:00:00. > :00:00.eye on development is over the next couple of days. That's all from me,
:00:00. > :00:17.on BBC One we join the news teams where you are.
:00:18. > :00:21.London is growing by 100,000 people per year. The housing supply is not
:00:22. > :00:28.matching that all Tonight on BBC London News. Demand
:00:29. > :00:32.outstripping supply ` the number of new homes funded by the Mayor falls
:00:33. > :00:35.to its lowest level in more than six years. But City Hall says it is
:00:36. > :00:38.still on track to build more homes in the future. Also tonight... Why
:00:39. > :00:41.the Met's head of armed policing is warning officers may refuse to carry
:00:42. > :00:49.guns for fear of being "criminalised". There is no better
:00:50. > :01:01.instrument in remembering those who have died in war. Floral tributes to
:01:02. > :01:06.victims of war. We're at the Chelsea Flower Show as it marks the
:01:07. > :01:10.centenary of the First World War. Good evening. The number of homes
:01:11. > :01:14.being built in the capital which are funded by the Mayor has fallen to
:01:15. > :01:17.its lowest level since Boris Johnson took office at City Hall six years
:01:18. > :01:22.ago. That's according to figures released by the Greater London
:01:23. > :01:25.Authority. It comes on the day a report by estate agents Savills says
:01:26. > :01:31.the rate of population growth in the capital has outstripped the rate of
:01:32. > :01:34.new homes by about 75%. Meanwhile, property prices in London are
:01:35. > :01:38.surging ahead ` putting a home out of reach of more and more first`time
:01:39. > :01:39.buyers. This report from our political correspondent, Karl
:01:40. > :01:53.Mercer. Homes are being built across
:01:54. > :01:57.London, as the economy begins to improve. The problem, though, is
:01:58. > :02:02.that this sort of site is not man enough. This development in north
:02:03. > :02:07.Kensington will see around 120 homes go up by next year, most of them
:02:08. > :02:12.affordable. But the truth is, London is a long way behind building the
:02:13. > :02:16.number of homes it needs to. The Mayor's Office says that's just to
:02:17. > :02:19.keep pace with demand, London needs to build 42,000 homes a year. But
:02:20. > :02:23.last year the capital added just over half of that to its housing
:02:24. > :02:28.stock, just over 21,000 new properties, the lowest level in the
:02:29. > :02:37.last nine years. The number of homes funded by City Hall is also falling.
:02:38. > :02:45.It was more than 19,020 11. Last year, it was less than 9000. This
:02:46. > :02:51.graph shows the problem faced by the capital. Population has risen by 14%
:02:52. > :02:59.since 2002. The number of jobs has gone up by 15%, but the number of
:03:00. > :03:03.new homes has only gone up by 9%. One problem we are all seeing is
:03:04. > :03:08.that supplies just not there, it is falling short of the demand in
:03:09. > :03:17.London. London is growing by 100,000 people a year, and the housing
:03:18. > :03:22.supply is not matching that. At the moment, there are 216,000 homes in
:03:23. > :03:27.the so`called planning pipeline in London. Of those, 93,000 have
:03:28. > :03:34.actually started work, like here in north Kensington. But one to 3000
:03:35. > :03:38.have not even started work on site. Something is and mentally wrong and
:03:39. > :03:42.as always, it is about politicians being brave enough to confront the
:03:43. > :03:46.blockages. People do not want housing built next door. We are
:03:47. > :03:51.suggesting building new suburbs in London. The people who live around
:03:52. > :03:56.those new suburbs will all object. That has long been a problem for
:03:57. > :03:59.politicians and developers alike. Business leaders want a short list
:04:00. > :04:04.of public land which can be used for homes torn up. Without it, they say,
:04:05. > :04:11.the city will falter. What is the response of City Hall? You will
:04:12. > :04:14.remember that the Mayor has often said that over his two terms as
:04:15. > :04:20.mayor, he will build 100,000 affordable homes. City Hall say they
:04:21. > :04:29.are on track to do that by 2016. Looking at the wider picture, the
:04:30. > :04:32.Mayor has set this ambitious target of 42,000 homes per year. At the
:04:33. > :04:38.moment it is about half of that being built. We require construction
:04:39. > :04:43.the like of which we have not seen since the Second World War. The
:04:44. > :04:48.Mayor's Housing strategy talks about things like housing zones or a
:04:49. > :04:52.London Housing bank, both of which are aimed at developers and trying
:04:53. > :04:57.to get them to kick`start land which they already own. The trouble for
:04:58. > :05:02.politicians when they set targets is, at the end of the day, people
:05:03. > :05:07.like us will judge them. So we will come back in a couple of years.
