:00:00. > :00:00.pollution levels will be that little bit lower. Thank you. That is it
:00:00. > :00:08.from us this evening, now we join the BBC news teams where you are.
:00:09. > :00:12.Tonight on BBC London News: Accused of using public cash for electoral
:00:13. > :00:17.gain, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets hits back, claiming the BBC's
:00:18. > :00:22.racist. Panorama stands by its journalism. We speak to charities on
:00:23. > :00:24.both sides of the argument. Also tonight, flood`hit homeowners
:00:25. > :00:35.get access to Government cash from today to help repair their
:00:36. > :00:39.properties. I am in Berkshire, one of the county 's worst affected by
:00:40. > :00:43.flooding, speaking to people who still have a long way to go to make
:00:44. > :00:46.good the water damage. Plus, a warning to property
:00:47. > :00:48.investors from one London borough ` leave homes empty and you could be
:00:49. > :00:51.fined thousands. And how an old hair`raising art`form
:00:52. > :01:06.takes centre stage at London's circus festival.
:01:07. > :01:10.Good evening. First tonight, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, accused by a
:01:11. > :01:13.BBC programme of diverting public grants for electoral gain, has hit
:01:14. > :01:19.back, claiming the allegations are driven by racism and Islamophobia.
:01:20. > :01:21.Panorama found that Lutfur Rahman, the Bangladeshi Mayor of Tower
:01:22. > :01:24.Hamlets, has more than doubled funding for Bengali and Somali`run
:01:25. > :01:32.charities and cut funding for other organisations. Mr Rahman
:01:33. > :01:36.categorically denies that this was done in return for support in a
:01:37. > :01:43.forthcoming election. Alex Bushill reports.
:01:44. > :01:54.It is a borough whose politics has long been mired in controversy.
:01:55. > :01:58.Today it's mayor and the BBC... I will work for you and each and every
:01:59. > :02:06.member of Tower Hamlets. Lutfer Rahman is accused by Panorama of
:02:07. > :02:13.favouring Bengalis run charities with council funding. Other
:02:14. > :02:20.organisations saw their funding drop a 25%. Not so, say one of the
:02:21. > :02:24.biggest beneficiaries. It runs this lunch club and its manager told me
:02:25. > :02:31.they have been favoured by councils of all political persuasions, not
:02:32. > :02:41.just this mayor. Before him, the Labour Party was here. They funded
:02:42. > :02:47.us. I think it is racist. What about other organisations? Give to
:02:48. > :02:50.everyone. Speak to those who have lost out and another picture
:02:51. > :02:55.emerges. This man has worked for the same charity in the borough for many
:02:56. > :02:59.years. He fears his funding will be cut further if he is critical of the
:03:00. > :03:07.mayor and his organisation is identified. In previous years the
:03:08. > :03:11.process of applying for and getting grants was reasonably transparent.
:03:12. > :03:16.In recent years, the process has become muddied and has resulted in
:03:17. > :03:21.reductions in funding which in turn has meant reductions in services we
:03:22. > :03:27.provide and the number of staff we ploy. There was no comment from the
:03:28. > :03:37.town Hall today. The mayor refuse to be interviewed. He released a
:03:38. > :03:48.statement saying that the painting `` portrait by Panorama bore little
:03:49. > :03:53.relation to the truth. He accused the BBC of Islamophobia and
:03:54. > :03:58.campaigning on behalf of his opponents in next month 's's
:03:59. > :04:01.elections. The BBC apologised unreservedly after a list of secret
:04:02. > :04:04.sources from the documentary were leaked to him by one of the
:04:05. > :04:09.researchers. Nonetheless, the programme makers defended their
:04:10. > :04:17.journalism. We have checked our figures and we are satisfied they
:04:18. > :04:25.are robust. They will be presented to the government in Jude time. The
:04:26. > :04:28.Secretary of State's experts will decide whether they are right or
:04:29. > :04:35.wrong. The local MP weighed in as well. I think it is irresponsible
:04:36. > :04:41.for the mayor of Tower Hamlets to go around making accusations of racism.
