:00:00. > 3:59:59had a "good record" of helping women but was determined to 8
:00:00. > :00:18.Tonight on BBC London News: A day of disruption as the tube strike brings
:00:19. > :00:31.misery for millions across the capital. I will sleep in the office
:00:32. > :00:38.if I can get there. I think that might be the best. I am at Warren
:00:39. > :00:42.Street which is closed. How serious has the disruption been? The Prime
:00:43. > :00:45.Minister condemns the strike as Number Ten confirms it is looking at
:00:46. > :00:48.plans to curb future walk`outs. We'll have the latest developments
:00:49. > :00:51.from above and below ground. Also tonight... Prince Charles visits
:00:52. > :01:02.Tottenham and meets a family finally returning home two years after the
:01:03. > :01:04.riots. Plus... A prince of another sort. The pop star re`launches his
:01:05. > :01:30.career with a secret gig in Camden. Good evening. It was a case of who
:01:31. > :01:33.to believe today with both sides in the tube strike making their own
:01:34. > :01:36.claims about the impact of day one in the dispute. Transport bosses
:01:37. > :01:39.said that more than a third of services were operating, while the
:01:40. > :01:41.unions claimed that the disruption was far worse. But, whatever the
:01:42. > :01:44.statistics, the overwhelming picture for passengers was one of closed
:01:45. > :01:47.stations, overcrowded trains and a chaotic commute into the capital.
:01:48. > :01:50.The Prime Minister today joined the Mayor in condemning the two 48`hour
:01:51. > :01:55.walk`outs, with Number Ten promising to look at plans to curb future
:01:56. > :01:58.strike action on the underground. We'll have more on that in just a
:01:59. > :02:07.moment but first our transport correspondent, Tom Edwards, is at
:02:08. > :02:12.Warren Street. Yes, this is what greeted commuters today. Many
:02:13. > :02:17.commuters. 80 stations have been closed across the network. A big
:02:18. > :02:23.pile of Evening Standard newspaper. They have not been taken. This has
:02:24. > :02:27.been a day of disruption for commuters. Immiscible commute home
:02:28. > :02:33.for many this evening after an equally miserable trip into work. ``
:02:34. > :02:43.a miserable mute. Yell Ait does make it a bit harder. I think it is
:02:44. > :02:49.outrageous they can do this. First thing, there were queues at Baker
:02:50. > :02:56.Street just before 7pm. No cheap but the buses were already busy. There
:02:57. > :03:02.are twice as many people as usual. There are also queues at Stanmore.
:03:03. > :03:07.London Underground promised some service for commuters. Slowly, and
:03:08. > :03:15.some services did start to run. This was the Victoria line where 80
:03:16. > :03:20.stations did not open at all. There were picket lines from the two
:03:21. > :03:25.unions whose members walked out releasing this picture of Waterloo,
:03:26. > :03:30.unions claimed the system was dangerously overcrowded in places.
:03:31. > :03:37.They say crowd control measures have been in place. At London Bridge
:03:38. > :03:43.some commuters wanted tougher action. He met with ambassadors from
:03:44. > :03:48.TEFL, staff members volunteering to help. Do you think you have oversold
:03:49. > :03:56.the level of service? There were big queues at stations. We have eight
:03:57. > :04:01.out of 11 lines running. I want to thank everyone who has turned up.
:04:02. > :04:06.Thank you for what you are doing for London. We will urge everyone else
:04:07. > :04:13.to come and help out. It will be a tough day for many people. The
:04:14. > :04:18.picture was not clear`cut. Trains were meant to run on the Bakerloo
:04:19. > :04:23.but it was shut. While the Victoria line had a service, Finsbury Park
:04:24. > :04:30.and Oxford Circus had to be closed at various points due to
:04:31. > :04:35.overcrowding. Unions claimed Bunny a skeleton service was running.
