17/10/2013 BBC London News

more than 9%. That is all from the BBC

Tonight, an exclusive report: We reveal the hundreds of families who

could be forced to leave London because of changes to their housing

benefit. I thought, why are you sending me to

Birmingham? I've never set foot in Birmingham in my life. I've always

been here. We examine how benefit changes could

transform the face of London. The school teacher from Chislehurst

who's gone missing in Qatar. Arab police make several arrests.

Beating the bills. How an estate in Brixton is working to bring down

energy costs, using solar panels. And, animal magic. How horses have

helped a veteran to combat post`traumatic stress.

Good evening. When changes to housing benefit were

first introduced, some feared it could mean hundreds of families

being forced to leave London. The Mayor, Boris Johnson, was quick to

say he wouldn't accept the "Kosovo`style social cleansing" of

the capital. But now, figures obtained by this programme reveal

that, in one borough alone, more than 500 families could be sent to

live in other parts of the country because of changes to their

benefits, and the housing shortage. Tower Hamlets says it's struggling

to cope with people unable to pay their rent, and the borough's not

alone. More than half of London's alone. More than half of London s

councils think the situation is actually going to get worse. Our

special correspondent Kurt Barling has this exclusive report.

Tower Hamlets has long been a very mixed community with one of the

highest ratios of public housing in London. But, with friends in the

private sector rising, it is seeing an increasing number of people

chasing a declining stock of affordable housing. It's now hit

crisis point. The council say they really fear next year they will have

to move up to 500 households out of London. Because there is a lack of

affordable housing and a raft of changes in welfare benefits. This

man and his young family were evicted from private rented

accommodation because the landlord wanted to sell. His family has been

put in temporary accommodation by Tower Hamlets in an outer London

borough, even though his children remain in school in Tower Hamlets.

When we went to homeless people, When we went to homeless people,

they said we have six weeks, if we can't manage within six weeks,

within 12 weeks they would provide temporary accommodation within the

Borough of Tower Hamlets. Now it is more than 12 weeks but we are on the

transfer list at number say, we don't know when we'll get another

property in Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets has the largest council

house building programme in London, but even it is struggling to cope

with increasing demand. To date we have not placed families outside in

Birmingham or Northampton because we are committed to bringing back our

families who have been placed outside from the Borough on the

outskirts, to bring them back in. To place a family in Birmingham or

Northampton disrupts their life. place a family in Birmingham or

Northampton disrupts their life The situation in Tower and let's is not

unique, 30 London councils said they had sent families to Bradford,

Birmingham and Peterborough, and many be housed in the hand `` the

Home Counties. 931 families were placed in temporary accommodation

outside London. But now, authorities like new have taken the next step,

offering people permanent homes in other cities. This woman is a single

parent with epilepsy and lost her home when the landlord wanted to

move back in. She has been offered a place by new council in Birmingham.

I froze and burst into tears. Why are you going to send me to

Birmingham? I have never been there. I have always been here. New told us

the case was being reviewed but said she had refused the home in

Birmingham without viewing it. Plenty say they understand the

problem with housing. We're not saying we want to be in the same bit

of London but we want to work around this and unable to get our children

to school. Plenty of people are prepared to commute. Moving someone

outside London where they have to start a new school and taking them

away totally from their support network is another thing. Much of

the burden is falling on councils in the capital. In Slough, they have

rehoused 77 families from other areas. 22 councils have sent people

here but this has been criticised. We are an authority which has picked

up the pieces. We have huge pressure on housing anyway, a huge waiting

list. We are tightening up policies to promote local need rather than

taking people from other boroughs. The government says it has given

more money to councils to avoid drastic action.

The situation may get worse before it gets better. 18 out of London's

councils told us they couldn't roll out sending families out of London.

`` rule out. Stay with us, there's lots more to

come on the programme this evening, including: Boris Johnson, on why he

wants London to copy Hong Kong's island airport.

