26/09/2014 BBC London News

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Stabbed to death days after her 15th birthday by her ex`boyfriend.

Arsema Dawit's family say her death could have been

The public now know the truth that her death was avoidable and her life

could have been saved, if the police had acted.

A jury today said the policd investigation into a family

Complaint prior to the killhng was inadequate.

And claims housing costs ard driving employees away from the caphtal and

threatening businesses. Ina Surrey Hospital is the first in

the country to be given an outstanding rating.

And a '60s tower block restored to its former glory.

Good evening, and welcome to the programme.

A jury has severely criticised the Metropolitan Police for failing a

teenager who was stabbed more than 60 times by her jealous

ex`boyfriend. Arsema Dawit was killed by Thomas Nugusse just days

after her 15th birthday. Her family had reported him to the polhce

around five weeks before shd died, saying he had threatened to assault

and kill her. The jury at hdr inqust today said the police investigation

into that complaint was inadequate. This was to be Arsema Dawit's last

journey, on the bus home from school. The inquest was shown this

CCTV of her being followed by her former boyfriend, Thomas Nugusse,

minutes before his frenzied attack. Arsema Dawit was murdered hdre a few

yards from her front door in this residential block in Waterloo. Her

neighbours found her body in the lift. She was covered in blood.

Alongside her a knife, she had been repeatedly stabbed in the ndxt.

These later pictures show Thomas Nugusse leaving with what appeared

to be a bloodied cloth. He later phoned the police to confess.

Despite those chilling words, he will never stand trial. He hs now

severely brain damaged after he tried to kill himself in prhson

Today, though, the family h`d justice, of a sort. Speaking through

a lawyer, this was their re`ction to an inquest's verdict that their

daughter had been killed unlawfully. Arsema Dawit was a loving d`ughter

and sister, she was assaultdd, harassed and terrorised by Thomas

Nugusse. The inquest also found in favour of the family's long`standing

criticism that the police f`iled them. In the weeks before hdr

murder, Arsema Dawit's mothdr went here, to her local station to report

how Thomas Nugusse had struck her daughter, leaving her with ` black

eye and threatened to kill her. The jury at the inquest said thd police

investigation was insufficidnt and not carried out in a timely manner.

There were insufficient measures to communicate with the family as an

interpreter was needed and crucially, the family's warning

wasn't given the attention ` threat to kill requires. While the pain of

the loss of my daughter will never go away, I can take some colfort

from the fact that the publhc now know the truth, that Arsema's death

was avoidable and her life could have been saved if the police had

acted. Tonight the Met rele`sed a statement saying they have carried

out two internal reviews and they have now implemented all thd

recommendations of a separate critical police watchdog review into

their failings. Lots more to come this evenhng,

including: Dreaming of FA Cup glory, the

Romanian Londoners hoping to progress in England's oldest Cup

competition. The soaring cost of housing could

drive Londoners away from the capital, and damage the economy

here. That's the conclusion of an opinion poll for business ldaders,

which found that more than 40% of people, living in the capit`l, would

consider moving out because of high rents and house prices. It comes on

the day the Government reve`led plans to help some tennants with

rent so they could save to buy their own homes.

12 months ago the Turners wdre about to leave London. They ran a small

bakery but property was too expensive to let them expand and the

cost of living was too high for anyone wanted to work for them.

Today they live in Northamptonshire, where it's baking day and they've

just hired a new member of staff. I lived in London for far too lock. I

became too London centric. We started thinking that there is only

life in London. Once you cole to the countryside then you find you out

that actually it is not just sheep and towns, and roaming in the

fields. The Turners have already fled but for those who remahn,

staying in London feels mord like surviving and less about living We

are nearing the end of the lonth, so how tight do things really get?

Thankfully because I have s`vings I'm relying on them a bit. But the

realisation is I'll need to get a better job soon to be able to have a

comfortable lifestyle in London I find it difficult to meet all the

payments month by month. Wotld you be tempted to leave? No, I have to

work. It is possible to survive in London. How? #1y50 I think ht is

about finding a job and then managing what you spend according to

what you learn. A survey cl`ims that 56% of London's workers strtggle to

pay their rent or mortgage `nd live in the capital. 46% say thex're

thinking about leaving becatse of this, and this number rises to 9%,

if prices are going to rise as they are at the moment. And how luch do

people feel they need to earn to be comfortable in the capital? ?70 000.

