27/02/2014 BBC London News

-- treasured past. There is a first look at

Good evening. Criticism over bankers' bonuses has resurf`ced

after The Royal Bank of Scotland announced it was paying nearly 600

million in bonuses despite the bank making annual losses of just over ?8

billion. The MEP who pushed through European legislation to curb bonuses

has compared bankers to drug dealers and says the city is better off

without the bonus culture. This is a picture postcard

brussels, the square in the centre of the old town has been attracting

visitors for centuries. It hs as popular as ever. Once the hdart of

the city's power, it is now the heart of the tourist trade. Some

parts of Brussels have not `lways been popular, particularly hn

England. We are here at the European Parliament and it is legisl`tion

past year that could soon bd hitting the pockets of the wealthiest in

London. They will be the people in the city, because laws across the

Channel have curb bankers' bonuses in Britain. London is a citx like no

other. I would doubt that bonus limitations would be enough of an

incentive to huge chunks of the industry moving out. Then again you

have to decide. Sorry for the comparison, but if drug dealers are

infesting my neighbourhood, when they move out, I will not complain.

This is Ross McEwan, the chhef executive at RBS, the bank largely

owned by the taxpayer that lost more than ?8 billion last year. Ht pay

bonuses to its staff of mord than half ?1 million, justified, says the

boss, to keep the talent in the capital. I cannot afford to have my

mortgage advisers are walking away, I cannot afford to lose those who

work with corporate customers to go elsewhere because I cannot pay them.

The city as 20 by billion pounds to the London economy. We live in a

globally competitive world `nd you will not be surprised to he`r that

places like the US and Asia are not following your's lead on thhs

because you have to pay for top talent. What do you want me to do?

Can we act on the mindset? That is a hard thing to do. Greed is not

something you can eliminate through legal ways. It will take more than

visits from top bankers to help mend the industry's image. They know the

public and politicians are watching. I wrote in Kennington in sotth

London has been flooded aftdr a large water main burst. London Fire

Brigade has been unable to confirm whether or not it is a sewage pipe.

Part of Clapham Road has bedn closed. Our reporter is there for us

now. The water is coming from three holes

in the middle of the road. Ht is believed to be caused by a burst

pipe. The road looks like a river, the road is completely covered and

there is a police cordon here. It goes on for about 400 metres. The

Fire Brigade are here as well and they have been giving out s`ndbags

to residents who live in basement flats because the concern is there

is sewage in this water. People have been told to stay in their homes,

but people who are not in their homes cannot get through thd cord

on. The emergency services `nd the water board are meeting to try and

resolve this. The Metropolitan police has been questioned over

plans to buy water cannon ftnded by the Mayor.

A report by the London Asselbly argues there is not a strong enough

case for their use and is urging the decision to be delayed until the

Home Secretary says it can be used across the country.

Contradictory and unconvinchng, that is the damning verdict on the case

for these to be used in London. Once upon a time the Mayor agreed. We do

not have water cannons and rubber bullets. Do you think we should I

would be most unhappy to sed us go that way. He has been one around to

buying second`hand water cannon He says there are a couple of hncidents

is a year when they can be tsed For decades now we have had peaceful

protests. We have had this order, but what happened in the 2001 riots

has showed that what the police got wrong was their tactics, thdy did

not have the intelligence and they did not get officers on the ground

quick enough. The Met says they have learnt from that and if thex have,

they should not need water cannon. The riot many believe showed up how

water cannon is an out of d`te tactic. The riots may have started

here, but they spread to other parts of London, organised using social

media. There are doubts over whether a slow, cumbersome, heavy phece of

kit like a water cannon would be much use. In Tottenham todax, a

community event aimed at engaging the young Londoners and manx people

feel this is worth money should be invested. Is better. It is not great

to think that would be used on the streets of London. Where yot have a

violent mob with petrol bombs being thrown and paving stones behng

broken up and thrown at polhce, where it is very intense, on those

rare occasions it is import`nt the police should have that fachlity. It

is a resource everyone hopes would be rarely seen or used, so hs it

worth having? Now it is over to Elizabeth for the weather.

We have had sightings of thd Northern lights over parts of Essex

because it is so clear. But it is not going to stay that way for very

long. It could turn a bit whntry over the higher ground, particularly

over the Chilterns. A rather cold night. It will stay chilly tomorrow

as well. There will be more outbreaks of rain, particul`rly in

the rush hours. A cold, grex field to things, feeling raw and we could

see sleep around as well. It is not looking too bad at the weekdnd.

looking too bad at the weekend. Bash Street. I have got some wintry

weather to talk about tonight and that has been a rare occurrence

during this current winter. There will be a touch of frost and it

could lead to icy patches across Northern Ireland and south-west

Scotland. There is snow in the forecast as well. The Northern

lights have been making an appearance in the evening. They had

been reported in Essex and reporters in south Wales as well. But the

light show is coming to an end as this arrives. This will be quite

lively in the South West with strong gusts of wind in Cornwall and the

Isles of Scilly. Further north the winds are lighter and it brings the

risk of ice. In the South temperatures stay above freezing. We

will be seeing rain as that weather system pushes in. As you can see

there will be a bit of snow, but