01/05/2014 BBC London News

the BBC News At Six. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where

you are. Tonight on BBC London News,

allegations of widespread sexual abuse at a top private school in

Barnes. The Metropolitan Police launches an investigation into 18

former teachers. Also tonight: Rated as inadequate,

the latest hospital to be placed in special measures by health

inspectors. The standards of care and safety in the organisation will

not what we would expect and these were due to staffing levels. These

are multiple, long`standing issues, the flow of patients through the

hospital and the culture of the organisation.

Plus we talk to Nick Clegg in Kingston as the Lib Dem leader sets

out his party's campaign for the forthcoming elections.

And the campaign to get more of these across the capital to increase

the chance of survival after a cardiac arrest. Every year in London

about 10,000 people have an out`of`hospital cardiac arrest. For

many of those people, the only chance of being brought back to life

is if somebody uses a different beer later. ``

Good evening. First tonight, the Metropolitan

Police has launched an inquiry into allegations of widespread sexual

abuse at a prestigious private school in South West London dating

back to the 1960s. BBC London has learned that around 100 potential

victims and witnesses have so far come forward. 18 former teachers at

St Paul's School and its prep school Colet Court are currently under

investigation. Chris Rogers has been following the story and joins us

from outside the school in Barnes. Last year Ofsted described the

education at this ?10,500 per term school as exceptional. Now St Paul's

is at the centre of an investigation into alleged sexual abuse and it is

complicated. It spans three decades. There is a list of 100 potential

victims and witnesses with allegations against 18 former

schoolmasters. Some of them are deceased. The Metropolitan Police

began looking into historical claims of abuse at St Paul's and its prep

school Colet Court after a number of pupils who attended the school

between 1960s and 1980s came forward with new information. Inspired to

step forward following the recent arrests of three men connected with

the score. In February, a 65`year`old was arrested on

suspicion of sexual assault. In September last year, a 57`year`old

man was arrested on suspicion of possession of indecent images. Both

have been released on bail. Last June, a 59`year`old man was arrested

on suspicion of sexual grooming of a child. He was later released with no

further action. Now the Met Police paedophile unit is examining abuse

spreading from the late 1960s to the 1980s. It is believed the

choirmaster is one of 18 teachers accused of abuse. This photograph

taken in 1978 as he left a police station have been charged with the

indecent assault of a ten`year`old boy. He threw himself under a train

before the case got to court. A decade earlier, he had been working

at St Paul's. This pianist has been long campaigning for an

investigation into the choirmaster. Many have come forward and if it was

just one or two, there would be room for doubt. But so many stories mean

it cannot be false. The choirmaster escaped trial. But St Paul's has

told us that every teacher and every investigation will be investigated

and the focus is justice for any potential victim. In a statement, St

Paul's say they are fully cooperating with the police

investigation which is being led by a police inspector David Gray, who

has also been in charge of Operation Yewtree, investigating allegations

of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile and other celebrities. He believes there

are still potential victims and witnesses to come forward. Instead

of a hotline, the number is: Thank you. Plenty more to come

tonight, including assessing the damage to flood defences in Surrey

four months after the River Mole burst its banks.

A hospital trust in Berkshire has been placed into special measures

after health inspectors found the quality of care to be inadequate.

They also raised serious concerns about bullying and racial harassment

at Wexham Park hospital in Slough. Emma North reports. It is a hospital

with a reputation. Budget shortfalls, too many changes of

management, have all meant Wexham Park hospital in Slough is a place

where bad care has come to be expected, as one former patient

claims: One morning I might have drugs removed that were being

administered to me but I would be offered them again that same night.

The notes for me on a medical basis were not clear enough. The Care

Quality Commission pulled no punches. It described a culture of

bullying and harassment on the wards. Consultants showed

dysfunctional behaviour towards patients. You wards were built but

there was no one to staff them. The trust had no rudder. We need to

apologise and I do unreservedly on behalf of the trust. People come to

work in a difficult environment and at times they are not as motivated

as they could be. However we have seen a lot of areas now where staff

are highly motivated. The report is very clear. The vast majority of

care is good. During our visit, none of the patients. We spoke to seemed

remotely surprised by the news. In fact we saw one nurse getting told

off. She had left drugs lying around by a patient's bed. However within

this sprawling complex, there are pockets of good care. We have

managed to retain a lot of staff. They have been here long time and

have developed with the service. As new things have come in, we have

managed to take it all on board with lots of clinical engagement. Nurses,

doctors, support staff, everybody has a say in the decisions. It is

expected this trust will be absorbed into the Frimley Parc hospital

trust, meaning the stigma of special measures will be cut and staff might

want to work here. The blaze could be offered a fresh start.

