14/01/2014 BBC London News

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Goodbye. Tonight on BBC London News.

After the Mark Duggan inquest, the Met appoints a community tsar to

diffuse anger and tension. The real legacy of Mark Duggan ought to be,

can we improve our preventative policing? We'll have reaction from

the Mark Duggan family campaign. Also tonight: An inspection finds

low staff morale and complaints of bullying at London's largest NHS

Hospital Trust. Searching for the stranger who saved

his life six years ago, after talking him out of jumping off a

bridge. And London's newest theatre opens

its doors jack could be a style. Good evening and welcome to the

programme. The Met Police is to appoint a

senior officer to improve community engagement. This is following the

inquest into the death of Mark Duggan. The move was revealed to MPs

who had summoned a commissioner to answer questions about the case.

Last week, a jury found that Mr Duggan had been lawfully killed when

he was stopped by police in Tottenham in 2011. We'll get

reaction from Tottenham in just a moment. But first here's our home

affairs correspondent, Guy Smith. His report contains some flash

photography. We are going to fight for justice for Mark, for his

children. Many questions have been asked following the verdict which

saw angry scenes outside court. But probably the most serious one, at

least for the Mets, still hangs in the air. Has the capital's police

service lost touch with young, black Londoners. Today, the assistant

commissioner, Mark Crowley, announced an apparently new position

within Scotland Yard. A senior officer would be specifically

appointed to improve community relations. A very senior officer

would be dedicated to community engagement. We hope to make a

decision this week. He addressed the issue of stop and search, saying the

Met had reduced the tactic by a third in the last two years. Asked

what lessons could be learnt from such a contentious debt, he referred

again to fire officers using cameras. We've been looking at

whether there is any tactical improvements we can make on forced

stop. There's the comments made on the intelligence and preliminary

work done before a case, and there may be opportunities there. The

Assistant Commissioner welcome to the coroner's request to consult the

Duggan family on how firearms officers should be trained in the

future. I'm open to anybody who has any better ideas on how we can do

our work. He offered to meet the family, but said they were not keen

at the moment. He accepted mistakes had been made after the fatal

shooting. We have said, the Met Police and the IPCC, that we made

the stakes early on. Lots of other factors have played into it. It is

rumour and innuendo that causes some consternation against the verdict of

the jury. According to Mr rowdy, the most important legacy of Mark

Duggan's death would be if fewer young men felt it necessary to carry

a gun. Let's cross to our special

correspondent in Tottenham this evening. How have people been

reacting? It's fair to say that there are a few raised eyebrows

about this idea of a new czar for community engagement. I'm joined by

Stafford Scott from `` a Tottenham rights coordinator. What do you make

of this call for the Met to have a news are for community engaged when?

`` a new czar. We have to commend them for doing something, but it

makes little sense. As a result of the MacPherson report, the Met was

required to beginning gauging with the communities and maintaining

that. There's been engagement, but the Met doesn't in gauge. It merely

seeks to consult. It doesn't want to talk to people that try to challenge

it and push it to do better. It talks to lap dogs, two lackeys,

people who don't have a real stake in the community. Broadwater the and

the disturbances there led to a commitment for community engagement.

Where are we, 29 years on? The truth is, we keep on getting different

commissioners, but the community remains the same. We remember 29

years ago. We remember being told they were going to improve community

engagement. The Met doesn't know how to engage. It is a two`way street.

Engagement in furs a two`way process. The point of engagement is

the public service needs to learn and shape its services based on that

engagement. I say this as someone who was engaged with them for years,

and I stopped engaging, because I got fed up with banging my head

against a closed door. They use it as a tick box exercise, which

doesn't help anybody. Thank you. There is still some confusion about

this very notion of engagement. How are they going to do it? Who are

they going to put in charge of it? Thank you.

Coming up later: The soup kitchen opening its doors to homeless

Romanians, and why some say it sends out the wrong message.

An inspection of London's largest NHS Trust found accusations of

hospital staff being bullied and patients put at risk of harm due to

variable staffing levels. England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals looked

at the six hospitals and two birthing centres managed by Barts

NHS Trust. Services were found to be generally safe. But the Care Quality

Commission has issued orders for a number of improvements. Here's our

political correspondent, Karl Mercer.

