This Is Tottenham

This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

This is Tottenham. On the surface, an unremarkable suburb in north London,

with a famous football team.

Trying to get the shot away...it's 2-0!

But for the last 30 years,

this place has rarely been out of the news.

October 1985, Broadwater Farm became hell on earth.

PC Keith Blakelock was savaged to death.

Victoria Climbie's mother arriving for the end of the first part

of the inquiry into her daughter's death.

Doctors and police officers all knew he was at risk

but Baby P was never rescued.

The shooting of Mark Duggan sparked riots across the capital

and the rest of the country.

Many of the challenges in Tottenham

land at the door of local MP, David Lammy.

I know them said to one of the other police,

"Handcuff her, handcuff her."

Then he swung me around and he shoved me to the wall.

I was embarrassed, I was in the streets.

I thought they'd got the wrong person.

But it was the wrong person!

These cases are the bane of the MP for Tottenham's life,

and it's just totally unacceptable how people are treated.

Totally, totally unacceptable.

David Lammy runs one of the busiest MP advice surgeries in the country.

For the first time, cameras have been allowed in

to film behind the scenes.

Haringey is saying that they won't give you the tenancy.

They won't give me anything.

This trespasser, whether I've been a trespasser for 14 years...

Some of these people really do have a horrific time,

and they don't really have anyone to turn to.

Who do you tell when you're on your own?

That's why it's so good that they can come to the MP

knowing that he will help them,

because sometimes it's not their last resort, it's their only resort.

Tottenham is home to over 115,000 people,

speaking around 200 different languages.

It's part of the Borough of Haringey,

where more than 70% of young people are from an ethnic minority.

David Lammy was born here

and spent much of his childhood on the Broadwater Farm estate.

He's been the MP for Tottenham for 15 years.

When I told my mother I wanted to be an MP, she cried.

"Why do you want to do that job? That nasty horrible politics!"

You know, I was a barrister, I was going to be a QC,

I'd be making shitloads more money than I'm making now.

But it's a vocation, it's like being a priest or a teacher,

you can't stop it, it's what you need and want to do.

Surgeries are held twice a month on a Friday evening.

David Lammy and his team deal with over 6,000 problems every year.

And your cases, Daisy, are they sort of straightforward?

Yeah, emigration, housing today, some homelessness cases.

Here to see David tonight is Colly.

She's come to see him about her eldest son, Adam,

who is waiting for spinal surgery.

His operation has been delayed

because their house isn't adequate for Adam's needs.

-I've only got a provisional licence for this thing(!)

-I know!

The authorities have agreed

she is entitled to a grant to adapt her house,

but there is a dispute as to exactly what changes are needed.

They won't release the funds until an agreement is reached.

-Hi.

-Hi, Mr Lammy.

-How are you?

-It really is dire, Mr Lammy.

-Go through it with me.

Basically, Adam is 9-and-a-half years old,

he was born with brain damage, he's got epilepsy,

he can't walk, he's peg fed, he's got major curvage of the spine,

so he's got a spinal brace on,

he's 31.9 kilogram, as you can see I'm four-foot nothing,

although I have a lot of, you know, zeal,

to look after my own son,

I can't physically manage any more.

Tell me what your life consists of

without this grant to adapt the home.

-Carrying him up and down the stairs.

-How far is the stairs, what's...?

We do about 20 steps, unless I'm bad at maths.

-Can't you carry?

-No, it's 17, Mum.

17, sorry! My right hand man says it's 17.

I carry him literally horizontally and have to dip him, bang his leg,

up and down, when we want to wash him, we take him downstairs

where the wet room facility is,

which is very small for a child who has to lay horizontally,

it's absolutely freezing, the wet room door crashes into the lift,

but the bottom line is I feel he's being discriminated.

HE CRIES

It's OK, sweetheart, it's here.

It's not Lammy no more, We're blocking him out, look, it's Stevie!

Is that OK? We're not going to get help by screaming.

We've got to do some talking. And doing some listening.

OK? "OK, Mama?"

-Sorry, this is...

-STEVIE WONDER PLAYS ON PHONE

No, I know. Stevie calms me down as well!

I'm going to get...

-MUSIC PLAYS

-Sorry, Mr Lammy!

-DAVID SINGS ALONG

-Oh, gosh!

I love this one!

I'm going to speak to the solicitor.

What the problem here is, this, he needs spinal surgery,

he needs it now, he shouldn't be wearing this,

-this is a temporary measure.

-What's the delay?

The house isn't suitable, so he cannot be discharged,

that's why he can't have the surgery,

that's why I've ended up at your doorstep,

because enough is enough, school can't support me,

local authorities can't support me,

who is going to support a child like this?

Like, you know, me, I can only do my best, I'm just a mum.

-Paracetamol and a cup of tea?

-No!

But I'm not here to break down and cry,

I'm here to be sober and professional

and do what I can to try and move this one forward, yeah?

That's what you need from me. You don't need my sympathy.

I know that's not what you want. You want action, so, OK.

-Great.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye.

-Bye.

That woman is incredible, incredible, incredible.

-And incredible.

-You nearly cried, there.

I know, she reminds me of my mother.

Aargh! Energy! God.

Oh!

