14/04/2014 BBC London News

calls for UN peacekeepers to be sent in. That's all from the BBC News at

Six. So, it's goodbye from me and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news

teams where you are. Tonight on BBC London News: We

expose the black market in stolen smartphones. We go undercover to

investigate the illegal trade. For the thieves to be able to

convert those stolen phones into money, they are encouraging the

commission of those offences. We'll talk live to the Met about the scale

of the problem and what they're doing to tackle it. Also tonight: a

workman is killed after a building partially collapses in Grosvenor

Square. Plus concerns over safety, as the

hard shoulder is opened up as an additional lane on a stretch of the

M25. And: We hear from the great grand`daughter of Henri Matisse as a

major exhibition of his final works opens at Tate Modern.

Good evening and welcome to the programme. An undercover

investigation by BBC London has exposed a black market of shops and

traders who are willing to deal in stolen smartphones. Our researchers

` posing as thieves ` offered the phones to traders in Ilford, telling

them that they'd been stolen. There were more than 30,000 such thefts in

the capital in the last year, and police say those prepared to sell

stolen phones are "encouraging" the crime. Gareth Furby has this

exclusive report. Take a look at the woman carrying a

shoulder bag. Her mobile phone has just been stolen while she was using

it. And watch the man wearing a pink shirt. This time, the thief is on a

bicycle. I thought, you have not got a knife. And all of a sudden, he

came out with a huge knife. It can get very dangerous. Alex, a

25`year`old marketing manager, was threatened with a knife on this

street in Clapham. Give me your phone, or I will stab you. Out of

his trousers, he pulled out a huge kitchen knife and he just shoved me

to the floor and then ran off in a different direction. I broke down in

tears in the middle`of`the`road. I don't like going out at night on my

own any more. But what can happen to the phones after they have been

stolen? Well, now we can show you. These pictures are from a hidden

camera, and the man carrying it is about to tell a shop assistant that

he has a stolen mobile phone to sell. Let's see that again. Watch

the shop assistant's hands. He knows it is stolen. And the money is

handed over by London mobile is limited. We had been tipped off that

this was happening in Ilford, east London. Our phones were not stolen,

but they had a message on the screen implying that they had been. So how

did a second shop, called ask mobiles and computers, react to

this? But at first, they only want to hand over the money outside. And

later, our researcher was offered some advice on how to avoid being

caught. Have got people here who have become

so confident and so casually dealing in what they believed to be stolen

property. By providing a conduit for property that has been stolen, they

are encouraging the commission of those offences. So what can happen

to stolen smartphones bought illegally by shops in London? The

parts can be sold on the black market, or they can be smuggled

abroad, where the unique serial number they all have, called and IM

ERI, which should allow them to be blocked, may not apply. And in the

UK, there is software available which can get round it. Just a few

mouse clicks away. And it is back to a usable device from a paperweight.

If it was stolen this morning, it could be back on the streets this

afternoon, packaged up as a second`hand, legitimate phone.

Scotland Yard has launched a series of operations targeting mobile phone

crime. At what does a man who could have been stabbed for his phone

think about our secret filming, showing how they can be bought and

sold in high street shops? That is why I can't walk down the street at

night on my own any more. They create an income stream, an avenue

for people to this and terrify people to profit out of it. BBC

London News has made repeated attempts to contact the shop staff

we have secretly filmed, but we have had no response.

Well, joining me now is Detective Chief Inspector Bob Mahoney from the

National Mobile Phone Crime Unit. What do you make of what we have

just seen? Mobile phone crime is a problem. We have been tacking it for

the last 12 months and we have had remarkable successes. We have

reduced crime by 13%, which equates to 10,000 less victims over the last

12 months. Part of the things we have been doing is a roll`out of a

practice for retailers whereby they sign up to do due diligence checks

using a national database. A voluntary code? It is a voluntary

code. You say you have brought the thefts down 13%. In absolute

numbers, that is still quite a number. 80 phones per day, a huge

number of people in London are affected. They are, and not just

within London. It is a global crime. But it is a priority for the

Met, and we are launching a range of tactics to address it. So other than

this voluntary code, what are you doing? Operation ring tone has been

running for 12 months. We are tackling corrupt dealers such as

those we have seen in your piece, but we are also working with

manufacturers and recyclers and insurance companies. It is virtually

impossible to sell a stolen phone through a UK recycler, because we

get notified. Likewise with insurance companies, we get

identified about those who make fraudulent claims. But it is

possible to buy stolen phones through shops. It is possible, but

those phones do not work in the UK. We have arrested some of these

individuals. And what can we do to better protect ourselves? Make sure

you have got a pin lock on your phone. Use a tracking application.

