04/04/2014 BBC London News

teens. Some dry weather now and again. Thank you very

been reported since September. Tonight, a special edition of BBC

London News, live from The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park ` renamed and

about to re`open to the public tomorrow. Coming up between now and

7:00pm: Prince Harry tests out the Park ` as

he joins the Mayor on the eve of the official opening. The amount of

money that has been spent, and the creativity, it has brought it to

life. Members of the public have a chance to come through here. The

kids, they adore it. We show you what's on offer ` and

hear from those already making the most of the Olympic venues. I just

feel like I am one of the Olympic athletes and there is a crowd

cheering me on. Also tonight:

Inspectors are sent by the Government following allegations of

fraud and financial mismanagement at Tower Hamlets Council.

Plus, captured on camera ` the lifeboat crew in a dramatic night

time rescue on the Thames. Good evening and welcome live to the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It was here, in the stadium behind me, that

the capital welcomed the world with the Opening Ceremony of the 2012

Games. 18 months on, no security checks, no Olympic volunteers and a

new look to some of these world class venues. From tomorrow the

capital's newest park ` all 560 acres of it ` will officially open

to the public. It's perhaps as significant a day for the people of

east London as the Olympics itself. From tomorrow, this is their park.

And today on the eve of that opening, Prince Harry and the Mayor

came to see it for themselves Our political correspondent, Karl

Mercer, reports on today's "Royal reception" and the regeneration of

this once derelict wasteland. Royal etiquette, east London style `

Prince Harry pretty much doing what he was told by local primary school

kids this morning. He even got the hurry`up on the rope bridge. All

right! But he wasn't the only one blocking up the bridge. Boris,

Boris! This playground is part of the new look Olympic Park. The

amount of money that has been spent and the creativity, it has brought

it to life. As of the public have a chance to come here, and the kids,

they adore it. But in a way, this is the easy end of the job. True legacy

will be judged on the homes and jobs that come to this part of town. This

bike firm won a contract during the Games and has built up business near

the park. I have been for a swim in the Aquatics Centre, I have been to

the velodrome. For me, the legacy of the 2012 games starts now.

Everything is open and we can start using it as a community and as

residents. Nearby, perhaps a bigger example of the Olympic boost ` the

giant Westfield shopping centre. And the Olympic Village, too, is now

starting to fill up with Londoners. A new community is starting to be

born here. I used to live in Hackney. Hackney has got quite

expensive now. It is very busy. At night time there is a lot of noise.

This was such a quiet, peaceful area, there is a lot of green space.

But the shiny sides of legacy has not reached all parts of Stratford.

The Carpenters Estate sits in the shadow of the park and has been

under threat. Mary Finch has lived here for 43 years. You know what I

said, let's be part of this legacy. Let us be the ones to say, we were

here when it was on. Don't destroy something that is good. You know?

Because it is. I wouldn't live anywhere else. This is mine, this is

where I am staying. I am going nowhere. The number of homes planned

for the park has been cut by 1,000. Targets for affordable homes have

also been cut. A price worth paying, says the Mayor, to try and attract

businesses instead. You could max out on housing but in this part of

London there are lots of good sites for housing. You want to capitalise

on the success of the Olympics and drive forward job creation and

create an economic attraction. It may be that the youngster who played

in the park this morning will be the ultimate judges of Olympic legacy,

when they are looking for homes and work. Well joining me now is Sir

Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham and Olympic Ambassador and east London

resident Humaira Ahmed Patel. Welcome to you both. A really big

day for Newham but what is good for Newham may not be good for the

people of Newham. Jobs and homes are the key things we have to have four

people. We have got 20 2000 people into work through our workplace

programme `` 22,000 people. You could argue we need more support

from government to keep that happening. We have to make sure that

the homes are right for local people. That means affordable. That

is why we have set up a company to do exactly that, to build homes for

local people so we are not priced out of the market. We have a local

person right here. Do you feel you could afford to live on the Olympic

Park in a place like this question might you have grown up here.

Hearing about the initiatives that are taking place, within time, it is

possible. If I wanted to live here... The measures will be put

into place for that to happen. You hope so. You are nodding... I am

agreeing. Do you feel you should have lobbied for more affordable

homes on the part itself? The Olympic village has got a lot of

affordable homes. This government has cut subsidies to housing, if you

cut subsidies to social housing you will have less affordable housing.

