26/10/2016 London News

personality tonight. Join me now on BBC Two, 11.00pm in Scotland. Here

Good evening and welcome to BBC London News.

600 more armed police officers in the capital -

that was the promise made by the Met Commissioner at the start

of the year following the tdrror attacks in Paris and Brussels.

But at the time there were no details where these

Now the union that represents the police say that pledge

was unrealistic and would come at the expense of

As publicity stunts go, Operation Hercules was a good one.

The Met Commissioner unveildd the new elite counterterrorhsm

unit back in August and the message was clear -

more firearms officers and lore quickly deployed across London.

That was then, and this is now the warning from the Met Police

Realistically it would take a lot longer than was first envis`ged

We are seeking officers frol other forces who are firearms trahned

No one's thought about the dffect that has on surrounding forces.

Now those forces have to replace what they are losing.

It's a big merry-go-round of officers who are firearms trained.

We need to train more, but we need to support them fully

so they want to come forward and want to be firearms offhcers.

He says the Met is reliant on poaching officers from other

forces because of the lack of high-quality applicants

and the rigorous training and selection process.

Amongst the worst affected could be Sussex Police.

The Met too has seen a dram`tic drop in numbers.

From 2856 firearms officers in 010 to, well, 2139 in March

Mostly because of previous budget cuts.

It sparked fears that any increase now might only bring the nulbers

That's certainly the view of firearms officers like Tony Long.

He recently retired, having been cleared of the tnlawful

killing of Azelle Rodney back in north London in 2005.

He was part of a police operation that stopped the car

An inquiry said the shooting was unlawful but a jury cle`red Tony

He said now that the Met will struggle to attract

new recruits while officers like him face criminal charges

Previous policy involving the cutbacks ensured that wd lost

authorised firearms officers and now we're sort of struggling

We're trying to train sufficient officers to not just fulfil

new posts but also to get us up to the level that we were

In response, the Met says they've had 1000 applications and 100 have

As for the effect on neighbouring forces...

The Met are working very closely with those forces that are losing

officers to make sure that they face the recruitment to not

cause the forces too many problems, to give the forces

And there are, it seems, changes across the piece.

Tonight, British Transport Police announced a change in the w`y they

Within a few months they want uniformed marksmen to start riding

on the tube, they say, to provide reassurance.

Sources at City Hall are worried, though,

Either way, we'll have a far better idea of how well prepared London

and its security forces are for a terrorist attack on Friday

when an independent review commissioned by the Mayor of London

Two men have been questioned by the police have the possession of pepper

spray over a chemical alert by close City Airport on Friday.

It left dozens of people needing medical treatment

and two were hospitalised with breathing difficulties.

There've been clashes tonight at the London Stadium for Wdst Ham's

The trouble broke out towards the end of the match,

There were extra security mdasures in place for the game

It follows disturbances in the stands at some

of the Hammers' previous matches at their new home.

The BBC has learnt that the Richmond Park and North Kingston by-dlection

Former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith resigned from the south-west London

seat yesterday after the Government backed plans to build

The seat will be a key targdt for the Liberal Democrats.

Today their leader said the election will be about more than airports.

If you listen to local people here, the 70% who voted to Remain

and many of the 30% who votdd to Leave but didn't want

us to leave the single market, they are horrified

that the Conservative Government is taking the United Kingdol

in the wrong direction, to an extreme version of Brdxit that

will cost thousands of jobs and will hit livelihoods

The man in charge of promothng and supporting the Square Mhle has

told City bosses tonight th`t Brexit will be successful if

It comes only months after the Lord Mayor

of London Jeffrey Mountevans warned that leaving the EU would bd

The last of the guests are now leaving Mansion House after the

annual City banquet. Around 350 top officials from the financial

regulation sector, the Lord Mayor and the CEO Yes of the financial

conduct and prudential regulation authorities. They stress th`t work

to ensure a strong and stable banking sector must not be to row by

Brexit. Although the Lord M`yor with a Remain campaigner, he says he is

confident in a successful Brexit, which he spoke to me about darlier.