:04:36. > :04:39.Everyone in London knows there is a problem. The mayor is not talking to
:04:40. > :04:45.the trade unions. Everyone in London knows there is a problem regarding
:04:46. > :04:50.industrial relations on the London underground. What they should have
:04:51. > :04:57.done is dealt with this far differently. Commuters have mixed
:04:58. > :05:02.feelings about the strike. There are different ways to sort out a
:05:03. > :05:07.dispute. It is down to dialogue and talking. Talks have not progressed
:05:08. > :05:14.in the way they could have done It is one of those things. Elsewhere,
:05:15. > :05:20.the roads were much busier. At Mile End, buses were full and were not
:05:21. > :05:26.able to stop. Six buses have passed so far. They were all packed. They
:05:27. > :05:34.started at 6am with the first sailing carrying trouble what it
:05:35. > :05:38.would normally carry. `` treble The bad news for commuters is they will
:05:39. > :05:46.have to face all of this again tomorrow. We will have more from Tom
:05:47. > :05:52.later in the programme. Now let s join our reporters who are out and
:05:53. > :06:00.about. Nick is on Marylebone Road. Let's cross to Tara, who is
:06:01. > :06:07.underground. I am broadcasting to you live on the Bakerloo line at
:06:08. > :06:11.Oxford station. It looks very quiet. They are exercising some crowd
:06:12. > :06:16.control upstairs. They are closing the gates every five to ten minutes,
:06:17. > :06:21.holding the crowds back. There are much fewer trains running tonight. I
:06:22. > :06:26.used to get this line home and trains would run everyone to two
:06:27. > :06:31.minutes. As you can see, it is more like every six, seven or eight
:06:32. > :06:35.minutes. At the Victoria line, it is much busier on the platform with
:06:36. > :06:40.trains running about every seven to eight minutes as well. You can hear
:06:41. > :06:47.more from my colleague, Nick, who is at street level. It is a pretty
:06:48. > :06:55.miserable picture above ground. The traffic is extremely busy tonight.
:06:56. > :07:01.The reason is because of this. Great Portland Street, one of many cheap
:07:02. > :07:05.stations shut this evening, people are not going underground. They are
:07:06. > :07:10.queueing up for buses. Some people have been getting on the extra
:07:11. > :07:19.buses. Buses and extra cars have been jostling position with taxis on
:07:20. > :07:24.the roads. I spoke to a handful of companies who said, it has been
:07:25. > :07:28.mayhem. They gave up taking bookings this afternoon. TEFL has said people
:07:29. > :07:34.have taken a lot more Boris bike journeys today. The reality this
:07:35. > :07:39.evening for people trying to get home, it'll be a frustrating time.
:07:40. > :07:43.It is not over yet. Once people are home, they have the prospect of
:07:44. > :07:53.doing it all again tomorrow morning as they tried to get back into work.
:07:54. > :07:57.With me now is Mike Brown, managing director of Transport for London. We
:07:58. > :08:03.did invite both the RMT and the TSSA into the studio but they weren't
:08:04. > :08:07.available. Good evening. We have heard the situation and seen for
:08:08. > :08:12.ourselves the situation today. You have been accused of underestimating
:08:13. > :08:22.the impact of the strike. Did you? I do not think so. We know from Oyster
:08:23. > :08:26.data that 38% of normal journeys took place. Those are real
:08:27. > :08:30.statistics. They are available from our database. I do not want to
:08:31. > :08:35.underestimate the disruption this cause to Londoners. Nobody would say
:08:36. > :08:41.it has been easy. Of course the roads have been more congested. We
:08:42. > :08:47.put 170 additional buses on as well to help with that. The journeys have
:08:48. > :08:53.been slower for people. The tube on the Northern line has been running a
:08:54. > :08:56.good service pretty much all day. These were restricted services.
