01/05/2014 BBC London News

pressure for change. That's all from us. Now on

Good evening. An inquiry has begun into allegations of widespread

sexual abuse at one of London's top private schools. BBC London has

learned that around 100 former pupils at St Paul's School in Barnes

and its prep school, Colet Court, have come forward with allegations

spanning years. It has led to 18 former teachers being investigated.

Chris Rogers has the details. Last year, an Ofsted inspection described

the quality of learning at this ?10,000 a year school as

exceptional. Now, the school is at the centre of a sex abuse

investigation. 100 victims and potential witnesses have come

forward, as new evidence has emerged about 18 former teachers. Some of

them are no longer alive. The allegations date from the 1960s up

until 1990. Many former pupils were inspired to step forward following

the recent arrests of three men with a connection to the school. In

February a 65`year`old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual

assault. Last year a 57`year`old man was arrested on suspicion of

indecent images. Both have been released on bail. Last June, a

59`year`old man was arrested on suspicion of sexually grooming a

child. He was later released it is believed Alan Doggett, a choirmaster

at Colet Court, is among the 18 former teachers. This photo was

taken in 1978 as he left a police station where he had just been

charged with the alleged assault of a ten`year`old boy. He threw himself

under a train before his case got to court. A decade earlier, he had been

working at Seleka lake. `` at St Paul's. Now, I am aware that a

significant number of people have all come forward. If it was only one

or two, then there might be some room for belief, but I do not

believe that number of stories could all be false. He escaped trial, but

the paedophile unit have told BBC London that dead or alive, every

teacher and every allegation will be investigated. The focus is justice

for any potential victim. Katharine Carpenter is outside the school for

us tonight. Katharine what have the school had to say about the

allegations? In a statement, St Paul's says it is fully cooperating

with the police investigation. These allegations have been described as

"non`recent", but the Met says that due to the complexity of the

investigation, it is being handled by a specialist unit, which is being

headed up by Detective Inspector David Gray, who has also been in

charge of Operation Yewtree, a separate investigation into

allegations of sexual abuse by celebrities. Tonight, the Met says

it believes there are still potential other victims and

witnesses in relation to the alleged incidents at the school. A hotline

has been set up for former pupils. 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.

Here's Emma north. It is a hospital with a reputation.

Budget shortfalls, too many changes in 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, which were being administered to me, but I would be

offered them again that same night, because the notes for me on a

medical basis were not clear enough. The Care Quality Commission pulled

an open cheese. It described a culture of bullying and harassment

on the wards. `` pulled no punches. I think the inconsistent leadership

has been a long`standing issue at Wexham Park Hospital. It is not new.

However, the organisation needs to take hold of the issues and start

making some quick improvements. We need to apologise for the failings

in the report, and I do that unreservedly on behalf people come

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

motivated as they could be. However I think we now see a lot of areas

where staff are highly motivated. The report is clear that the vast

majority of care is good. During our visit, none of the staff or patients

we spoke to seemed remotely surprised at the news. We saw one

nurse getting told off, having left drugs lying around by the bed of a

patient. However, within this sprawling complexes there are

pockets of good care. We have managed to retain a lot of staff who

have been here for a long time and developed a good service. As new

things have come in, we have managed to take it on board with lots of

clinical engagement, including spa support staff and everybody. It is

expected this trust will be absorbed into another trust, so that the

stigma of special measures will be cut and staff might want to work

here, and the place could be offered a fresh start. Thousands of union

members have staged a May Day march in memory of the former RMT Leader

Bob Crow and the Labour MP Tony Benn ` who both died earlier this year.

Supporters marched to Trafalgar Square to pay tribute, and hail the

men as leaders who fought for workers' rights. Mr Crow's daughter,

Natasha, led tributes to her father and the veteran Labour politician,

who were aged 52 and 88 respectively.

I think it will be drier, and eventually brighter as well,

tomorrow. Still plenty of chance to get wet through this evening, with

heavy bursts of rain. But gradually overnight that will tend to Peter

out. We keep the cloudy skies, meaning it will be a relatively mild

night. We can expect grey skies to start with tomorrow. Still the

chance of one or two light showers. Eventually, as I mentioned, we will

start to see that cloud breaking up into the afternoon and evening,

leaving a fine end to the day. Notice those winds coming in from

the north`east, which will bring in colder air as we go into tomorrow

night, and there is of frost around for many of us.

Gardeners, take note. The Bank Holiday Weekend, pretty optimistic

on that at the moment, that there will be

on that at the moment, that there will be some sunshine around. More

on that in the national forecast. Our weather is taking a turn for the

colder. You would be forgiven for thinking that does not bode well for

the Bank Holiday Weekend. But as we go through the weekend, temperatures

will be performing a U-turn, and recovering, as we will see. England

and Wales has borne the brunt of some heavy downpours,