And be careful where you get your phone out around transport hubs.

Thank you. Lots more to come, including:

yesterday's London Marathon saw record crowds take to the capital's

streets, but the event is tinged with sadness following the news that

one runner died after he collapsed when he finished the race.

A man has died and at least one other is injured after a part of a

building collapsed near Oxford Street. Nick Beake is at the scene

for us now. What can you tell as? This is just a stone's throw from

the American embassy, but this is the building where it is believed

there was a partial collapse this afternoon. The police have not given

a great deal of information, but they say it was about 3:45pm when

they were called to reports that a building had partially collapsed. It

is difficult to see where it happened. The air ambulance and

paramedics and the Fire Brigade were called, but nothing could be done to

save that man, said to be in his early 30s, how did. In the last few

minutes, a private ambulance has made its way past us and out to join

the London traffic. Elsewhere in Grosvenor Square this evening, 20 or

30 workmen were there in yellow and orange high visibility jackets and

white hard hats. They have been gathering. You assume they are

colleagues of the man who did. We are told a second man was also

injured. It is not clear, the extent of his injuries. The Health and

Safety Executive are now on site, carrying out their own

investigation. We have also got people from Westminster City Council

will be involved. It is believed this building was being redeveloped

so that they could build luxury flats. The scaffolding has been here

for some time. You can see that they have been carrying out work here. In

terms of the exact information about what happened, we are still waiting

for the police and Health and Safety Executive. But the sad news this

evening is that one man has died. A man who killed the mother of his

four children by setting her alight after learning that she was leaving

him has been jailed for life. 24`year`old Julie Beattie was

attacked with a hammer before being doused in fuel in Walworth in south

east London, last July. Ashley Williams was found guilty of her

murder at the Old Bailey and told he must serve a minimum of 25 years.

The trial has begun of the radical Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza, who was

extradited from the UK to the US in 2012. The Egyptian`born preacher

spent years living in London before his arrest in 2004. He's on trial at

a federal court in New York, charged with terrorism offences including

trying to set up an Al`Qaeda training camp in America. He denies

the charges. An extra lane has been created for drivers on a section of

the M25 through Hertfordshire today, out of what used to be the hard

shoulder. The Highways Agency is hoping that by opening up the lane

between South Mimms and Enfield, there'll be fewer tailbacks. But it

means that drivers will no longer be able to stop there if their car

breaks down. Well, our reporter Sarah Harris is above the M25 for us

now. Yes, the traffic is flowing well

here tonight. To be fair, it has been all day. Obviously, from time

to time, the hard shoulder is used as an extra lane if the congestion

is particularly bad, but this is the first time it has been used

permanently. Traffic managers believe this could start a new way

of driving on the motorway. 8:30am at the Highways Agency

control centre just of the M25 at South Minns in Hertfordshire. It is

a tense time as the first stretch of smart motorway, as it is known, has

opened. There has already been a breakdown. With no hard shoulder,

the lorry has made its way into a specially constructed lay`by. So far

said would `` so far so good, says the manager. Divers, please get over

to the left`hand side if you can. There is still a bit of a verge.

Then the operators here will be scanning and monitoring. The first

thing they will do is set up some signals and put up a Red Cross if a

lane is blocked. Within minutes of the breakdown, a traffic officer is

at the scene. It is not just the hard shoulder that has gone. ?188

million have this bent on this stretch alone, using pioneering

technology to change speed limits and keep traffic flowing. But not

everyone is convinced. If there was a big smash in the fog, for example,

could the emergency services get through to the incident quickly

enough? Today, they used the hard shoulder to get there and that

speeds up there arrival times. If the hard shoulder is jammed full of

traffic, that will slow them down. This appears to be the face of

things to come. Despite the safety reservations of some motorists,

another stretch of hard shoulder less M25 will open this month

between junctions five and six, with more planned by the end of the year.

Work is also underway to convert stretches of both the M1and the M3.