They are consciously and deliberately taking social housing

away. With the discount policy on existing council housing, we are

losing council housing every day. You are right, I am very angry about

it and I do lobbied and I think the next Labour government will change

it. You were one of the youngest children that went out to Singapore

as part of the bid team. Here we are, looking around us now, what a

journey of must have been for you. It has been an immense journey. When

I was picked to go to Singapore, I was 13. Now I am 22. It is nearly

ten years on and there has been aged man tick change within the area and

the atmosphere, everything about Stratford has changed. Do you feel

proud? Yes, very proud. These are the very sorts of people that should

benefit from something like this. Look at what we have got committed

fantastic, there are more jobs and homes coming. We have to make sure

it works for local people. We will revisit that in a year, thank you

very much. A very big day for Newham. Well let's focus on the park

itself for a moment. The transformation of the area has taken

over 18 months with some of the venues undergoing multi`million

pound make overs. Of course, the most recognisable venue in the park

is the Olympic Stadium. It won't be open to the public until the summer

of 2016, then it becomes the new home of Westland United football

club and the national competition centre for athletics `` West Ham

United football club. The Aquatics Centre open to the public in March

this year and anyone can come for a swim as ?3 50, around the same cost

as your local pool, but booking is recommended. The Lea Valley Park is

the first in the world to offer four types of cycling in one place.

Members of the public can book taster sessions in track cycling,

BMX and mountain biking. And not forgetting the Orbit. Tickets to go

to the top of the UK's sculpture `` UK's tallest sculpture can be booked

from ?15. There is a kind of quiet, calm atmosphere of anticipation. I

imagine from tomorrow, it will be very different. So if you're

planning a visit, what can you expect? Tarah Welsh has been taking

a closer look at the Olympic transformation.

This venue has had the biggest transformation since the games. The

seats have come down and out you can see the stingray design. This isn't

your average local pool, the best swimmers in the world have won

medals here. Since being opened to the public, more than 50,000 people

have come here. Local schoolchildren even have their lessons here. It is

really fun swimming in the Olympic pool, it makes me feel like I am in

the Olympics. With just 6000 seats, these tickets were tough to get

during the Olympics in the velodrome. Now anyone can have a go

on the track where Chris Foy won his final gold medal. It is a bit scary

to begin with, we provide the coach and the bikes and it is all

supervised. Before long you will be up on the boards like Chris Foy and

Victoria Pendleton. How affordable do you think it is? We are

comparable with going to a football Game one of the London attractions.

It is not just the venue that will be pulling people in, this park

opens to the public from tomorrow. There is plenty to see the because

this is the biggest part to open in London for a century. You are the

man behind the design of London's newest part, what was the initial

vision? `` newest park. It was to transform a derelict piece of land

into something green, lush, living but also a place for people. It was

some little people that got the first look. The park is awesome,

everybody should come. It is Rudy cool, actually. There are loads of

famous people like Usain Bolt came the `` really cool. You had one of

the most exciting jobs before big aims. How does this compare? It

can't be as exciting `` before the Games. Nothing could be as exciting

but it feels you are part of history. The longer you spend here,

the more in touch UI with the local people. There are permanent jobs

which could mean literally going up in the world. `` the more in touch

UI with. My favourite bit is being able to come in a cape with the

customers who are getting excited. My friends think it is awesome.

At ?15 for an adult, some have said the price is too high. From here you

can see right across the park. During the Olympics, teams of people

came here. The question is, can this park continue to attract Londoners

and people from across the world in the future.

