22/02/2017 London News

A reminder of the day's main story... The

I could not be more pleased to be appointed as the Commissioner. It is

beyond my wildest dreams. A new woman in charge

of policing the capital. We explore the challenges facing

the new Met Police Chief. The police need to rethink how they

are spending their recent is. Work very closely with low local

communities. The rise in race hate crime and that kind of thing.

The Mayor welcomes the appointment but expresses concern

How these dogs can be life-savers for some veterans -

helping them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

And we ask the Director behind this Star Wars film why he's

turning his hand to slapstick comedy on stage.

Hello and a very warm welcome to the programme

So, today the Metropolitan Police got a new boss

and the capital a new Commissioner in charge of keeping our city

Cressida Dick has been described as an exceptional leader

But her appointment hasn't been without criticism.

She was the commander of the operation that led

to the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005.

She returns to the Met with over 30 years of service under her belt.

But what are the challenges facing the first woman to head the Force?

Here's our home affairs correspondent, Nick Beake.

Outside the Metropolitan Police's new headquarters their new

It is beyond my wildest dreams, an extraordinary

I think it is the world's greatest global city.

And I love policing and I love the Met.

But the appointment is controversial.

Cressida Dick was in charge of the operation 12 years ago

in which an innocent man was shot dead at Stockwell underground

The Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was mistake

for a suicide bomber a fortnight after the 7/7 attacks.

A jury later found she bore no personal

I'm completely confident and delighted that we have

a candidate who is going to take this on, who is

going to be excellent in

She has shown the right leadership potential, not the way

Cressida Dick takes the top job at a time when crime is on the rise.

So what do Londoners want the police to prioritise?

Online crime including online fraud and online

For me there is a lack of investment in local policing.

We recently lost our local police station, it has been sold and turned

I would quite like the rise in race hate crime and that

kind of thing to be addressed because we are a multicultural city

My son, at the age of 17, his life was suddenly taken away...

In North London today a mum tells schoolchildren about her unbearable

loss. Her son was stabbed to death in 2010. She has campaigned

tirelessly to reduce knife crime but it is now on the rise. I would like

the Commissioner to ensure police officers work very closely with the

local communities to ensure they build trust. I would also like the

officers to find out the reasons why young people are carrying knives in

the first place. But less money could mean a drop in the number of

police officers. The rank and file worry it could fall to below 30,000.

I can't see how we can be tracked the streets in the same way we do

now with 2500 to 3000 less policemen. It will have a massive

effect. Another concern is how to stop young London Londoners being

radicalised. I think it is incredibly important that we have a

Commissioner that has compassion and has the approach where you could

speak to the youth of London or of this country and embrace them. So

many challenges, rising crime and less money. The new boss may soon

discover it is tough at the top. Well, let's cross

to New Scotland Yard where the announcement

was officially made earlier today and our political correspondent,

Karl Mercer, is there for us. Nick mentioned many challenges. Yes,

and they will all take place here. A shiny new building but also a shiny

new Commissioner. A couple of hours Cressida Dick came here with Amber

arrived and the Maher had a meeting and then effaced the cameras. She

said the job was beyond her wildest dreams. In the last half-hour she

has had a meeting with the man she is replacing where they talked over

some of the challenges. But as Nick was saying she will be aware of

them. She spent many years at the Met. She will be aware that many

people have questioned her appointment because of her

involvement in the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting. But possibly her

biggest challenge ahead will be the financial one. She will know she

will have less money to police London than her predecessor. I spoke

to the mayor earlier and asked him why Cressida Dick was the woman to

take the matter forward. She has huge experience both in the

police service, most recently at the Foreign Office and also in the

previous force she served on. She has previous experience in security

issues, they'd issued influence in the Olympics and the Diamond

Jubilee. She is excessively prosecute eight two men involved

with Stephen Lawrence. When the outgoing commissioner has mourned

thousands of officers could be lost, the Police Federation said today

they believed up to 3000 officers could go. There are challenges

facing the police service because of the Government's cuts over the last

six-year is. To give you an idea of the scale of the challenge we face,

over the last six years we have lost more than 600 million pounds from

the police budget. Over the next four years we will use another ?400

million. We may lose further money. Do you share the concerns of the Met

Federation that London could lose thousands of officers? If it is the

case that the Government changes the funding formula which means we could

lose up to ?700 million. The Expos last year but which predicted

between 170 and 70 million. Officers may be lost full stop day one of the

Cressida Dick. What will be on her desk from you? She knows the

challenges we faced. She knows the challenges we face in relation to

terrorism, knife crime. She recognises that hate crime has gone

up in the recent past but also cybercrime is on the increase. I

suspect other know this from interviews, she has restarted her

homework in relation to making sure she hits the ground running.