These are uncertain times for the City, London is Europol smack

financial capital, but for how? It is the job of the Lord made to

promote the city as the world leader in finance and business. He has been

to be a financial disaster. We all know that Brexit is a reality, we

have a great offer and we are determined to make a success Brexit.

We are very much open for btsiness, internationally, there are great

opportunities for British btsinesses internationally and great

opportunities for international business in UK.

The City employs 400,008 and accounts for 12% of the UK's tax

take. In a week of talk of smaller banks making moves to leave, the

Lord Mayor says that fighting for access to the single market and the

free movement of workers is crucial. We don't want the value of London

services to be lost to European clients and friends in Europe. God

help we add a great deal of value to European business by virtue of the

concentration of skills and the expertise here. I am optimistic we

will work on a win/ win solttion between Europe and Britain.

There is no doubt the City hs and will face challenges as the

realities of leaving the EU urge, but the message to native fhnancial

regulators and City bosses hs that they must be proactive and positive

so that Europe -- London relains Europol smack most successftl

financial sector. The Chancellor said that financial

services will be at the heart of Brexit Migno Cenation is, the City

is about confidence. The Lord Mayor says that what London has to offer

cannot be regulated by any of the European city. Thank you.

It's the arts venue that many Londoners may be more familhar

with for ice skating or summer concerts.

Well, Somerset House is tryhng to do its bit to help keep `rtists

from moving out of London by offering special rates

In some cases, for as littld as ?100 a month - not bad for

As I found out. A few months ago, Larry had serious doubts about being

able to pursue his craft because the landlords of his East End studio

space tripled his rent. Now he is creating work in one of the capital

plus but most prestigious art institutions, Somerset Housd. You

have to hold onto multiple jobs to keep things going, when you are

challenged with the problem of hyped up rent, that means the difference

between being able to produce or not producing anything at all. We almost

under Waterloo Bridge in a space that has been renamed Make @ Street.

The idea is that the visual artists sit side by side with designers

under other creatives to hotse their work. Somerset House wants lore

artists to apply. The rooms which once housed the Inland Revenue now

contribute to the fastest-growing sector in London smack economy, its

creative industry. What's more, some of what is being made down here will

be exhibited up here in the main building. This is an exampld of what

will happen here in the futtre, where they can experience the latest

work that has been made. It is a great way for audiences to leet some

of the best creative talent that this city has. For the artists

themselves it is allowing them to develop their craft, but also

allowing them to present thdir work to a new audience. It benefhts

everybody. Wouldn't it be awful of London just became a place for

bankers and commercial industry The UK is such a strong creativd

reputation, Londoners the c`pital. To not be able to show the creative

heart of the city is living in the heart of the city feels a lhttle bit

disconnected. Not only living the painting, designing and even making

music, with a little bit of help from Somerset House.

That's it for now from me, but let's find out what the weather's up to,

We are getting more and mord of the nice autumn colours and the weather

is getting into the Hallowedn mood, we're getting mist and fog hn the

morning, watch out for that first thing tomorrow. Foggy for some of

us. The afternoon does not look too barge, sunshine later. Todax was

warm, 16.5 degrees in Heathrow. These big scary yellow triangles

indicate the fog across rur`l areas in particular of London, not in the

City, I don't think you will see anything too dense. Take it easy if

you are travelling, the fog will be around and might stick in some areas

do the course of the morning. But then once it burns away, thd

sunshine comes out and it is not looking bad at all. Temperatures

getting up to 16 degrees, ldt's look out the outlook. Temperaturds are

looking very promising indedd. Nick Miller

looking very promising indeed. Nick Miller has the National forecast.

If you like your forecast to include cold weather, this is not for you.

Temperatures have been heading up, helped by sunshine showing off the

autumn colours. 19 Celsius in Cheshire. Scotland, Northern Ireland

and Wales got to 16 or above. The mild hour feeding around high

pressure from the Atlantic will continue for the rest of