18/12/2013 BBC London News

let-up. Thank you. That is all from the BBC News at Six. Goodbye. Now

Good evening. Tonight, a former head at a prestigious prep school is

convicted of historic child sex offences. Three other teachers are

found guilty of abuse. It is not just the victims who

suffered here. It is the families. For example, I am married and they

have children and it has affected my whole family. Other victims are

being urged to come forward. Also tonight, and NHS Trust is put into

special measures after safety concerns at two of the capital's

A We look at the impact of London housing development is

marketed in the Far East. Plus... Are you a tenner? Yes, I am.

Here's one to shut up. Jo Brand tells us why doing her first ever

panto is harder than stand`up. Good evening. A former Prime

Minister `` head Minister `` headteacher at a historic prep

school has been convicted to historic sex abuse instances. BBC

London has spoken to one former pupil, who says that he was the

victim of systematic abuse carried out by another teacher, one of three

who have also been found guilty of abusing boys at the school.

It is an elite boarding school. Parents pay ?20,000 a year for the

very best education and pastoral care at Caldicott Boys' Preparatory

School. Instead, over 27 years, 27 boys were subject to sexual abuse.

At its heart, Peter Wright or, you should hear a few years after he

joined the school in 1952. For the parents, he was a charismatic

headteacher. For the pupils, he was a predatory paedophile. Yesterday,

aged 83, he was finally convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault against

boys in his care. It was the older boys, from 12 to 13, were targeted,

particularly those who starred in the first 15 rugby team, a team that

Peter Wright coached. His victims have told the court how they were

made to feel part of a school elite, but all the time they were

being abused here at the school and on field trips. The school is now

very different. Recent inspections found it to be outstanding and

excellent. But now that Peter Wright has been convicted, reporting

restrictions have been lifted, allowing the BBC to reveal that

three other teachers, two employed by Peter Wright, have been convicted

of abusing boys at the school from 1959 until 1979. They ask you Henry,

pleaded guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault. John Addison was

guilty of 17 counts. And a science teacher has admitted seven counts of

indecent assault and two of buggery. Alistair Rolfe was one of his

victims. He has waived his right to anonymity. I thought how was the

only one for a long time, until all was taken into a room with my abuser

and another boy, and the two of us were allowed to `` asked to strip

naked and photographs were taken. Did not know about the others but it

is hardly surprising, given the nature of the school. I was aware at

the time the tie was not the only one. Another pupil was Nick Clegg.

In a statement, the deputy Prime Minister said:

For lawyers representing the victims, there is much left

unanswered. Peter Wright was the headmaster for many years. The

chants of those witnesses who have come forward being the only victims

of abuse are very slight. Also, we would like to speak to any of the

staff that were there at the time the cars they may well have seen

things going on that they found suspicious. It has also emerged that

similar charges brought against Peter Wright in 2003 were

effectively blocked by a judge as it was considered unfair to put him on

trial over historical allegations. Tonight, he has no such legal

protection. Convicted for his part in the white and systematic abuse of

the boys in his care. `` white scale.

20 more to come tonight, including the Christmas card that has not gone

down well with housing tenants in West London.

The NHS Trust which runs Queens Hospital in Romford and King George

is Hospital in Ilford has been put into special measures. It follows

recommendations from the chief inspector of hospitals over concerns

about patient safety in their accident and emergency departments.

A special team will be sent in to help the hospitals improve. Karl

Mercer reports. Queens and King George and no

strangers to bad helplines. Today, more unwelcome news as they became

the first London hospitals put in special measures. The accident and

emergency department say that inspectors are not always clear

enough. It faces difficult challenges. It has long waiting

times in A and it serves a large population. There are good things

going on there, but in all honesty, I felt of the best way to help the

hospital was to put it into special measures.

The hospitals will now have a new team sent in to try and improve

their A Top of the agenda, the need for more permanent staff. The

biggest challenge in our A department is to recruit

consultants. We have 21 posts funded. We have the salaries to pay

21 and we have six in post at the moment. Really, we struggle to get

the best people. And that is able problem given the number of patients

they deal with. Between the hospitals, they see 200 hours on

patients in year my rate of around 600 a day. 100 of those patients

have to be omitted to the hospitals. 20 ambulances arrive

every hour. The problems are not helped by the

fact that Queens is paying a hefty The problems are not helped by the

fact that Queens bill for its new building, something like ?55 million

a year. Two years ago, the government promised to help out,

saying they would foot ?16 million a year of the bill. But so far the

hospital has not received any of that money. Because the government

will not pay it until improvements are seen in A services. And as we

know, those services are not improving. It is now down to the NHS

and ministers to get into place the right people to provide the right

quality of service. And if it needs more money for a period to see it

through its crisis and get it onto a stable footing, and hope that this

hospital will be properly resourced so that it can stand on its own two

feet. That has been the aim for these

hospitals before but so far, they have struggled to do so.

