16/10/2013 BBC London News

You Tonight on BBC London News: Thousands of girls in the capital

are at risk of being raped by gangs ` the finding of an official study.

We are hearing about children who are being victims of rape and just

assumed that that is what happens, it is part of growing up.

We'll hear from a victim and ask what can be done. Also tonight: She

was the first person to die on a Boris bike. Today a coroner rules it

was an accidental death. The medics who helped amputate a

man's leg after he became stuck up a crane.

Plus how do you turn this moment of movie magic into a hit West End

show? Sir Tim Rice reveals all. Good evening. Thousands of girls in

London are at risk of being raped by gangs. That's the verdict of the

woman in charge of an official inquiry looking at sexual

exploitation amongst young people. The two`year investigation has found

that some girls as young as ten are being lured into situations where

they are repeatedly sexually abused by boys, but that most of the

attacks go unreported. This special report from Tarah Welsh.

I was 11, and I was gang raped by boys in my area. Barely out of

primary school, she was targeted and forced to have sex with an older boy

and his friends. The group of boys was in his bedroom, they started

touching me and stuff. I told them to stop, then it happened one by

one. The next time they saw her, they raped her again. They said they

would stop me or beat me up, I was scared but it did not really bother

me, I was at a point in my life when it did not really bother me. I

didn't care any more. She didn't tell anyone. In some parts of London

we are hearing about children who are being victims of rape and just

assumed that that is what happens, it is part of growing up. There is

no point in telling anybody or complaining, it is just what

happens. A two year enquiry has looked at the scale of sexual

exploitation in gangs across England. It has heard from councils,

police and big ones and the point is to try to tackle the problem. ``

heard from councils, police and victims. They want to try to

identify every single girl with links to a gang member, whether it

be her cousin, boyfriend, brother or a friend. There several thousand

known gang members in London `` that are several thousand. If each of

those boys is linked to simply one girl, there are a few thousand

girls. Every single one of them is at very high risk of sexual exploit

Asian. The Metropolitan Police say that it is starting to look at Hugh

potential victims might be. The inquiry will make recommendations

next month about what can be done to protect children. In south London

they are trying already, GPs and nurses work with specially trained

youth workers at this clinic to try to help young women who may have

been exploited. The clinical team are asking questions when young

people attend asking for sexual health screening or pregnancy tests.

The nurses and doctors are asking questions around their relationship

and the behaviour. It is giving young people the opportunity to talk

about things they have kept secret. There is no official exact number of

how many big wins of sexual violence that are within gangs. Most crimes

go unreported for a number of reasons. Fear of retaliation or an

acceptance that this just happens. Many of these girls are from a world

where you just don't go to the police. Princess has worked with

young people for years but says that, lately, more girls are

speaking to her about rape. Some of the young females that have been

referred to us have been raped or assaulted in some way. It is quite

shocking, but it is really high. The inquiry found some girls are being

used to set up others. As sad as it sounds, they can start off as a

victim and become a perpetrator for someone else, for that to happen to

someone else. The chair of the inquiry says the authorities have to

do more to protect these children. The girls can be so hard to reach

because sometimes they do not even know they are victims.

Tarah joins us now. How aware are the police of the this? `` of the

extent of this? They are aware and there have been prosecutions for

gang rapes, but the scale has been highlighted by this enquiry and they

are starting to map where these vulnerable girls might be. Officers

know they are not necessarily the best people to go into schools and

talk about sexual relationships, they are doing this with partner

organisations. When a girl has been raped she is more vulnerable for it

to happen again, so youth workers like the ones in my report are

telling young girls that you do not have to go through with this, this

is not the way to be treated. What does the inquiry recommend? The

chair has said there is a lot of things to be learned from the great

work being done out there, but there is a long way to go and everyone

that has contact with a child must be able to spot signs of sexual

abuse, and at the moment they are not and that is not good in.

Coming up later: Schoolchildren and celebrities join the Duchess of

Cornwall to celebrate Westminster Abbey's first harvest festival in

nearly 50 years. I think for young children to know

where things come from, whether it is fruit and veg all, for that

matter, electricity and water, is very important. Philippine de

Gerin`Ricard was the first person to die rating a Boris bike. She was hit

by a lorry in July on one of the flagship cycling superhighways.