Police in the Arab state of Qatar say they've arrested several

suspects, believed to be in connection with the disappearance of

a primary school teacher from London. 24`year`old Lauren

Patterson, from Chislehurst, was reportedly last seen leaving a hotel

in Doha at the weekend. Our reporter Helen Drew is following

developments. Details about what happened seem to be very thin on the

ground. The foreign office won't confirm

anything but they will say Lauren Patterson is missing and they are

providing her family with support. But on the website of the Ministry

of interior in Qatar, they say police have made several arrests of

people in connection with the murder of a European woman. Lauren

Patterson was in Doha where she worked as a primary school teacher,

starting her third year. There were reports she was last seen leaving a

nightclub of a 5`star hotel in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Some reports say she was seen leaving with a group of men, others

with a single friend. What about the family of Lauren Patterson? A

difficult time for them. It is thought her mother has flown

out to Doha. She has posted a message saying her daughter was a

truly remarkable girl. She calls her her rock, always there for everyone

else. She says she knows her is in heaven in her daddy 's arms. It is

thought her mother has said Loren was having such a great time in

Doha, the time of her life. And offered a job in Hong Kong recently

but she turned that down because she enjoyed Doha so much. She is thought

to have said she will stay in Doha to see justice done for her

daughter. Around three`quarters of London's

schools have been forced to close or cancel lessons, after thousands of

teachers walked out on strike. Members of the National Union of

Teachers and NASUWT took industrial action over pay, pensions and

working conditions. Our reporter Sonja Jessup followed a teacher from

east London who decided to take action.

Breakfast time. But there is no school today for these two

children. Their mum is a teacher and today she is on strike. Her children

are going on a protest march with her. Do you know where we are

marching today? The government will make it worse. A single month

weaving in Hornchurch, Caroline says life is increasingly expensive and

says performance related pay reforms will not work. If I am going to be

judged on my results, I will want to teach children I know will get good

marks. I don't think schools should operate like that. She is also

worried about changes to pensions, saying it is unrealistic to expect

teachers still to be teaching aged 68. Across London, thousands of

others agreed, turning out to March, leaving many of the classroom

is empty. The government described the strike as disappointing and

disruptive. The reforms we are having to make which are difficult

at Cherry `` are actually necessary. They are part of making sure we can

continue with these good salary related pensions in future, if they

are affordable and fair. Some parents were frustrated by school

closures. Some lucky that grandparents stepped in. She was

lucky I was here. She is a nurse working 12 hours. It's not

practical. Half term is next week. I would prefer them to be at school. I

have had to take time off. What I would say to those parents because I

am a parent myself is, the attacks on teachers are an attack on

students. Unhappy teachers make unhappy students. The union

estimates as many as 15,000 teachers joined their march today. Caroline

says she would be prepared to walk out again.

A murder investigation is underway after the death of a man in Fulham.

Two men were found with stab wounds at an address in Stephendale Road

just after six o'clock yesterday evening. One of the men died later,

the second man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

More than 24 hours after a convicted killer escaped from a mental health

centre in Hackney, police are still urgently trying to track him down.

Lerone Boye was convicted of murdering a teenager, he stabbed to

death in Ilford two years ago. He was sent to the John Howard Centre

in Hackney, from where he ran away yesterday afternoon. Our reporter

Tara Welsh is following the hunt for killer.

Lerone Boye was part of a gang who stabbed a 17`year`old boy to death.

He was given the longest sentence, and ordered to serve a minimum of 28

years. He was just ten months into that sentence when he escaped from

the unit yesterday. Boye is 27 years old, about 5ft 10in and has a

horseshoe`shaped scar on his right cheek, and he has links to the

Ilford area. What's the centre saying about a

killer escaping from their unit? What's the centre saying about a

killer escaping from their unit The centre is run by the East London

NHS. It won't tell us how he escaped, for security reasons. But

it has launched investigation into what happened, and says it's

reviewed its security and processes. Another patient escaped last year,

and was caught. Other patients have absconded .That means, rather than

break out of the building, like Boye has, they just haven't come back

from release in to the community, which some patients are allowed In

fact, one of those hasn't returned since August. But tonight, the

police's priority is to catch the convicted murderer Lerone Boye.

They've said anyone that sees him shouldn't approach him, but should

call 999. Boris Johnson has visited Hong

Kong's International Airport, not to catch a flight, but to get further

inspiration for his plan for an airport in the Thames estuary. The

Mayor praised the fact that planes can operate in Hong Kong 24 hours a

day, as they come in from the sea, away from people's homes. But when

it comes to the future of aviation in London, a number of questions

remain answered. Our political editor Tim Donovan is travelling

with the Mayor. Look at the size of that airport. He

imagines what could happen back home one day. Hong Kong airport, built on

land reclaimed from Sea, on a platform seven metres above it, a

huge construction task which took just six years. He was impressed

with what he saw, and pleased with what he heard. How quickly were you

able to get it built? Very quickly. Away from the densely populated

centre, aeroplanes fly in and out 24 hours a day. The London Mayor

believes it would be short`sighted not to follow suit. If you have the

will and determination, you can do it. I was amazed to see someone in

government saying we can't possibly build a new airport, that's a

Chinese thing to do. The Chinese are showing us that is the approach you

need in future. Aviation count the 60% of Hong Kong's economic output.