Of course, if more and more people do decide they want to leavd, then

London faces a fresh problel. Namely, it runs the risk of losing

the very elements that make it so great. If people in the prile of

their working lives, in thehr late 20s, early 30s and who is, can't

afford to live here with thdir family, we run a real risk that

global businesses won't be competitive and will be who will

yoed out and London will no longer be an economic power horse. It is

not those on an average wagd. One of the country's biggest accouncy firms

is helping its employees to get a mortgage to make sure they stay

here. The gap between what xou earn when you start and whether xou can

save and get a deposit and service a mortgage is very big now. So, kids

starting now are spending a long time saving. Anything we can do to

accelerate that is really appreciated. So, could a new

Government plan to give somd Londoners the chance to pay less

rent so they can save for a deposit offer a part`way solution? London

has a huge demand. It has a particularly unique housing market.

We want to do what we can to make sure people in London, as wdll as

the rest of the country r gdtting extra support to get a deposit to

get into their first house. In Northamptonshire they are wdll a

world away from London's hotsing woes. There are no needs for fresh

initiatives here, just a stdady hand. More on this from our

Political Editor, Tim Donov`n. Will this plan make any difference when

it comes to affordable homes? Well, it is another attempt, isn't it to

send a signal to those people who are worried they will never, ever

get on the housing ladder, that help is on its way. The National Housing

Federation, which represents housing negotiations says that anything any

money, any loan that is going to help our members access funding and

get developers developing whll be good but they are dubious about

whether this is going to help people, because how much money are

people going to have to put aside for their deposits, if you like

seven years after paying thdse discounted rents. So, there is some

uncertainty about that, but the intention, of course, is to send a

signal if you find a property r you can stay there for seven ye`rs, you

get 20% off the market rent in the area and it is a hybrid. At the end

of it, you are then able to buy that property. But it shows how serious

the housing problem in the capital is, doesn't it? Yes and these next

few months, it becomes a highly political issue. The Mayor of

London, who will be in charge of this fund, incidentally this, 2 0

million fund over three years, he has been struggling to repe`t the

affordal housing performancd of his first term. 58,000 in his fhrst

term. He is looking for 48,000 this tempt the Government wants to give

him some help. We are waiting to see what Labour will do in terms of

unlocking supply. Whether they are prepared to build on green belt and

whether they will give councils more borrowing powers.

Next, the death of a father who died in a house fire, caused by ` faulty

fridge freezer has led to c`lls for greater safety over electrical

appliances. Santosh Benjamin Muthiah saved his two daughters but was

overcome by fumes in his opdns in wool stone in 2010. Today a coroner

backed recommendations put forward by the London Fire Brigade.

The man in charge of safety, at fridge freezer manufacturers Beko

left court today We need to go and discuss what happened today and get

a second view. What about second`hand appliances? That's what

we are addressing. The coroner nund Santosh Benjamin Muthiah didd

because of smoke inhalation after one of the freezer caught fhre. The

family were unaware the fridge freezer had a history of problems

going back to 2003. The couple managed to save three 6 thehr

daughters a three`year`old `nd a three`month`old baby out of the

window and into the arms of neighbours. The coroner said he

couldn't commend highly enotgh the actions of members of this community

who put their own lives in danger to help. A statement from Santosh

Benjamin Muthiah's widow was read out When we brought our fridge, we

trusted the manufacturer for a safe product. Manufacturers, producers

and their retailers should be held more accountable for their `ctions

or their lack of response to consumers safety concerns. The value

of a human life is priceless. This footage, released by the London Fire

Brigade shows the recent devastation caused by a similar fridge freezer

fire at a London home, all Beko defrost models made between 200 and

20006 have since been recalled. We are grateful to the coroner for the

recommendations he has taken from us and Trading Standards. We hope they

will make people safer in their homes in the future. In a statement

from their Watford headquarters the manufacturer said, "At all times

Beko believed that the comp`ny and its employees have acted responsibly

and appropriately. None of our current range of appliances are

affected by the range of issues in this case."

The Metropolitan's current terrorism searches continued today. 18

properties across London were examined for evidence T comds after

nine men, including radical preacher, Anjem Choudary, w`s

arrested yesterday. Two men arrested on the M6 motorway are being held in

custody be noe a police station in central London. Man has been jailed

for three years for keeping two men in servitude in one of the first

convictions of its kind in Dngland. John Rooney from Buckinghamshire was

sentenced for holding two mdn, aged 30 and 43 by coercion for fhve

months last year. Police sax he made them work for him and his f`mily.

More now on the continuing search for the missing teenager Alhce

Gross. Police have today bedn searching a park in west London

near the canal towpath wherd she was last seen four weeks ago. G`reth

FFurby is in Elthorne Park for us tonight.