:08:57. > :08:59.People go to a station and do not necessarily have an idea as to
:09:00. > :09:06.whether the station will be open or they will have a train. We have
:09:07. > :09:11.tried to give as much information as possible. We do not know until the
:09:12. > :09:20.moment they turn up whether they will or not. I have been speaking to
:09:21. > :09:26.four people at Oxford circus who get the Bakerloo line. A lot of people
:09:27. > :09:30.did turn up that we did not expect. Some did not in various places. We
:09:31. > :09:34.could not run the Bakerloo line until later in the day. The best
:09:35. > :09:40.advice for people is to follow the website, the travel advice. That
:09:41. > :09:45.will give the absolute up to date information. Most people have mobile
:09:46. > :09:49.devices and access to that now. ) you cannot deny it has been chaotic.
:09:50. > :09:54.People just want the information they need to plan their day and know
:09:55. > :10:03.whether they should even be going to work. That is what they are telling
:10:04. > :10:07.us. I looked at it from about 5am. I know the information is being
:10:08. > :10:12.uploaded. It is a berry changing picture. If people are able to
:10:13. > :10:17.stagger their journeys, that helps hugely, maybe wait until after the
:10:18. > :10:23.peak travel at less busy times. Be patient for the people who are at
:10:24. > :10:28.work. It is Londoners who are being inconvenienced. We are hearing
:10:29. > :10:33.noises about a possible deal. I have had three or four months of trying
:10:34. > :10:36.to get around the table with the RMT and the other trade unions. It is
:10:37. > :10:43.very difficult to have discussions with an empty chair. I thought there
:10:44. > :10:48.was going to be a deal but it was scuppered by people in the trade
:10:49. > :10:52.unions. That is a shame. The only way to resolve this is round the
:10:53. > :10:58.table. There has to be more than one person round the table. Do you think
:10:59. > :11:01.next week 's strike will go ahead? Sign up and I want to make sure we
:11:02. > :11:05.get around the table as quickly as possible. Today, the Prime Minister
:11:06. > :11:08.condemned the tube strike and Number Ten have said they are looking very,
:11:09. > :11:11.very closely at plans to declare London Underground an essential
:11:12. > :11:14.service to curb the threat of future strikes. They were however cautious
:11:15. > :11:18.about the Mayor's calls for a 5 % ballot threshold before a union can
:11:19. > :11:25.engage in industrial action. Our political correspondent reports now
:11:26. > :11:28.on the right to strike. On a day like today, you might expect weary
:11:29. > :11:34.Londoners to have a less than charitable view of the union, whose
:11:35. > :11:37.action has led to scenes like this. But people were taking leaflets from
:11:38. > :11:40.the strikers and plenty had sympathy with their cause There's a similar
:11:41. > :11:48.law in New York, where strikes aren't allowed. The station should
:11:49. > :11:52.be manned. We are not against you but you do not strike. You are
:11:53. > :11:57.putting a lot of people to a lot of pain and suffering and they do not
:11:58. > :12:03.get paid. There should be more consultation with the union about
:12:04. > :12:09.employment changes. It would be a shame to lose a lot of people that
:12:10. > :12:14.work here. On Prime Minister's Question Time, there was no sitting
:12:15. > :12:21.on the fence. There is no justification for a strike. We need
:12:22. > :12:24.a modern eyes chew blind. Downing Street said this sort of disruption
:12:25. > :12:29.was unacceptable. We are told the Prime Minister is looking very
:12:30. > :12:33.seriously at plans to label the London underground and essential
:12:34. > :12:37.service. That, in the future, means that strikes of this sort would need
:12:38. > :12:44.to provide a minimum level of service for its passengers. This is
:12:45. > :12:49.over a dispute over pay and conditions. There is a similar law
:12:50. > :12:52.in New York where strikes are not allowed. The subway has had just
:12:53. > :12:56.three strikes. After the last one in 2005, the local union was fined more
:12:57. > :13:01.than $2 million. Tonight, the Business Secretary told BBC London
:13:02. > :13:06.he disagreed with changing the law. There are many essential services.