:05:08. > :05:18.Coming up later in the programme... The visual arts and the spoken word
:05:19. > :05:19.` we meet some of Lewisham's older residents who are learning new
:05:20. > :05:30.creative skills. Police have launched a murder
:05:31. > :05:33.inquiry after a man's body discovered following a fire at his
:05:34. > :05:36.flat in north London was found to have suffered stab wounds. It's
:05:37. > :05:39.believed 49`year`old Antonio Tommaso had been dead for two to three days
:05:40. > :05:48.prior to the property being sent alight. Alice Bhandhukravi reports
:05:49. > :05:51.from New Barnet. Antonio has been described as a friendly and
:05:52. > :05:58.articulate man who lived and died in a flat on a quiet residential street
:05:59. > :06:03.in New Barnet. The charred Windows giveaway part of the story of what
:06:04. > :06:07.happened to him. I have just been allowed up to the third story. His
:06:08. > :06:12.bedsit was completely blackened inside, badly damaged by fire. That
:06:13. > :06:16.is where firefighters found Tony's body late on Thursday evening. Tony
:06:17. > :06:20.had been unemployed for several years after an injury, and he led
:06:21. > :06:25.what police have described as a simple life. He rode this mountain
:06:26. > :06:30.bike and had time to chat to people in the area. He was last seen alive
:06:31. > :06:35.on Tuesday. A postmortem examination has revealed that he died after
:06:36. > :06:38.being stabbed several times. Detectives believe his attacker left
:06:39. > :06:43.his body in his flat for a few days, returning last Thursday to set fire
:06:44. > :06:49.to the place, leaving a significant clue. We believe that they returned
:06:50. > :06:53.with an old`fashioned word petrol can. So, did anyone see someone
:06:54. > :06:59.walking around on Thursday evening, when the fire was set, carrying a
:07:00. > :07:03.red, old`fashioned petrol can? Did you see somebody fill up such
:07:04. > :07:07.account at a petrol station? For people nearby, it has been a shock
:07:08. > :07:12.to be from what we were told originally, the place had been set
:07:13. > :07:16.on fire, and then we found out someone had died from it, and now we
:07:17. > :07:21.have found out someone was murdered. Detectives believe the attacker
:07:22. > :07:24.could have been an acquaintance of Tony's and may have been burnt
:07:25. > :07:25.whilst setting the flat on fire. They want anyone with any
:07:26. > :07:38.information to come forward. A man accused of sending menacing
:07:39. > :07:41.Twitter messages to a London MP went on trial today. A court heard that
:07:42. > :07:44.33`year`old Peter Nunn retweeted rape threats made to Walthamstow MP
:07:45. > :07:46.Stella Creasy and described her as a "witch". The alleged abuse started
:07:47. > :07:50.after Ms Creasy supported the campaign to get more women featured
:07:51. > :07:51.on bank notes. Mr Nunn says he sent the messages to "further debate" and
:07:52. > :07:58.denies the charge against him. Rail and Tube workers are to hold
:07:59. > :08:01.strikes over the Bank Holiday weekend in separate disputes.
:08:02. > :08:05.Members of the RMT Union on the Heathrow Express ` will walk out for
:08:06. > :08:07.24 hours on Friday and again on Bank Holiday Monday. Meanwhile, power
:08:08. > :08:10.control staff on London Underground, who are members of the Unite union,
:08:11. > :08:13.will strike for three days from Saturday. Heathrow Express said it
:08:14. > :08:16.expected to run a normal service, while Transport for London said it
:08:17. > :08:27.didn't expect an impact on its services.