In many ways, this child has made me.

In many ways, he's made me the woman I am today,

if I'm whinging about something,

if I'm upset about something, go and get a hug off Adam,

that's the theme in our house, everyone gets a hug off Adam,

because Adam will pat you on the head and tell you,

"Listen, get over yourself,

"because you're not the centre of the earth, I am!"

This is the bit where I wish they did add something for me.

Because I'm on the small side!

# There's a ribbon in the sky... #

Here to see David are sisters Gina and Mandy.

Three weeks ago, their 30-year-old nephew, Ambrose Ball,

went missing in the middle of the night

following a car accident near Tottenham Marshes.

They've come to talk to David

about how the police are handling the case.

Hello.

Ambrose's mother, Ruth, is too ill to come herself.

Tell me about Ambrose, Ambrose is 30.

Yeah. He's a father, he's got two children.

They've been separated since last March.

Well, personally, as a family,

we actually think there's something bad's happened.

When was Ambrose last seen that night?

Independent witnesses at between 1:00 and 1:30,

and he's just vanished.

And it's totally out of character.

And there's also the case of how the police

dealt with the accident scene.

They didn't tape it off, they left the number plate there,

-they left the wheel there...

-Contamination.

They left all the debris there,

so all along, it just seems like the police

just have not even wanted to find out what's gone on,

you know, it just does not make sense as to why

he's just disappeared like this

and why the police have been so unhelpful.

-What are the police saying to you?

-We've not heard anything,

apart from text messages saying no new sightings of Ambrose, nothing.

That's all we're getting.

OK, leave it with me

and I will try and find out what the hell's going on.

In the meantime, keep the faith.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

Well, hopefully he'll keep to his word

and get to the bottom of all what's happened.

So if you're not doing anything, you feel like you're giving up.

You know, if you don't do anything,

you feel like you're giving up on him,

and obviously we'd never want Ambrose to think that, you know.

Yeah.

David calls Haringey's Chief Superintendent, Victor Olisa,

from his Westminster office.

Look, Ambrose, the 30-year-old man who's gone missing, his family

have come in raising real concerns about the, erm, investigation,

you know, the inference that they're making effectively

is the police aren't taking this seriously because he's a black guy

and they obviously think he's been killed or something ugly has

happened to him, but it does sound a bit weird that nothing's turned up.

'Yeah, it does sound weird.

'We've searched the canal to a distance of, you know,

'5km from where Ambrose's car was and everything else.

'We've done extensive work in terms of telephone, cross-links, and we've

'been phoning and he hasn't responded.'

'We are just as perplexed at the moment about where he might be.'

I'll tell you what I'm conscious of - there's a breakdown of trust

and this is going to turn into a political issue, frankly, and so

I think if you could meet with the family pretty soon, I'd be grateful.

'I'm happy to meet with, er, with the family,

'so I'll get back to you tomorrow.'

Great. Cheers. Bye.

Erm, you need to go to your next meeting.

Oh, shit, OK, right, thanks.

Hello, Stephen, how are you?

Well, I hope I don't get as emotional as I was last time,

I was all over the place.

Hello, Beauty, how are you?

I mean, we... I've not heard anything from Haringey yet.

'I always think the amazing

'and unique thing about our democracy is that there are 650 MPs

'and every single one of us does an advice surgery.'

-What school are you at?

-Harris.

Harris Academy? How's it going?

Bad, because I have dyslexis.

-You're dyslexic? My son's dyslexic as well.

-Yes.

But you know what?

Some of the brightest people in the country...

-Richard Branson's dyslexic!

-That's what I told him!

'I do love this side of the job.'

It's sort of real, real people,

it's a long, long way from Westminster.

Someone's using your National Insurance number?

Yes, that's...that's correct.

They're working in your name, they have been for the past four years.

Yes.

There's a lot of people these days who are stealing identities.

It's a real issue.

No, but someone has taken it.

Yes.

'It's not about being a politician arguing in the chamber,'

it's about representing people's interests and using your power

and political capital to make a change in people's lives,

and that's not something you should take lightly, actually.

We fought hard to get that.

How can I help, Mr Ricker?

Where I live, it's an alleyway off the main road.

We've had double yellow lines put in, no loading or unloading,

and I'm fed up because I can...

Well, I'll show you, I've got some...

Where is this, Mr Ricker?

Green Lanes, Haringey.

-Oh, yeah? I know.

-That one's out...

-Grand Parade, yeah.

..my bedroom window. Nothing but trouble.

This one, disabled bay is 24/7.

He's gone over the pavement to get in there,

I've got over 100 photos.

Look, Mr Ricker, I can see that it's very difficult for you,

cos it must be very frustrating. The problem is Haringey's

actually collecting more than the national average in parking fines.

I get a lot of people come in here

and say the parking attendants are too zealous.

In the end, this problem goes back to...to drivers.

It's people breaking the laws.

Haringey cannot police the whole of Green Lanes

with more than the officers that they've got, and they're

running up and down every day and they're giving loads of tickets.

Hang on a minute. Let me finish.

The council's had £144 million worth of cuts.

Over 100 vehicles, right, say for argument's sake each one,

130 quid, you know how much that comes to?

£13,000 they're losing.