:04:42. > :04:46.He will run out of people who he does not consider racist. The
:04:47. > :04:49.government has said it will look at the claims saying it could send
:04:50. > :04:58.inspectors into the borough to investigate.
:04:59. > :05:04.Lots more to come tonight. I am in Los Angeles where they are using
:05:05. > :05:13.revolutionary technology to track crime before it starts. London is
:05:14. > :05:16.planning to go the same way. Thousands of people whose homes were
:05:17. > :05:19.flooded over the winter will have access to Government cash from today
:05:20. > :05:22.to help repair their properties. Homeowners can get up to ?5,000 as
:05:23. > :05:26.part of the scheme, topping up any money they get from insurers. We can
:05:27. > :05:33.find out more from Alice Bhandhukravi who's by the River
:05:34. > :05:38.Thames now. Water levels have receded here. This
:05:39. > :05:43.area was once completely flooded. There is still a long way to go for
:05:44. > :05:49.people rebuilding their homes and livelihoods. Today news of the
:05:50. > :05:54.government grant was welcome. Maggie has her work cut out. Since her home
:05:55. > :05:58.was flooded the entire ground floor has had to be stripped and she has
:05:59. > :06:03.had to move out. This was the kitchen. You can see everything has
:06:04. > :06:10.gone, cupboards, walls, all of the units. It is likely to be expensive.
:06:11. > :06:16.She will be taking up the Government's offer of a grant. I do
:06:17. > :06:20.not know how far it will go. The whole place has had to be gutted on
:06:21. > :06:27.the ground floor. The plasterboard has been taken off. The remnants of
:06:28. > :06:32.the flooding are as visible as much outdoors as in, from sandbags to
:06:33. > :06:39.sodden lawns. This couple whose floor had to be replaced will also
:06:40. > :06:48.be hoping for some financial help. We have not finished yet. Any help
:06:49. > :06:54.is likely to be good for you. Yeah. The carpet was ?1000. Like all other
:06:55. > :07:00.homeowners, they will have to reply for the repair and renew grant
:07:01. > :07:08.through their local council. There is a simple online application form
:07:09. > :07:13.and they `` and we process it and recover the money from the
:07:14. > :07:17.government. We have already had 13 applications as of an hour ago for
:07:18. > :07:22.something which only went live today. No shortage of applicants.
:07:23. > :07:27.Maddie is getting help from her friends and hopefully a little bit
:07:28. > :07:34.of cash from her council. I am nervous but I have to look forward
:07:35. > :07:40.and hope things get better soon. The funding has to go towards what is
:07:41. > :07:44.being called flooding resilience and resistance measures, as opposed to
:07:45. > :07:48.pure repair work. It can be for work already carried out or yet to be
:07:49. > :07:53.carried out. Who determines what constitutes flooding resilience, it
:07:54. > :07:59.will be down to local councils. Many thanks.
:08:00. > :08:02.A 45`year`old woman and her toddler who were found dead in Hackney
:08:03. > :08:05.yesterday have been named by police as Valerie Forde and Real`Jahzarah
:08:06. > :08:08.McKoy. Ms Forde had had previous contact with the Met and the
:08:09. > :08:10.incident has now been referred to the Independent Police Complaints
:08:11. > :08:18.Commission. A 53`year`old man has been arrested on suspicion of
:08:19. > :08:21.murder. A black policewoman who is suing the
:08:22. > :08:24.Met for racial and sexual discrimination says that the force
:08:25. > :08:26.has not learned lessons from a report which branded them
:08:27. > :08:29.institutionally rascist. The 1999 Macpherson Review looked at the
:08:30. > :08:31.investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Carol Howard told
:08:32. > :08:45.the tribunal that they continue to discriminate. Scotland Yard says it
:08:46. > :08:49.will robustly defend the claim. Union leaders say they fear budget
:08:50. > :08:51.cuts at Kew Gardens could mean 125 jobs will be lost and affect
:08:52. > :08:54.scientific research. ?5 million has got to be saved at the Royal
:08:55. > :08:57.Botanical Gardens in the coming year. Directors say they hope to
:08:58. > :09:00.avoid any compulsory job cuts or reductions in research.