Next year's fear rises will be delayed by at least a fortnight

because of a hitch over Travelcards. The mayor is having to bring down

the proposed price of a travel card after the Chancellor capped

increases in national rail fares. TfL say the change could cost them

around ?40 million in lost revenue. One of the critics of the mayor has

described it as a farcical failure of communication wing government and

City Hall. `` between government. Newham

College has sacked its head of performing arts, Mark Walcott,

following a homophobic rant. The outburst triggered an eight`month

internal investigation but cleared Mr Walcott. It was later suspended

after the recording made its way into the public domain. The college

said in a statement that Mr Walcott's views do not represent the

values of the college. A former personal assistant of

Nigella Lawson and her former husband has denied that she was a

fantasist and a shopaholic will stop Francesca Grillo and her sister are

accused of spending almost ?700 000 accused of spending almost ?700 000

on credit cards belonging to the couple. They deny the charges.

Luisa Baldini has been in court. couple. They deny the charges.

Luisa Baldini has been in court. The Luisa Baldini has been in court The

judge went over all the evidence for the benefit of the jury of seven men

and five women. Before that, we heard from the defence barrister of

Francesca Grillo, who urged the jury to put aside any publicity

surrounding the case. She said that this is not a trial of Nigella

Lawson or a question of saying that you like and you like her programmes

and she has a nice personality on those programmes. Our evidence is

not preferable to that of the defendants because of who she is.

She said, that is not the way to proceed. She said it was an

undeniable fact of this case that Nigella Lawson did take drugs will

stop she said that people are charged and tried everyday increment

courts for doing that, and she has gone into the witness box and

admitted that. You must not elevate her to a lesser degree of

questioning her credibility because she is a famous person, she said.

Whether she has indulged more than she has admitted to might aggravate

the question of credibility. Before that, we heard from the defence

Alistair of Elizabetta Grillo, who asked the jury to consider why

Charles Saatchi asked his accountants to investigate only the

sisters and not the other personal assistance. `` defence barrister. He

told the jury that he believed that his client, Elisabetta Grillo, has

been collateral caught in the crossfire and he said that although

she is not on trial, the evidence is inevitably going to be of

significance to Nigella Lawson and her public image. We expect the jury

to be sent out first thing tomorrow. Next, how a row between neighbours

over a wheelie bin ended up in the High Court. Wheelie bins outside the

Royal Courts of Justice are not normally a subject discussed inside

such distinguished premises. But now we have the case of Liaquat Ali.

such distinguished premises. But now we have the case of Liaquat Ali. It

we have the case of Liaquat Ali It is unbelievable, absurd. He is

talking about a bill for ?54,000 in talking about a bill for ?54,00 in

legal costs. All top in a three`year battle with his neighbour over the

placement of wheelie bins in their shared driveway. It is a 240 metre

domestic wheelie bin which people use all over the country. His

neighbour won an agreement saying that the bins should not be left

there. Liaquat Ali was prepared to agree to that but not to pay the

costs. His lawyer argued that there should be no costs in this case

about a wheelie bin because no damages have been awarded. But the

court disagreed and we then saw no fewer than four lawyers sitting

together in a corridor with cartilage is in their hands trying

to agree a suitable figure. It ended up at ?15,000. It can be justified,

over a wheelie bin which is worth about ?20, particularly when the

other party never recovered any damages. Can you afford that kind of

money? I would probably looking at remortgaging my property.

Liaquat Ali's neighbour did not want to comment, but his solicitor said:

It certainly highlights the fact that the law is not working in this

case and it is something that all will be taking up with the attorney

general. Liaquat Ali says he may yet appeal but he has given his wheelie

bin back to Barnet council. Around half of new`build homes in

inner London are now sold to foreign investors according to a leading

economic research group. But are these cashrich buyers pushing up

property prices in the capital? Continuing our Back To Life Reeves,

Mark Jordan `` our living in London series, Mark Jordan reports from

Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not in love with London. It just thinks it is

cheap. Here it is a room in a loom for ?350,000. Prices here have

rocketed 60% in two years. Many think it has peaked so they turn to

London. Unlike Russian oligarchs and Arab sheiks, they are investing in

ordinary homes. What is different is that China's cash rich middle`class

is often shopping for exactly the same type of property that Londoners

are struggling to buy. Every week, investors flock to international

property Expos were London estate agents eagerly await them. Anything

on Hong Kong Island is very expensive, ?2 million it could be.