So this seems to be the way forward, according to traffic managers. The

big test here is expected to be the Tuesday after Easter, when schools

have gone back and people will be coming back from Easter breaks away

in the UK. Things have gone well today. Traffic managers say they are

very pleased. It's one of the most common

complaints about our GPs ` patients saying they just can't see their

doctor when they want to. But the government's hoping a new pilot

scheme will change all that. It's spending ?11 pounds in the capital

to improve opening hours at doctors' surgeries. But will it be enough?.

Seeing the doctor on a Sunday, not your everyday experience for

Londoners, but one the government hopes to move towards. Six`month`old

Lucia went with her mum to a walk`in centre in Harare yesterday, but the

plan is for this to be able to happen at doctors' surgeries across

the capital. The government has given ?11 million to London's NHS to

help with longer opening times and faster appointments. Obviously,

people work a lot. So to have weekend appointments would be

fantastic. People are busy. Is it open on Friday here? And Friday, no.

It is a move that has been welcomed at this surgery in Earls Court. The

plan to extend opening hours would give more time to older patients who

need to see more of their doctors. I would hope that our patients, in a

year's time, would be saying that they have got good access to general

practice and they can get through on the telephone and they can get an

appointment in a timely way that is convenient to them. And also, that

they have a good, trusted relationship with their key

professional. But the extra money will not last forever. This is a

one`year pilot scheme and one that will not reach all Londoners. This

is a pilot, so it is only for one year for probably about one in six

GP practices. It will not make a difference to the majority of the

population. It is important to understand that GPs' surgeries are

already overstretched. It is difficult to get an appointment as

quickly as we would like to offer them. So this pilot does not address

that. So not everyone is convinced. This move may be a part of a shift

of money from hospitals to GPs, but Lucia may be a lot older before that

move is finally complete. Still to come..... Claims a hedge fund

manager, dubbed Britain's biggest fare dodger, bought silence because

of his wealth. 120 pieces of artwork from the teeth

have appeared at the Tate modern. I will be taking a look. `` Matisse.

London Marathon organisers have said yesterday's event was tinged with

sadness following the news that a man died shortly after completing

the race. Our sports reporter, Sara Orchard, is near the finish line on

The Mall. What more do we know? There were record crowds lining

streets of the capital yesterday. Much of that was credited to the Mo

Farah effect. Where I am still now is whether banners finish. `` where

the runners finish. It was there that the 42`year`old man collapsed.

He was pronounced dead when he arrived at Saint Mary 's Hospital.

He becomes the 12th fatality in the history of the London Marathon. You

may remember Claire Squires from Leicestershire died before she got

to the finish line. She had a donation for the Samaritans. After

the death, she saw donations of over ?1 million. Earlier today, I spoke

to one of the organisers about the reaction from the running community

to today's events. They are very much expressing condolences and

really, the online people are saying, we would like to do

something. Our thoughts at this time to go out to friends and family of

the runners in these tragic circumstances. We've also heard that

a runner who took part has gone missing? We heard reports this

morning that a female runner from Sierra Leone did not report back to

address she was staying at in Greenwich. She missed her flight

home. It was wrongly reported this morning she was an elite runner.

That is not the case. The Metropolitan police would like to

make contact with her. Anyone with information should call 101. Rail

unions are claiming a hedge fund manager, dubbed Britain's biggest

rail fare dodger, was able to buy silence because of his wealth after

he repaid tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid fares. The man, who

travelled from Kent, used his Oyster card when he reached London Cannon

Street, which charged him just ?7.20, instead of the ?21 fare. In

total, he avoided a potential ?42,000 worth of train fares. Mark

Norman reports. It costs almost ?5,000 a year to commute into London

from this station in Sussex. In 2008, a successful city fund manager

decided he was not going to pay and dodge paying the fare for almost six

years. It is pretty quiet at this time of day. It is busy between 6am

and ATM. A fare dodger would have walked past not one but two sides

warning you he should have a ticket or face a penalty fine. On the far

platform, it travels up to London. Our fare dodger would catch the

train to London Bridge and then there on to Cannon Street where he

would use his Oyster card to use the London bit of the journey. Obviously

he is an intelligent man who has put thought into it. He has put thought

into how to be a criminal. You cannot excuse it. It is despicable.