Several thousand union members staged a May Day march today in

memory of the former RMT leader Bob Crow and Labour MP Tony Benn.

Supporters marched through London to a rally in Trafalgar Square to pay

tribute to the left wing pair, who both died this year. Mr Crow's

daughter was among the speakers. This evening, a small group of

activists staged their own march to protest against the pay day loan

company Wonga. A research facility in Surrey has

been fined over how it handled experiments into cattle infected

with the foot and mouth virus. Pirbright Institute in Surrey has

been fined more than ?20,000 pounds plus costs for breaching safety

procedures. None of the failings resulted in the public being put at

risk. In three weeks' time voting will be

under way for the local and European elections. Today the Liberal

Democrat leader Nick Clegg was in the London borough of Kingston where

his party have control of the council. Will the election there be

a test of his leadership in the coalition? Here's our political

correspondent Karl Mercer. Sometimes the pains are more

interesting than the politicians. Political leaders RLE bystanders

when elections are looming. `` political leaders are rarely

bystanders. Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems only have around 250 of

London's 1800 councillors at the moment and increasing that will be a

challenge. Are you still fighting for the trust of the public because

they have lost a sense of trust because they believe you lied to

them? Some people clearly did not like the fact that we entered into

coalition. I would like to be Prime Minister, I am not. I did not win

the last election. People will feel let down. I understand that people

feel let down but feeling let down is no answer to the fact that we had

a major economic crisis to deal with because of the mistakes in 2008 and

nobody won and overall majority. I would love to be Lib Dem Prime

Minister and implement every policy I have come up with. That could be

wishful thinking. The last time there was a referendum since the

coalition, your candidate got less than 5% had lost his deposit. If we

look around the situation in London, you have won two out of 32 boroughs

and you only have two members on the London Assembly and only seven MPs

out of 70. It is not fantastic. Clearly the fight is much tougher

than it was before. My job is not to predict how people will vote in the

future, it is to spend what we have done and why. There would have been

no economic recovery in London and the rest of the country without the

Liberal Democrats and it is as simple as that. So you are saying

the Lib Dems will be in charge of half a dozen councils in London? I

am not making predictions. I am explaining why we have done the

things we have done to rescue the economy, which is incredibly

important. Are these elections about hanging on to what you have got? No.

It is about thus addressing the everyday concerns that people have,

and showing that both locally and in Government we have been working

tirelessly for Londoners to make sure that there is a greater sense

of optimism in the economy, that homes are being built that people

can live in, that pensioners are getting a fair deal, that there are

more apprenticeships and more money is going back into people's pockets

through fair tax cuts. All of those things are things that we have

done. The economic message will be key for the Lib Dems but they will

fight with fewer troops on the ground. You are fielding something

like 200 fewer candidates. You cannot even, convict convince your

own party. I would not read too much into that. Parties head and flow in

terms of support and their fortunes. I would not look at certain numbers

of candidates. I would wonder if a party is standing up for me and my

family and my community. Whatever he says, the numbers will be important

for Nick Clegg come election day. Well one of the most interesting

battle grounds in the local elections could be in Barnet. Over

the past decade the Conservative`controlled council has

pursued a sometimes controversial approach to cutting costs and

privatising services. And this will be the first electoral test of

whether it's working. Our political editor, Tim Donovan, reports.

It was once dubbed easy darn it. Like a low cost airline, providing

the basic service for free but charging for any add`ons. But that

low cost airline model soon crashed to earth and something called one

Barnet has got off the ground. Its central principle is that you

committed others to provide many of your services. `` commission others.