Now, with that, they could employ more staff,

-this one I went Friday...

-Mr Ricker, I do have to press on.

-I'm sorry.

I've got some others, unfortunately.

I'm not going to go head-to-head to you on parking,

cos I've got a feeling you could beat me.

THEY LAUGH

But you've persuaded me, I will press Haringey.

It's been four weeks since Ambrose Ball went missing.

Tonight, David Lammy has

arranged for Tottenham's Chief Superintendent to visit the family.

Ambrose's mum Ruth has just come out of intensive care,

and is waiting with sister Gina.

Sorry.

SHE SOBS

The relationship between Ruth and the officers

investigating her son's disappearance has broken down.

So now they contact her by text.

"There's been no reported sightings of Ambrose.

"There have been no responses to our witness appeal today.

"We will contact you as soon as possible

"if there are any further developments."

Do you know, I really believe,

I really believe they're antagonising me.

They're trying to push that last tick of my heart,

they're trying to push me over to that, that stabbing pain that

I'm getting. That's what I truly believe, that's what they're doing

right now, and I would like this commissioner to stop this today.

Ruth's mistrust of the police is rooted in her own childhood.

My record, when I was nine, robbery, nicking a bike,

all the way through absconding, assault on the police

because I didn't want to be put back in care, to a place that

was raping and abusing me, so I had no choice, it was either that

or that, and I believe every time they bring up my record or our name,

they go straight to that, and that is scum. That's how they see it,

that's how they see me,

and that's how I'm portrayed, and that's how

exactly I was treated and have been treated ever since.

They're not saying that, seeing how I've dug myself out of that on own,

how I've achieved and brought three good, fine men up,

and got to the point I've got to,

they're not seeing that, they just see I'm damaged goods,

lost cause, that is that, and that is the nitty-gritty of it.

-Good evening.

-Hello.

How are we?

Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa

is hoping to rebuild relationships with the family.

Let me start by saying thank you for agreeing to see us.

I know the journey up to this stage has not been...brilliant, or as

simple as it can be, but, erm,

as best as I can reassure you that we're doing everything

within our powers to try and find Ambrose. Yeah?

-Yeah.

-So...you're going to take some convincing, aren't you? Listen...

Right, my first question, if you don't mind, please.

Not at all.

Why wasn't I listened to when I first reported my son

on the marshes on the 24th of the first, 2015?

So, when is that, is that the...?

The same day he went missing. No, the same day.

-It was within six hours.

-The same day?

-He was in a very serious car crash.

-Yeah.

I went down to the marshes, I wanted to see where the car was,

and I was standing there in the marshes,

begging the police to come to me, please help me.

They said they'd get back to me, stay where I am. Three hours later,

and still nobody came to me. I need to know why I was ignored, otherwise

I would have had a chance of finding my son in those first 48 hours.

Look, I can't give you an answer for that at the moment, so, we're going

to go through the whole sequence of what's happened from the moment

we get the report to where we are now, yeah? Just to analyse every

single thing to make sure that we've got the right information...

My son's lying somewhere with maggots coming out of his face,

do you know that?

Ruth, I understand how you feel, yeah? I understand exactly how

you feel, erm... Like you, I'm a parent,

and Ambrose is just as important to me as anybody else

my officers have got a responsibility to find.

You're not going to find him, are you?

You would have found him by now. Come on, please. Common sense

would tell you that. You find dogs quicker than this, and missing cats.

Anyone working in my position would be wrong to come in here and

actually say, "Ambrose is dead but we don't have any proof."

Equally, I'd be wrong to come in here and say, "Ambrose is alive,

"but we don't have any proof."

We just don't know and that's why we actually keep going.

I do. This is not a missing person case.

But he is a missing person.

No, he's gone, he's finished, he's vanished, he's disposed of,

he's evaporated.

OK, and if that's, if that's the language you want to use,

you want to hold it, that's fine.

I'm not going to argue with you about that, all I can...

You're all itching each other's backs, just to dispose

-and get rid of all this...

-Nobody wants to get rid...

..cos they made a big mistake. Instead of saying sorry to me,

and not acting on those first, crucial 48 hours,

and apologising, admitting they've gone wrong,

to continue this down the road, "he's still just missing..."

Ruth, please, yeah?

When we get to a conclusion...

-Finish, please.

-Finish?

I'm finished with you now. I'm not being...

Please, I'm finished.

Sorry, I'm done.

The meeting ends with the police offering to get a new family liaison

officer, arrange a case conference, and increase media publicity.

For many Tottenham residents, their biggest problem is housing.

Across Haringey, over 9,000 people on the council's waiting list.

60% of the cases that come into David Lammy's surgery are housing related.

So you're 28, you're staying with your aunt,

she wants you out in March and you've got no money?

It's phenomenally difficult for single men to get a council house,

which is effectively what you want,

when there are queues and queues of people, particularly families.

Looks like very bad damp to me. I mean, look at that.

It's in the bedroom, the bathroom,

and then the ceiling of the bedroom's got leaking water

when it rains badly.

I remember going to surgery with my mother,

to my predecessor MPs,

and, actually, people have pretty low expectations often,

because they've been let down by public services.

