, the others, particularly Livingstone, divides people. As for

the aforementioned Mr Livingstone, he was out in Croydon this morning,

promising to extend the tram link to Crystal Palace. Transport is a

key plank of his election campaign. South London has been the poor

relation in terms of the rail service. I was negotiating with the

last Labour government. It was agreed that there would take over

the franchises for the suburban rail network. We should have seen

real upgrades and improvements. None of that has happened. Both

candidates have made the most of what they can get from central

government. Now they have to deliver on those promises.

Meanwhile, someone else hoping to be elected mayor next month is the

candidate for the British National Party, Carlos Cortiglia. We will

speak to him in a moment. First, a round-up of his policies for London.

On transport he would abolish the congestion charge and residential

parking permits, claiming it is unfair for Londoners to be taxed

around their city. He would also provide free train and Tube travel

at weekends. He wants to introduce five-year minimum prison sentences

for knife crime. When it comes to immigration he says there is no

amnesty for illegal immigrants and the capital. And on planning, he

would increase the powers of City Hall, taking them away from

individual boroughs. We saw him earlier, Carlos

Cortiglia the BNP candidate is here. Good evening. Free travel for all

at weekends, that is a big gesture. It is an aspiration. We see what is

happening in London. There is a huge commitment for many years to

come. But we put there as an aspiration. What we think is fair

in terms of families, in terms of giving them access to London.

that combined with the Revenue you reduce -- news from their

congestion charge, when you have a cash black hole? We know the

transport needs investment. We know the budget is tight. We put on the

manifesto as an aspiration. So it is an aspiration but you do not

expect to deliver on it? We expect to deliver if it is possible to

deliver. What I criticise from the other mayoral candidates is all

these promises and all these numbers. People do not know where

it would come from. How much would it cost? I would say the cost of

the present budget as we see it is especially we were told him that

the budget for policing, we know the numbers for policing are going

down year on year. How much would your free travel at weekends cost

you? I would say I do not give appreciations are in terms of

numbers. So you have not worked it out yet? The point is I do not

think any of the candidates including Boris Johnson have worked

it out yet. They do not have a magic ball to determine what will

be the weight of inflation or the weight of council tax in their

budgets. We know when they cut housing subsidies and where they

cap subsidies for council tax payers, them - that the amount of

money will be less. You say you want a minimum five year prison

sentence for knife crime, that is not in the Mayor's powers, is it?

The policies are things we will be paying for. When we talk about not

just crime. One item in the news was about police and cases of

racism... Let's just stick with a knife crime. The minimum sentence

that you are campaigning for can only be introduced by an Act of

Parliament and you do not have any MPs to support it so it is not

within the Mayor's power, is it? is not but the Mayor has a

political influence to set the political agenda. I was in Moscow

when I saw the riots in London. He was a shambles. It was an absolute

shambles. The police force was present in some cases and they were

doing nothing because they did not have the orders. In other cases

they were absent. I say to, policing which is one subject which

is dear to my heart, they talk a water cannons and they talk that

more representative measures and pepper spray, if the programmes are

social we can... At the last election, Your leader stood

embarking way had 12 councillors and he came third. The BNP was

wiped off the council. Does that suggest the BNP is a spent force in

London? What happened to the Conservative Party in 1997, they

were a spent force when they lost in Scotland and Wales and now look,

they are in power. So, the political life of the country will

change and the Labour Party when some and the Conservative Party

when some but sooner or later On our website, you can find more

information on the election campaign.

With just over 100 days to go until the Olympics, organisers are making

final preparations while athletes test that the venues. There are

several protest groups joining forces to make their voices heard

over the choice of sponsors. Olympics correspondent Adrian

Warner looks at whether their campaign could overshadow the

sporting action. Ladies with a professional smile

are having the last laugh. Synchronised swimmers from around

the world today testing out the pool at the Aquatics Centre. Two

years ago, people joked that they would have to give away tickets to

this sport to fill the stands. How wrong they were, all the tickets

are sold out months before the Games. The sell-out of tickets has

been amazing. My mother struggled to get tickets. It is crazy, really

good for the sport. This thought is the barometer of the success of the

ticket sale. 2012 cannot start celebrating yet, however, because

there are plenty of problems on the horizon. Like the increasing

criticism of the commercial backers of the game's. Today human rights

and environmental groups joined forces to launch a campaign against

three sponsors. These are the animated films they have put on the

internet to attack the record of Dow Chemical, BP and Rio Tinto,

which mines the metal for the medals. Until the London Organising

Committee take some notice and meet with the protesters and look at the

symbolic ways they can demonstrate that they are listening, I do not

think it will stop. All three companies have defended their

ethical record, but child obesity experts have now also criticised

the choice of McDonald's and Coca- Cola as international sponsors.

think it is terribly sad that an event that is there to celebrate

athleticism and health and fitness should have become so dependent on

huge global sponsors that are partly responsible for the

overweight people we see today in Western countries. Both coat and

McDonnell's say they have an important role to play and making

the games happen, but the danger of 2012 is that these protests could

upset the sport. -- both Coke and McDonald's.

Still to come, recognised for his contribution to theatre, we hear

from certain rise as he picks up and Olivier Award. -- Sir Tim Rice.