Care comes in many forms, from our later years to our very earliest

days. This is life in London's hospitals. But the trust running

hospitals in North and East London is feeling the strain, a strain

being felt most keenly by its staff. Those on the front line are part of

the biggest NHS Trust in the country. 14,000 staff serving 2.5

million Londoners. Barts health is in charge of a number of hospitals

across London, and there were some robins found last year. We found

that there was a culture of bullying and some morale problems. The report

talks of low staff morale at several levels. It said 32% of staff had

complained of being bullied and found poor equipment in some areas

of the hospital. Staff said they had been victimised and bullied. I was

saddened to hear that feedback. That will get in the way of patient care

and safety. The findings haven't surprised Sharla Monro. She'd worked

at Whipps Cross `` Whipps Cross for several years and had been leading a

campaign for public services. Care professionals and other staff fear

to say what they think, and fear there will be consequences. It is

essential in health care that people can talk freely, that discussions

can be objective, based on people's experience. There were signs of

improvement, according to inspectors. The maternity unit did

have were warning notices on it following previous inspections.

They've been lifted. Care here is improving. I was worried because I

had a baby nine years ago here, and we only had one midwife. My husband

ended up helping quite a lot. But this time, he was sidelined doesn't

experience. Barts have been given areas to improve him. They will be

back, unannounced, to see if it has. The new chairman of the planned High

Speed Rail link from London to the north`west is promising to keep its

costs under control. Sir David Higgins has been asked to look at

ways of delivering HS2 more quickly and more cheaply than planned.

Opponents believe the line isn't necessary and will be a waste of

money, but the new chairman says extra capacity is vitally needed.

The Mayor has claimed that he was instrumental in reducing the cost of

rail travel across the country. Boris Johnson says he bounced the

Chancellor into only raising fares in line with the rate of inflation.

More on this from our political editor, Tim Donovan, who's at City

Hall. Fair to say that tensions rumble on between these two.

Apparently so. It provides an insight into what can happen when

these two big political rivals are not speaking as one, or are trying

to outdo each other on big issues of policy affecting London. This is all

to do with fares. Before Christmas, Boris Johnson announced that overall

fares were going to go up by just 3%. But within that, the cost of

travel cards were going to go up by 1% above inflation. Two days after

he'd done that, the Chancellor said that across the country, rail fares

were only going to go up by inflation. So there was an immediate

discrepancy between the travel card and rail travel in London, more

expensive than the rest of the country. A government source has

said that perhaps Boris Johnson should have waited to see what the

Chancellor said first. But today, the Mayor claimed he had bounced the

government into keeping this fare rise down across the country on the

railways, and were effectively following his lead here in London.

The government decided that they would mimic TfL, and keep fares on

the network at RPI. Are you saying that rail passengers from Cornwall

to corn be happy Boris Johnson to thank? I am. The upshot of this

looks like about ?20 billion of investment TfL will not now have. He

is a conservative Mayor and a Conservative Chancellor. People from

all parties are saying they could have sat down, talked, agreed,

decided. We heard more today about the Mayor's issues over cycling.

Challenged about whether we could believe what he says he is spending

on cycling, when this year, according to the Greens, he said he

was going to spend about ?11 million, and only ?73 million has

been spent. So a third of that budget has been underspent. Thank

you. Tonight, there are 19 flood warnings

in place along the River Thames in Surrey and Berkshire. For many flood

hit residents, the water has started to recede, so they can turn their

attention to the huge challenge of clearing up their damaged homes. We

spent the day in Berkshire. The school run as never before. For

the last six days, this family have become masters of improvisation,

wading, boating and canoeing to dry land. I'm quite a pushy parent, so

school is important. Whether we are flooded or not, they do need to get

to school. He's been really good. He's been able to take us to

school, which a lot of parents haven't been able to do. A day of

school would be nice! Wouldn't it? The good news for dad is the water

is now dropping. Around two feet in the last 12 hours. The bad news is

the extent of the damage is beginning to emerge. About two foot

high. Now they have pumped the water out, there was a long list of

problems to fix. The washing machine has gone. All of my son's stuff in

the garage has been destroyed. The garden has raw sewage. The electrics

are gone. The carpet in the family room needs to be sorted. It will

probably take us about a week to sort it all out. So she is far from

being on cloud nine. Other people `` now that people's attention is

getting to turn towards the clear up, there is a growing concern about

insurance premiums, and how they will be affected by the flooding. We

put this consent of the Association of British Insurers. The moment

their spokesman arrived, he was accosted by a resident, angry

because she says her premiums will go up, even though she will not be

making a claim. Insurers are committed to offering insurance to

as many flood vulnerable hand `` homes as they can. Sometimes they

will have to charge premiums that reflect the increased flood risks.