London is cheap, ?400,000, people can afford that and they can afford

to pay cash. There is a love affair between Hong Kong people and

London, the history, the culture. Once it was just Belgravias and

Notting Hill being marketed internationally but here, XM and

Hackney, Crichton, thousands of miles from home, London is up for

sale. There are demands for letting and leasing. It is cheap, very

cheap. Do you understand why Londoners are angry about you buying

this property? I would B. Personally, I cannot afford the Hong

Kong prices. UK rent is expected to rise by 21% over the next five

years. Ironically, the government has slammed a 22% tax on foreigners

buying in Hong Kong, which has stoked interest in London. A lot of

Hong Kong property sits empty. You will look up at high rise buildings

at night and all the lights are off because one third of the building

will be owned by mainland Chinese and they just keep their shopping

bags there when they visit once a quarter. The art in and out and they

speculatively. It will be interesting to see what happens in

London. It is a thorny subject. 6000 miles east of Hackney, this London

agents declined even an interview. Others, like Fraser and Cole have a

plush Hong Kong office along way from Stratford. Here, without a

single brick laid, they have already sold most of the flats that will

eventually stand by the flyover. sold most of the flats that will

eventually stand by the flyover It eventually stand by the flyover. It

has been one of the fastest sellers this year. In one weekend, over 50.

And then in Singapore, another 0. And then in Singapore, another 30.

It has been busy. It means many London developments are launched in

Asia. Normally, we bring an exhibitor to Asia first because

culturally, people expect to buy three years in advance. But on built

sites are not much use to someone buying a home. There, some warm the

Chinese `` some warm the Chinese percolation risks a bubble. If you

are buying in a secondary location where the large majority of owners

are foreign, speculative, suddenly the market drops 5% and everyone is

looking to sell at the same time, which pushes the price down further.

So there could be tears? Yet, yet. `` yet.

Time will tell. Still to come: having sacked their

manager on Monday, Tottenham are beginning life without Andre

Villas`Boas and facing a game at White Hart Lane. Against West Ham.

It's a Christmas card that's been sent by one London council to its

housing tenants warning them not to "overindulge" but to "pay their

rent" over the festive season. Hammersmith and Fulham says it's

aimed at helping people in financial hardship. But many of those who've

received it say it's offensive and insensitive. Sarah Harris has the

story. That's a nice one. 82`year`old Mary

loves getting Christmas cards at her home in west London where she lives

with her daughter Tina. But the Yuletide greeting she received from

her landlord, Hammersmith and Fulham Council, wasn't quite so welcome, as

it included the words" don't overindulge this Christmas. Pay your

rent! " for a woman who prides herself on paying her rent on time

and allows herself one Bailey's a year on Christmas Day, it misses the

point. I thought, what a cheek, to send me that. Look at my mum. 60

years she has paid the rent, she has bought the house ten times over. It

is harassment through the letterbox. How dare they? The council sent out

hundreds of what they call flyers, not cards, and they deny that the

message is Scrooge like, but simply designed to help people at a

challenging time of year. The messages, please contact us if you

are having trouble paying your rent. That has got to be contextualise in

terms of ?3.7 million the council is owed in terms of unpaid rent. But

the local MP says he is appalled, and tenants are owed an apology.

the local MP says he is appalled, and tenants are owed an apology And

they are then making people pay for this. It adds insult to injury. They

are making people pay thousands of pounds. It shows how out of touch

these Tory councillors are. It's from my sister Judy. Mary and Tina

are determined to enjoy their Christmas despite the upset, and

they suggest that next year they receive a card thanking them for

paying their rent on time. Let's turn to football now, and

tonight it's the first time Tottenham are in action since they

sacked their manager Andre Villas`Boas. They meet West Ham in

the quarterfinals of the League Cup at White Hart Lane. And our sports

reporter Chris Slegg is there. What's the mood like there?

