11/03/2014 BBC London News

their European ones are now over. That is all from us. Don't forget

there's a first Good evening.

Bob Crow polarised opinion. For many, he continually succeeded in

improving pay and conditions for his members. To others, he was `

left`wing firebrand all too happy to bring the capital to a standstill

through strikes. Outside the union headquartdrs, the

news hit hard. It is believdd Bob Crow died of a heart attack this

morning. His death leaves a massive gap in the lives of everyond who was

fortunate enough to know hil. Chu porkers paid their respects. `` Tube

workers. This is what he was best known for, he started on thd tube at

the age of 16. He rose throtgh the union ranks. We are staying until we

get the deal people deserve. By 2002, he had become the gendral

secretary of the RMT. I am proud and privileged to have fought

side`by`side with him. He w`s respected by employers and loved by

his members. He used strikes to defend his members' pay and

conditions, most recently hhs union walked out over ticket office

closures. This is what passdngers made of the news today. Somdtimes,

he made me angry, but at other times, you think, he is passionate

about what he believes in. He helped his workers, he was a very good

representative. He may have done it in unpopular ways, but that was his

way. The said table to be s`t round. You cannot do it if you havd a gun

to our head. A few weeks ago, he clashed with Boris Johnson, and he

was often criticised by somd media. But even if they disagreed with some

strikes, transport bosses and mayors respected him. He was a shrdwd

operator, although he was dhvisive. He knew how to use the union's

muscle, especially in a citx which depends so much on the underground,

he knew how to use the thre`t of strikes to get improved terls and

conditions. Even his opponents called him a fighter and a lan of

character. You interviewed him many tiles,

what's your thought on the legacy he leaves London? I spoke to hhm a week

ago about driverless Tube trains, he was typically abrasive and

unapologetic, I was trying to see if he would allow drivers into the

carriages, he said, we are not having it. That was a normal

interview. In terms of his legacy, the union has now 80,000 melbers, up

from 50,000 when he became general secretary. We do not know the

direction that the union will take, but it will still have a very strong

voice, still fight issues lhke ticket office closures, but tonight

we have lost a really big player in the transport world.

A gang of robbers have been foiled as they raided a jewelled is in

Victoria this afternoon. Ond suspect was rustled from a motorhead by a

member of the public. Three other suspects were able to escapd.

Well, as we've heard, Boris Johnson has paid tribute to Bob Crow today.

The Mayor was speaking to us in Cannes, where he's attending

Europe's largest property f`ir to attract foreign investors. His

opponents claim he's fuelling the capital's housing bubble. Btt Boris

Johnson says he's struck a deal with developers which is good for

Londoners. It is where developers meet

investors on the French Rivhera and where some come because thex are

interested in purchasing a bit of London. The mayor accepted today

that foreign buyers may havd pushed prices too high in some prile

locations, but not in the c`pital as a whole. He brought news th`t 6

developers had agreed not to market properties abroad first in future.

They will stop any practice of marketing London homes overseas in

advance, and will insist thdse homes should be offered first or `t least

simultaneously to the UK, to the London market. He came for less than

a day, but some have questioned whether he should have, at `ll. Ken

Livingstone used to come here as well, but according to his critics,

he is two at home with developers and foreign investors. Protdsters

from a new housing campaign group had criticised his courting foreign

developers property buyers. Do not sell our city, it is for Londoners,

not for foreign investors. But other London councils see it as a vital

place to do business. Hounslow agreeing a redevelopment of their

town centre. It will redevelop one of the busiest town centres in

London. You have to come to the south of France to broker that

they'll? Bizarrely, that is how it works, because you will get more

developers here than you will meet in your whole political carder. He

said that you cannot stick two fingers up at international

investors. Do you not worry that you are letting down a generation of

Londoners? We are attracting the investment that is going to link

from London as the financial capital, cultural capital, but also,

enable people who cannot afford to live in London to be able to get the

home that will help them to live near their place of work. Hd says

international confidence in London has rarely been higher, and now we

need to keep the money rollhng in. Well, that's about it from le. I'll

say goodnight, and here's Wdndy with the weather.

We had to be patient for thd sunshine. Tomorrow, it will turn

sunny sooner, after a great start. For the time being, a clear sky

Across parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshhre,

north of London, the more clear sky through the night. The cloud is

quite low, and it will be mhsty and murky over high ground. But once

again, it will brighten up, and by the end of the morning, the arrival

of blue sky and sunshine. The temperatures will pick up nhcely.

There is some fog coming in for the end of the day, so a foggy start for

Thursday. It will brighten tp as the day goes on.

Thursday. It will brighten up as the day goes on. Here is the UK

forecast. Plenty of dry weather over the next

few days, especially across southern