Let's talk to someone who has spent the day putting the finishing

touches to the park. Welcome Dr Phil Askew, Head of Parklands. A very

grand title. This has been a labour of love for you since 2008? Yes. It

has been a privilege to work on this project for all these years. I have

been lucky enough to work on the design of the park, to work with

fantastic teams of contractors and designers, project managers, to put

this place together. We can see some wonderful duffle deals behind us but

the part looks different `` wonderful daffodils. It is not in

full bloom. It does look different, it is April, things are starting to

grow. We have had a fantastic spring and the weather is warming up. In

the next four to six weeks, people coming into the park will see a real

change in the place. We have the daffodils, spring is on its way but

it is not quite here yet. Your top tip, what should horticultural

enthusiasts look out for? Crumbs! There are so many great things. I

think they should do two things. They should come to the newly opened

south of the park where there are some fantastic planting design by a

Dutchman, one of the most famous landing designers in the world. It

would be great to see. In the North Meadows, which were great during big

aims, they are starting to come back into life again `` great during the

Games. Thank you for your time, good luck tomorrow. For now, stay with

us, because there is plenty more to come before 7:00pm. I have been at

the Aquatics Centre to meet Tom Daley's new diving coach who hopes

to take him from bronze at London 2012 to gold in Rio. And I am even

higher over the pool, bringing you the weather from the top of the

orbit. I can see fresh Atlanta guerre coming for the weekend. Does

that mean sunshine? I will tell you in the forecast later. So join us

for more from the Park later in the programme. But now let's catch up

with some the rest of the day's news with Alex in the studio. Government

inspectors are to examine allegations in Tower Hamlets of

governance failure, poor financial management and fraud. It comes after

a BBC Panorama investigation into the East London borough scrutinised

the spending records of its Mayor, Lutfur Rahman. The council says it

welcomes the inspection and has done nothing wrong. Pressure is mounting

on Lutfur Rahman, following scrutiny of his spending in a BBC panorama

programme this week. Investigators are to examine allegations of

governance failure, poor financial management and fraud. Inspectors

reportedly arrived at the Town Hall at around 8am. Panorama obtained the

spending records and claimed they were revealed that an gaudy and

Somali organisations have been disproportionately benefiting from

public money to shore up votes for Lutfur Rahman. He refuted all

allegations that the council spending was improper. You have more

than doubled the grant officers recommended to Ben Pauley and Somali

organisations. `` Bengali. The allegation is untrue. Eric Pickles

says serious concerns have been raised.

We have been told we are no longer allowed to film outside the Town

Hall and security have asked us to leave the gated premises. We'll soon

understand that, on Sunday, there will be an anti`BBC demonstration

held here. `` we also understand. Tower Hamlets says it welcomes the

opportunity to demonstrate processes have been Brown appropriately. ``

run appropriately. The serial killer who murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler

has been awarded a ?4,400 pay`out after being assaulted in prison.

Levi Bellfield was attacked by a fellow prisoner in 2009 before he

went on trial for the murder of the 13`year`old. The Ministry of Justice

said it is hugely disappointed by the judge's decision. The capital is

still suffering moderate levels of air pollution with forecasters

predicting they could fall further. Data showed pollution levels had

dropped from the maximum ten on Thursday to mainly low and moderate

levels. Yesterday, the London Ambulance Service saw a 34% increase

in patients with breathing problems. Metropolitan police officers said

they are living in a culture of fear because of the Draconian years of

performance targets. The Police Federation surveyed 250 officers and

found they felt under a constant threat because of what it called

meaningless and unrealistic targets. Tom Symonds reports. When it comes

to setting targets for the police, the Government says it has just one,

cut crime. The country 's biggest force, the net, has insisted it has

no policy of setting targets for arrests and stop and search. Today

the Metropolitan Police Federation has claimed hitting numbers is a

very real pressure on members. This is the sort of e`mail which the

federation says is circulating among police managers. It mentions

targets. And search and how each officer is doing. This one has an

arrest rate below 10%, which need to improve and not be so reliant on

drug searches. Another has a fantastic arrest rate. This one has

made no arrests. The federation says, despite the official policy,

there are unwritten targets would officers are pushed to meet. It is a

culture where they are stressed, pressurised, bullied. They are taken

to misconduct procedures when they do not hit specific targets. It is

right that performance is measured but there are different ways of

measurement. This report draws on the account of just 250 officers out

of The Met 's 30,000. Scotland Yard said if local managers are setting

targets, they should not be. We do not condone it. We recognise there

are some places where we need to coach people on how to get the best

out of teams. My officers do a great job every day to protect the public.

Cuts to police numbers and changes to pay and conditions have

contributed to a climate of unrest among some officers. Today's report

from London rank and file goes further, describing it as a climate

of fear. A lifeboat on the Thames has been involved in a dramatic

rescue. The RNLI has released pictures of their crew who were

called to a man clinging to a barge near HMS Belfast. It is thought he

entered the water to help another person. The RNLI, assisted by The

Met and the London Fire Brigade, searched the area but a second

person was not found. Well, that's all from me. Now back to Riz in

Stratford. Welcome back to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. We are here