:09:01. > :09:03.Investors who buy properties in the capital and leave them unoccupied
:09:04. > :09:08.could face fines of up to ?60,000 in one London borough. Islington says
:09:09. > :09:11.it has a number of homes which are bought to capitalise on London's
:09:12. > :09:15.housing market and are often left empty, without being rented out. The
:09:16. > :09:18.council says it contributes to the current housing crisis. With more
:09:19. > :09:27.details, here's our political editor, Tim Donovan.
:09:28. > :09:32.There is a buzz of building along the city road but how many of these
:09:33. > :09:35.new apartments will become homes Quetta ma Islington Council
:09:36. > :09:37.estimates over the past few years around 300 properties in this part
:09:38. > :09:45.of the borough have been bought simply to leave vacant accruing
:09:46. > :09:50.value `` how many will become homes? It may be the time to use planning
:09:51. > :09:57.flowers to charge owners as much as ?60,000 for flats left empty ``
:09:58. > :10:05.planning powers. We want to make this realistic and workable but also
:10:06. > :10:10.radical. How long would a flat have to be empty? We want to avoid flats
:10:11. > :10:18.which left empty for 365 days a year. If someone comes for one
:10:19. > :10:24.shopping day a year, that is not readily occupied either. Some said
:10:25. > :10:32.they were not sure how it would be promoted. They may have legitimate
:10:33. > :10:35.reasons `` how it would be implemented. The whole thing seems
:10:36. > :10:40.exceedingly difficult. It seems to be a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
:10:41. > :10:45.Islington claims it would raise money to go towards providing more
:10:46. > :10:51.affordable homes. The Chancellor George Osborne introduced a 15% rate
:10:52. > :10:56.stamp duty in the budget on property bought by companies. There is a
:10:57. > :11:02.reluctance to intervene too heavily in the market. Councils have the
:11:03. > :11:05.power to levy an extra 50% of council tax on properties left
:11:06. > :11:10.vacant. But it is hard to establish at the moment whether a property has
:11:11. > :11:13.been left empty. Some say the trend is exaggerated. Islington council
:11:14. > :11:19.says it could work because it would require owners to prove use, say
:11:20. > :11:26.through producing a utility bill. Others will take some convincing.
:11:27. > :11:30.Immigration Minister insisted today that a Mauritian student must be
:11:31. > :11:34.deported. He said all of the facts of the case involving the
:11:35. > :11:38.19`year`old had been considered but were not of an exceptional nature
:11:39. > :11:44.required for his intervention. The A`level student has been detained at
:11:45. > :11:54.an immigration centre. Looking at the facts of the case, we concluded
:11:55. > :11:58.that as ministers it is I think exceptional when you intervene in
:11:59. > :12:03.the process. After weighing this heavily, we felt there was not this
:12:04. > :12:06.justification for us to intercede. This week, as dust from the Sahara
:12:07. > :12:12.has been making the capital's poor air quality even worse. BBC London
:12:13. > :12:15.has learnt that the Mayor's plans to try and get people to stop driving
:12:16. > :12:17.during high pollution have been dropped. Campaigners have criticised
:12:18. > :12:25.the move as a missed opportunity. Our environment correspondent, Tom
:12:26. > :12:29.Edwards, has more. It has been covering cars all over
:12:30. > :12:36.the capital, dust from the Sahara. It has been adding to the pollution
:12:37. > :12:41.already caused by traffic. In 2010, the mayor said he would try to
:12:42. > :12:45.persuade drivers not to use their vehicles during episodes of high
:12:46. > :12:51.pollution. They are called action days and work in the same way as
:12:52. > :12:55.warnings given to commuters to avoid busy stations during the Olympics.