So there's no point sitting here as if I've got a god complex

and I can fix the world for them,

you know, it's about being realistic.

I don't want to make any promises,

I have seen cases that are worse than yours.

-Oh, OK.

-Even today, in today's surgery.

-How old is your son?

-Four.

And you've been sleeping at friends' places?

Police station, buses, friends' places, everything.

Hi, have a seat.

Thank you very much.

Lorry driver Koefe has come to see David Lammy

because his flat is overcrowded.

-So there's five of you.

-Five of, yeah, of us.

-In a one-bedroom.

-In a one-bedroom.

Where are you all sleeping?

Right, this is what...

This... I sleep on the floor,

and then both kids sleep on the bedroom, on the bed,

and my wife sleep on the living room,

and my daughter sleep on the floor in the living room.

-And your wife has liver cancer.

-Yes.

Right now, she's in the hospital,

so I have to go to the hospital,

come take the kids out of school, get someone to look after them,

cook, go to the hospital, and, this, it's like my life, it's not easy.

When it comes to night, it's where my worry comes,

how I'm going to sleep, how my kids are going to sleep.

What do the doctors say about your wife, is she going to get better?

They started one treatment before,

and then, er, the treatment did not work,

so, they try, are trying another treatment which is the chemotherapy,

which is...as all of us know how chemotherapy is.

This feels very serious to me.

-It is.

-And so, I'm going to be contacting the council

because I can't see how you are in band B, you should be in band A.

-Thank you, er...

-God bless you.

OK, best of luck.

I pray for you to be there for us all the time.

OK, thank you, stay strong, thank you.

People think that all of the problems in a constituency like this

are about poverty.

Sometimes, they think it's about laziness, or stupidity,

or a lack of acumen.

Actually, a lot of the issues here are simply about bad luck.

You just get a bad draw.

You know, shit happens in people's lives,

all people's lives, whatever your financial circumstances.

If you're middle class, if you have networks, if you have friends,

it's not that terrible things don't happen, er,

but it's often that you're...

you have support networks, there are buffers for you,

and a lot of my constituents have not got those buffers.

In Tottenham, the problems with housing are escalating.

Between 2013 and 2014,

councils across London only funded 40 council houses.

None of them were in Haringey.

Koefe has been trying to get his family rehoused for eight years.

Who want, do you want this bread or that one?

-That one.

-This one.

-That one.

Every week, he bids for a council property using their online system.

My last bidding was on Wednesday,

and then what I found out, er, we are 573, it was 570 before,

now is 573 people fighting for one house,

and I wonder who's going to, what's going to happen.

Councils decide who gets offered a property based on

who they deem to be a priority.

They don't have nowhere to play,

that why he's keeping throwing everything like that.

Come. This is my wife Pauline.

For me, we feel like animals,

because, even though animal has a...

They have a...I mean, a way to live in separate, you know.

We are... I don't know which word to describe,

but it is like, you know, putting...

You feel like in prison, I can say.

Over the next 20 years, Tottenham will undergo massive regeneration.

Along with Spurs football club,

the council is planning to redevelop the north end of Tottenham High Road.

This controversial scheme involves demolishing this large area.

Nearly 300 homes, and 120 businesses will have to go.

In their place, the council plan to build

community and leisure facilities, and 1,200 new homes.

Unless the businesses under threat sell up and leave,

they will be compulsory purchased and offered compensation.

One of them is this timber yard that's been here for 65 years.

Corned beef, I never know what I got until I open the box up.

I've got a very nice wife, she gets all the food for me,

and it's a surprise every time I, er, go to have a look.

Brian Dossett is the owner of this profitable family business

that sells timber and manufactures bespoke furniture.

Me uncle and me dad started in the back garden

making deck chairs and that sort of thing,

and then they gradually got one place and carried on,

and, ever since, they built it up.

I've been coming here, in a pram to start with, with me mum,

because me mum worked here and me aunt worked here,

all our family's worked here.

I remember when I was a kid,

we used to get the shavings and put them in sacks.

I done that in my holidays and played about, yeah.

Always been here, all my life.

Despite the offer of compensation,

unless Brian can find an alternative local site to rebuild his business,

he says he'll be forced to close down

and his 28 employees will lose their jobs.

Six months ago,

Brian went to ask David Lammy for help to fight the plans.

Right, there's plan 1, er, our building is just here.

Basically they want to build a road through your business.

And flats, they want to put a road through it

and they want to knock this down, and the rest of the estate.

Everything they're doing is not going to improve Tottenham.

Look, I've campaigned for regeneration in this area,

-and I will continue to campaign...

-I'm not saying...

It's got to be fair, it's got to be balanced,

it's got to take people with-with you, it's got to take people, er,

or there's no point. I can't make promises, it's a consult... Go on.

Is it possible you can have a word with the other councillors

to see if they are going to do their job.

Well, they've got to come and have a look.

Absolutely, absolutely, I'm going to have a word.

That's easy, I'll do that, for sure.

-All right, good to see you.

-Thank you very much for your time.

David Lammy, I told him I had a problem,

and he's never been back since.

He's not interested, he's not bothered, he's just...

Waste of time.

After several months with no news,

Brian has asked David to come and see him.

Perhaps he's got some nice answers to tell me that it's all a mistake

and we can stay here after all.

