:00:00. > :00:00.We did not want to hear that. That is all from us.
:00:00. > :00:07.Tonight on BBC London News: Stabbed to death as she tried
:00:08. > :00:09.to protect her children from a scizophrenic intruder -
:00:10. > :00:23.I don't think there should be much blame attached to anyone. The person
:00:24. > :00:24.was extremely ill and what happened could not really have been foreseen
:00:25. > :00:25.or prevented. The fallout from too
:00:26. > :00:28.much festive fun - London Ambulance report one
:00:29. > :00:32.of their busiest weekends ever. Plus the Met release recordings
:00:33. > :00:34.of 999 calls NOT needing Plus from the strikes of the '70s
:00:35. > :00:52.to the present day - calls for legislation to tackle
:00:53. > :00:59.an age-old problem. A Christmas dinner with a
:01:00. > :01:00.difference, the alternative locations serving up turkey and
:01:01. > :01:07.trimmings. Good evening and welcome
:01:08. > :01:10.to the programme. A man who killed a mother-of-two,
:01:11. > :01:19.while her husband listened helplessly on the phone will spend
:01:20. > :01:22.an indefinite time in a secure psychiatric unit after pleading
:01:23. > :01:24.guilty to manslaughter on grounds Nicola Cross was stabbed to death
:01:25. > :01:27.by a complete stranger who was suffering from paranoid
:01:28. > :01:29.schizophrenia as she tried to stop him from kidnapping her two
:01:30. > :01:33.children at the family home in Hemel Despite officers being called
:01:34. > :01:36.earlier in the evening, he was allowed to go home,
:01:37. > :01:50.before breaking into the victim's Her family said she enjoyed the
:01:51. > :01:55.perfect life. 37-year-old Nicola Cross from Hemel Hempstead had a
:01:56. > :02:00.loving husband and two adored young children but a random and brutal act
:02:01. > :02:03.of madness took it all away. Warehouse worker Martin was
:02:04. > :02:07.suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he broke into her
:02:08. > :02:14.home in September last year, stabbing her ten times. That led to
:02:15. > :02:19.an outpouring of grief on the road where Nicola Cross was a much loved
:02:20. > :02:22.member of the community. In sentencing, the judge said the
:02:23. > :02:27.circumstances in which you killed Nicola Cross were actually horrific
:02:28. > :02:31.and senseless and represented every parent and husband's worst
:02:32. > :02:36.nightmare. He said you've left the family utterly devastated and two
:02:37. > :02:42.young children without the wonderful mother who so loved and cared for
:02:43. > :02:46.them. When she discovered the break-in, Nicola called her husband
:02:47. > :02:49.Danny, seen here leaving the court, who was away for work. He told the
:02:50. > :03:07.judge in a statement, that phone call plays over and over in my head.
:03:08. > :03:13.With no history of violence, experts say there was no way in predicting
:03:14. > :03:16.such brutality. I think it was really a tragic and unforeseen
:03:17. > :03:21.instance, I don't think there should be much blame attached to anyone.
:03:22. > :03:26.The person was extremely ill and what happened could not really have
:03:27. > :03:31.been foreseen or prevented. Friends and neighbours who live on this
:03:32. > :03:34.tight-knit estate in Hemel Hempstead supported the family through the
:03:35. > :03:39.court proceedings and the judge paid tribute to the dignity they showed
:03:40. > :03:45.throughout. Martin admitted killing Nicola Cross, telling doctors he had
:03:46. > :03:49.to sacrifice her to save his own family. He will serve an indefinite
:03:50. > :03:53.term at a psychiatric unit. The judge described the young mother as
:03:54. > :03:57.a heroic but ultimately defenceless in trying to protect her children.
:03:58. > :04:11.The chief inspector of schools warns of bigger class sizes and fewer
:04:12. > :04:13.teachers in the capital as he is outgoing.
:04:14. > :04:16.Now you'd expect London Ambulance crews to be busy at this time
:04:17. > :04:18.of year, but last weekend was the busiest for
:04:19. > :04:23.The service says incidents involving alcohol were the most common cause
:04:24. > :04:25.for a callout to people in their twenties and Londoners are
:04:26. > :04:39.Gareth Furby joined paramedics covering Friday night's late shift.