Frustration amongst the few fans I have spoken to, frustration that

their team is yet again seeking another new manager just four months

after spending ?100 million in the transfer market on new players, and

just after coming so close to champions league football last

season. It is of course a caretaker management team that will take

charge tonight, headed up by Tim Sherwood and their former striker

Les Ferdinand. There is a growing feeling that perhaps they may stay

in charge until the end of the season, and a high profile figure

like Fabio Capello, or Glenn Hoddle, names closely linked to the job. And

names closely linked to the job And the West Ham manager is also under a

bit of Russia. `` pressure? Yes, Sam bit of Russia. `` pressure? Yes, Sam

Allardyce, also under pressure because his team are close to the

drop zone. You have to be a bit of a minute `` miracle worker to get

everybody functioning 100% when they have arrived from different arenas,

cultures and countries. And elsewhere, more managerial comings

and goings. Yes. Watford have named the replacement for Gianfranco Zola

who quit on Monday, and it is a fellow Italian, who has had a 17

year career managing Italy. Not many people in this country will have

heard of him. So Watford can start their new era. But here at White

Hart Lane, we are no closer to knowing who will fill the managerial

hot seat at top them. `` Tottenham. Chris, many thanks. Comedian Jo

Brand is making her Panto debut this Christmas, which she says is much

harder than doing stand`up. She stars in Aladdin at the New

Wimbledon Theatre, which is just one of the festive offerings to keep the

family entertained over the holidays. Here's our Entertainments

Correspondent, Brenda Emmanus, with a look at some of them.

This is awkward. It is not for you. I was only going to sell it on eBay.

The good old panto has become an important part of our Christmas

tradition. No need to fight over the TV remote when there is something

for everyone in a good live show. The Theatre Royal Stratford presents

Dick Whittington. Very funny, quick, to the point, and it is modern. It

is relevant to the kids and the adults.

I had kids tell the punch line of one of my jokes the other night, so

I brought him up on stage and said, you told the jokes, then. Now, you

might want to cover your is for this bit. Dick Whittington is not the

only panto in London. Over in Wimbledon, Jo Brand makes her debut

with Matthew Kelly in Aladdin. Oh, no she doesn't! Yes, she does. Are

you a tenner? Here is one to shut up. Matthew and Joe are by street

dancers and energy. The comedy star is taking it in her stride. I am

kind of pacing myself. I am not used to shows a day in this period of

time. I will let you know at the end. The dancing is brilliant. It is

fantastically fast moving. The scenery is gorgeous. My costumes are

fabulous. And we would like everybody to come. Tall stories, ``

Tore Story's adaptation of the Gruffalo is coming to the West End.

And mushy monsters will be on the big screen, released this weekend.

The game started online, so children had a relationship with their

monster online, and it is a big challenge to take that online. It

has not been easy, but we have had an amazing team on it. A host of

family festive fun on stage and screen over the Christmas holidays.

Don't forget Dick Whittington! We are here into a January 11. Have a

Merry Christmas. It's that time of the evening for a

look at the weather with Peter. It is not very Merry out there this

evening. We have whetted windy weather clearing away to the east.

As much as 15 millimetres of rain could fall in the next few hours.

The wind could reach 50 mph. The strongest gusts are likely to be the

south of the Thames. The rest of the night, we have clear skies, and some

scattered cold rain showers. The breeze will still be there, which

will help dry out the roads and pavements, and then tomorrow, some

sunshine, drive for most of us during daylight hours. A breeze so

any showers that do come along will get out of the way quite quickly.

And temperatures in the afternoon will get up to around eight Celsius.

It is after dark tomorrow that we might have a little bit of a

problem, when a spell of wet weather moves in from the west. The rain

could turn quite heavy, and there is a possibility during the rush hour

that we could find some hail or even some wet snow mixed in with that.

Once that clears out of the way with lighter winds and low

temperature tomorrow night, we could have some ice to contend with, and I

think that is the first time I have mentioned ice this winter. On to

Friday, after that I see start, bright and breezy. That will give us

a wet and windy start to the day on Saturday. Drier and brighter on

Sunday, but of one of these comes along, you will get wet during your

last Christmas shopping visit. Peter, thank you very much.

The main headlines now: Ian Watkins, former lead singer of the band the

Lostprophets, has been sentenced to 35 years in jail for a string of

child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.

There's been a big fall in unemployment. 99,000 fewer people

were out of work in the three months to October, and the figures show a

record 30 million people in work. New rules to make European Union

migrants wait three months before they can apply for out`of`work

benefits are to be rushed through Parliament. If passed they'll come

into force on the first of January. That's it from us for now. Asad

Ahmad will be here with our late news. From me and the team here,

thanks for joining us and have a lovely evening.