ahead of its reopening to the public tomorrow. This playground I am

standing in is very quiet now. I imagine it will be hugely busy

tomorrow. Now, one of the venues which has gone through a huge

transformation is the eye`catching Aquatics Centre. It has already

become home to diver Tom Daley, who won an Olympic bronze there. He has

now moved to Stratford and is working with a new coach looking

beyond 2012 to Rio in two years' time. Sara Orchard has been to meet

her. The Aquatic Centre set the scene for Tom Daley to win bronze at

the London 2012 games. It is a good one. Having left his hometown of

Plymouth, he has moved to Stratford and working with a new coach. She

has moved to London as well. Having left Houston and everything I love

and everything I was very happy about, I do not think I could have

come here without thinking we had a chance to win. I love him, I love

working with him. I take the chance of winning a gold medal very

seriously. I am on the spot where Tom Daley won bronze at the London

2012 Olympic Games. Come the end of this month, the world 's best divers

will all be back here at the Aquatic Centre for the London leg of the

world diving series. `` the Olympic champion means pressure is on Tom

Daley to perform in front of his home crowd. Tom and I, we both want

to show off. Ahead of the park fully opening, Jane is keen to show off

her workplace. This is probably the best job on the planet. We live in

Stratford. We bike to work every day. People just need to come out. I

have watched a lot of people coming in the last few months and there is

more and more. I tell you, when I walk past those people, they are

just happy. When you are a coach, do you get your costume on and have a

go again? You have to be crazy to go up here. Crazy maybe that Tom Daley

has taken the plunge to move to London because of the facilities on

offer and one of the best diving coaches in the world. And Sara joins

me for all the sport. And diving isn't the only world`class event we

can expect here. For anyone who did not get tickets for the Olympics,

plenty to get your teeth into. We mentioned the diving at the end of

the month. In 2016 it will be hosting the Europeans winning

championships. There is a whole area to the north of the park which was

not used during the Olympics but it was used during the Paralympics. The

tennis centre opens next month. That will be hosting three international

tournaments in 2016 /2017/2018. Stadium behind us has the world

athletics Championships. Do not forget the Rugby World Cup. The

stadium is currently the only place the public cannot go into. It is

still having a West Ham make over. Some of the players got a

behind`the`scenes tour of the park. Needless to say, they were very

impressed. Let's move on to rugby because Saracens are in Northern

Ireland this weekend. It is the Heineken Cup. They will be playing

Ulster in the Heineken Cup. On top of that, it will be at Ravenhill. It

is a reverse of the fixture when Oster came here last year. There is

a lot for Saracens to live up to. `` Aalst. It means that ultimately

Saracens will have a difficult task but they will be going in as

favourites. Going back to this weekend, if anyone is out and about

on Sunday in and around Central London, do not forget it is the boat

race. It is Oxford against Cambridge, for anyone who does not

know. Oxford won last year but apparently they had a slightly

lighter `` they have a slightly lighter crew. It is between Mortlake

and Putney. It starts in Putney. The race gets under way just before 6pm.

If you cannot get there, do not worry, it is on BBC One. A very busy

day but a fun day. On that note, how is the weather looking for the boat

race and tomorrow's opening of the park? Wendy has an excellent view

and luckily she is not afraid of heights.

I am at the top of the orbit as the sun begins to set across London

behind me. What a fantastic view it is from up here. I can see quite

some distance. We have a lot of fresh, Atlantic air which has

arrived as we head into the weekend. That of course is lowering

the pollution levels all the time. We can breathe a bit easier this

evening. It has reduced the haze that has hung over London and the

Home Counties through the last few days. You might be able to see

behind me a few sparkles of sunshine picking out some of the buildings.

We have seen some breaks in the cloud this afternoon and they

continue this evening and into the night. All the time the winds will

turn to or south`westerly direction. They will fall light in the middle

of the night. You could encounter a fog patch if you are heading around

the capital and the Home Counties. More cloud will move in from the

south`west as we go through the early hours of the morning. That is

a warm front which will stick with us tomorrow. Temperatures under the

clearer skies will get to six, seven Celsius cooler than previous nights.

We start Saturday with the warm front. Lots of cloud around.

Sunshine is at a premium tomorrow. Grey skies into the afternoon. The

wind is picking up all the time from south`westerly direction that

temperatures should get to 15, 16 degrees. If you are heading here to

see their newest park through Saturday, there will be just about

dry conditions with the chance of some patchy rain towards the end of

the day. By the time we get to Sunday, and for the boat race this

is worth noting, some rain will set in through the morning. It will turn

heavy in the afternoon before it becomes showery. It will be blustery

and cooler. The rain is still with us on Monday. High pressure building

on Tuesday and hype that is my prep and the fine weather returns. You

can see more on the news on the website. That is it from us tonight

at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which reopens to the public

tomorrow. Thank you for watching and have a lovely. Goodbye.