17/03/2017 London News

Still getting fast moving traffic... so it's goodbye from me

A high-speed chase for phone thieves who raced at 90 miles an hour

Extremely dangerous, weaving in and out of traffic, other road users

having to avoid him, could have been dangerous. Very fortunate he did not

cause anyone any serious harm. Thames Water face a record fine

after polluting the Thames with more Also tonight, George Osborne,

the new Editor of Plus, praising the Lord

in Woolwich - we meet the first black bishop

to be appointed in 20 years. the collection of photos showing

the area in a different light. Good evening and welcome

to the programme. First tonight, dramatic CCTV footage

has been released of a high-speed Mobile phone thieves filmed fleeing

police on mopeds racing on the wrong side of the M11 motorway,

reaching speeds of They had been on a robbery spree,

snatching phones from pedestrians Detectives say it was pure luck

they and others were not killed. A prolific phone thief attempts a

desperate getaway. Heading the wrong way towards the M11... Still against

fast moving traffic. Narrowly missing oncoming drivers. We are

going to terminate. Unsurprisingly, he is hit. He has come off the bike.

He is up on his feet, trying to get back on the bike. Lane three of

three. Incredibly, he carries on. The chase eventually came to an end

after police closed the motorway and deliberately punctured his tyres. He

is back on the bike. The driver was 21-year-old Zuriel Hutson, he and

Sharuk Sheraji still eating mobiles in less than an hour before being

chased. It was here on the M11 that this chase started to resemble a

Hollywood film. Drivers doing 70 mph plus heading the right way were

suddenly confronted with a high-powered moped heading straight

towards them, doing 90. Extremely dangerous, weaving in and out of

traffic, other road users having to avoid him, incredibly dangerous,

very fortunate he did not cause and is or any serious harm to other

members of the public. They had still in 18 phones in various areas

of London. I was coming out of a shop in Oxford Street, walking down

the road and someone shouted out of nowhere, look out! I did not think

it was to me. Next thing I knew, a moped sped up onto the pavement and

grabbed my phone that was in my hand, I was using it, and drove off

down Oxford Street. Recent figures show the number of thefts by people

on mopeds in London has gone up by more than 600% in the last two

years. This was a very long pursuit, but it 40 minutes, very often

pursuits may be initiated and we cannot catch the offenders. We had a

-- they had a tactical advantage against our four-wheeled car. They

did not get away this time, despite a few close calls.

The school play with an anti-drug message,

produced by friends of a teenager who overdosed on ecstasy.

Thames Water faces paying a record fine after polluting

the River Thames with more than a billion litres of raw sewage.

The waste killed hundreds of fish and left farm animals sick.

A judge, who has delayed sentencing until next week,

described the actions of the company as "wicked".

Yvonne Hall has been following the case and joins us

Enjoying the River Thames at Bourne end in Buckinghamshire today. The

area is popular with rowers and walkers but four years ago, parts of

the river looked like this, covered in raw sewage and sanitary waste.

The smell was horrific. It's not exactly as you would expect it to

smell, and there was no second-guessing what it was. It was

untreated, raw sewage. The sewage spilled onto fields. Birds and fish

died, people reported children and dogs becoming sick. A fisherman was

forced out of business. Thames Water, whose officials are senior

arriving at court today, has admitted polluting the Thames with

sewage spilling out of four treatment plant in Buckinghamshire

and Oxfordshire. They were poorly equipped and badly managed. This is

the outflow from the sewage treatment works at little Marlow.

Today the water here looks clear back in 2012 and 2013, millions of

litres of untreated sewage were spewing out from this outflow and

for half downriver, people could see see human waste on a sanitary towels

and condom is. It is not the first time Thames Water has been guilty of

polluting waterways. In 2015, the company was fined for pollution in

the River Blackwater in Surrey. In January 2016, it had to pay ?1

million for incidents in the Hertfordshire and two months later

it was fined for pollution in Buckinghamshire. The judge has

warned Thames Water it faces a record fine for the pollution,

likely to be several million pounds. He told the court today that the

company's negligence had been disgraceful and wicked. He said he

is determined to get a message to shareholders that the environment

must be protected and treasured. Thames Water's new boss says ?30

million has been spent improving the failing sewage treatment plants. We

have recruited more people, there are more resources, and we have

fundamentally changed the processes by which we operate those plants.

Including using some smart technology to make sure that we are

aware of what is going on and we are no position take action, or wherever

possible pre-emptive action, because the last thing we want is a

repetition of these types of incident.