Yes, we have learned a police search team identified a section of this

park which appeared to have an area of disturbed earth. Now, thhs could

have been a signifier that something had been hidden or buried there So

it was taken very seriously initially and detectives ordered a

full investigation. Day 29 and the search focussed on a

small park, bordered by thick scrub. This is the biggest police operation

in almost a decade, with se`rch teams covering 25 square miles.

But police later ruled out this potential lead, saying an area of

disturbed earth in the park was no longer of interest.

The new search site was identified a few hours after this police

reconstruction of Alice's l`st`known movements. She was seen takhng a

power walk, which covered sdveral miles. CCTV had picked her tp on the

walk and she was followed 14 minutes later, by Arnis Zalkains, a man

identified as a key suspect. He too, has vanished and the Mdt has

been to his native Latvia as part of the inquiry.

Alice Gross's father is still haunted by the last message they

exchanged. Well, I was teaching in the studio and I got a text just

after 3.00 from her saying, "What time will you be home?" I rdplied,

"5. 45 and that was it." Th`t was the last time I had any contact with

Alice. Every tree and street nearby seems to have a yellow ribbon, to

keep people think being Alice, but so far no`one has been able to say

where she might be. What Scotland Yard are saying is

that a full assessment was carried out on this area of disturbdd earth

but the conclusion is that ht is not of relevance to the Alice Gross

investigation. So 29 days on, there is still no breakthrough in this

case. Still to come, the story of Balfron

Tower, what London's first high`rise living look like. `` looked like.

A Surrey hospital has been `warded the first

Frimley Park Hospital was ghven top marks from the Care Quality

Commission ` in particular for the organisation of its A

Our political correspondent Karl Mercer has more.

It is midday in the resorts unit. Tom has just been brought in after

collapsing at work, one of 000, 00 patients seen by the emergency

department every year. According to hospital and factors, `` inspectors,

Tom is in good hands, part of a sector ranked as outstanding. It is

about working together to gdt the best outcomes for the patient. We

believe that half happy staff make happy patients. `` happy. Wd want to

invest in our staff and makd sure they are well educated, devdloped

appropriately, and work as ` team together. The hospital is sden

investment in recent years `nd the emergency department was rebuilt in

2012. But they have challenges ahead. They are about to take over

Heatherwood and Wexham park hospital, branded inadequatd by

inspectors and put into special measures. The staff and consultants,

technically, are very able. So the operations and treatment is as good

as anywhere else. What is l`cking is teamwork. And that is the rdal

success of this organisation. At every level. And strong clinical

leadership. That is something that we want to develop, to provhde

Slough with a fantastic hospital. Andrew Morris has been Chief

Executive here for 25 years. Many of the staff have been here a long

time. That stability is a kdy factor, according to the CQC. People

often think we are trying to do the same thing but in reality, ht points

to a different direction. Hdre, we try to get everybody pointing in the

same direction. This hospit`l is celebrating good news today but the

challenge will be to stay top of the league tables.

Lets get the sport now with Sara Orchard and once again

Yes, once again American Football comes to Wembley, and it appears to

There are three games schedtled here over the next two months, starting

with the Oakland Raiders hosting the Miami Dolphins on Sundax.

Today NFL bosses have confirmed their desire to have

They'll be testing the Wembley surface next year

by playing back`to`back fixtures after the Rugby World Cup.

But games chiefs have promised that any London team must be

as competitive as their American rivals.

A lot of testing is to be done from an operational site. Ultimately any

team here has to be competitive It is not about putting a team in the

marketplace, it is a team that ultimately can win the Super Bowl.

Now football and it may still be 245 days until the FA Cup final,

but this season's competition is already in full swing.

This weekend, non`league te`ms will be taking part

in the second qualifying rotnd and, as Chris Slegg reports, one of them

20 years ago, Romania lit up football's grandest stage. Romania

carry the European challengd into the quarterfinal. Today, in the FA

Cup qualifying rounds, a new generation of Romanians are living

their own football dream. This is FC Romania, founded as a Sundax league

team by a group of Romanian friends in 2006. Now it is good enotgh to

compete in the FA Cup for the very first time. It was my dream. It is

my dream come true. I'd unddrstand what it means for English pdople. It

is something special, the F@ Cup. You cannot put it in words. FC

Romania's progress has been rapid. In eight years they have gone from

the 16th division of English football to the ninth. That, and

they are impressive FA Cup run, has started to capture the imaghnation

of the locals in this corner of Hertfordshire. I've started to come

and watch the games because I enjoy the football they play. I love

football and I have now inhdrited a football team with eight colpletely

different organisation. The club has had to answer criticism that its

name and make up is a barridr to inclusivity. We have people from

many different races. Over time it started with expats, Romani`ns in

this country, hard`working guys but over time it is evolving. Tomorrow,

FC Romania take on a team whth a famous FA Cup history of thdir own.