:08:28. > :08:34.The Met's head of armed policing is warning that proposed changes to
:08:35. > :08:39.rules could lead to a drop in the number of firearms officers. The
:08:40. > :08:43.police watchdog wants to stop officers talking to each other in
:08:44. > :08:47.the aftermath of a potential fatal incident. But there have been
:08:48. > :08:54.warnings that this could lead to police feeling criminalised. Guy
:08:55. > :09:01.Smith reports. He is a volunteer, as are more than 2000 firearms officers
:09:02. > :09:06.in the Met. But now there are fears that a substantial number may put
:09:07. > :09:09.down their weapons. The IPCC is proposing changes to how officers
:09:10. > :09:15.provide evidence after a death or serious injury. The police watchdog
:09:16. > :09:21.is now bearing its teeth. It plans to make it a legal requirement for
:09:22. > :09:25.Scotland Yard officers to be separated after a serious incident
:09:26. > :09:29.so that they can write up their witness statements independently.
:09:30. > :09:35.The IPCC says this will protect them from accusations of a cover`up. But
:09:36. > :09:57.the commander who heads armed policing in the Met says...
:09:58. > :10:05.That is something Irene Stanley disagrees with. Her husband Harry
:10:06. > :10:12.was shot dead in 1999 in Hackney. Armed police mistook a table leg he
:10:13. > :10:16.was carrying for a shot gun. She believes the guidance to officers
:10:17. > :10:20.should have changed years ago. They should not be allowed to sit
:10:21. > :10:26.together. To me, it is unfair. Because they could be copying each
:10:27. > :10:33.other's notes. In an ideal world, we would not carry guns, but the
:10:34. > :10:37.reality is, if police are using the dropping of arms to protect their
:10:38. > :10:41.own personal interest, inasmuch as they want one law for themselves and
:10:42. > :10:46.one for us, that is not a good roads to be going down. The Met says it is
:10:47. > :10:49.constructively consulting with the police watchdog. The Home Office
:10:50. > :10:54.will ultimately decide. The London Ambulance Service has
:10:55. > :10:57.urged people enjoying the fine weather to take extra care after it
:10:58. > :11:00.had its third ever busiest weekend for emergency calls. As the hot
:11:01. > :11:04.weather continued today, the service said Londoners should take care in
:11:05. > :11:07.the sun, and only dial 999 in an emergency.
:11:08. > :11:12.Now ` we're just days away from the local and European elections, and an
:11:13. > :11:15.area which could see a dramatic change in leadership is the
:11:16. > :11:24.relatively small area of Three Rivers in Hertfordshire. The
:11:25. > :11:27.district council has been led by the Liberal Democrats for decades, but
:11:28. > :11:30.could that change this week? Tarah Welsh has been speaking to voters
:11:31. > :11:43.there about the issues important to them. It is the season of and
:11:44. > :11:49.change. And that could happen at the Town Hall. It all depends on
:11:50. > :11:52.Thursday's vote. We have had to basically privately educate our
:11:53. > :11:56.eldest because she did not get in locally. The main problem for us is,
:11:57. > :12:00.locally, the primary schools are very hard to get into. The services
:12:01. > :12:06.are pretty good, there are lots of park facilities. Predicting which
:12:07. > :12:10.colour will be in power come Friday is more difficult this year. New
:12:11. > :12:15.boundaries mean every seat is up for grabs, but there are nine fewer. The
:12:16. > :12:21.Liberal Democrats have managed to hold onto control since the 90s, but
:12:22. > :12:24.that could change. If they lose four seats then they could lose control
:12:25. > :12:28.of the council. They have got quite a strong presence in the area, but
:12:29. > :12:32.with the redrawing of the boundaries, it could mean the next
:12:33. > :12:39.largest party, the Tories, could make a grab for power. Currently,
:12:40. > :12:47.Labour has six seats, and there is one independent. It could be a
:12:48. > :12:52.wasted vote, you just do not know. But they are going to make their
:12:53. > :12:57.voice heard, hopefully. Will you vote UKIP? I think so, yes.