Today a coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death and said it was

an appalling accident. It comes a day after the inquest into another

death on the same superhighway, and it was said that concerns had been

raised about the junction. Outside Aldgate tube on a Friday

night, a French student died while using a higher bike and cycling on

superhighway number two. Philippine de Gerin`Ricard was in an HGV's

blindspot. The driver did not see her at the side of his lorry as the

lanes converged. After her death, her mother was highly critical of

the superhighway. TRANSLATION: The most difficult

thing to come to terms with is that by using this bike lane she didn't

stand a chance from the outset. A Metropolitan Police Road safety

expert said they had warned TfL about the Aldgate gyrate 35 years

ago. They listed 21 concerns, making it unsafe for cyclists. Concerns

were made before the superhighway was put along this road to encourage

or cyclists to use it. As CCTV of the collision was shown to the

court, Philippine's mother cried out. Later, she said what needs to

be tackled is the provision of cycling lanes. She said it needs to

be tackled now and quickly. Later, as the family left court, the father

of Philippine shook the hand of the HGV driver. Today the coroner

recorded a conclusion of accidental death. Yesterday after an inquest in

front of the same coroner, the family of Brian Dalling also

criticised TfL after he died on the same cycling superhighway.

Businessmen to be a dedicated cycle route offering people a safer way to

use their bikes. It was only after Brian putts`macro death that TfL has

seen fit to change the layout of the junction. It is terribly sad that

these people died, and it seems that the superhighway scheme was not

justified in terms of security and safety. The coroner concluded that

TfL should find new ways of making the lanes say. She will file a full

report into both deaths at a later date, which could mean more

criticism of these flagship schemes. A convicted killer who stabbed a 17

year`old outside a nightclub has escaped from a secure mental health

unit in Hackney. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder,

he escaped from the John Hammond Centre this afternoon. The East

London foundation NHS trust says it is reviewing security as a matter of

urgency. 11 people have been arrested in dawn

raids as part of an operation to stop a gang smuggling millions of

pounds worth of drugs into the country. Police say cocaine was

transported to Heathrow airport in cargo containers on flights from

Mexico. Officers said that during the investigation quantities with a

street value totalling many millions of pounds were recovered.

Thames Water's request to increase customer bills by up to 8% next year

may be blocked by its regulator. Ofwat published the draft decision,

saying current evidence did not justify the rise. Thames Water had

asked to add an extra ?29 to the annual average household bill. There

will now be a consultation period, and the final decision is due in

November. . The Mayor says Britain needs to

learn from China when it comes to big building projects like the

high`speed rail line HS2. Boris Johnson said too much time and money

was spent on consultants and not enough on getting schemes started.

He was speaking to our political editor, Tim Donovan, on a high`speed

train to Shanghai. The Boris sales drive move to

Shanghai today. It is incredible for me to see how much Shanghai has

changed. First there was the folder bikes against the stunning skyline

of the city, where he showed supporters his first attempt at

writing Mandarin. And then it was off to Marks

Spencer's biggest store here. Earlier on the high`speed train from

Beijing, he insisted he did not feel personal pressure from his constant

need to promote the capital, and he is impressed by the train ` how

could you not be? We need to learn from this. In our country, we spend

colossal sums on consultants, on valuations, engineering studies,

impact assessments of all kinds, on reviews. We observe literally

billions of pounds of cost in that way before we build a single thing.

Ask yourself how much HS2 has cost already without anything being

built. He said his agenda and itinerary had been distinctive from

the Chancellor's. How has it made you feel with George

Osborne here, where the real power is, coming on the back of big

announcements? Does it make you envious? It has been very, very good

for the UK plc and for London. He prepares to leave for Hong Kong

tomorrow. No new deals have been revealed but he insists that coming

here in person has been worth it. The personal contact has counted. It

is an believably interesting and absorbing. I wouldn't be here if

they hadn't been aware of what happened, been impressed by that.

That is why we are getting a good reception. They think me yet, we saw

that guy, he came in 2008, we saw him on the zip wire. Let's have him.

That is fantastic and it opens doors and gets things done. I am not going

to come back to London with any pandas, I haven't been offered any,

but we will have billions and billions of pounds worth of

investment and this trip has certainly helped to keep that going.

He hasn't seen much of ordinary, shall we say, hard`working Chinese

people, but claims that this will all at the high end in June course

bring good results. A power outage at Gatwick airport

has caused travel chaos. Check`in services have been effect did and

all easyJet flights will depart from the North terminal. There are still

some minor delays and the airport has apologised for any

inconvenience. Police have released a photograph of

a businessman who died defending his wife and shop in east London

yesterday. It's thought Shammi Atwal was pushed in front of a moving

lorry outside his Cash and Carry in Barking as he grappled with a gang

of up to ten men, some armed with a sledgehammer and metal bars.

Passengers are being warned part of a main overground route will remain

closed until next week after a freight train derailed in Camden.