-Hello.

-Hello, I'm here to see Brian.

-Brian, hello.

-Hello there.

Good to see you, good to see you.

What you come to tell me? Some good news that it's all been cancelled?

You never came back and answered any of my questions

when I...seen you at your last surgery.

Well, Brian, the difficulty for me, as I said to you then,

I was the person who campaigned

to get money into the constituency to regenerate it.

And I think locally, as the MP, I had raised issues with the council

on the way that they consulted on the scheme, the way it landed...

-Why...?

-But what I can't do is not -

I haven't got the power to do it - is to tell the authority what to do.

In this area where we are here,

we've got a main road in front of us, does no harm to anybody,

a railway line at the back, nobody likes railways so it's great.

We're not doing any harm to anybody having an industrial estate there,

they've got to be somewhere.

But, no, they decide they want to get rid of us simply because

Tottenham Hotspur own bits of property all round on the estate,

they can make a damn good killing out of it.

-We're supporting all that?

-I totally get your point about manufacturing,

and about your business being here for 65 years.

I-I-I am very sympathetic to that.

But my own view is that we do need regeneration in the area.

You know we have had riots, there is high unemployment, there are issues.

We keep saying that it's very bad employment in Tottenham,

but, there again, we're getting rid of the places that are employing.

All these other little restaurants and cafes, there's loads of them,

you're trying to take their trade away from them.

Brian, you say you, you know...

OK, you're in charge of Tottenham, you're the top man.

Yeah, well, this is always the difficulty...

-If you can't sort it out, who can?

-This is always the difficulty.

My job as Member of Parliament

is primarily to stand up for my constituents in Westminster.

-Correct.

-Right?

-Where, where...?

In Westminster. I don't run the local authority.

-I'm not the big chief of Tottenham, I'm really not.

-But you certainly...

I've got no money, got no budget.

-But you've got certainly more clout.

-Of course I've got clout.

-So then, er...

-Of course I've got clout.

What we're trying to do is work out how Tottenham can be improved.

Absolutely. The issue is whether they're changing for the better.

I remember when I used to go down to Stoke Newington,

I used to go to Dalston, I used to go across the river to Brixton,

all of these areas... Notting Hill was a dump. Look at them now.

And where has Tottenham been in comparison to that?

So I'm not setting my face against regeneration. I can't, I can't do.

What is wrong with Tottenham in your view, what is wrong with it?

Well, clearly if you've had two riots in a generation,

clearly if we're sitting in a ward

in which unemployment is amongst the highest in London,

we're sitting in a ward in which there are very...

They're getting rid of the places where they can work.

Most people here are privately renting and their rents are soaring.

We're sitting in an area of high crime.

These are issues that require intervention.

-The house...

-This is not easy stuff.

-Nothing's easy.

There are people who want to give the impression it's easy, it's not.

So how by putting houses, how by putting houses on here

is that going to make Tottenham a better place?

You're just going to have a lot more houses

for more people that are unemployed.

Because we've got massive, massive housing problems here.

And you'd have even more job problems, you'd get more people.

And we have got unemployment here as well.

After I leave here, I'm going to go to my surgery, and it would...

I don't think I've ever done a surgery in my life,

in the 15 years that I've been MP,

where somebody has not come...

And, actually, in my surgeries, it's more than somebody,

it's usually about 20 or 30 or 40 people. ..have not turned up

and have not been virtually homeless, had crap housing,

been overcrowded, had cockroaches, want somewhere to live.

So I can't have it both ways.

I can't say there's a housing crisis in London

and we've got to sort the housing out,

and then when it comes to where they build the housing, er,

beat up the local authority who have an idea of regenerating the area

and bringing some new housing.

So there's a balance to be struck.

I can see that you'd really like to be sitting here

with the councillors who are making these decisions,

because it miffs me quite a lot

that I've got to be the guy that sort of sells the scheme...

DAVID LAUGHS

What am I supposed to do?

I've had my ear bent, I shall go and bend others.

And if you want me to help with the law and other people,

that is part of my job, I'm happy to do that.

I'm sure I'll be needing one in this near future.

OK, cheers.

He can't do nothing.

There's no answers at all, is there, eh?

Nothing's been solved, nothing will be solved.

Just what we thought.

Hello, again. Hi.

We're campaigning to keep our youth clubs open

because Haringey Council are making er, cuts,

and we're just trying to save it.

When people are reaching for what to cut,

young people somehow aren't a group.

Which is one of the reasons why we've got to get 16-year-olds the vote

because it seems to me - I've always said this -

if you're old enough to have sex, you're old enough to vote.

Don't want to make you blush, but that's the truth.

You've been waiting 11 days.

That was, that was the last time I tried to book an appointment.

Yes, it was actually two weeks, er, before I got to see a doctor.

It's never been a brilliant surgery, shall we say.

It is a scandal, an outrage.

We've got a huge problem with GPs' overrun in the area

and poor practices in the area,

and I'm afraid you're at one of the serial offenders.

So you're saying that you were, er,

you weren't allowed to use a toilet?

I wasn't allowed to use the toilet.

For eight-hour shifts?

For eight-hour shift, I was not able to go to the toilet.