:12:56. > :13:03.Since then, not much. We should be using an Olympic style travel demand
:13:04. > :13:09.light. Up to one in ten people might change their behaviour so on smog
:13:10. > :13:14.days or other days when there are big events on, what we can do is
:13:15. > :13:18.encourage people to work at home, maybe walk or cycle, use public
:13:19. > :13:25.transport, but not drive a diesel vehicle into the most polluted parts
:13:26. > :13:30.of London. In Paris recently, some cars were banned on Sundays to
:13:31. > :13:34.reduce pollution. According to this data from Kings, twice during that
:13:35. > :13:41.week London's air`quality was actually worse. City Hall now
:13:42. > :13:47.believes changing driver behaviour does not work long`term and has
:13:48. > :13:52.dropped action days. Instead there is a proposal for an ultralow
:13:53. > :13:58.emission zone and hybrid buses. We need to tackle it across a whole
:13:59. > :14:05.range of ways. Cleaner vehicles, encouraging planting more trees,
:14:06. > :14:09.tens of thousands of more trees, encouraging people to walk and
:14:10. > :14:14.cycle. There is no doubt London still faces a serious problem. But
:14:15. > :14:19.it is starting to come down. The capital still faces potential
:14:20. > :14:25.European fines over its poorer quality. Campaigners say action is
:14:26. > :14:31.needed much more quickly. On that note, still to come this
:14:32. > :14:36.evening, air pollution remains high into tomorrow. There is fresh air
:14:37. > :14:39.eventually. A day when you can wash the Saharan dust off the car. The
:14:40. > :14:47.forecast coming later. Next, to what extent should
:14:48. > :14:51.technology be used to help fight crime? Well, the Met's planning to
:14:52. > :14:55.test a new type of computer software which aims to predict where a crime
:14:56. > :14:58.is likely to occur. A similar scheme is being used in Los Angeles where
:14:59. > :15:12.it's getting great results, as our home affairs correspondent Guy Smith
:15:13. > :15:20.explains. We are here to make sure you don't get hurt. Starting his
:15:21. > :15:29.shift in the foothill area of Los Angeles, and a computer has informed
:15:30. > :15:35.the police where the crime is likely to happen. In the past, officers
:15:36. > :15:40.like John would rely on instinct and knowledge of the street. Policing
:15:41. > :15:45.was more of an art, now it is also becoming a science, using technology
:15:46. > :15:55.like this to stop crime before it starts. These boxes show tiny areas
:15:56. > :16:02.of no more than 500 foot by 500 foot. We want to be visible, we want
:16:03. > :16:06.to make sure people can see us. We want to tell the bad guys, whatever
:16:07. > :16:13.you think you are going to do, you are not going to do it here and now.
:16:14. > :16:23.It wasn't long before suspected bad guy was questioned. Dale Welch is 43
:16:24. > :16:26.and an alcoholic. He has been in trouble before with the LAPD but
:16:27. > :16:36.this time he has done nothing wrong, and Sergeant Gompertz lets
:16:37. > :16:40.him go. I have seen what the LAPD have done to people but lately they
:16:41. > :16:47.have been more co`operative, more relaxed, and they give you a chance
:16:48. > :16:54.now. 20 years ago they were sticking pins in a map, now they are using
:16:55. > :17:02.software to predict crime. There is no forecasted crying for this 12
:17:03. > :17:08.hour period except for in this box. This captain is an evangelist for
:17:09. > :17:13.predictive policing. He collect data like memorabilia. We have seven
:17:14. > :17:19.years of data run through an algorithm, showing us where we need
:17:20. > :17:25.to be and when we need to be there and that is why we are using the
:17:26. > :17:30.most accurate tool we have. Over the last year, crime has fallen by
:17:31. > :17:36.almost 30%. Burglary this year is down dramatically. We still ask the
:17:37. > :17:41.officers to use their knowledge and experience when they get there, we
:17:42. > :17:48.are just telling them where is the highest probability crime will
:17:49. > :17:53.occur. The idea came from one of America's top universities.