In Hong Kong, the switch from the old to the new airport literally

happened overnight. Only now, 15 years later, are they addressing how

to redevelop the old site. The London Mayor nose for a new airport

idea to work, there must be a comprehensive plan in place at

Heathrow after it closes. You would plan it so you would be able to

initiate development on the site, at Heathrow, as soon as you got the new

airport up and running. So, there would be a complete, simultaneous

effect. Now, in Hong Kong, they want a third runway. That might be ready

by 2023. One leading architect doesn't see the setup here as

comparable to London's huge needs. Hong Kong is a very `` very narrow

`based city on the harbour edge. Hong Kong is a very `` very narrow

`based city on the harbour edge. It has 7 million people. They all live

in a very contained, very small area. That is not London. He seems

increasingly concerned that a third Heathrow runway could be back on the

cards, but he saw for himself today what results when you build an

airport on the sea. Still to come before 7pm: Equine

therapy. How horses have helped a veteran to

combat post`traumatic stress. And: opening to the public today,

this ever`growing success brings much praise and criticism.

First, rising gas and energy prices have been making headlines, a group

in south London have decided to take matters into their own hands,

residents at the Loughborough Estate clubbed together to produce their

own renewable energy. Now, they are even turning a profit. London is a

place of global powerhouses. On a Brixton estate more known for its

problems, a group of residents has created a project that brings them

power in more than one sense. There are more than 300 solar panels on

the roofs of the Loughborough Estate. They were paid for by the

people who live here. It's the first time I've ever done anything like

it. It's alternative energy. It's just such a good thing. Lifts,

communal areas, homes, all powered from this. The project has created

jobs. It wasn't easy. There were a lot of hurdles. National policy

hurdles with the feeding tariffs, problems with the local council, you

problems with the local council you are trying to put renewable energy

into communities and create revenue. That is difficult to communicate.

The panels are a great success story. London consumes 13% of the

power produced by the United Kingdom each year. It only gives back 2% in

each year. It only gives back 2 in return. The great problem that the

organisers of this project have is persuading the powers that be that

it needs to be rolled out across the capital. It would be very good if

the government could say this is a positive scheme and local councils

should look at it and work with similar projects in their own area.

I think really it's all about the will of the local authority saying,

this is great. We want to make it happen. If you think the prize is

big enough you will get rid of all the challenges and obstacles. The

investors got a pleasant surprise, the project is now in profit. I

thought I would have to wait 20 years or something like that. The

The sum may not be life`changing. On a day when many were told they will

be paying more for their power, it's a ray of sun light. A remarkable

story of an army veteran from Surrey diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder who says he has overcome the illness by working with horses.

It's called Equine Facilitated Therapy. It has helped hue Forsyth

coming to terms with his experiences of serving in Northern Ireland and

Bosnia. Just walking into an open field was a traumatic experience for

Hugh Forsyth when he first left the army, where he worked for years in

bomb disposal. I was very hyper vigilant. I was scared to go on

Tubes, on the Tubes into London I couldn't handle crowds. I was very

scared by dustbins, backpacks. The idea is for Hugh to make a

connection and communicate with the horses. He says when he started this

work the transformation within him was almost immediate. You get a buzz

of adrenaline. A really nice warm, calm feeling. You feel really

grounded. I mean literally connected to the ground. Your Stamback muscles

relax and your body relaxes. When you have eye to eye and body to body

connection that the horses have with you, it's like you are completely

zoned. It's just you and them and nothing else matters. The work the

stablisisation that the horses offer to calm these veterans down, when

they have a lot of mental war injuries, you know, that they are

coming back with, this work really helps them to feel solid and safe

again. It doesn't matter if it goes right or wrong. Have a go and have

fun with it. Off you go. I will stay with you if you want me too. Through

the charity Walking with the Wounded Hugh is making it his career,

teaching horsemanship skills to other veterans diagnosed with post

traumatic stress disorder like Adam. His message to others is to at least

try it. Give it a go. Have an open mind. Try not to let the military

ego get in the way of the possibility it can heal you. I know

it works. I have experienced it. You it works. I have experienced it. You

did that. He says every small achievement is a huge leap forward

in the healing process. Amazing story. We wish Mr Forsyth the best.