:12:58. > :13:01.According to polls nationally, the Lib Dems have lost about half of
:13:02. > :13:07.their vote shares since 2010. So can they hold on here? They actually
:13:08. > :13:12.work very hard for us and they do listen to what we ask for. But maybe
:13:13. > :13:18.if the Tories did get in they may do just as well. This is typical leafy
:13:19. > :13:23.commuter belt. A lot of the area is rural, and yet you can get the
:13:24. > :13:28.chewed into central London. The crime rate is low, but the area is
:13:29. > :13:34.not completely without problems. Some people here have been employed
:13:35. > :13:40.for years. I have been going after something in retailing and there are
:13:41. > :13:42.no vacancies. Three Rivers is one of several councils outside London
:13:43. > :13:47.where elections are taking place this Thursday. All seats are up in
:13:48. > :13:51.Slough, with one third of seats being decided in Redding, Southend,
:13:52. > :14:04.Thurrock and Wokingham. Here, the Lib Dems will have to wait
:14:05. > :14:08.whether to find out whether they will win, lose, or have to share
:14:09. > :14:10.power. And in the European elections, also taking place this
:14:11. > :14:13.Thursday, the National Liberal Party has eight candidates standing in
:14:14. > :14:22.London. The party wants to see the capital's ethnic minorities better
:14:23. > :14:30.represented in Europe. The National Liberal Party has eight
:14:31. > :14:36.candidates drawn from Sikh, Kurdish and other communities in London. We
:14:37. > :14:39.are the only party which is representing these communities,
:14:40. > :14:43.which have been ignored, left out of the process. We are raising their
:14:44. > :14:52.burning issues of self`determination and genocide. Still to come this
:14:53. > :14:56.evening... Later, I will be giving you a tour of the royal Chelsea
:14:57. > :14:58.Flower Show. This year's team is marking the centenary of World War
:14:59. > :15:07.I. Over the past three years 20 people
:15:08. > :15:11.have been killed in house fires where hoarding has been a factor. As
:15:12. > :15:15.well as being a potential fire hazard, there's also the increased
:15:16. > :15:17.risk of a hoarder becoming trapped. London Fire Brigade wants to
:15:18. > :15:20.highlight the dangers to those most at threat. Gareth Furby has the
:15:21. > :15:31.story. Richard Wallace lives near Dorking,
:15:32. > :15:37.in Surrey. He shares his home with thousands of newspapers and
:15:38. > :15:43.magazines. Mainly the Mail on Sunday. He's been doing this for
:15:44. > :15:47.almost 40 years. It wasn't so much collecting them, it was retaining
:15:48. > :15:51.them because of the information they contain. He thinks it started
:15:52. > :15:55.because when he was young, newspapers were sometimes thrown
:15:56. > :16:00.away before he could read them. Quite a lot of them are in the roof
:16:01. > :16:05.space. In fact, it's a lot better now than when we last visited four
:16:06. > :16:12.years ago. The only way inside was to crawl. It was about this much
:16:13. > :16:21.from the ceiling. You just about had enough room. Now the Fire Service is
:16:22. > :16:26.targeting hoarder s in its latest campaign, warning that fires start
:16:27. > :16:31.and spread easily in those homes. We can show that 20 people died in
:16:32. > :16:37.fires as a result of hoarding in the last few years. But will they
:16:38. > :16:40.listen? This is Richard Wallace's kitchen, and the Fire Service might
:16:41. > :16:46.view it as a fire hazard. Even his neighbour and counsellor, who has
:16:47. > :16:52.been helping him clear out, is having problems explaining the
:16:53. > :16:57.dangers. My concern is obviously you cook with gas, naked flame. It's not
:16:58. > :17:04.totally naked, it has something on it. Which left set up the side.
:17:05. > :17:10.There is the potential risk of a fire. But I feel I've got that under
:17:11. > :17:13.control. There is the logical Richard and then there is the
:17:14. > :17:17.hoarder Richard. I work on hoping the logical Richard will become
:17:18. > :17:24.stronger than the hoarder side. For this hoarder, progress has been
:17:25. > :17:29.slow. But he is getting there. The Fire Service is also offering home
:17:30. > :17:36.visits to advise how best to cut the risks.
:17:37. > :17:42.It's a theatre group with a difference, the Albany in Deptford
:17:43. > :17:45.is encouraging pensioners to come along and learn new creative skills
:17:46. > :17:50.and be entertained, but perhaps more importantly to meet new people.
