05/02/2014 BBC London News

had a "good record" of helping women but was determined to 8

Tonight on BBC London News: A day of disruption as the tube strike brings

misery for millions across the capital. I will sleep in the office

if I can get there. I think that might be the best. I am at Warren

Street which is closed. How serious has the disruption been? The Prime

Minister condemns the strike as Number Ten confirms it is looking at

plans to curb future walk`outs. We'll have the latest developments

from above and below ground. Also tonight... Prince Charles visits

Tottenham and meets a family finally returning home two years after the

riots. Plus... A prince of another sort. The pop star re`launches his

career with a secret gig in Camden. Good evening. It was a case of who

to believe today with both sides in the tube strike making their own

claims about the impact of day one in the dispute. Transport bosses

said that more than a third of services were operating, while the

unions claimed that the disruption was far worse. But, whatever the

statistics, the overwhelming picture for passengers was one of closed

stations, overcrowded trains and a chaotic commute into the capital.

The Prime Minister today joined the Mayor in condemning the two 48`hour

walk`outs, with Number Ten promising to look at plans to curb future

strike action on the underground. We'll have more on that in just a

moment but first our transport correspondent, Tom Edwards, is at

Warren Street. Yes, this is what greeted commuters today. Many

commuters. 80 stations have been closed across the network. A big

pile of Evening Standard newspaper. They have not been taken. This has

been a day of disruption for commuters. Immiscible commute home

for many this evening after an equally miserable trip into work. ``

a miserable mute. Yell Ait does make it a bit harder. I think it is

outrageous they can do this. First thing, there were queues at Baker

Street just before 7pm. No cheap but the buses were already busy. There

are twice as many people as usual. There are also queues at Stanmore.

London Underground promised some service for commuters. Slowly, and

some services did start to run. This was the Victoria line where 80

stations did not open at all. There were picket lines from the two

unions whose members walked out releasing this picture of Waterloo,

unions claimed the system was dangerously overcrowded in places.

They say crowd control measures have been in place. At London Bridge

some commuters wanted tougher action. He met with ambassadors from

TEFL, staff members volunteering to help. Do you think you have oversold

the level of service? There were big queues at stations. We have eight

out of 11 lines running. I want to thank everyone who has turned up.

Thank you for what you are doing for London. We will urge everyone else

to come and help out. It will be a tough day for many people. The

picture was not clear`cut. Trains were meant to run on the Bakerloo

but it was shut. While the Victoria line had a service, Finsbury Park

and Oxford Circus had to be closed at various points due to

overcrowding. Unions claimed Bunny a skeleton service was running.

Everyone in London knows there is a problem. The mayor is not talking to

the trade unions. Everyone in London knows there is a problem regarding

industrial relations on the London underground. What they should have

done is dealt with this far differently. Commuters have mixed

feelings about the strike. There are different ways to sort out a

dispute. It is down to dialogue and talking. Talks have not progressed

in the way they could have done It is one of those things. Elsewhere,

the roads were much busier. At Mile End, buses were full and were not

able to stop. Six buses have passed so far. They were all packed. They

started at 6am with the first sailing carrying trouble what it

would normally carry. `` treble The bad news for commuters is they will

have to face all of this again tomorrow. We will have more from Tom

later in the programme. Now let s join our reporters who are out and

about. Nick is on Marylebone Road. Let's cross to Tara, who is

underground. I am broadcasting to you live on the Bakerloo line at

Oxford station. It looks very quiet. They are exercising some crowd

control upstairs. They are closing the gates every five to ten minutes,

holding the crowds back. There are much fewer trains running tonight. I

used to get this line home and trains would run everyone to two

minutes. As you can see, it is more like every six, seven or eight

minutes. At the Victoria line, it is much busier on the platform with

trains running about every seven to eight minutes as well. You can hear

more from my colleague, Nick, who is at street level. It is a pretty

miserable picture above ground. The traffic is extremely busy tonight.