They have traditionally been associated with rural life and

village greens, but now resident in the heart of London could be asked

if they want a parish council. Westminster will decide tonight

whether to hold a referendum on setting up a parish council in

Queens Park, the first in London for nearly half a century. Sonja

Jessup reports. On this estate, thousands of

flowers are being left at the spot where a boy was stabbed four years

ago. The Queen's Park Ward is among the most deprived in Westminster,

but a local group is having a parish council would give them the

power to make a difference. What captures people's interest is local

residents actually doing for themselves. You cannot sit back and

expect the powers-that-be to do it for us. We have to take a lead on

keeping our community up. Ideas include turning disused buildings

into community centres, holding events to bring different parts of

the neighbourhoods together, but the group will have to convince

local people that a parish council is worth paying for. Residents

would have to pay up to �44 per yet starve their council tax, although

those on lower incomes may be exempt. Still a hard silent times -

- still a hard sell in times when money is tight. I would not want to

pay extra for money that Sir -- For services that should be provided

anyway. We are from the Campaign Group. They have already gathered

1,600 signatures of support. I do not reach for my wallet with a big

grin on my face, thinking, extra money! It is not something I would

be happy to do, but I am prepared to do it. It would be people living

within the area, rather than people coming in and telling you what to

do. Tonight Westminster Council will decide whether to formally ask

residents what they think in a referendum. If the people here were

to say yes to a parish council, it is thought that those living in

other parts of London could push for one, too.

He is the man who put the lyrics into some of the West End most

successful musicals, including Jesus Christ superstar, The Lion

King and Evita, and last night he was recognised for his outstanding

contribution to musical theatre with a special Olivier Award. We

will talk to him in a moment, but Sir Tim Rice joins me now, good

evening. You have been in the business decade and had an impact

on the West End, how did it feel being recognised for your work?

Very nice, very kind of them to recognise that I am still around.

Ironically, I had not done very much in the last 10 years for the

West End, and I'm just getting back into the theatre, I have a new show

in the works called From Here to eternity, and I am hopeful it will

be on the West End stage around about this time next year. A lot of

people will say, you should be sitting back and retiring...

would say that, forget other people! Why it keeps you so

enthused about theatre? Sometimes it is difficult to get enthused

when you have been around a long time. I think working on my new

show with younger, newer people, who are very talented, has been a

great help. I am working with the young composer, Stuart Grayson, and

a younger director, tomorrow Davey, and they give me the kick up the

backside that I need at times. were talking earlier about whether

the lyrics of the music comes first. From your experience, what does

come first? Or is it a true collaboration? It is a true

collaboration, did I say that right?! It is a true collaboration!

Basically, with a musical, you have to get the story right, that has to

come first. Most composers write tunes without lyrics, and then I

put the lyrics on, but Elton John, with whom I did songs for the Lion

King, the likes words first. Every single hit he has written with

Bernie Taupin, Burney wrote his bit first. It is sometimes lyrics first,

but in every case with the musical, it has got to the story first. The

story is the thing that drives any show. When you pick up your ward

last night, the musical Matilda won a record seven Oliviers. With no

celebrity names in the past, is there an over-reliance at the

moment on celebrities? No, I don't think so. The Lion King did not

have a big name in it. Elaine Page was not well known when we did

Evita. Superstar never had big names. If big names are right for

the part, great, but you want the actor, the singer who is right for

the part, that is more important than a star name, unless you have a

really terrible show! Thank you for joining us, congratulations once

again. Time for a check on the weather

with Wendy Hurrell, Trafalgar If you are desperately trying to

keep things alive in the garden or allotment, you can have a few days

off from letting the watering can around, because it is going to be

wet and fairly windy as well. If we look at the satellite picture, you

can see the first bits of plant ageing in from the West. That will

bring rain through the night tonight, and it is associated with

a tangle of weather front overnight tonight and in due tomorrow

introducing the first batch of rain this week. Then the low pressure

system sits around the Midlands. It will be quite blustery outside, but

in the middle of very little wind. There could be a lot of rain in one

particular place. It is funny to say at the moment, because this

evening it is beautiful at the moment. As we go through the night,

it will cloud over, and the first bits and pieces of rain will come

after midnight into the early hours. All of that means it will not be as

chilly as previous nights, four Celsius tonight. It does mean a wet

and windy rush-hour tomorrow, and your brolly will be doing its best

to blow inside out. The rain moves through in the second part of the

morning, and then we will have showers following after that. They

were 10 quite blustery. Before that, temperatures up to 14 degrees.

Thundery showers, and inland they will be quite slow-moving. The

outlook is for sunshine to return on Thursday and Friday, but keep

The latest now on the emergency landing and evacuation of a Virgin

plane at Gatwick today after a technical problem was discovered

which led to delays and cancellations. Simon Clemison is

there now. What is this situation? Well, the situation, as you can

possibly hear, is that planes are taking up again. That is the Virgin

Atlantic plane which made the emergency landing. Take a good look,

that is the good news for London, it is off the runway, and that

means that planes are taking off and landing again. There is a

little bit of disruption, 26 DI versions, nine cancellations, but

if you consider that there are about 700 flights coming in and out

every day, that is not too bad. -- DI versions. That disruption is not

expected to get any worse tomorrow. The chief executive of Virgin has

told us that not long after the plane took off, there were alarms

sounding, so it had to be brought back into land. The passengers were

taken down escapes lights. We understand it was pretty calm and

orderly. As you can imagine, there was some tension, and that is how

people ended up with injuries. The big question now is what was the

technical fault, and that is what investigators will be trying to

find out. Simon Clemison at Gatwick, thank you for the update. A

reminder of the main news: The man accused of killing his 77 people in

Norway last July has pleaded not guilty at the opening of his trial.

Anders Breivik admitted carrying out the attacks but denied criminal

responsibility, saying he was acting in self-defence. That is it