:13:07. > :13:11.The London tube is one. Schools hospitals, the police and many other
:13:12. > :13:15.activities would qualify as an essential service. Changing
:13:16. > :13:22.industrial relations to deal with one particular strike is a very bad
:13:23. > :13:26.idea. But London's Mayor wants to go even further, banning strikes unless
:13:27. > :13:32.there is a 50% turn out for the strike ballot. I am not taking a
:13:33. > :13:36.lecture from Boris Johnson. He is running a large authority. Why
:13:37. > :13:40.should trade unions have different regulations? It is picking on trade
:13:41. > :13:43.unions. Conservative sources said today they were considering a range
:13:44. > :13:45.of options over strike action that may be included in their next
:13:46. > :13:52.general election manifesto. Coming up later... The latest travel
:13:53. > :13:58.information you'll need to help get around. Plus... No, not the tube
:13:59. > :14:00.strike. Find out why hundreds of people waited in the rain in Camden
:14:01. > :14:13.this afternoon. The Prince of Wales has been in
:14:14. > :14:16.Tottenham today and met one of the families who lost their home in the
:14:17. > :14:20.London riots in 2011, after their building was set on fire. Two and a
:14:21. > :14:22.half years on, one of the Prince's Charities is still working with
:14:23. > :14:32.businesses to help regenerate the area.
:14:33. > :14:41.Tolson has become accustomed to this royal visitor. `` Tottenham. The
:14:42. > :14:46.Prince's Trust helped to get former prison inmate Jeanna back on her
:14:47. > :14:51.feet. I was doing a sentence in Holloway and that is where I met the
:14:52. > :14:56.Prince's Trust. It gave me a chance but thought I would never have. It
:14:57. > :15:01.helped me set up a florist doing business. Now I have three
:15:02. > :15:08.businesses within four and a half years. The riots in 2011 stimulated
:15:09. > :15:16.a lot of soul`searching. The regeneration plans are given a sense
:15:17. > :15:22.of urgency by the social unrest and the devastation it caused. I
:15:23. > :15:26.recalled Prince Charles speaking to me on the phone asking what he could
:15:27. > :15:32.do. I said, you can come and you can keep coming back. This is the fourth
:15:33. > :15:41.occasion, bringing his charities and making a difference in the
:15:42. > :15:46.community. One family could now tell Prince Charles it is only weeks to
:15:47. > :15:50.Lake can move back in. At the moment, we live in temporary
:15:51. > :15:55.accommodation. At the end of April this year, we will be able to move
:15:56. > :16:03.back into our old place. It will be ready. They will hand over the keys
:16:04. > :16:08.by the end of April. Since 2011 the local authority has seen a shift in
:16:09. > :16:12.perception amongst investors. They are more willing to consider
:16:13. > :16:15.positively the regeneration possibilities on the back of the
:16:16. > :16:23.Tottenham Hotspur commitment to stay. We found, talking to
:16:24. > :16:26.investors, people are sceptical Now they are knocking on the door of the
:16:27. > :16:32.council saying they want to be part of it. ?10 million is going into the
:16:33. > :16:39.tube station. Hundreds of homes and new transport links. New businesses.
:16:40. > :16:41.The Phoenix rising from the ashes tells its own story of 2014
:16:42. > :16:54.Tottenham. It was a surprise that shocked and
:16:55. > :16:56.delighted fans in Camden last night. American singer Prince flew into
:16:57. > :17:00.London and performed an impromptu gig for just 300 fans at the
:17:01. > :17:04.Electric Ballroom. Tonight he's back at the same venue to promote his new
:17:05. > :17:07.album. Fans have been queuing all night for the tickets that will be
:17:08. > :17:14.released in the next ten minutes. Our reporter, Chris Rogers, joined
:17:15. > :17:20.the queue. The last time Prince performed in
:17:21. > :17:27.London he spent 21 nights playing to fans at the O2 Arena. Seven years on
:17:28. > :17:31.and he hit the stage at the smaller electricity or in in Camden. The
:17:32. > :17:38.audience of just 300 heard tracks from his new album which he recorded
:17:39. > :17:43.with an all`female trio. Queues formed outside the venue as rumours
:17:44. > :17:47.of the gig began to circulate on social media. And the fans are not
:17:48. > :17:52.letting the tube strike or the weather beat them. He could have
:17:53. > :17:59.released them on the Internet and have a bigger gig. That is not how
:18:00. > :18:04.Prince works. Could he not release them on the Internet like normal
:18:05. > :18:12.people? We would not have got them. You have to put in the work to get a
:18:13. > :18:22.ticket. Last night, Prince visited the Hackney home of soul singer
:18:23. > :18:34.Lianne La Havas. He described his London trip as open`ended. This got
:18:35. > :18:39.us down here. Rinse's Camden shows may be causing a stir but his
:18:40. > :18:45.comeback single is failing to do the same and it could not make it into
:18:46. > :18:48.the charts `` prints's Camden shows may be causing a stir.