:17:51. > :17:53.One day they can be found slightly elevated above the floor suspended
:17:54. > :17:55.on stilts, but today it's a more grounded lesson on balancing for
:17:56. > :18:00.south London pensioners attending a circus skills class. Here at the
:18:01. > :18:04.Albany Arts Centre in Deptford, they've taken a creative approach to
:18:05. > :18:07.elderly daycare. Every Tuesday, those with a spirit of adventure can
:18:08. > :18:13.learn new skills, from creative writing and poetry to photography
:18:14. > :18:18.and painting. It's really interesting, a lot of people do
:18:19. > :18:21.circus workshop for kids. It's a different mindset. I'm working with
:18:22. > :18:24.people that are older than me, they have more life experience. They're
:18:25. > :18:27.impacting on the way that I function when I'm teaching.
:18:28. > :18:34.Almost, so close! This bold approach to daycare the elderly is
:18:35. > :18:38.spearheaded by the Albany And Entelechy Arts. Its ambition is to
:18:39. > :18:41.relieve the isolation felt by many older people, while engaging them in
:18:42. > :18:47.the wider community and encouraging their own creativity. I think people
:18:48. > :18:51.would be surprised themselves about what they could do, trying something
:18:52. > :18:53.new and seeing that they have got a talent or an attitude to do
:18:54. > :18:56.something, writing, poetry or singing. That's been great,
:18:57. > :18:58.actually, seeing the transformation in people.
:18:59. > :19:04.# Caribbean ladies in London, far from the sun and the sea.... Paul's
:19:05. > :19:08.composition from that morning's spoken word workshop. For ?6, Meet
:19:09. > :19:11.Me At The Albany participants can try everything and anything, with
:19:12. > :19:17.support from local artists and performers. I've never felt so happy
:19:18. > :19:26.in my life, since I've been coming here. People are so friendly and the
:19:27. > :19:30.whole atmosphere is wonderful. You'll be at home, thinking about
:19:31. > :19:32.silly things. So it's nice to get here, and get on with what you have
:19:33. > :19:42.to do, you know? It's a really good. The day's hard work was rewarded
:19:43. > :19:45.with an impromptu performance from opera singer Charles Rice, which
:19:46. > :19:53.went down well in this south London hive of activity.
:19:54. > :19:58.Last year the Chelsea Flower Show celebrated its 100th year and this
:19:59. > :20:02.year it's marking another centenary, that of the First World War.
:20:03. > :20:08.Designers have created gardens remembering past and present
:20:09. > :20:15.conflicts. Well today the Queen got a preview, ahead of the show opening
:20:16. > :20:19.to the public tomorrow. We'll be live there shortly. First, this
:20:20. > :20:23.report from Alex Bushell. There are gardens to dazzle and the
:20:24. > :20:27.light, others to please or provoke. Amongst the hubbub and the crowds,
:20:28. > :20:33.there are also those to stop, reflect and remember. Gave once her
:20:34. > :20:39.flowers to love, there are ways to Rome. A body of England, breathing
:20:40. > :20:43.English air. The words are from Rupert Brooke, written in 1940 and
:20:44. > :20:50.as he served on the Western front. Today, Stephen Fry read his poem A
:20:51. > :20:55.Soldier, in a garden to mark the Centenary of the conflict. This
:20:56. > :20:58.garden itself is a symbol of that. The water is a reminder of the
:20:59. > :21:02.crater holes that still exist in France, filled with water. There is
:21:03. > :21:06.no better instrument in memorial icing those that died in war,
:21:07. > :21:12.whether one approves of the war or not is kind of irrelevant. The
:21:13. > :21:23.garden is about growth and restoration. It's the work of London
:21:24. > :21:33.Gardner Charlotte Road. It's based on the Somme, and how it was hit. My
:21:34. > :21:39.grandfather came back, being wounded, and they threw roses at
:21:40. > :21:43.them. These are the wild roses. An unkempt tapestry, carefully
:21:44. > :21:48.contrived in days. As for the residents of this corner of S W
:21:49. > :21:53.three, marking the Centenary and the gardens it has inspired as a
:21:54. > :22:00.particular resonance. It is like as walking around town, they see us in
:22:01. > :22:04.the Scarlet and it keeps us in the public eye. Some of them should not
:22:05. > :22:09.be walking at all, but there you go! He understands the importance of
:22:10. > :22:13.remembrance and the words of those that have fallen. If I should die,
:22:14. > :22:19.think only this, that there is some corner of a foreign field that is
:22:20. > :22:24.forever England. We can go live to Alex Bushell at
:22:25. > :22:30.the Chelsea Flower Show this evening, hopefully. I do apologise,
:22:31. > :22:34.we cannot get to him right now. Let me move on and let you know about
:22:35. > :22:37.Serb run they were. Has confirmed he wants to ride the Tour de France,
:22:38. > :22:42.after winning the Tour of California overnight. The Londoner led for
:22:43. > :22:46.seven of the eight stages. He also said he'd be happy to support his
:22:47. > :22:51.team mate and winner of last year's Tour, Chris Froome.