Capita now runs many back`office functions and some front counter

staff as well, like the benefits advice service. And a new company

run jointly by capita and the council also handles planning and

building controls, environmental, health and highways. Conservatives

claimed this will save ?130 million over ten years. During our visit,

many of the phones were down. Yes, they are, but we have traditionally

had problems with the telephones in Barnet. You will see that in the

audit report six years ago. There are supposed to be improvements.

Yes, but there will always be glitches and it is how you get round

them. We are getting round them fast. Will the voters punish you?

No, reward us because of the Council tax cut because of the savings we

have made. There has been anger about the private parking contract

in the borough but the Tories claim they have no real alternatives for

saving money. What we are seeing is a whole series of problems. You may

have tried to ring into the switchboard number this morning,

which was down. But there are always teasing problems. `` teething

problems. Would you terror at this contract? The first thing is to hold

up the contract is to make them responsible for delivering at the

price they promised. Local councillors will not be able to have

much influence because the council is being run by large private

companies. How much do people notice or care who provides the services?

That is being argued on the doorsteps of Barnet over the next

three weeks. And you can see a full list of candidates standing in

Barnet on their council website. The Still to come tonight: helping

to save lives. The campaign to increase the number of DFID

believers across the capital. And 20 years after Laura, I will be talking

to Damon Albarn about his new solo album, is used in Leytonstone and

wise life is more 95 than rock 'n' roll.

`` why his life. When the River Mole in Surrey burst

its banks four months ago, many homes and businesses were flooded

and left without power just before Christmas. Now, a major operation is

taking place along a stretch of the river to assess the damage to flood

defence, as Nick Beake reports. Dropping down into the murky depths

of the River Mole, another dive to look for possible damage. This was

battered by the water rampaging through at the height of beef is. Is

the gate below water level? No. It is slow, methodical work. In tough

conditions. When you first get in the water, you may be able to see

one metre or half a metre. When you get to the bottom, you kick up the

mud and silt. Then you lose the visibility. You are almost working

in the dark. Their eyes above the surface material. This drone has

been buzzing along the banks, filming the damage caused by what

was said to be the worst weather for more than 200 years. It is hard to

imagine that the water was racing through here at 15 times its normal

speed. It battered these banks a few months ago. Now they are inspecting

the damage is not just here, but along and eight kilometre stretch.

Here stop logs are being dropped into place to create a temporary

dam, so the water level drops more than one metre. It exposes

previously unseen erosion. And this is the short`term solution. Ringing

in huge bags of stones, each one weighing two tonnes, to redo the

banks. We are responding to the severe weather to make sure that the

damage done is repaired as quickly as it can be. This is repaired and

inspection. Could you have done more to prevent the flooding in these

parts you are no inspecting? The scheme has been very successful in

preventing flooding. The last comparable event was in 1968 when

thousands of properties were flooded. This year we have had very

few properties flooded largely thanks to this scheme. The

Environment Agency has faced millions of pounds of cuts to its

funding. It insists it will be able to pay for all of the repair work

uncovered here. Plans to expand Luton Airport have

been given the green light. There'll be a bigger terminal, a new road

system and a multistorey car park to help them handle 18 million

passengers a year. Campaigners against the expansion have said it

will cause an unacceptable increase in noise and air pollution, but

business leaders argue it will boost the economy.

It was a moment football fans remember all too well,when Fabrice

Muamba collapsed on the pitch at Tottenham's White Hart Lane.

Thankfully, a defibrillator was on hand which greatly increases the

chance of survival after a cardiac arrest. Now, two years on, he's

backing a campaign by London Ambulance to encourage more shops,

businesses and gyms across the capital to carry the device. Helen

Drew reports. The Fabrice Muamba collapsed

mid`match after a cardiac arrest, and was effectively dead for a 76

minutes. He survived and at a later date made this emotional

appearance. It was a defibrillator that helped to restart his heart. It

was 30 seconds away from where I was. It helped me to be the person I

am today, really. Pete Fischer was part of the team that saved Fabrice

Muamba. At the moment a job has come through. Pete is from London

Ambulance Service, campaigning to get 1000 extra defibrillators in

public places. Every second counts in this condition. If there is

somebody unseen with access to a defibrillator and is trained to use

it, the chances of survival for that patient are dramatically increased.

About 28% of people survived a cardiac arrest in a public place.