:18:49. > :18:52.Returning to our top story, the tube strike. And with millions of people
:18:53. > :18:56.trying to find alternative ways to get around the capital, it was the
:18:57. > :18:59.bus, to which many of them turned. Despite operators putting on 20
:19:00. > :19:02.extra buses, it wasn't enough to help everyone, as Gareth Furby
:19:03. > :19:12.discovered in the queue for the 139 at Waterloo. Waiting and waiting for
:19:13. > :19:17.the 139 bus. Londoners and visitors to London, all with stories to tell
:19:18. > :19:24.of how their day was disrupted. This couple came to London from
:19:25. > :19:31.Bournemouth for a hospital checkup on a tumour in her neck. This is the
:19:32. > :19:36.follow`up. Tried to get a taxi but there were none to be had. We walked
:19:37. > :19:42.down here to get a bus to Marilyn Bowen and we are waiting in a long
:19:43. > :19:48.queue. # a bus to Marylebone. Then there was a recruitment consultant
:19:49. > :19:53.trying and failing to get to Bond Street. It has taken me two hours to
:19:54. > :20:00.get to Waterloo. We have another two days of this. I might sleep in the
:20:01. > :20:03.office. That might be best. And Paula is an acupuncturist. It is
:20:04. > :20:08.frustrating because we are all trying to do our jobs. I have been
:20:09. > :20:14.here for an hour trying to get out of Waterloo. How do you feel about
:20:15. > :20:21.that? I want to murder someone! As they waited, it was friendly and
:20:22. > :20:28.orderly but then a bus arrived. At this point, it is each to their
:20:29. > :20:34.own. This is like the cop in Liverpool! Write down the back,
:20:35. > :20:42.please. After a crash, our three managed to get on. Squeeze down I
:20:43. > :20:48.can imagine how sardines feel. I think we are packed in now. Thanks,
:20:49. > :20:54.driver, for your cooperation. But left behind, a businessman from
:20:55. > :20:57.Sweden who decided to head to Heathrow rather than attend an
:20:58. > :21:03.exhibition. What you think of good old Britain? It is interesting to
:21:04. > :21:10.learn the transportation culture of London. Tomorrow on the 139 it will
:21:11. > :21:18.be the same thing all over again. On that note, let's get a picture of
:21:19. > :21:21.the latest travel situation with Alice Bhandukravi, as much as we
:21:22. > :21:27.can. It is a changing picture. At the
:21:28. > :21:30.moment, TFL are saying a third of tube services are running and 7 % of
:21:31. > :21:36.stations are open but that is changing hour by hour, depending on
:21:37. > :21:40.the pressure on the system and the number of people using the systems.
:21:41. > :21:44.The Bakerloo line is up and running. Several lines have no service at
:21:45. > :21:49.all, those are the Circle Line and Waterloo and City Line. There is a
:21:50. > :21:53.limited service on the Central Line and the Piccadilly Line. There is no
:21:54. > :21:59.service operating through the central areas, only at the west and
:22:00. > :22:04.East End of the line. There are some services to Heathrow but only from
:22:05. > :22:08.Acton Town. The District Line, Metropolitan line and Hammersmith
:22:09. > :22:12.and City Line, some trains are running but not stopping at certain
:22:13. > :22:19.stations. On the Jubilee Line, there are trains running and on the
:22:20. > :22:27.Northern line, there is no service to Mill Hill East and trains are not
:22:28. > :22:30.stopping at all stations. On the Victoria Line, there are trains
:22:31. > :22:35.running between seven sisters and Brixton. As if things were not as
:22:36. > :22:41.bad as it is, train services have been disrupted throughout the day.