We are at Bourne end and the water here does look clean now. We have

seen lots of people enjoying it today and lots of wildlife. But it

was a very different picture here four years ago, when the river often

stank of raw sewage and was covered in waste. Thames Water has also said

it is very sorry for the pollution, it has apologised to people affected

and it has paid some compensation. The company is due back at court on

Tuesday to face what is expected to be a record fine for its latest

pollution offences. Back to you. And we will cover that

story. Thanks very much. So, George Osborne

is to be the Editor The appointment was announced

earlier today, and the former Chancellor says

his only interest will be But some have raised concerns over

potential political bias and his ability to do the job

at the same time He is going to be the editor? Nobody

at Number Ten saw this coming, nobody at Westminster saw it coming.

It is an extraordinary appointment. It is extraordinary. People are

biased, newspapers are not as free as we think. I think it is uprising

they would be so open about it. I can only conclude that he wants to

build the Evening Standard into an alternative power basted to reason

made, and the event of Brexit going pear shaped, he will use this to

launch his attack. He is very talented, I think it is a great

newspaper. The owner is a great guy. It is not good, basically! I have

never been a fan of the paper and I am certainly not a fan of him! This

man is going to be MP for Tatton, director of the bank, running his

Northern Powerhouse operation, and editor of the London Evening

Standard. How many more jobs does he want? Sounds like a conflict to me,

not great. We have lunch with Brexit and Donald Trump that weird things

happen and much as some people do not perhaps want it to happen, this

is the reality for now. I cannot think why he has been appointed. I

should have applied for the job myself, I think!

Joining me now are Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North,

and Alex Deane, a political consultant and former

Thanks for coming in. A lot of scepticism, Wes Streeting,

presumably you think there is a major conflict of interest? An

enormous conflict. I don't understand how anyone could see the

appointment of one of the biggest beasts of the Westminster jungle as

Editor of one of the best-known newspapers as anything other than a

massive conflict of interest. George Osborne says he can edit the

newspaper in the morning and turn up to the hosts of commons and vote in

the afternoon. But he still participate in the political

process, what he says matters in Parliament. The role of the Munir --

the media is to hold the powerful to account. How will he hold himself to

account? How will he hold the Government to account? He has lots

of other commercial interests as no -- now as well. Alex, it is a good

point, he is obviously a very active participant in the Government, how

do you reconcile that? He is not an active participant in government. He

is an MP. He is a significant figure. Yes, but with all respect to

George Osborne, he was a big beast in government, rather than is. And

he does has strong political allies. But every newspaper editor does.

Just ask Paul Dacre or indeed the BBC! It may not be the best of

ideas, I am not exactly defending him, but the reason I think some of

the reaction has been quite so overblown, people have been getting

hysterical, first of all, he is no longer the Chancellor, there is

clearly a very large gap in his diary. Secondly, and significantly

for me, I trust the staff at the Evening Standard to be every bit as

professional as impartial. Let's hear from George Osborne, who was

speaking to the Evening Standard's TV station Halit. -- earlier on.

I will speak for London and Londoners through

And we will judge whatever the Government does,

whatever the Mayor does, against that simple test,

And if it isn't good for London, then we will say so and we will not

If it's good for London, we will, of course, back it.

So, we will be fearless and we will be independent in our approach,

because that is what people want from a newspaper.