Prince Harry has been at Twickenham to help to coach school children in

rugby. He joked he was already past it", as he took part in training

alongside former England international, Jason Robinson. The

Prince is patron of the Rugby Football Union All Schools Programme

which aims to boost participation in the sport in state schools. The

world's top art galleries have set up stall in Regent's Park for this

year's Frieze London Art Fair. The annual event attracts tens of

thousands of people. While many praise the event for its celebration

of art, there are some who feel Frieze, that has become more about

serving the super rich than ordinary Londoners. From emerging new talent

touted by those in the know as the next big thing, to works by Picasso

and David Hockney. It's been fantastic in London how

the general public (inaudible) it's an educational tool, a learning

tool. Art is a life`long learning process. Whether you are buying or

not. The majority of people who come to our fairs are here to look, learn

and to love it. Frieze began 11 years ago, both fairs are expected

to attract 75,000 people over the next four days. If you are a serious

art collector the fairs are a great place to see what the international

art world has to offer. The rest of us can wonder around and enrich our

knowledge of emerging and established artists. It's not

without its critics. John Keane prepares for his exhibition Fear,

that opens this weekend. He is represented by a gallery that

applied unsuccessfully to be part of the event on several occasions. He

believes the fair is too selective and elitist? You do really have to

ask really, is it what it appears to be? Is it really a celebration of

contrary art or is it a kind of closed shop which works as a kind of

way of processing the currency of art for the super rich elite? There

are other fairs going on around London this week, the so`called

Satellite Fairs. They are interesting. There is an art fair

called Monica. The Sunday Art Fair. They have interesting work in them.

If you think this is too grand for you, you can go to another one. The

capital is awash with opportunities to soak up art this week, including

Frieze's Sculpture Park, which is free. Regent's Park has the Frieze,

Peter, are we all going to freeze the rest of us? Very good. Not this

weekend much you might have trouble finding that arts fair tomorrow.

weekend much you might have trouble finding that arts fair tomorrow If

you are going, take a brolly with you. At the moment the skies are

clear and visibility is pretty good. We will keep those clear skies over

night, the visibility will go down hill. Light winds and lots of fog by

dawn. More than we had the other morning. I'm pretty sure there will

be travel trouble tomorrow. You might want to make the most of our

Breakfast travel bulletins. If you tweet us with your travel

troubles we can let everybody know what is going on. The skies are

clear at the moment, we had a few showers across the London area

earlier, they have disappeared. We keep the clear skies over night. You

will be able to see that the computer is hinting at some fairly

dense fog just about everywhere, dense fog just about everywhere,

central London will escape the worst of it with minimum temperatures into

double figures, single figures in the countryside. Tomorrow, the worst

of the fog should be out of the way by 10.00 am. Brightness before the

freshening breeze blows drops of rain our way. Temperatures up to

17`18 Celsius. It's above average for the time of year. We will get

some more rain tomorrow night, that will turn showery on Saturday. We

can expect some more showers on Sunday. At the moment, it looks as

though the showers on Sunday are going to be heavier and you may well

hear a few rumbles of thunder and see a few flashes of lightning. As

far as the outlook is concerned, far as the outlook is concerned

watch out for that fog tomorrow morning, build in some extra time to

your travel plans. Bright and breezy over the weekend with showers or

longer spells of rain. Before we go, let us remind ourselves of the main

news headlines: British Gas has become the latest energy supplier to

announce it is putting up its price this is winter. The average

duel`fuel bill will go up by ?120 this is winter. The average

duel`fuel bill will go up by ?1 0 a duel`fuel bill will go up by ?120 a

year. It's been described as "another bitter blow for customers."

3,500 schools in England have been closed or partially closed because

of a strike by teachers. Members of the NUT and the NASUWT took part in

the second wave of walk`outs in protests about pay, conditions and

pensions. The Chancellor has struck a deal allowing Chinese companies to

take major stakes in the next generation of nuclear power stations

in Britain. George Osborne made the announcement during his trip to

China with London Mayor, Boris Johnson. More than 500 families in

Tower Hamlets could be sent to live outside London. The council says

it's down to the Government's change to housing benefits. Police in the

Arab state of Qatar say they have arrested several suspects thought to

be in connection to the disappearance of a London primary

school children. 24`year`old Lauren Patterson from Chislehurst was last

seen in Doha at the weekend. We will be back later during the 10.00pm

news on BBC One. From everyone on the team, have a good evening.

Goodbye.