It means everyone else was paying. He saw the chance to do it and did

it. Is that OK? Of course it is not. I hope he got his comeuppance. Dave

thinks it is OK to take a free ride. Travelling on a train without paying

for your journey is against the law. A perceived lack of barriers and

ticket inspectors are tempting many. Our fare dodger avoided a total of

?42,000 in train fares. Their dodgers cost train companies ?240

million a year. Southeastern say, on average, 500 people a day avoid

paying for a ticket. It is the ordinary travelling public who pay

for their affairs. That is even more disgusting. Over a period of great

uncertainty economically in this country, where people have been

struggling, he has perpetrated this theft. He gets to walk away with it.

The train company southeastern has said it recognises this as an

important issue to people who pay their way.

A group of women held a picnic on the tube this lunchtime, to protest

against the Facebook page showing women eating on the tube. They said

the pictures were an invasion of their privacy and an insult to

women. The page has now been taken down. The man responsible for the

photographs says it was an art project for his friends and that

he's been subjected to a wave of toxic abuse. The French artist,

Henri Matisse, called it painting with scissors. Colourful paper

cut`outs which he created after becoming too ill to paint. Now, for

the first time, more than 100 of these works are being displayed

together at Tate Modern. Helen Drew has been to take a look. It is the

first time many of these artworks have been seen together. In his late

60s, he was too ill to paint. He began to cut paper to create art.

After a while, he preferred cutouts to painting. It was like a second

life to him. He was sick. He almost died and he had a few years

afterwards in which he really accelerated and knew it was just a

matter of time before he would have to leave in some way. Photograph of

the studio revealed that three pieces were intended to be one

unified piece. This is the first time they have been in the same room

since they were made. The art is borrowed from private owners and

galleries around the world. They are very difficult works to borrow

because people are so attached to them. We had to convince people to

lend. Once people realised it was a once`in`a`lifetime chance to see the

works together, people were very supportive. There are 120 Matisse

pieces on display. What strikes you is the sheer scale of some of the

works. This one from 1953 is ten metres wide. This is my favourite

period of his life. He really comes off of a 2`dimensional layer and

comes into a three`dimensional kind of domain. This colourful exhibition

runs until September. Let's check on the weather.

What a lot of sunshine we have been having! A lot more as we go through

the week. As we go through this week, lots of sunshine. It is

because we have high pressure basically which is with us all the

way through the week. It is keeping everything at bay. We had a breeze

blowing. The isobars have stretched out and we have light greens. ``

wins. UV levels, we have a situation at the moment where we have low

ozone over the UK. That is not unusual for the time of year. With

some strong sunshine as we go through the next few days, it is

worth noting because their skin might just react to that. The

sunshine continues and clear skies go through the night. It will turn

quite chilly as we go through the night with them just generally

around four, five degrees in urban areas. Around the countryside we

will find spots that are very close to freezing, downed two, three

degrees, perhaps lower. Gardeners beware. We could have a touch of

frost. It will be a chilly start to the day tomorrow for the morning

commute. The temperatures will pick up quickly. Once again we have loads

of lovely sunshine. It was cool at times. Tomorrow it is coming in from

an is to lead to action. By the afternoon, some decent

temperatures. `` an easterly direction. By Wednesday, the

sunshine is still with us. There will be another chilly start to the

day that temperatures will get to 17 degrees later on. More cloud on

Thursday. It will be quite warm as the winds which is still with us.

There will be another chilly start to the day that temperatures will

get to 17 degrees later on. More cloud on Thursday. It will be quite

warm as the wind switches to Now the main headlines... Pro`Russian

militants have taken over more government buildings in eastern

Ukraine, and attacked police headquarters. They have ignored a

deadline to leave official buildings or face eviction by Ukrainian

forces. Birmingham Council has revealed it has received more than

200 complaints about allegations of Muslim extremism and radicalism in

the city's schools. 25 schools are now being investigated. The South

African athlete, Oscar Pistorius, has been accused in court of

concocting his evidence about the night he shot his girlfriend, Reeva

Steenkamp. Pistorius denies murder. He says he thought there was an

intruder in the house. BBC London has exposed a black market of shops

and traders who are willing to buy and sell stolen smartphones. More

than 30,000 smartphones were stolen in the capital last year. An

investigation has been launched after a man was killed in Grosvenor

Square after a building he was working on partially collapsed.

That's it. I'll be back later during the ten o'clock news but, for now

from everyone on the team, have a lovely evening. Goodbye.