28/02/2014 BBC London News

Good evening and welcome. Two victims of serial rapist John

Worboys have won their bid to get compensation from the Met Police for

failing to investigate their attacks properly. It is believed the taxi

driver attacked more than 100 women over six years. Today's decision at

the High Court could have implications for all police forces

in the UK, as our political correspondent Karl Mercer reports.

For years, John Worboys would pick up women in his black cab. He would

then make up a story about a gambling win and ask them to share a

drink with him. The drinks though were drugged and it is believed he

went on to rape or assault more than a hundred women. Worboys is now

behind bars, jailed indefinitely for his crimes. But the case remains a

difficult one for the Metropolitan Police. It failed time and again to

stop Worboys. I remember him polling over and

getting into the back of the taxi with me `` Pauling. That is all I

remember until I woke up in hospital the next morning.

The words of one of Worboys' victims who, today, with another woman, won

a judgement against the Met under the Human Rights Act.

The judge, Mr Justice Green, said he had identified: "A series of

systemic failings which went to the heart of the failure of the police

to apprehend Worboys and cut short his five`to`six`year spree of

violent attacks. The fact that he dropped me at the

police station on conscious and nobody had bothered to take his

details was quite shocking to me `` unconscious. And I was quite upset

and asked, did you get his name, his registration number, any details?

They admitted they had not the `` taking any details from him.

Today's judgement will mean compensation for the two women, but

could also have big implications for the police in the future. One of

these shoes is about police responsibility and liability and

where is the boundary in relation to that `` one of the issues. We have

to think about the judgement and understand the implications which

may be wider than London and wider than rape and decide a course of

action. Given that, it is possible the Met

will appeal today's decision. Scotland Yard did though apologise

again to the victims of John Worboys it let down.

Our reporter, Gareth Furby, joins us now from Scotland Yard with more on

this. And, Gareth, the implications of this ruling could be quite far

reaching? Yes, this is a difficult one for

Scotland Yard because in the past, the law is very clear on this, the

police did not owe victims of crime a duty of care, to use that legal

phrase. But because of this new interpretation, they do. And that

could mean if in the future it can be shown there have been systemic

failings in an investigation into serious or sexual crime, the victims

of that crime may be able to take the police to court to sue for

damages and perhaps that is why you can see the police are now

considering their response to this case, and may yet bring an appeal.

Thank you very much. A Christian couple from South East

London, whose baby died of acute rickets, have been jailed for

manslaughter because they refused to seek medical help for him. Nkosi

Kunene was sentenced to three years, and his wife Virginia was given two

years and three months. Both believed God would protect their

son. Rail unions are threatening to "go

to war" over plans to introduce driverless Tube trains, which they

claim would be less safe. Transport bosses have begun the process of

searching for a supplier to build the automated trains, which they say

will be more reliable. Our transport correspondent Tom Edwards reports.

Trouble is brewing again on the Tube. Bosses took the first step

today in buying fully automated trains and it could eventually mean

a member of staff `` could mean no member of staff in the carriage.

Great idea, the less people to strike, the better. Technology could

go down and everybody would be at a standstill, like with the strike.

Trains on the Victoria and the Jubilee semiautomated. The driver

operates the doors but can switch to manual if there is a problem. Fully

automated trains could deliver much more capacity. Automated driving is

essential, it is more efficient and you get a more efficient performance

and improve capacity. You reduce maintenance costs. In Paris, they

have some automated lines and it took years of negotiations with

workers. Here, both drivers unions say the cap has to stable stop there

would be war, there should be a driver. `` has to stay. There should

be a God as well as a driver, there is an argument for that. This person

on the train, imagine as an individual with a uniform, what are

you going to do? It is standing room only on the tube so if an incident

takes place, do they have to go round the carriages or debate rave

the train if it breaks down? It is an absolute `` it is an absolute

nonsense. London Underground says this is the beginning of a long

process. So long term, we could have stuff in the carriage on the bigger

dilly line? `` staff. We have ten years to look at the process and to

talk to staff and trade unions and customers? They will absolutely be

safe, we would never do anything that is not safe. Plans are ideas

away at the new train is bound to be a flash point in already fractious

industrial relations. Well, it's goodnight from me. Now

I'll hand you over to Elizabeth Rizzini, who's got the weekend

weather. Plenty of rain around but it will be

turning drive through the night is that rain pushes away to the South.

`` drive. It will leave Cloud and drizzle towards eastern areas.

Towards the North West, it will turn colder. Clearing skies and a bit of

frost and even fog into tomorrow morning. It will eat a cold start to

the weekend, there will still be cloud around towards eastern areas

`` it will be. But otherwise, a pretty nice day and it will brighten

up everywhere, there will be sunshine. It will be quite chilly at

at times, top temperatures around eight, nine degrees. Frost forming

on Saturday night, Sunday is much cloudier with rain arriving later

into the evening. This is the weekend summary for London. Now time

for the National forecast. Good evening, if you are a

meteorologist, tomorrow is the first day of spring. But mother nature has

little regard for such labels. That is one explanation for why spring

starts with a touch