And our home affairs correspondent, Nick Beake, joins me.

Put this into context for us - how significant is this appointment?

In the 180 80 history of the match they have had captains, colonels,

generals, but never before a woman. It is a significant moment. Cressida

Dick made history when she became the country's first female top

counterterrorism officer. She has made history again today. She is

extremely popular with the rank and file. She is fixed at knowledge to

be extremely intelligent and very good tactician. But her name is

still associated with Jean Charles de Menezes and tonight his family

have released a statement condemning her appointment, saying it sends the

message that police officers can act with impunity. In contrast, Theresa

May has said she believes she has an outstanding record of public service

and exceptional qualities. It is clear she will need them because she

is now responsible for keeping London and the rest of the country

safe from the ongoing terror threat. Also she will have to try to curb

this recent rise in various types of crime. And of course the context for

that is having to save millions of pounds. And I tell you what, she

worked for two years as an accountant before she joined the

Met, back in 1983. Cressida Dick, all these years on, may well find

that a flair for figures could serve her well as she starts this new job

and starts tackling these new issues. An insight into London's new

police chief, there. You're watching BBC

London News, coming up later: I'll be reporting on plastic

pollution - how drinking water bottles are blighting the ecosystem

on the River Thames. Commuters on one

of the capital's busiest tube lines have been facing major disruption

today, due to a strike by drivers. The walk-out also shut down the

Waterloo and City line completely. What's more, there was yet another

strike on Southern Rail. Here's our transport

correspondent Tom Edwards. This was Ilford Tube station just

after 7am this morning, as commuters from Essex,

reliant on the Central line, faced long delays, due to the strike

action by drivers. I don't know whether I'm going to be

in time for my meeting. At Bank, the drain,

or the Waterloo City line as it's And on the Central line,

during rush hour, there were trains I will just be late to work,

and I have important things to do. So I don't think I'll

be able to do it. And I think my manager

will be quite angry. It'll add another half

an hour onto my journey, This dispute concerns eight drivers

who face being moved from depots in Essex to a new base

in Earls Court. It seems to commuters to be

completely disproportionate. It's one month since

the last strike. And we have been waiting for one

month for the management to come back to the table with one fresh

idea, and they haven't. We want a solution, we want to be

able to resolve this dispute. But this is just

the tip of the iceberg. London Underground says it can move

staff within existing agreements. It also faces a strike

by night Tube drivers. The agreements are there,

and they are tied very closely to our guarantee of no compulsory

redundancies of our front line staff So, all of our operational staff

are covered by the promise of no compulsory redundancies,

but, in order to uphold that promise, there are commitments

from the staff in their contracts that we can move them

to where we need them to work. Travellers using Southern trains

also faced their 29th strike In both disputes, the bad news

for commuters is more action A man who killed a banker

with a single punch, during a night out in south-east

London, has been found not guilty Oliver Dearlove was

attacked last August, as he and his friends talked

to a group of women in Blackheath. Trevor Timon - who had already

admitted manslaughter - told the court he punched

Mr Dearlove because he believed he'd Police have apologised

after sending letters to the seven people killed in the Croydon tram

crash, inviting them Six men and one woman

died and 51 others were injured, when the tram derailed

at Sandilands last November. British Transport Police says

the letters were sent to those Millions of owners

of potentially lethal tumble dryers have been warned not to use them

until the problem is solved. The Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit

driers have caused a number of fires, including one

in Shepherd's Bush last August. Tolu Adeoye is in

Shepherd's Bush now. Why has Well Paul changed its

previous advice to customers. This is quite a U-turn for them.