Even if you have a high XS, it will be considerably less than the

average flood claim that insurers will have to pay. Above all, people

who hope life will return to normal, praying that any further rain

forecast is not on this scale again. A church run soup kitchen has been

set up to help homeless Romanians, offering them support and advice.

London members of the UK Independence Party have expressed

concern over the service, claiming it could encourage more migrants to

come to London. The soup kitchen opens as usual in

Muswell Hill, but this one is a little different. With an invitation

to Romanian rough sleepers, and this man was the first Romanian to enjoy

a free meal. Last month, I come to London to find one job. I have to

September money for my children. He's an electrician, but he's been

sleeping on the streets because he can't get work. Nobody take me

without papers. Work papers. Now, at least, for one night a week, there's

somewhere warm with some entertainment. We're offering it as

a unique service as we have a capacity with food and expertise

here and we felt there was a lot of negative press surrounding

particularly Romanian workers. Just last July, the Border Agency and

Westminster Council was persuading rough sleepers in Marble Arch to fly

back home. Now, all have rights of access, but some politicians are

trying to make something out of this. We shouldn't be stopped from

getting assistance either from the local authority that they're living

in or from charities to help them, but I really would much prefer if

they hadn't come here in the first place. We have enough of a problem

with homelessness in London as it is. We don't need to add to it. We

felt that the idea of a soup kitchen is to offer food with advice, but

link it in with the embassy and all the Romanian contacts so people can

make sensible decisions about their future. He was the first to enjoy a

free meal and he may return next weekend, along with others, but for

now, it's back to street and that continuing search for work.

Still to come ` Mo the marathon man, can the double Olympic champion make

London proud once again? We'll have details of the tough competition

he's up against. 17 years after the opening of Shakespeare's Globe, the

vision is about to be recognised with the opening of the new indoor

theatre. Next, the search for the stranger

who saved the life of this man. Jonny Ben jam main was diagnosed

with schizophrenia when he was 24 years old and he was talked out of

jumping off Waterloo Bridge by a passerby. Now six years on, he is

keen to chase the stranger who gave him hope, having come to terms with

his illness. It's an unusual appeal from someone for whom this bridge

holds very different memories. Jonny came here six years ago today with

the intention of taking his own life. I'd just been diagnose and I

couldn't accept the diagnosis and I thought I would never get better and

I was petrified. I just thought my life's over. While on Waterloo

Bridge a passerby stopped, spoke to him and helped him change his mind.

Now he wants to find that good samaritan. I just want to thank them

and show them my gratitude. They didn't need to stop, but not only

did they stop, but he gave me hope and he told me it will get better

and that's what I needed to hear. Jonny sought professional help and

has now learnt to manage his illness through social media, he's now

helping others. I first started hearing a voice in my head when I

was about ten years old. It was an older man's voice. I thought it was

an angel. He's become a prolific video blogger, with thousands of

followers from around the world. What Jonny shows is that you can get

good treatment and you can get good support and you can then get on with

life and it really isn't the end of everything. It's a really positive

message. There is hope that you can carry on leading a good and

fulfilling life. There's nothing to be afraid of or be ashamed about.

It's very human to go through these experiences. The most important

thing is that you can overcome it. Jonny's memory of that distressing

day is hazy. He thinks the man was in his early 20s and on his way to

work. He hopes his appeal will help jog someone's memory.

If you think you can help Jonny Ben mam Jane `` Benjamin with his appeal

there is more information on our website. The man who disrupted the

Boat Race in 2012 could still face deportation after the Home Office

announce it's lodging an appeal against a judge's decision to let

Trenton Oldfield stay in the country. Sara joins me with more

details. What can you tell us? It's nearly two years now since Trenton

Oldfield put his life in danger when he wanted to protest at the 2012

boat race. You will remember the pictures very well now. After the

event he did serve a six`month prison sentence for causing a public

nuisance, but he's Australian and he's living here in London and

following the events, the Government attempted to have him deported. A

judge overruled at the time he had a wife and child here and allowed him

to stay. From that, we have heard that the Home Secretary hopes to

appeal against the judge's decision. Has anyone else spoken about this

today? We contacted Trenton Oldfield and we have heard from him and he

said, "I would like to invite Theresa May for a cup of tea "Kwep

we have heard from the Home Office and he said, "We were disappointed

with the court's decision and so are taking further action by lodging an

appeal. Those who come it the UK must abide by our laws. We have

refused this individual leave to remain because we do not believe his

presence in this country was conducted to the public good." I'm

sure it will continue. On a lighter note, we have heard more today about

Mo Farah and who he will be taking on in the London Marathon in April?