:17:54. > :17:59.Criminals behaving very regular and normal ways, and we attach onto
:18:00. > :18:05.those patterns. We analyse where and when crimes have occurred, and it is
:18:06. > :18:10.in sorting out the relevance of what has happened recently versus the
:18:11. > :18:20.long term that we can predict when and where crimes will occur. Some
:18:21. > :18:25.organisations are concerned. Using a computer is a good thing, but any
:18:26. > :18:29.time officers are told to saturate a small area with police resources
:18:30. > :18:35.with aggressive policing, there is a danger they will cross the line. If
:18:36. > :18:42.this technology works, supporters believe you will have more of
:18:43. > :18:46.these, empty jail cells. This is preventative. We are denying the
:18:47. > :18:58.criminals the opportunity to commit the crime in the first place. This
:18:59. > :19:03.is the future too. Not only the computer, but also a friendly face
:19:04. > :19:11.in uniform. Next time when they are trying to solve a crime, it may be a
:19:12. > :19:14.little easier. Guy's with me. As you mentioned,
:19:15. > :19:18.these high`tech methods aren't substituting good old fashioned
:19:19. > :19:21.policing techniques? There is always a need for intuition and a knowledge
:19:22. > :19:26.of the street, but science and technology is playing a bigger role,
:19:27. > :19:32.and with budget cuts, senior police leaders need to use their resources
:19:33. > :19:35.in the most cost`effective way. With the Met police, they have a
:19:36. > :19:39.home`grown algorithm, they have been working closely with University
:19:40. > :19:43.College London, but they are also looking at products from abroad as
:19:44. > :19:46.we have seen in my film, and they are looking to the most accurate
:19:47. > :19:54.system of predicting crime in the future. Could we see this being used
:19:55. > :20:01.more permanently here in London? Yes, they are trialling it in five
:20:02. > :20:06.London boroughs. What took them some two or three days to number crunch
:20:07. > :20:12.takes the computer just seconds. The jury is out in whether this will be
:20:13. > :20:17.embraced in London because if you look at the experience in LA, 21
:20:18. > :20:21.divisions there, and I'm told that just six or seven police commanders
:20:22. > :20:27.are using this predictive policing. As you saw in the film, they are
:20:28. > :20:35.having huge success and I told privately that, look, I am wanting
:20:36. > :20:38.my tail because when I am held to account on my statistics, I no
:20:39. > :20:43.longer have to go to the meetings but the other commanders do. Thank
:20:44. > :20:46.you. Middlesex County cricket club are
:20:47. > :20:49.hoping to improve on a fifth place finish last season when they start
:20:50. > :20:51.their new campaign on Sunday. The county has been boosted following
:20:52. > :20:54.the news that their Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, has been
:20:55. > :20:57.chosen to sit on the England selection panel. But the former
:20:58. > :21:07.England bowler remains confident that his new role won't impact on
:21:08. > :21:10.his Middlesex duties. There will be some time that it takes up, but
:21:11. > :21:16.Middlesex are more than happy for me to do this. I think I have got a lot
:21:17. > :21:19.to give so I am looking forward to it.
:21:20. > :21:22.The art of circus has really evolved over recent years, competing with
:21:23. > :21:24.theatre, ballet and dance for audiences. This year's Circus
:21:25. > :21:27.Festival at the Roundhouse in Camden is their most ambitious yet and
:21:28. > :21:32.includes the ancient art of hair hanging. It has to be seen to be
:21:33. > :21:43.believed. Here's our Arts Correspondent, Brenda Emmanus.