The crash caused extensive damage to the railway and to overhead wires.

The train was carrying scrap metal from the Midlands to Folkestone,

early on Tuesday morning. It's not known what caused the derailment,

but foul play has been ruled out as a cause. At the moment, the overhead

line is wrapped around the train. We have to secure it because it is

under tension, in order to remove and cut away the infrastructure from

around the train and then move it. We hope to have done that by the end

of today. We have to assess the damage and put the infrastructure

back together. At the moment we are attempting to get the track back

together. At the moment we are attempting to get the TrackBack for

passenger services on Monday morning. Surgeons have been

describing the moment they saved the life of a dock worker from Essex.

The team flew to the port of Tilbury when the worker became trapped on

top of a crane. Ben Bland went to meet them. Preparing for the next

rescue, but few will be as dramatic as the one Louise was involved in on

Monday. She was the paramedic on board the Essex and hearts of

ambulance which flew two Cambridge surgeons to help a man whose leg was

stuck in machinery in a crane in Tilbury. Normally the training the

team has on the helicopter, we can manage almost every incident, being

able to join together our experiences. But this was a very

complex and unusual incident, so being able to call in a specialist

team was very helpful indeed. It improved the outcome of the patient.

Emergency crews were called just before 11am to reports of a man

trapped 30 metres above the ground. At 11:30am the air ambulance

arrived, carrying the surgeons. An hour later they asked for specialist

equipment, after engineers failed to release the crane gears. Then a

specialist vascular surgeon was brought in from Chelmsford, but it

wasn't until 5pm that evening that the man was released and flown to

Addenbrooke's. The men praised for saving his life of the surgeons. It

was a pretty austere environment. It was very tight in space. It was

filthy, there was thick grease every where from the gearing mechanism,

the patient was covered in grease. His other leg was trapped behind him

and he was leaning forward onto the mechanism itself. The incident

happened here at Tilbury docks in south Essex, one of the main port

serving London. Containers taken off ships come from all over the world

with goods destined for shops across the country. The engineer whose leg

was trapped didn't want to be identified. It's thought he is still

being at hospital, lucky to be alive, thanks to the skill and

courage of the rescue team. Still to come tonight... I'm Rebecca

Thornhill. And Darius Campbell. We start in from here to eternity, Sir

Tim Rice's first musical in almost 30 years. Next, how old should you

be before you get behind the wheel for the first time? The Government

is proposing the legal age should be raised to 18. But at one school in

south London, pupils as young as 13 have been getting lessons. Just 13,

in the playground and behind the wheel. It was exciting. The day is

focusing on their steering technique. But where possible, we

are giving them as much control as we can. At King 's College School in

Wimbledon, they'd be learning about the dangers of driving. There to

teach them, someone who knows the risks all too well. I've come to

terms with what happened on that day, but I would never wish going

through that experience all my disability on anyone. But winning

discus gold that last year's Paralympics, Josie Pearson helped

inspire a generation. Now she wants to help educate one. When I was 17 I

was involved in a road traffic accident. My boyfriend was driving,

he died instantly, I broke my neck. I want to show people that it

doesn't have to happen. In 2011, more than 20% of road deaths

involved a driver between the ages of 17 and 24. Last week, the

government announced it is thinking of raising the legal driving age

from 17 to 18. Do you back those proposals? I think if the education

of youngsters is adequate enough and compulsory in schools, I don't think

you'd even need those restrictions. But is this too young to learn? They

are young enough to take very seriously the massive risk of

driving such a powerful machine as a car. I think there is excitement but

there's also a wariness. It was a bit nerve wracking to start but you

got the feel of it. It gets you a bit more prepared. I never thought

I'd be able to drive a car, it was a good experience. And hopefully an

experience they will be all the safer for 11 day they take to the

roads for real. Primary school pupils from London joined the

Duchess of Cornwall and some other famous faces today to celebrate

Harvest Festival. The children were at Westminster Abbey to show Camilla

the fruit and vegetables that they had grown at school. It's the first

time the Abbey has played host to the tradition since 1966. Helen Drew

was there. Schoolchildren from across the country enjoying a

Harvest Festival service in Westminster Abbey today. It was

attended by the Duchess of Cornwall, who wants children to

learn about from `` where food comes from. They've grown their own fruit

and veg, an initiative backed by several familiar faces. What will we

eat, what will we drink or what will we wear? It's really important. Let

them know and make them aware of something they weren't aware of

before. I know that inner`city children don't see stuff grow, so

they don't know where it grows. These pupils from a plaque `` M

Rees: Plumstead loved the experience. It's a big thing for us.