The reason is because of this. Great Portland Street, one of many cheap

stations shut this evening, people are not going underground. They are

queueing up for buses. Some people have been getting on the extra

buses. Buses and extra cars have been jostling position with taxis on

the roads. I spoke to a handful of companies who said, it has been

mayhem. They gave up taking bookings this afternoon. TEFL has said people

have taken a lot more Boris bike journeys today. The reality this

evening for people trying to get home, it'll be a frustrating time.

It is not over yet. Once people are home, they have the prospect of

doing it all again tomorrow morning as they tried to get back into work.

With me now is Mike Brown, managing director of Transport for London. We

did invite both the RMT and the TSSA into the studio but they weren't

available. Good evening. We have heard the situation and seen for

ourselves the situation today. You have been accused of underestimating

the impact of the strike. Did you? I do not think so. We know from Oyster

data that 38% of normal journeys took place. Those are real

statistics. They are available from our database. I do not want to

underestimate the disruption this cause to Londoners. Nobody would say

it has been easy. Of course the roads have been more congested. We

put 170 additional buses on as well to help with that. The journeys have

been slower for people. The tube on the Northern line has been running a

good service pretty much all day. These were restricted services.

People go to a station and do not necessarily have an idea as to

whether the station will be open or they will have a train. We have

tried to give as much information as possible. We do not know until the

moment they turn up whether they will or not. I have been speaking to

four people at Oxford circus who get the Bakerloo line. A lot of people

did turn up that we did not expect. Some did not in various places. We

could not run the Bakerloo line until later in the day. The best

advice for people is to follow the website, the travel advice. That

will give the absolute up to date information. Most people have mobile

devices and access to that now. ) you cannot deny it has been chaotic.

People just want the information they need to plan their day and know

whether they should even be going to work. That is what they are telling

us. I looked at it from about 5am. I know the information is being

uploaded. It is a berry changing picture. If people are able to

stagger their journeys, that helps hugely, maybe wait until after the

peak travel at less busy times. Be patient for the people who are at

work. It is Londoners who are being inconvenienced. We are hearing

noises about a possible deal. I have had three or four months of trying

to get around the table with the RMT and the other trade unions. It is

very difficult to have discussions with an empty chair. I thought there

was going to be a deal but it was scuppered by people in the trade

unions. That is a shame. The only way to resolve this is round the

table. There has to be more than one person round the table. Do you think

next week 's strike will go ahead? Sign up and I want to make sure we

get around the table as quickly as possible. Today, the Prime Minister

condemned the tube strike and Number Ten have said they are looking very,

very closely at plans to declare London Underground an essential

service to curb the threat of future strikes. They were however cautious

about the Mayor's calls for a 5 % ballot threshold before a union can

engage in industrial action. Our political correspondent reports now

on the right to strike. On a day like today, you might expect weary

Londoners to have a less than charitable view of the union, whose

action has led to scenes like this. But people were taking leaflets from

the strikers and plenty had sympathy with their cause There's a similar

law in New York, where strikes aren't allowed. The station should

be manned. We are not against you but you do not strike. You are

putting a lot of people to a lot of pain and suffering and they do not

get paid. There should be more consultation with the union about

employment changes. It would be a shame to lose a lot of people that

work here. On Prime Minister's Question Time, there was no sitting

on the fence. There is no justification for a strike. We need

a modern eyes chew blind. Downing Street said this sort of disruption

was unacceptable. We are told the Prime Minister is looking very

seriously at plans to label the London underground and essential

service. That, in the future, means that strikes of this sort would need

to provide a minimum level of service for its passengers. This is

over a dispute over pay and conditions. There is a similar law

in New York where strikes are not allowed. The subway has had just

three strikes. After the last one in 2005, the local union was fined more

than $2 million. Tonight, the Business Secretary told BBC London

he disagreed with changing the law. There are many essential services.