For more than a year it said these tumble dryers worse subject to

safety notices but were safe to use. It has changed its advice due to

mounting pressure. Many people will remember this tower block fire in

Shepherd's Bush last August. It took 120 firefighters to bring it under

control. Many families had to move out. Some still aren't back in. The

London Fire Brigade said it was caused by a tumble dryer and told

people not to use them which was conflicting advice to what Whirlpool

had said. And changing its advice Whirlpool have said if you're tumble

dryer is affected by this issue, unplug it and do not use it until

the modification has taken place. I'm over the moon. We've been

through hell. It's been hell trying to deal with Will Whirlpool. I'm

over the moon they will they have done this. Hopefully no one will

have to go through what we went through. To recap, the dryers

subject to this repair programme were manufactured between April 2004

and September 20 14th under the Hotpoint, in this it and Kreider

black brands. More than half of the owners have not responded to

Whirlpool. They say their priority is safety.

Still to come this Wednesday evening:

We'll find out why this slapstick comedy from the London stage has

And how hard will stall Doris hit the capital?

They're nothing short of life-savers -

that's what veterans suffering from post-traumatic

An assistance dog can wake ex-soldiers from night terrors

and help them with anxiety in crowded places.

This kind of support doesn't come cheap,

but one charity argues it's vital, as Helen Mulroy reports.

Ziggy may look like a guide dog but he isn't.

He is, however, an assistance dog, trained to help veterans,

I was deployed in 2003, during the invasion

And, after five years in the military, returning

to civilian life came with its challenges for Richard.

When you have a fight or flight situation,

The effect that it has, at times I didn't want to leave the house.

You end up with a battle on your hands with wanting to get

Richard was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

To help him combat his anxiety, he was paired with Ziggy,

an assistance dog specially trained by the charity, Veterans With Dogs.

They can do anything, from grounding during a panic

That can be as simple as a chin rest.

They wake up from night terrors, which is particularly important,

because they aren't just nightmares, they are a lot worse.

So they can jump up, turned the light on.

We have a little command which we call "get me out,"

which is when the veteran has had enough, and they find

that they are really struggling with a situation,

they can give the dog a secret little cue and the dog

The dogs have proved an invaluable recovery tool.

Yet, with more than 5,000 veterans suffering from PTSD in London

alone, this type of help is in short supply.

Puppies like Ziggy cost ?11,000 to train, and it

takes two years to do so, but the waiting list

for the veterans who need them is always growing.

We signed up to the military covenant, and all we need to do

It sounds like a lot of money to me and you,

but in the context of the GLA budget, it's tiny.

And the mayor Sadiq Khan says he will look into the issue.

For Richard, Ziggy has changed his life.

I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I didn't have him.

He hopes, in the future, more veterans will have the opportunity

to harness the healing powers of man's best friend.

Is it time for a tax on plastic bottles, to help stop this?

It's one of the options being considered to prevent millions

of them being discarded instead of being recycled.

Meanwhile, some Londoners are already taking

as Sarah Harris has been finding out.

Thousands of years ago one of the reasons people

settled here was because of the plentiful supply of drinking water.

How ironic then that all these years later

ecosystem is being damaged is because of the way we choose to

2500 plastic bottles have been found by the Thames in just one day.

Volunteers working for the environmental charity Thames 21

collected the mountain of waste at a dozen different sites.

They say the containers are changing the

is, just through drinking water every day.

When you can also just get it from the tap.

Most of the damage could be prevented according to

environmentalists, by making less packaging and making it plastic free

Scientists have looked at fish and crabs and other

animals living in the river, and have found that their stomachs and

their whole systems are choked up with plastic.

So it is hugely harmful for the environment, for the

And of course it is really damaging the people as well.

Everyone loves the River Thames, they want to spend time by it.

Who wants to see a sea of plastic when they come down to the

Bottle deposit systems are working in other countries.

It is something members of the London

assembly want to emulate in the capital.

Berlin, for example has very high rates of collection, up to

We're nowhere near that in London or the UK.

So if we had a small tax on bottles, a bit like the plastic

bags, we could achieve levels like that.

It is estimated each week millions of plastic bottles are

dumped after being used just once in London alone.

Campaigners say our behaviour has to change, if the River

Thames and its wildlife is to thrive to be enjoyed by the next

Well, let's pick up on this with Asad Ahmad who's

I'm at the largest independent recycling plant in London. This is

where some of the thousands of bottles picked up by volunteers come

to in order to be re-cycle. These machines stay on 24-hour survey. To

give you some idea of the scale, they recycle 150 tonnes of empty

plastic bottles every week. This is the manager. With respect, this

looks a bit of a mess. You really helping the environment? Absolutely.