:04:40. > :04:41.We are with a paramedic who's duty is to respond
:04:42. > :04:43.in minutes to emergencies, but in the early hours
:04:44. > :04:56.This call is to a kebab shop in Hackney, to a
:04:57. > :04:59.What's happened is too much to drink, a condition
:05:00. > :05:01.that is entirely self-inflicted, but the emergency services
:05:02. > :05:10.It seems that she does need to be looked after and is vulnerable,
:05:11. > :05:18.to a level where she can get home safely by herself.
:05:19. > :05:20.That safe place was in hospital and at the weekend
:05:21. > :05:22.it seems this issue was repeated again and again.
:05:23. > :05:24.In London, there were more than 16,000 emergency calls
:05:25. > :05:26.to the ambulance service, making it the busiest
:05:27. > :05:31.Another call-out was to the City of London
:05:32. > :05:35.where they were several exclusive Christmas events, but at one,
:05:36. > :05:53.I think he'd been out on a work do and a lot of people intoxicated
:05:54. > :05:56.and caused a fight and he's taken a few punches to the face.
:05:57. > :05:59.An arrest was made but after being examined by the paramedic,
:06:00. > :06:02.the victim decided to decline hospital treatment and an ambulance
:06:03. > :06:04.wasn't required, but in many other cases at the weekend,
:06:05. > :06:06.it was a different story and pre-Christmas drinking
:06:07. > :06:12.If someone is unconscious, we need to get to those patients
:06:13. > :06:15.really quickly because there could be an underlying condition
:06:16. > :06:18.like a head injury or a serious illness that is causing
:06:19. > :06:21.the patient to be unconscious so we have to prioritise those
:06:22. > :06:24.patients and clearly when it is just alcohol-related we do have other
:06:25. > :06:27.critical patients that we need to get to so we've managed it,
:06:28. > :06:31.But on the street, it was often challenging.
:06:32. > :06:32.Here, the paramedics' vehicle was flagged down
:06:33. > :06:52.And the paramedic called the police as well as treating the man.
:06:53. > :06:57.Londoners will continue to celebrate the build-up to Christmas,
:06:58. > :06:59.but the emergency services have to deal with the fallout
:07:00. > :07:07.Well, it's not only the ambulance service who are dealing
:07:08. > :07:11.The Metropolitan Police has released recordings of 999 calls they've
:07:12. > :07:15.received over the past year from Londoners not requiring
:07:16. > :07:27.They dealt with around 5 million 999 and 101 calls last year.
:07:28. > :07:31.And the number's rising - up 200,000 on last year.
:07:32. > :08:02.So the last thing the police need are calls like this.
:08:03. > :08:15.Somebody was concerned because there was a fox outside the house. Aside
:08:16. > :08:20.from the ones we put out, people phoning my operators at Christmas
:08:21. > :08:22.asking how to cook a turkey. They're stopping genuine calls getting
:08:23. > :08:23.through any genuine emergency and that is the message behind this
:08:24. > :08:34.campaign. The Met say just 220 Londoners
:08:35. > :08:49.were responsible for 66,000 improper What can you do? Is it a case of
:08:50. > :08:53.telling them not to ring again? Or did you say you will come round to
:08:54. > :08:57.knock on their adored if they do it again? My operators attain to give
:08:58. > :09:01.advice and we work with neighbouring teams across London. We had 25
:09:02. > :09:05.arrest this year, three of which have ended up with custodial
:09:06. > :09:07.sentences, the most recent a lady from Hackney was given a sentence at
:09:08. > :09:08.the beginning of December. The message is a clear one -
:09:09. > :09:11.work with us by not wasting our time Scotland Yard will trial the use
:09:12. > :09:21.of spit hoods across north east London despite plans to use
:09:22. > :09:23.the controversial hoods was halted after the election
:09:24. > :09:25.of Sadiq Khan as Mayor. It will now rollout the three-month
:09:26. > :09:29.pilot across five custody suites following consultations