And at times like this, that is what journalism is for,

to provide people with the evidence, the facts, the analysis, then

Wes Streeting, he says he will be fearless. He also said he will be

the voice for London and Londoners. He is a Cheshire MP! I want to his

constituents will feel about the architect of the Northern Powerhouse

rebranding himself as a champion for London. What will he do for the

readers of the paper, all of us who get on the Underground and grab that

free paper? It is a great paper and has great people working for it and

I hope that remains the case. I do not doubt the professional

integrity. But every single editorial line of the paper will now

be seen through a prism of, what does George Osborne think, how does

it relate to his wider plan? That is not in the best interests of the

paper. But is that not a common feature of media proprietors in

general? Of course, but they should be an important separation between

politicians and the media. Let us look at the rock bottom cost the

public have in politics and the media at the moment... His

appointment does not do anything for the repetition of either. We do not

come we should not, have a professional media cost. Being an MP

is not full-time job. If it was, we would not have MPs... We would not

have MPs who are doctors, lawyers, soldiers or farmers. Telling someone

who may have a talent in journalism that he cannot explore in one

direction his opportunity when someone else can in another, it

smacks to me of double standards. I also think... You cannot have your

cake and eat it, you cannot say the paper has great people and you trust

them, but their editorial line will be twisted, that cannot be right. We

have defended now, but we shall see. Thank you very much, Alex Deane and

Wes Streeting. And you can join in with the conversation on our

Facebook page. Police have released CCTV footage

of the moment a man tried to rape It shows the suspect grabbing

the 22-year old woman from behind She managed to punch him and shout

for help before a passing driver Detectives have also

released this image of a man Conductors in the RMT union

on Southern Rail say they'll walk out for 24 hours

on the 4th of April. It will be the 31st day

of strike action since The union says it would reconsider

if it's guaranteed talks Southern says that during

the most recent strike, The mother of a 16-year-old boy

who died after taking ecstasy hopes a new play about his final days

will send a powerful Daniel Spargo-Mabbs

from Croydon died after taking The play has been performed

at his former school, and although his mother supports

the project, she says it is The last words of Daniel

Spargo-Mabbs to his mother, These children are watching,

but for her, it is too painful. Because it takes me

right back to the... Well, not back, because it's

what I am all the time, but for us, It is re-inhabiting those

most awful, awful times. Three years ago,

Daniel was a sixth-form student at Archbishop Tenison

High School in Croydon. But on the 9th of February 2014,

he made a fatal decision - going to an illegal rave

and taking ecstasy. Some of his friends

came back to school today. And it brings back so many

memories when we watch it. It brings all the tears

and all the memories, and everything about Dan back,

which is quite scary! I was meant to be at a party

on the Saturday with him, there was 12 of us

meant to be there. So I think it talks about that bit,

and it's at George's party, so there was a few of us meant to be

there, that's when I found out, and then obviously, when we came

to school on Monday, we came in this hall

and they did an assembly, I might be going to

this rave tonight... The play is touring 90 London

schools, but what impact has watching it had on these young

people from his school? It is explained in the play that Dan

was really against that stuff, which he was,

and it is a very emotional story. Even though I didn't

know him personally, after being a drama student,

having it, like, portrayed through a play, it really

makes your heart, like, broken. I remember, everyone went out

and the funeral car went past, and the reactions from the teachers,

seeing them cry, Daniel's parents set up a charity

in his memory and hope the play's The rush to walk -

can you be persuaded to go on foot if London becomes

more pedestrian friendly? And the East End in a different

light - the collection of photos Reverend Karowei Dorgu,

the new Bishop of Woolwich, and the first black bishop to be

ordained in the UK for 20 years. The appointment is being welcomed

as a step towards addressing the lack of black and Asian clergy

at senior levels of It was a bright and energetic

celebration at Southwark Cathedral - the Archbishop of Canterbury

ordaining a black bishop Born in Nigeria, Woyin Karowei Dorgu

has served the Church in London for his entire ministry

and believes his appointment will encourage more black Londoners

to come to the Anglican Church. Well, I should think so, I should

think that if they would begin to see more people who look

like themselves in leadership, they will feel more inclined

to want to listen to the message May I speak in the name of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit... The sermon was given

by the only other black bishop in the Church of England,

John Sentamu, Most members who are critical

of the lack of diversity stop short I think the Church suffers from

quite a lot of unconscious bias. This means that it is us,

as individuals, we are hard-wired And if we can begin to address

that unconscious bias, and if the Church as an institution

begins to address that unconscious bias, I believe that a lot

of change will be made. Many black Christians in London

prefer to practise in a less formal setting than the Church of England

offers, but leaders insist We have to find ways to ensure

that we enable and engage and encourage BAME people to take

responsibility and leadership This is a great moment,

but it is only a moment, we have got to really embed this

at all levels, lay and ordained Do you think this paves

the way for perhaps But everything is in

the hands of God. His smile was certainly attracting

crowds of adoring fans on the banks It is hoped that his star quality

will help reverse dwindling Church of England congregations

across the capital. Sarah Harris, BBC London News,

Southwark Cathedral. Next, are you willing to ditch

the bus, Tube or car journey Well, that's what transport bosses

want more of us to do. It is all part of a drive to reduce

pollution and make us healthier. Today, a plan for a more pedestrian

friendly London was revealed. Here's our transport

correspondent, Tom Edwards. Millions of Londoners walk every

day. But city or thinks there is the potential to move 2.5 million daily

trips out of cars onto the pavements. At the moment, walking

sometimes is not pleasant. Do you think it be easy walking London?

Depends on where you are. I walked to Shoreditch -- walked, Weasley,

and I felt as though the traffic was just about on top of me. Very close.

We got a lot of pollution. I find myself doing tube journeys for two

stops, bus journeys, I think if it is more clearly posted it will be

better. Sometimes, there are schemes put in place which have been focused

on one particular issue, that is maybe just cycling or bus stops.