A plant like this is absolutely crucial. We are processing about 300

tonnes a week of dry recycle all is. About 150 tonnes of plastic bottles.

We are making reusable cardboard, paper, plastic. Will it make such a

difference of Londoners start to recycle water bottles. In the grand

scheme of things it isn't massive, will it make a difference? Yes. We

wanted coming back to make new plastic bottles not out in the

environment spoiling the rivers and seas. Thank you for letting us be

here. The official advice from City Hall is if you want to take water to

work user good-quality bottle and refill it through the day. Thank

you. Now, he's the director

who brought us Star Wars - The Force Awakens,

and the new Star Trek films, so it might come as a surprise that

JJ Abrams is getting involved He was so taken with slapstick

comedy The Play that Goes Wrong, Alice Bhandhukravi joined him

and the cast, as they prepare From the director

who brought you one of the most hotly anticipated films for

years, Star Wars the force awakens, JJ Abrams is more of a sci-fi

and action man, but he was so taken with this slapstick

comedy that he asked to co-produce I was actually in London,

we were shooting the force awakens, and I looked to see

what was playing, saw the name The Play That Goes Wrong,

was very curious about what that was and bought

a ticket and went and just... I fell in love with

the group and the comedy of it, the heart of it

and I haven't laughed that hard, and haven't seen an audience

laugh that hard in ages. So, for a show with such

an inauspicious title, The Play That Goes Wrong couldn't

be going any better. It went from a north London pub

to winning an Olivier in Not bad for a group

of friends from drama school. Getting to go to Broadway

with all your mates and just doing a show that

you all made is just incredible. I noticed, off-camera,

you all still really I think what's amazing, we haven't

done this show now for about two years, and last

night was the first time two years, and last night

was the first time we did it again. And we've been rehearsing

for about five And I can't believe how much this

show still makes me laugh. So how does Star Wars

compare to this? Storytelling is storytelling and

the fun of doing theatre, and it's something that I used to do

in school and loved it, is that you can't rely on postproduction,

you can't rely on the timing of editorial, you can't rely on visual

effects or any spectacle like that. And so the beauty of watching this

company work together, it is And you can see for

yourself, because The Play That Goes Wrong will stay

in the West End with a new cast whilst this one boldly goes

to the other Let's get a check on

the weather shall we? The spring flowers are going to get

a bit of buffeting over the next 24 hours. We are going to see some

pretty wild weather over the next day or so. As you may be aware,

Doris is developing as I speak. It will rapidly intensify over the next

12 hours or so and hurtle towards us. We are going to get a glancing

blow from Doris. I'm not talking about a repeat performance of the

great storm, but wins will pick up overnight and there will be rain

around. Most places can expect to see some rain tonight. No frost.

Nine or 10 degrees as a low. Tomorrow winds will intensify

further and the Met office has an amber warning in force. It is really

for the far north of our patch but anywhere across London can expect to

be buffeted by really nasty winds as we go through the day. There will be

rain around as well. It will come and go. There will be some brighter

spells but these other gusts. 50, 60, may be 70 miles an hour. Enough

to take the odd tree or slate down. There could be one or two power

cuts. My old, technically, but with all that wind it won't feel that

clever. The winds will subside as we head through tomorrow evening. It

will be cold tomorrow night and then looking further ahead Doris is out

of the way. For us, I am pretty optimistic that it is not going to

look too bad heading towards the weekend. Friday is looking bright

and breezy with a chilly start. It might cloud over but by and large

will be a nice day. The wind is nowhere near as strong. Friday is

looking good. 10 degrees, feeling cool in the breeze. Cloudy through

the weekend. The odd spot of rain, but for most of us it should stay

dry and reasonably mild through the weekend.

The fiance of the children's author, Helen Bailey,

has been found guilty of murdering her and dumping

her body in a cesspit under their house in Hertfordshire,

in order to claim a multi-million pound inheritance.

The Government's come under fire for reportedly paying ?1 million

For the first time in its history, a woman is to lead

Cressida Dick, who used to be in charge of counter-terrorism

at Scotland Yard, succeeds Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe

That's it for now, thanks for joining us.

Plenty more on our website and our Facebook page.

And Asad Ahmad will be back with our late news.

From me, and the team here though, have a lovely evening.

Good job, guys. We totally nailed it.

This year, fundraising kits are going to be sent through the post.