:22:52. > :22:54.After such a sunny weekend, let's see how this week is shaping up with
:22:55. > :23:05.Wendy. A little bit of a change on the
:23:06. > :23:11.way, but wasn't it lovely? Today, London got to 26 Celsius. That puts
:23:12. > :23:17.it at the same level as Greece. It is warmer than Rome and Barcelona.
:23:18. > :23:22.London was the place to be across Europe if you like it warm. I don't
:23:23. > :23:25.see that we're going to have temperatures quite that high as we
:23:26. > :23:29.go through the rest of the week. There is an increasing chance of
:23:30. > :23:33.seeing some rain. It will not be for everyone, not just yet. I have just
:23:34. > :23:36.been looking at the radar picture and there are one or two mature
:23:37. > :23:39.heavy looking showers crossing the Channel as we speak. As we go
:23:40. > :23:43.through this evening, there is a chance one or two Mac replaces will
:23:44. > :23:47.see some heavy downpours. Actually, they are quite isolated. Most of
:23:48. > :23:53.tonight will be fine. There will be clear skies through the night. If
:23:54. > :23:56.you do see these showers, and they are a distinct possibility as we go
:23:57. > :23:59.through the next couple of days, they will be quite heavy, not least
:24:00. > :24:04.because there is so much warmth still in the air. 13 of 15 are the
:24:05. > :24:08.lowest temperatures as we go through the night. As we go into the
:24:09. > :24:11.morning, some heavy downpours. Not for everybody tomorrow. If you are
:24:12. > :24:15.heading to the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow, there will be hazy
:24:16. > :24:19.sunshine to enjoy, a bit of a breeze blowing. If you get showers, they
:24:20. > :24:23.will blow through fairly quickly. There is the risk of those showers
:24:24. > :24:28.through tomorrow. Because of that breeze and shower risk, temperatures
:24:29. > :24:31.will not be as high tomorrow. We are looking at between 19 and 21
:24:32. > :24:36.degrees. Some places will get higher than that. Beyond that,
:24:37. > :24:40.high`pressure waning. Instead, we will have low pressure. For
:24:41. > :24:43.Wednesday, this tangle of fronts coming up. As we go through this
:24:44. > :24:47.week, more chance of seeing some rain, particularly Wednesday
:24:48. > :24:50.afternoon, with some showers to end the week as well. We will just have
:24:51. > :24:53.to dodge around them. An umbrella handy if you are going
:24:54. > :24:58.to the Chelsea Flower Show. Recapping the day's headlines: The
:24:59. > :25:01.British drugs firm AstraZeneca has insisted it can be successful as an
:25:02. > :25:02.independent company, after rejecting a takeover bid from its American
:25:03. > :25:15.rival, Pfizer. The number of new homes being built
:25:16. > :25:18.in the capital which are funded by the Mayor has fallen to its lowest
:25:19. > :25:23.level since he took office six years ago. You can see more on the stories
:25:24. > :25:26.today on the website, and I'll be back with the latest news. Until
:25:27. > :25:51.then, thanks for watching and enjoy your evening.
:25:52. > :25:54.'The last two generations have been robbed of an opportunity
:25:55. > :25:59.'And yet it has greater impact on our everyday lives than anything
:26:00. > :26:02.'We need to put this issue to bed now,
:26:03. > :26:05.'and not leave it for another generation.'
:26:06. > :26:09.I want a Britain that is free to control its own destiny.