The London tube is one. Schools hospitals, the police and many other

activities would qualify as an essential service. Changing

industrial relations to deal with one particular strike is a very bad

idea. But London's Mayor wants to go even further, banning strikes unless

there is a 50% turn out for the strike ballot. I am not taking a

lecture from Boris Johnson. He is running a large authority. Why

should trade unions have different regulations? It is picking on trade

unions. Conservative sources said today they were considering a range

of options over strike action that may be included in their next

general election manifesto. Coming up later... The latest travel

information you'll need to help get around. Plus... No, not the tube

strike. Find out why hundreds of people waited in the rain in Camden

this afternoon. The Prince of Wales has been in

Tottenham today and met one of the families who lost their home in the

London riots in 2011, after their building was set on fire. Two and a

half years on, one of the Prince's Charities is still working with

businesses to help regenerate the area.

Tolson has become accustomed to this royal visitor. `` Tottenham. The

Prince's Trust helped to get former prison inmate Jeanna back on her

feet. I was doing a sentence in Holloway and that is where I met the

Prince's Trust. It gave me a chance but thought I would never have. It

helped me set up a florist doing business. Now I have three

businesses within four and a half years. The riots in 2011 stimulated

a lot of soul`searching. The regeneration plans are given a sense

of urgency by the social unrest and the devastation it caused. I

recalled Prince Charles speaking to me on the phone asking what he could

do. I said, you can come and you can keep coming back. This is the fourth

occasion, bringing his charities and making a difference in the

community. One family could now tell Prince Charles it is only weeks to

Lake can move back in. At the moment, we live in temporary

accommodation. At the end of April this year, we will be able to move

back into our old place. It will be ready. They will hand over the keys

by the end of April. Since 2011 the local authority has seen a shift in

perception amongst investors. They are more willing to consider

positively the regeneration possibilities on the back of the

Tottenham Hotspur commitment to stay. We found, talking to

investors, people are sceptical Now they are knocking on the door of the

council saying they want to be part of it. ?10 million is going into the

tube station. Hundreds of homes and new transport links. New businesses.

The Phoenix rising from the ashes tells its own story of 2014

Tottenham. It was a surprise that shocked and

delighted fans in Camden last night. American singer Prince flew into

London and performed an impromptu gig for just 300 fans at the

Electric Ballroom. Tonight he's back at the same venue to promote his new

album. Fans have been queuing all night for the tickets that will be

released in the next ten minutes. Our reporter, Chris Rogers, joined

the queue. The last time Prince performed in

London he spent 21 nights playing to fans at the O2 Arena. Seven years on

and he hit the stage at the smaller electricity or in in Camden. The

audience of just 300 heard tracks from his new album which he recorded

with an all`female trio. Queues formed outside the venue as rumours

of the gig began to circulate on social media. And the fans are not

letting the tube strike or the weather beat them. He could have

released them on the Internet and have a bigger gig. That is not how

Prince works. Could he not release them on the Internet like normal

people? We would not have got them. You have to put in the work to get a

ticket. Last night, Prince visited the Hackney home of soul singer

Lianne La Havas. He described his London trip as open`ended. This got

us down here. Rinse's Camden shows may be causing a stir but his

comeback single is failing to do the same and it could not make it into

the charts `` prints's Camden shows may be causing a stir.