Where there is a defibrillator, survival can increase to 80%. The

campaign is called shockingly easy. You turn the machine on and wait for

the prompts. You have two pads and you put the pads on the patient.

Then the machine decides what to do. It tells you to stand clear while it

analyses the heart. It decides what it is going to do. It is now

preparing to shock. It has found a ribbon. Press the button, sent a

shock to the patient and we carry on doing CPR. With 10,000 cardiac

arrest in London every year, the hope is that more different

narrators will make a difference. He's perhaps best known as the

frontman of Britpop band Blur in the 90s. Now, Damon Albarn is going it

alone with his first solo album. It revisits some of the East London

haunts of his childhood. Last night he performed at the Rivoli ballroom

in Lewisham, where Brenda Emmanus, caught up with him.

In rehearsals with his band in south London, Damon Albarn appears ``

pairs for a light show promoting his new album, notable biographical

affair that takes listeners on a tour of his life and took the

musician back to his roots. `` and not a biographical affair. I went

back to Leytonstone where I grew up. I remember coming out of

Leytonstone tube station, coming up from the subway and feeling like I

was in Lilliput. The road I grew up in his right next to it. Everything

was smaller and have that had disappeared because of the motorway

extension. This record has made me realise that that was a very formed

part of my life. It is 20 years since Blur. The

band's success was a sweet and sour experience. Every bit of that I

don't regret. Some of it was incredible, some of it was pretty

heartbreaking. But, you know, it has made me who I am. The new album is a

contemplative expression of his life experiences. One which has seen

numerous musical adventures from the gorillas to collaborations with

African musicians, and producing a couple of operas. How do you measure

your success? If I wake up in the morning and everything is working

and the sound of the blackbirds excite me, then it is going to be a

good day. I will try to make the most of it. That is really how I

look at it. That is success. You have become a philosopher in your

old age. Unfortunately, we all do! That brings back some memories.

Let's get a check on the weather with Chris Fawkes. Not the greatest

start to May but you are telling me you are going to fix it. Yes, better

news for the bank holiday Monday. Some decent sunshine on the way.

Before that, we have to get rid of this rain. You can see it has been

affecting the southern part of England and Wales. There is a good

reason for that. You can see the winds have been converging straight

on London. That has given us an extra zone of moisture. Some heavy

burst of rain. If you rumbles of thunder. `` a few rumbles of

thunder. The worst of that rain will push into the English Channel,

leaving us with some damp pastures. `` patches. It will not be a cold

night. If you are expecting a lot of sunshine tomorrow, think again. For

most it will be a cloudy start to the day. Grey skies overhead. Mist

patches over the hills. As we move through the rest of the morning we

will see the clouds getting brighter. If you limited brighter

spells. A cool breeze. Come the afternoon, sharp showers developing.

Hit and miss in nature. Not as many as today. A better chance of staying

dry. Top temperature around about 15 degrees. We are going to see some

improvement in the weather. Heading through Friday evening, the risk of

showers passers`by. The sky is clear. We are going to get an area

of high pressure nestling down of the south`east of England. That will

improve the weather. As we head into Saturday morning, there will be some

patches of frost. There would be an improvement in the weather through

the holiday weekend. On Monday, temperatures soaring to 21 Celsius.

It will feel lovely on bank holiday Monday.

The main headlines: The Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Martin

McGuinness, has said that the arrest of Gerry Adams is a deliberate

attempt to influence the upcoming elections. Mr Adams is being

questioned over the IRA's murder of Jean McConville in 1972.

An inquest into the death of Peaches Geldof has found that heroin is

likely to have played a part in her death. The 25`year`old was found

dead at her home in Kent last month. Former teachers from St Paul's

private school in south west London are being investigated by police,

over allegations of widespread sexual abuse dating back to the

1960s. A 15`year`old boy has been remanded

in custody, charged with the murder of Ann Maguire. The teacher was

stabbed to death at a school in Leeds on Monday.

A hospital trust in Berkshire has been placed into special measures.

It's after inspectors found that the quality of care at Wrexham Park

hospital in Slough was "inadequate". That's it for now. Plenty more on

our website. Asad Ahmad will be back with our late news. From me and the

team here, thanks for watching and enjoy your evening.