It's exciting. Four men named today who will line up alongside him in

the 2014 race. This is the first marathon that Farrah will actually

run. One name was missing though. He was the man who beat him in the

Great North Run at the end of last year, but confirmed names include

Wilson Kipsan and Stephen Kipratich and the current London Marathon

course record holder, Mutai. This will be one of the toughest

challenges of his career and I include in that his attempt to win

the 5,000 and 10,000 metres double in London. With this quality of

field it would generate a buzz around the race like the London

Marathon hasn't done in the three decades of existence. If he wins on

Sunday, 18th April it will be an achievement to match anything he's

done in his career so far. It is only January. More names could be

named. It's still a long time. April 13th. Thank you.

London's newest theatre has opened this week, taking the form of a 17th

century playhouse. The indoor theatre, which sits along the Globe

on Bankside kicks off with a production with the The Duchess of

Malfi starring Gemma Arterton. Sister, I have to speak to you. To

me Sir? I gentleman, one in the gallows. Gemma Arterton as the The

Duchess of Malfi in the first production at the Sam Wanamaker

theatre, the new indoor space recently completed at the Globe. My

first professional job was here, so it's always been a very special

place for me. T 340`seat venue has two tiers and most will be performed

in a jack beeian environment. What kind of an experience has that been

for the actors? It makes it much easier. It's not an easy play. But

the atmosphere is created before you even open your mouth. The audience

already have an excitement, so it can be quite cumbersome at times,

but you have to use these things and as it would have been at that time.

You cannot speak you know, but he makes faces. The playhouse affords

the Globe a number of new opportunities, not only to present

plays throughout the year and extend their repertoire, but to stage plays

in their intended atmosphere. You come in here and you think you're in

a different world. So you can understand where the theatre of that

time came from and how people lived at that time in a more complete way

and how they used candlelight and it was common for them and it's

extraordinary over the last week how all of our eyes have started adapt

to a whole new way of seeing people and seeing drama on stage. You are a

Lord of misrule. It had always been the vision of the Globe founder to

have an indoor space alongside the open`air playhouse. 17 years later,

the dream has been realised. It's that time of the evening for a

check on the weather. I mild week and a little bit of

rain. The first hints of rain coming into parts of west London at the

moment. As we go through tonight, the mild spell will begin. Quite a

contrast to this time last year, when when we were beginning a cold

spell. It was just one degree. Top temperature was there. Tonight, the

temperatures are going to pick up. As we get this warm front through,

we'll have the milder air in behind it. We'll be in the milder spell

tomorrow. If we get any breaks in the cloud we could get temperatures

up to 13. Coldest part of the night will be around now. I think we'll

drop to maybe two or three degrees just for a time and then we'll get

the rain working its way in as the night goes on. The temperature will

lift. The wind will pick up and it will become more breezy. There's a

dose of rain in this. It will be on and off. Some bursts will be heavy

and it won't help the problems with the flooding that we have, but it is

going to be tailing off through the night and becoming more showery to

end the night. We are going to have that breeze continuing through the

day. Plenty of cloud around. Misty and murky. A classic warm sector

continues if you like. Right the way through the afternoon, month many

breaks. We can get to 12 or 13, but generally we'll be in double

figures. The showery bits and pieces will continue into the afternoon.

There will be further outbreaks of rain overnight into Thursday as

well. Possibly some quite heavy showers around on Thursday, with

sunshine in between. A few showers dotted around for Friday too.

Watching the next spell of rain to come through on Saturday. Thank you.

The day's main headlines ` the Coronation Street actor, William

Roache has gone on trial accused of the rape and indecent assault of

girls of the age of 11 to 16. The former Radio 1 DJ, Dave Lee Travis,

has also gone on trial. He denies the charges.

Inflation has hit the 2% target for the first time in four years,

according to latest figures. That's it for now. Thank you for joining

us. I'll be back with our late news. Until then frshingS me and all the

team here, do have a lovely evening. Goodbye.