Every time you ask to use the toilet,

they tell you, "Get back to your till, there's a queue."

Oh, hello.

For David Lammy and his team,

some of the most challenging cases are to do with immigration.

Today, Daisy Goodman, David's senior caseworker,

is helping 75-year-old Anna.

She came to the UK 12 years ago,

seeking asylum from the civil war in Angola.

She's currently homeless.

She's got no place to live, she's got no right to GP, no work.

She gets no income at all from the Government or anything.

I just didn't, didn't like it,

just, you know, someone like her in that particular situation,

so I had to take her into my property and then trying

to get the Home Office involved,

trying to get, er, MP as well involved.

The system is designed to make it hostile for people who are here

technically illegally, and the way that they make it hostile

is you get no benefits of any kind.

So that's the reason why she's not getting help.

But if she's got a valid asylum application in,

then we'll try and get her some help as an asylum seeker.

Good luck, and it's very good to meet you both.

Tottenham has always been known as a gateway community

for migrants and refugees.

For those who want to stay in Britain, they have to navigate

a complex immigration system that can take many years.

22-year-old Shantel from Jamaica

has been living in the UK since she was nine.

But despite repeatedly applying to the Home Office,

she still hasn't got her permanent residency.

Not having the right status,

it just leaves me in a very confused and puzzled place

because I've been here for such a long time.

So it's like a bit touchy and emotional for me

because all my family migrated here.

My nan was here from she was in her 20s,

she, like, migrated to Manchester,

like my cousin, my brother, my nephews, like my sister.

They have their status and then, with me, it's just like a fight,

like every day is the next fight.

Shantel wants to go to university, but the fees are £15,000 a year.

Because of her temporary residency status,

she isn't entitled to a student loan, so can't afford to study.

I thought I was the only person in this situation,

and then, when I researched,

I found out there's 930-odd students

that go through the same thing that I'm going through.

How can the system be set up like that?

Because I've done primary school, secondary school, sixth form

then college, so I thought it would have been a successful ending

to get in a degree,

and then you work so hard for it and then you can't go further,

which makes no complete sense to me.

-Hello, hi, come on in. How are you, Shantel?

-I'm fine.

I'm really concerned about young people like you,

that are trying to make a contribution to the country,

want to work, want to get on, and then can't take a degree.

And now you're working in a bookies.

Nothing against bookies,

but that wasn't what you set out and wanted to do.

What did you want to do?

I wanted to do hotel...

Like, my future plan is to like renovate hotels,

so that's why I wanted to study business.

All that has to be on a pause because of this, like, situation.

How much are you getting paid at Coral?

Because I've been promoted to assistant manager,

I get £7 something, but when I get signed off, I would get £8.

So your future is basically working at the bookmakers for some time

-to raise the money to go to university?

-Yeah.

It's going to take years.

I know because I live by myself as well, so I have to pay my rent

and I don't know how I'm going to do that. I really don't know how.

OK, Shantel, well, look, as I say, I'm very concerned about it.

-I'll press for you and see where we get to.

-Brilliant.

Thanks, best of luck.

Shantel is not the only person needing David Lammy's help

to get a student loan.

Thank you. As I have mentioned in the letter...

20-year-old Kawana has been living in the UK for over 14 years

and she doesn't have full residency either.

I contacted, er, the Prime Minister, actually,

he said that he's going to forward it to the immigration,

and they said because I have a discretionary leave,

they're not helping me.

I mean, I think that it would be unjustifiably harsh

to remove you from the country.

To all intents and purposes, these two women are British.

They're British. They're never, ever going to be sent back

to the places that their parents came from

because they've lived here all their lives, they know nothing else.

You know, they're looking forward to going to university,

doing great jobs, paying their taxes

and making a huge contribution.

And the system has now said that we want a freeze on the numbers,

and therefore you're keeping these girls

in this in-between, undocumented situation, effectively,

and now they can't go to university, so I'm going to go and challenge

the minister about what's happening. Why has this happened?

That meeting was a breakthrough. I'm finally getting somewhere.

It gives me hope because I know once they do all of this,

I know MP has the MP hotline. They can find different information

that you can't probably access, or probably know how to access

that information. So, yeah, it is really useful.

Ruth's son, Ambrose, is still missing after he disappeared

following a car accident near Tottenham Marshes.

Unhappy with the police investigation,

Ruth is starting her own campaign.

Five weeks today, my son has been missing,

and still I don't know where my son's body is.

31 years old tomorrow. I love you, Ambrose!

We're going to get the answers, Ambrose!

I'm seeing the Borough Commander. It's David Lammy.

David and his political assistant have come to check up

on the investigation.

Yeah, so went to see the family last Friday.

Had a good conversation but Ruth is, as you'd imagine, very agitated.

Just how is Mum?

She displays the signs of a mum who's grieving.

-Oh, God.

-Hello.

-BREATHLESSLY:

-Gina, Gina! Hang on a minute.

Gina, hang on. Oh, God

She just wanted us to tell her that Ambrose is dead, you know?

He's been gone five weeks,

but there's no indication to suggest that.

The thing is, what the community say, and I know this is not...

It's not nice, but at the same time,

we've had this terrible incident in Bristol

involving a white young woman who goes missing,

and the whole national attention has been on it.