:21:44. > :21:50.Combining acrobatics, madcap humour, and the rarely seen skill of Russian
:21:51. > :21:54.swing, they are enticing audiences to the Roundhouse in Camden. The
:21:55. > :22:00.performance are months 30 international and home`grown talent
:22:01. > :22:03.performing at the CircusFest. Contemporary circus is about
:22:04. > :22:09.celebrating the amazing thing the human body can do, it is definitely
:22:10. > :22:13.becoming more popular across the UK, and I think the Roundhouse is
:22:14. > :22:17.becoming more known for doing circus. We have companies we have
:22:18. > :22:21.been working with for three or four years who have come up through the
:22:22. > :22:27.Roundhouse or done other things in other parts of London, making their
:22:28. > :22:32.own shows. The rebranding of the Circus space in Hoxton last month as
:22:33. > :22:37.the National Centre for circus arts was significant, confirming this
:22:38. > :22:42.popery of athletic entertainment as an artform in its own right. Circus
:22:43. > :22:50.as we know it has come of age and this year's event is the biggest and
:22:51. > :22:54.boldest they have ever staged. From sky walking and juggling two more
:22:55. > :22:59.left`field skills such as hair hanging. They closely guard their
:23:00. > :23:08.performance, preferring to surprise their audience with their grace and
:23:09. > :23:15.skills. Prepare to watch in awe. It is a secret, so with our shows we
:23:16. > :23:20.wanted to keep this secret part of it. Circus has had its roots in
:23:21. > :23:25.London since the 18th century and this new wave of talent have evolved
:23:26. > :23:31.to compete and collaborate with other art forms. A lot of what
:23:32. > :23:35.CircusFest is about is going and meeting people, being part of circus
:23:36. > :23:41.networks, looking at how we can support the circus industry around
:23:42. > :23:48.the world. And the Circus world comes to Camden and other venues
:23:49. > :23:50.until the 27th of April. We have got the hair, but we cannot
:23:51. > :23:53.do that. until the 27th of April.
:23:54. > :24:01.We have got the hair, Leave it to the expert! We have had lots of chat
:24:02. > :24:06.around the air pollution in London. It remains high today and will be
:24:07. > :24:11.high again tomorrow. The pink you can see on the map is the very high
:24:12. > :24:18.area, and elsewhere this is where it is high and it is because we have
:24:19. > :24:22.the Saharan dust being blown in, we have industrial pollution being
:24:23. > :24:28.blown in from the nearby continents, and then we have our own of course.
:24:29. > :24:32.From Thursday it will freshen up. Midweek will bring very warm weather
:24:33. > :24:39.our way with some hazy sunshine as well. This evening and overnight,
:24:40. > :24:44.that warm feeling will continue with some cloud drifting around, light
:24:45. > :24:49.winds and some clearer skies. We might get some showers cropping up
:24:50. > :24:58.here and there, but the most of us it will be a mild night. We start
:24:59. > :25:02.the day tomorrow with some sunshine, and I think we will hang onto that
:25:03. > :25:06.for the most part through most of the morning. It might start to turn
:25:07. > :25:10.hazy as we go through the afternoon, and perhaps something
:25:11. > :25:20.thicker as we go to the end of the day. Temperatures will be in the mid
:25:21. > :25:24.to high teens with temperatures of up to 22 degrees in London. As we
:25:25. > :25:30.get to Thursday, a bright enough start of the day, but it will cloud
:25:31. > :25:35.over. A weather front will freshen the air and make it cool as we go
:25:36. > :25:36.into the weekend, but it looks like the fine conditions will continue
:25:37. > :25:43.now and then. The main headlines. A report from
:25:44. > :25:45.the National Audit Office says the Government could have achieved
:25:46. > :25:47.better value for the taxpayer through its privatisation of Royal
:25:48. > :25:52.Mail. The inquest into the deaths of 96
:25:53. > :25:57.Liverpool fans at Hillsborough has heard many of the victims suffered
:25:58. > :26:03.crushing injuries as pressure on the terraces built up.
:26:04. > :26:08.And flood hit homeowners will be able to claim up to ?5,000 from
:26:09. > :26:14.today as part of a government scheme. Thanks for joining us. I
:26:15. > :26:16.will be back later during the ten o'clock news. Have a lovely evening,
:26:17. > :26:41.goodbye. All across the country, millions of
:26:42. > :26:42.families are waking