What we are saying is that when we do any kind of work in the street,

we will also think about the impact on pedestrians. Is this a good place

to actually be? Goodwillie plant some trees and make it more

attractive? So actually, looking at the streetscape in the round. This

is what City Hall wants to see more of. This is Leonard Street in

Shoreditch. The Junction has been made more friendly for pedestrians

with benches and trees. Long-term, the plan is to make streets more

attractive to be in, and that will mean reallocating space currently

used by cars and vehicles over to cycling and walking. And that will

mean confrontation. With limited road space, all road users will want

their voices heard. This is not an attack on any particular group, this

is about promoting healthier modes of transport, health -- sustainable

modes of transport, to make sure London is healthier, happier, safer

and cleaner. There is not much detail yet, but of these policies

are permitted, more change is on the way on the capital's streets.

These are part of a collection of photographs which show

the neighbourhood in a rarely seen light.

The artist spent five months capturing the images,

which he says portray East London has a vibrant and colourful place.

Anthony Epes has been speaking to Tolu Adeoye.

The best light is before the sun even comes up, that is my favourite

light. That simple twilight that when the sun is still 6 degrees

below the horizon, you get the globe. Anthony Epes is known for

taking photographs at dawn. Originally from California he has

travelled across the world, capturing cities quiet and resting

before everyone wakes. I like coming out and shooting at dawn for the

anti-streets. I think the best light of the day is always at dawn. --

empty Streets. There are no cars, the city is like a blank canvas and

it is just me and my camera and the beautiful light. It has been 15

years since he first produced a book showcasing London at dawn. For his

latest collection, the focus is on his favourite parts of the city, the

East End. What do you love about East London?

There is a vibrancy that you do not find anywhere else in London. I

never know what I will find around the next corner. I came one morning

and this spot, the graffiti was glowing from the Sun that was coming

up this way. That with the juxtaposition of the industrial will

wake made for a really nice composition. Anthony took new

photographs over five months, but says the book was only possible

after getting to know East London over the years. Lots of people want

to know what your top tips for getting the perfect picture. My

first is to be patient. Look at the like, what it is doing, assess what

it is going to be like in a few more minutes, do you need to stick

around? A lot of beginners leave before the great light comes. My

second tip is, do not fixate on your subject. Every millimetre of the

picture counts. The third is to be present. If you are thinking about

your e-mails or your bills or your family, you are not in a creative

state. He hopes his latest photographs will inspire more people

to pick up a camera and capture their favourite parts of London in

the best light. Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.

There was some lovely pictures of dawn sunshine in that report, can we

expect more of that? Not a great deal of sunshine this

weekend, probably. We saw things go downhill today. This was a picture

from a weather watcher taken in earls field, where we saw the clouds

coming and going early on. Shielded by the sunshine, the sunshine

shielded by some of the High Court. But fair bit of cloud this weekend.

It will be milder, quite breezy, the wind picking up on Sunday, blowing

in the cloud but giving us largely dry. Quite a lot of rain around the

UK at the moment. You can see how the cloud just filled in, moved down

from the North West. It is beginning to thicken so we could see some rain

and drizzle during this evening, then through the rest of the night,

it may be on the dry side. A lot of cloud, and still quite a brisk

westerly wind. So a much milder night. Seven or eight Celsius.

Tomorrow could start up cloudy with the chance of some rain. But do not

stop going outside because there will be some sunshine from time to

time. Probably not quite as windy as it is right now. Temperatures will

be higher than today, 15 in the centre of London, perhaps 12

elsewhere. Looking ahead to the second half of the weekend, we have

got most weather fronts further North across the UK. This is where

we are seeing most of the rain. This will push South, eventually heading

towards our part of the country. But drier and brighter day on Sunday.

The wind will be a bit stronger but it is a westerly, blowing in the

milder air, so we will find temperatures of around 15 Celsius or

so. The outlook, gets colder early next week, but at least we will see

more sunshine! The US Government has backed down

over claims that British intelligence bugged Donald Trump

during the presidential campaign. GCHQ said the claims were nonsense

and utterly ridiculous. The former Conservative Chancellor,

George Osborne, has been appointed Editor

of the Evening Standard newspaper. He says he'll combine the role

with his job as a MP. That's it, we will be back later

during the ten o'clock news. But for now, from everyone

on the team, It was the most beautiful view

I've ever been through. For one second, I was swimming on my

back, and I was looking to the sky. I was swimming across

the Aegean Sea. I was a refugee,

going from Syria to Germany. This is my life, my career!

I did not frame him. This is my life, my career!

I did not frame him.