Very, very sadly, she has died.

Ambrose is the same timeframe, here in Tottenham, no coverage.

You can see what the frustration is, and they say,

"Oh, no-one's taking it seriously. No-one cares cos he's just a 30-year-old black guy."

-I know. That's what Ruth was saying.

-Yeah

There's nothing further from the truth. On two separate occasions,

we've had the murder investigation team in

to review the whole investigation, and we went back again

two days ago to re-search the canal.

We've done telephone checks, we've gone into the history of friends,

national media won't pick it up because we're not talking

of any suspicious circumstances, so there's nothing

that actually makes it stand out.

Unless we want to turn round and say a 30-year-old black man

going missing is unique in itself, which it isn't,

then the national media are not going to pick it up.

We don't want the national media picking it up cos we'll have to

go with an angle, that says,

"Suspicious circumstances. Strongly believe this man's dead,

"believe there's a third party involvement,

"and we're making a witness appeal."

But that would be jumping the gun.

I can't tell you, I want this case solved.

As I said to you, I am worried that these cases can get hijacked.

But I can assure you we're throwing every possible resource at it.

It's a mystery. It's a mystery how a 30-year-old man just disappears.

-SHE SOBS

-Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Ruth's come to her local police station to hand in

a list of 50 questions about her son's case that she wants answered.

-I'll give you a lift back.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

The thing is, we're in a part of the country where relations

between parts of the community - particularly, historically,

the West Indian and Jamaican community - and the police

are as bad as they can possibly be.

And I'm worried, because there are few places in the country,

in the world, that have had two riots in a generation,

and frankly this is the kind of case, and they come up frequently,

month after month, that can just spiral out of control.

But I've got the Borough Commander to properly engage.

He will now ricochet down to find out what's going on.

But, in the end, if I don't get satisfaction,

I'll go over his head to the Met Commissioner.

Shantel is on her way to the House of Commons to meet David Lammy.

He's taking her to see the Minister for Universities.

She's hoping that despite her temporary residency status,

the minister will allow her to get a student loan.

I've literally never been to Westminster before.

This is my first time. And it's so weird,

I've lived here for so long and I've never actually travelled here.

It's so big.

I'm so eager to get in.

-Mind the car, please!

-HORN TOOTS

I can't believe it.

I just saw the Prime Minister in his car!

He nearly hit me over!

See, in my area, you don't see nothing like that.

-I'm here to see David Lammy in the House of Commons.

-Yeah, shall we...?

That was scary.

David has also invited Kawana,

the other student who is the same predicament as Shantel.

-Are you a bit nervous?

-Yeah.

-Yes, I am.

-Are you OK?

-I'm fine.

OK. So, now, in a way, I'm going for two reasons.

The way you are treating these British students

who have discretionary leave to remain is wrong.

You changed the rules on this a couple of years ago,

and this is the hardship it's causing.

This cannot be what you intended, right?

So, straight backs...

-Rosa Parks...

-Yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

..and just, you know... See what I mean? Yeah?

You haven't been to the Commons before...?

The meeting with the Universities Minister, Greg Clark, lasts an hour.

-LAUGHING

-Ah! That was so sick!

-It is beautiful.

-We had a meeting in the House of Commons.

I know! With like a high MP...

And like seeing the MP in itself, then seeing Greg in itself...

It was just like... I was overwhelmed.

I feel blessed right about now. I do. I do feel blessed.

-I feel very important.

-I know! I feel like I'm somewhere in society.

Somewhere, my voice has been heard. That's all it is.

I feel like I'm being heard.

He thought there was another way for us to get these fees.

-Yeah.

-Which was quite scary, really.

I know, it was so scary. He was like,

"So, could you get something else?"

No. "Could you apply for something else?"

No. "All right, then, we need to sort this out,"

cos it's like they just didn't know. They just didn't know.

And I don't blame it cos people make the legislations,

and they don't do it in a malicious way,

but when it actually does affect someone,

someone should do something about it, if that makes sense.

How does Westminster compare to Tottenham?

-Oh, my God.

-Let me take a good look.

Oh, my God. Look at Churchill over there.

It's beautiful. This area is overwhelming.

look at Big Ben, with the gold.

-Like, look, seriously. It's real gold, you know.

-Is it?

Why do you think there's so much police outside?

I'm definitely coming back to Westminster,

-but it's out of my money region.

-For now.

-For now, yeah. For now.

13 weeks after Ambrose Ball went missing,

a body has been found in the River Lea,

alongside the canal near where his car crashed.

The police are 90% sure it's Ambrose.

I'm just... I'm in a trance...

..to tell you the truth.

I don't know if this is what shock's supposed to be. I don't know.

I don't know what I'm feeling.

But I know this is my son that we're going to see,

and I knew from the beginning.

The police asked Ruth and her family to come to the mortuary

to identify the body.

-He's covered apart from his arms.

-OK.

The other warning that I must tell you is the smell...

Um, it's unique to when bodies die. It's the smell.

I advise you just not to touch.

SHE WHIMPERS

Yeah, that's him, that's him. That's my son.

That's my son.

SHE BREATHES HEAVILY

They're going to pay for this, I swear to God. Get me out of here.