For us to come and see the Duchess is really important for us. We've

grown some onions. And some charred. We have two types of squash. Not all

efforts were so successful. So the results have been somewhat

disappointing. It's the first Harvest service to be held at

Westminster Abbey since 1966. It is all part of British food fortnight,

which has been running for 12 years and aims to celebrate home`grown

produce. Homeland actor Damian Lewis also got involved. The crop is in. I

think for young children to know when things come from, whether it is

fruit and veg or electricity and water, it's very important that they

understand there is a process to these things. The Duchess' hope is

that children will now be encouraged to grow much more fruit and veg.

Today's food is being distributed to the elderly. And to discover more

about the tastes and science of this year's Harvest go to our website,

bbc.co.uk/harvest. It's the academy award`winning film starring Burt

Lancaster about three American soldiers stationed on Hawaii in the

run up to the Pearl Harbour attack in 1941. Now it's the subject Sir

Tim Rice's new stage musical, his first in over a decade. The lead

role is to be played by TV talent show star, Darius. Our Arts

Correspondent, Brenda Emmanus, has more. Burt Lancaster and Deborah

Kerr in a steamy embrace is probably one of the most memorable scenes

from the 1953 film, from here to eternity. A new stage adaptation

retains that magic moment, but is inspired by the original novel and

brings Sir Tim Rice back to the West End. I didn't just want to go on

doing shows for the sake of it. I think the combination of a great

score and great story means you are some way down the road to creating

something that could work. But obviously we've had to add lots of

other elements, it's a long battle. We are nearly there. From here to

eternity will be Tim Rice's first new show for 13 years, but it also

marks the West End debut for Stublic Grayson, who brought his musical

interpretation of the James Jones novel to Tim Rice and set off a

chain of events that led to this production. It's got newness all

over. It is not sung through, there's some great acting going on

on stage. But there's some fantastic show tunes, we have the romantic

things going on. But there's a lot of gritty, real music. Recreating

1941 Pearl Harbor and the American military base there has taken an

impressive production team and a lot of sweat from the cast, quite

literally. They were put through military style training to prepare

them for their vocally and physically challenging roles. But

now they are prepared for opening night, they hope the themes of the

original novel will reel in new and younger audiences. I think it will

work. It's important that young come out and get involved in theatre.

We've had members of the audience walked out because they are not

prepared for the swearing, nudity, sex, the things that we explored,

real grittiness, because we haven't shied away from exploring all of

those things that are very explicit in the novel. So for gritty themes

and a string of new songs, it runs at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

We had some wet weather today. A foggy start and the rain arrived.

But now the skies are clearing. We have a bit of a breeze blowing, and

that will continue through the night. But that is not bad news,

because that breeze. Any mist and fog forming. However, it is likely

to chase a few sharp showers our way as dawn approaches. But it's not

going to be as cold as it was last night. A couple of places last night

had a touch of frost on the grass, but a much milder night tonight.

Tomorrow, that breeze still blowing in the morning. It will keep any

showers on the move, not that there will be very many around in the

afternoon. For many, it is going to be a dry day. A sunny day. Where you

find some shelter from the wind, 17 or 18 Celsius will feel pleasantly

warm. Tomorrow evening we will lose the showers and cloud. Tomorrow

night, we are going to lose the breeze as well. That means by Friday

morning, I and fog will be back. Friday's weather is going to be very

similar to today. A rather grey start and then wind and rain

arriving later on. As far as the weekend is concerned, it is looking

bright and breezy. But we will have bands of showers crossing from west

to east across London and the Home Counties. Some cloud and rain but in

between the grave, wet bits, I think there will be a good deal of dry and

sunny weather as well. As far as the outlook is concerned, tomorrow

should be a dry day. Fog, wind and rain on Friday. I don't think we

will see very much fog over the weekend, but we will get a mixture

of wind and rain in the form of those showers I mentioned. At the

moment, it looks as though Sunday's showers will be heavier than

Saturday's showers. The Government has welcomed the latest unemployment

figures, which show the number of people out of work fell by 18,000

between June and August. The number of part`time workers has risen.

There's been a dramatic rise in the number of people using food banks.

The Trussell Trust charity says it's handed out more than 350,000 food

parcels since April, calling the situation scandalous. The woman in

charge of an official inquiry looking at sexual exploitation by

gangs says thousands of teenage girls are at risk of being raped in

London. The two year investigation also found most attacks go

unreported. That's it for now. Thank you for joining us. We will be back

with the late news. From me and the team, have a lovely evening.