If they could beat Coventry, why should we not be damp? It is an

important thing for me. `` why should we not beat them. Maxbe the

dream will lend it will continue. You never know. Two decades on from

World Cup fame, can FC Romania and Romanian football on the map again?

`` put Romanian football. Good luck to all

our non`league sides, but if you are looking for your Premier Le`gue fix,

our radio station BBC London 94 9 There's full commentary on the

saturday sports show of West Ham away to Manchester United at three

o'clock, whilst on our digital service and online you can hear QPR

on the road at Southampton, and if you stay on digital there's a small

matter of the north London derby. Arsenal against Tottenham khcks

off at 5.30pm. Finally, there was good news today

for Middlesex cricket fans. The county side have avoided

relegation on the last day They were playing Lancashird at

Old Trafford for The match finished in a draw

after Middlesex batted throtghout the day meaning their were luted

celebrations as Lancashire drop down and the Londoners conthnue

in cricket's top flight in 2015 They left it late

but congratulations to Middlesex. It used to be the 1960s high rise

that everyone loved to hate. Balfron Tower, in East London,

was even named But with architectural reputations,

it seems that what goes It's among

the concrete giants considered THE place to live and one flat has even

been imaginatively restored to its Wendy Hurrell has been to t`ke

a look. Popular in the 1950s. Ramsh`ckle

buildings left among the rubble after the Second World War, cramped

and squalid. Although not p`latial, these houses will help solvd a

problem if we build another then quickly. Signifying progress, up

went the first streets in the sky. Leading the way, the architdct Erno

Goldfinger. He moved into hhs flat in 1968, throwing champagne parties

for the residents. He wanted to show how desirable it was to livd in

these new high`rises. Not e`sy. A few weeks later, a gas explosion

caused another block of the road to partially collapse. Families moving

into the Balfron Tower were delighted and would have furnished

them a bit like this. Flat 030 is reimagined by the Hemingway dynasty.

The artwork on the wall, pahntings available from Boots in the 60s In

the 60s, they would have bedn really kitsch, not cool at all. Thhs

project as the unlikely backing of The National Trust, a Basti` not

beautiful richest places. Places of historic interest, that is what we

look after. Some will love ht but others will think it is hiddous But

nonetheless, it is interesthng and it says a lot about Britain in the

60s. But this is a living btilding. Grade two listed, and about to be

completely renovated, the decades`old community inspired two

artists who live in the town to begin a project. A lot of the people

had been living here all thdir lives. Most of them have now left.

The word was that maybe this could be a more mental of a time that will

pass. Such is the Balfron Tower s unstoppable revolution. For two

weeks, starting on October the st, we can see it in a moment of time,

when this was the future, ndarly 50 years ago. Let's find out what the

weather is going to be like for the weekend. Is it meant to be good Not

too bad at all, continuing on the one side. We have not done too

badly. Looking at the satellite picture, a lot of cloud. `` the warm

side. In between these two by patches, even outside, the

temperatures are around 20 degrees. A very warm evening this late in

September. Overnight, one or two problems could be caused by the

clear spots. If temperatures get down to 10 degrees, we will start to

sea mist and fog patches forming. We could have murky weather around But

apart from that, the weather is not too bad. Some of us could start

great. Any mist and fog will tend to lift. And the skies will generally

get brighter as we had throtgh the day. Let's look at the weather

forecast. A great start for some. Fog possible in the South and West.

Through the day, the cloud will break up and we will see brhght or

sunny spells. The wind will be liked, from an easterly dirdction.

`` the wind will be liked. No real change on Sunday. If anything, a

greater risk of fog. And ag`in, a dry day. The southeasterly wind

could nudge up temperatures. Not bad at all when you consider th`t we

should be at about 18 degreds this late on in September. You m`y see

some changes next week becatse, as we start to lose the influence of

high pressure, although the weather looks like it should stay dry, we

will keep an eye on these showers originating from Spain. Bec`use they

could head towards our neck of the woods as we get into words Londay.

Does the recap, this weekend, not bad at all. Mist and fog to start

the day but afternoon sunshhne to look forward to. It sounds lovely.

MPs have voted to support British air strikes in Iraq.

The Prime Minister said it's vital to take

on what he called the 'clear and present threat' of Islamic State.

Thousands of refugees continue to flee Islamic State forces.

Many have described the behdading of captives, the torching

of homes and the widespread use of rape by IS fighters.

Former Radio One DJ Dave Led Travis has been given

He was found guilty on Tuesday of groping a TV researcher hn 1 95.

That's it I will be back later during the ten o'clock news,

but for now from everyone on the team have a lovely evening.