-Get me out! Get me out of here!

-SHE SOBS

-Get us out!

-You're going to pay for this, I swear to God.

They're going to pay for what they've done to my son!

I swear on the Holy Bible they're going to pay.

They're going to pay for what they've done to my son.

-Can you not discuss anything?!

-Don't talk to them!

Don't discuss anything with them!

They've already got rid of our evidence!

They've done what they wanted to fucking do.

We're not fucking idiots!

That's my son in there!

I need to get away from here.

The coroner has now started an investigation into how Ambrose died.

Two weeks after Ruth identified her son's body,

David Lammy invites her and her sister, Gina,

to come to his Westminster office.

Because it's got so complicated, the errors that have been made,

the way you've been treated, clearly the way it's been managed

-has been shockingly appalling.

-It's disgusting, yeah.

So I am going to write to Bernard Hogan-Howe, the police chief.

-I am going to copy that letter...

-Yeah, we've e-mailed him four times.

-..to the Home Secretary.

-OK.

And what I'm going to do, is try and summarise all the things

that have gone wrong in this case, and say, "This is not acceptable.

"The family are deeply hurt and upset, and deeply mistrustful..."

Insulted.

-"..and they want new supervision of this case."

-Yeah.

-And a new investigation.

-That will mean that Hogan-Howe

has to look at the case, has to haul in Victor and say,

"What the hell's going on?"

Somebody is covering up somewhere, and it is down to the police.

I know that and my heart tells me that from the 24th.

I know what happened. I know.

But they didn't expect Mummy to come along to a 31-year-old only hours

after he's gone missing. That was not what they bargained for.

Well, look, I've got to work with your lawyer

to see if we can get to the truth.

Not yet.

No, we will get to the truth. I know we will.

I won't stop until we do.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission are now investigating

the Metropolitan Police's handling of the case.

It will be months before an inquest is held

so Ruth can find out exactly how her son died.

In Tottenham, three months after they went

to David Lammy's surgery for help, Koefe and his family

have moved from their overcrowded flat into a bigger home.

See?

Massive kitchen.

SHE LAUGHS

I don't know how to describe it. I'm so happy.

I like the house. Very big, the kitchen is nice, everything is nice.

HE SHOUTS

-Aw! Give me five!

-Yeah!

Sadly, after just two months living in her new home,

Koefe's wife, Pauline, lost her fight with cancer.

-MUSIC: Stand By Me by Ben E King

-What is that?

Is that Adam's song?

# I won't cry

# I won't cry... #

-Yeah, it's wheelie.

-# No, I won't shed a tear

# Just as long as you stand... #

Stand by me!

Oh, dear.

It's been six weeks since Colly visited David Lammy's surgery,

he's still trying to resolve her dispute with the authorities

over the adaptations to her house

so that her son, Adam, can have his spinal surgery.

I've got to take a breather.

You OK? You going up?

You look very disappointed

that I couldn't do it with one shot, one go.

Go! 'So he's been left in a brace for over two years,'

'because we can't have his surgery cos, as far as I'm concerned,

'the house isn't suitable for him to be discharged in,

'because people are not prepared to change or knock down a wall

'or improve the size of something or connect a bathroom to his bedroom.'

And it doesn't make any sense, so the more it doesn't make sense,

the more I challenge them because I'm not willing to sit back

and have my child not get the help that he needs.

# Stand by me... #

How are we going to manoeuvre him up and down the stairs,

if our lift is too small for him? Cos Adam has grown,

and they can't understand that!

It's... They're nutcase.

SHE LAUGHS

After asking the Universities Minister to allow them access

to student finance, both Shantel and Kawana were turned down...

..so Shantel joins the Just For Kids law campaign,

who are challenging the law at the Supreme Court,

with the support of David Lammy.

-You aren't asking to go to university for free.

-No!

-You are asking for a loan!

-Yes!

If you've gone to school in this country,

if your parents are in this country, and able to make their way,

then it seems to me you should get access to student finance.

Eight weeks later, the Supreme Court ruled that young people

like Shantel, lawfully in this country,

should not be discriminated against,

and should be entitled to student finance.

We've got our goal. We've got the goal, we've made it,

Like, we made it!

The fact is, I wanted to go to uni so I could financially help myself

and get a good education so I can take myself out of like...

I wouldn't call it poverty but the working class, shall I say,

into something like a middle class where I could be comfortable,

and all of this means so much, because it just makes me feel

like I'm not alienated and isolated like what I have felt before.

Now I can get on with my life and have a normal life like anyone else.

# Darling, darling

# Stand by me... #

And for David Lammy, it's business as usual.

-Mr Reeker.

-And how are you, young man?

I'm all right. What have you come to see me about today?

-I've got...

-Now let me guess.

Is it transport?

HE LAUGHS

So, you're here because your dog has been seized?

Yes. He tried to kick my dog.

My dog retaliated, and he unfortunately got bitten.

-There you go.

-He doesn't look very dangerous, does he?

He's a little sop.

How many Twitter followers have you got now?

-6,000.

-6,000? What are you, a celebrity?

-SPEECH SYNTHESISER:

-Working on it.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, my word.

Subtitles by Ericsson