Returning to our top story, the tube strike. And with millions of people

trying to find alternative ways to get around the capital, it was the

bus, to which many of them turned. Despite operators putting on 20

extra buses, it wasn't enough to help everyone, as Gareth Furby

discovered in the queue for the 139 at Waterloo. Waiting and waiting for

the 139 bus. Londoners and visitors to London, all with stories to tell

of how their day was disrupted. This couple came to London from

Bournemouth for a hospital checkup on a tumour in her neck. This is the

follow`up. Tried to get a taxi but there were none to be had. We walked

down here to get a bus to Marilyn Bowen and we are waiting in a long

queue. # a bus to Marylebone. Then there was a recruitment consultant

trying and failing to get to Bond Street. It has taken me two hours to

get to Waterloo. We have another two days of this. I might sleep in the

office. That might be best. And Paula is an acupuncturist. It is

frustrating because we are all trying to do our jobs. I have been

here for an hour trying to get out of Waterloo. How do you feel about

that? I want to murder someone! As they waited, it was friendly and

orderly but then a bus arrived. At this point, it is each to their

own. This is like the cop in Liverpool! Write down the back,

please. After a crash, our three managed to get on. Squeeze down I

can imagine how sardines feel. I think we are packed in now. Thanks,

driver, for your cooperation. But left behind, a businessman from

Sweden who decided to head to Heathrow rather than attend an

exhibition. What you think of good old Britain? It is interesting to

learn the transportation culture of London. Tomorrow on the 139 it will

be the same thing all over again. On that note, let's get a picture of

the latest travel situation with Alice Bhandukravi, as much as we

can. It is a changing picture. At the

moment, TFL are saying a third of tube services are running and 7 % of

stations are open but that is changing hour by hour, depending on

the pressure on the system and the number of people using the systems.

The Bakerloo line is up and running. Several lines have no service at

all, those are the Circle Line and Waterloo and City Line. There is a

limited service on the Central Line and the Piccadilly Line. There is no

service operating through the central areas, only at the west and

East End of the line. There are some services to Heathrow but only from

Acton Town. The District Line, Metropolitan line and Hammersmith

and City Line, some trains are running but not stopping at certain

stations. On the Jubilee Line, there are trains running and on the

Northern line, there is no service to Mill Hill East and trains are not

stopping at all stations. On the Victoria Line, there are trains

running between seven sisters and Brixton. As if things were not as

bad as it is, train services have been disrupted throughout the day.

There have been delays and cancellations for southeastern

services. Southeastern Railway says it is running as many trains as

possible to get people home during the strike. Looking ahead to

tomorrow, Transport for London says it hopes to put on a similar service

as it did today but there are no guarantees and the situation will be

changing throughout the morning commute.

Thank you. Time now to go back to our transport correspondent Tom

Edwards. There are noises that a deal could be on the way so next

week's strike could be off. Both sides will claim today as a success

of sorts but the big question is, why do we go from here? I am hearing

more positive noises from both sides. That means perhaps we might

get more talks at ACAS over the next coming days. That might be good news

for the strike planned for next week, not so good news for commuters

tomorrow. Thank you. Time now to get a check

on the weather with Wendy. It was really blustery and we had

the rain as well, it added to our misery across London today, I am

afraid. There is going to be more rain. We can get used to the warning

for the rain. That will be with us from tomorrow afternoon, right the

way through to Saturday. At least tonight, it is becoming drier and

there will be lighter winds as well. It is fairly blustery out there The

showers might be on the heavy side. They will blow us home. As we go

through tonight, those showers are tending to die out. There will be

some clear skies and the wind will fall a little bit lighter.

Temperatures will dip to 46 degrees. Bright enough for that full to work

tomorrow morning `` 4`6 degrees As we go through the afternoon, it will

cloud over and start to rain. Once it does, it will not stop. We have

an amber weather warning for the Met Office for parts of Surrey, Sussex

and Kent. We could get 50 millilitres of further rain falling

across saturated ground. The rest of London and the Home Counties are

covered by a yellow warning for rain. The low pressure system moves

away from us as we go through Friday leaving a brief ridge of high

pressure before the next system comes in. Friday night into Saturday

brings us another spell of rain and some windy weather as well. We are

not out of the woods yet. Friday, dry conditions after a wet Thursday.

There will be a bit of a breeze blowing once again. It turns wet

overnight. Saturday will have some heavy rain and heavy showers. There

will be strong winds as well. For Sunday, something a bit dryer at

least. It looks like a wet February. Thank you. That is it for now. I

will be back with the latest for you during the ten o'clock News. From

all of us on the team, thank you for watching and enjoy your evening

goodbye. NICK CLEGG: Are you in,

or are you out? That's the real question at stake at

the European elections on May 2 nd. even though that would wreck

the recovery and destroy jobs. The Conservatives are now

openly flirting with exit, and the Labour Party, well, they

just don't have the courage