:22:42. > :22:46.There have been delays and cancellations for southeastern
:22:47. > :22:50.services. Southeastern Railway says it is running as many trains as
:22:51. > :22:54.possible to get people home during the strike. Looking ahead to
:22:55. > :22:58.tomorrow, Transport for London says it hopes to put on a similar service
:22:59. > :23:02.as it did today but there are no guarantees and the situation will be
:23:03. > :23:06.changing throughout the morning commute.
:23:07. > :23:12.Thank you. Time now to go back to our transport correspondent Tom
:23:13. > :23:18.Edwards. There are noises that a deal could be on the way so next
:23:19. > :23:22.week's strike could be off. Both sides will claim today as a success
:23:23. > :23:27.of sorts but the big question is, why do we go from here? I am hearing
:23:28. > :23:34.more positive noises from both sides. That means perhaps we might
:23:35. > :23:38.get more talks at ACAS over the next coming days. That might be good news
:23:39. > :23:41.for the strike planned for next week, not so good news for commuters
:23:42. > :23:45.tomorrow. Thank you. Time now to get a check
:23:46. > :23:57.on the weather with Wendy. It was really blustery and we had
:23:58. > :24:01.the rain as well, it added to our misery across London today, I am
:24:02. > :24:08.afraid. There is going to be more rain. We can get used to the warning
:24:09. > :24:12.for the rain. That will be with us from tomorrow afternoon, right the
:24:13. > :24:16.way through to Saturday. At least tonight, it is becoming drier and
:24:17. > :24:21.there will be lighter winds as well. It is fairly blustery out there The
:24:22. > :24:25.showers might be on the heavy side. They will blow us home. As we go
:24:26. > :24:30.through tonight, those showers are tending to die out. There will be
:24:31. > :24:37.some clear skies and the wind will fall a little bit lighter.
:24:38. > :24:45.Temperatures will dip to 46 degrees. Bright enough for that full to work
:24:46. > :24:51.tomorrow morning `` 4`6 degrees As we go through the afternoon, it will
:24:52. > :24:56.cloud over and start to rain. Once it does, it will not stop. We have
:24:57. > :25:03.an amber weather warning for the Met Office for parts of Surrey, Sussex
:25:04. > :25:08.and Kent. We could get 50 millilitres of further rain falling
:25:09. > :25:11.across saturated ground. The rest of London and the Home Counties are
:25:12. > :25:24.covered by a yellow warning for rain. The low pressure system moves
:25:25. > :25:27.away from us as we go through Friday leaving a brief ridge of high
:25:28. > :25:32.pressure before the next system comes in. Friday night into Saturday
:25:33. > :25:38.brings us another spell of rain and some windy weather as well. We are
:25:39. > :25:43.not out of the woods yet. Friday, dry conditions after a wet Thursday.
:25:44. > :25:47.There will be a bit of a breeze blowing once again. It turns wet
:25:48. > :25:53.overnight. Saturday will have some heavy rain and heavy showers. There
:25:54. > :25:58.will be strong winds as well. For Sunday, something a bit dryer at
:25:59. > :26:05.least. It looks like a wet February. Thank you. That is it for now. I
:26:06. > :26:10.will be back with the latest for you during the ten o'clock News. From
:26:11. > :26:11.all of us on the team, thank you for watching and enjoy your evening
:26:12. > :26:34.goodbye. NICK CLEGG: Are you in,
:26:35. > :26:37.or are you out? That's the real question at stake at
:26:38. > :26:43.the European elections on May 2 nd. even though that would wreck
:26:44. > :26:50.the recovery and destroy jobs. The Conservatives are now
:26:51. > :26:54.openly flirting with exit, and the Labour Party, well, they
:26:55. > :26:57.just don't have the courage