:09:30. > :09:33.in the boroughs involved. The mesh masks cover a suspect's
:09:34. > :09:36.head and prevent violent offenders from spitting and biting officers,
:09:37. > :09:42.exposing them to the risk Another day, another strike
:09:43. > :09:47.on Southern Rail services and with no sign of an agreement
:09:48. > :09:50.on the horizon, commuters face a New Year with
:09:51. > :09:52.the same old disruption. So is it time for legislation to ban
:09:53. > :09:55.or at least limit industrial action? We'll discuss the issues
:09:56. > :09:57.in just a moment. First this from our transport
:09:58. > :10:00.correspondent Tom Edwards. The empty stations were proof
:10:01. > :10:02.of London's considerable January 1979 and there's
:10:03. > :10:13.a strike on Southern Rail. If that sounds familiar,
:10:14. > :10:15.so too will the commuter anger. It is merely hitting
:10:16. > :10:17.the wretched commuter They're putting up fares but not
:10:18. > :10:28.giving anything to us in return. We're a lot busier
:10:29. > :10:32.than we anticipated. Last week this was Brockley
:10:33. > :10:34.overground as another strike meant Londoners had to find other routes
:10:35. > :10:42.and now there's there a work to rule on the tube strikes
:10:43. > :10:44.on airlines and this was a communication worker's
:10:45. > :10:46.demonstration this morning. We're in a position now
:10:47. > :10:48.to convince the list --rest of the world,
:10:49. > :10:50.London post-Brexit is a place you want to set up your
:10:51. > :10:53.business and thrive. It's not going to help
:10:54. > :10:55.anybody if the image around the world is one of strikes,
:10:56. > :10:57.delays, not being able to go on trains, not
:10:58. > :11:00.being able to get on planes. In 1979, the winter of discontent
:11:01. > :11:04.left rubbish in the streets. Compared to 2015, the amount
:11:05. > :11:13.of action has increased this year but it is still a long way
:11:14. > :11:16.from the levels of the late '70s. If you actually look
:11:17. > :11:18.at the statistics, the number of days lost to strike action
:11:19. > :11:24.in 2016 was 300,000. Compare that to the winter
:11:25. > :11:28.of discontent in 1979 and it was 29 million,
:11:29. > :11:32.100 times worse. Despite what's happening this week,
:11:33. > :11:37.industrial relations are so much better is much harder for trade
:11:38. > :11:43.unions to go on strike. They have to ballot members,
:11:44. > :11:46.give them notice, and that's going to get tougher in the New Year
:11:47. > :11:49.with legislation coming in so that The Government says these strikes
:11:50. > :11:53.show contempt for ordinary people. Unions say the dispute uncoordinated
:11:54. > :12:10.but there is widespread discontent. Joining me is the Conservative MP
:12:11. > :12:18.for Croydon South and a representative from the RMT union.
:12:19. > :12:21.You save Southern strike action is all about safety, but this system
:12:22. > :12:28.has been widely used since the 1980s on trains. Why are you now saying
:12:29. > :12:33.it's not safe? It has only spread out to 30% of the old British
:12:34. > :12:38.Railways. It is fraught with problems and danger. It isn't about
:12:39. > :12:43.passenger safety, though, is it? It's about job security. It isn't,
:12:44. > :12:46.job security has been offered. But you've lost anyway because it has
:12:47. > :12:53.been ruled out on Southern trains so why are you continuing to strike?
:12:54. > :12:56.We're trying to stop the erosion of safety on the railways. We are
:12:57. > :13:01.saying it is not safe and enough is enough. Broadly speaking, the
:13:02. > :13:07.travelling public on Southern support us. I disagree, there is no
:13:08. > :13:11.evidence there is a safety issue. 1.5 million trains in the last five
:13:12. > :13:15.years have operated bus driver operated doors. There hasn't been a
:13:16. > :13:18.single fatality. The only single fatality in the last five years
:13:19. > :13:24.across 5 million journeys was where the guard was operating the door.
:13:25. > :13:27.Most of continental Europe works with driver operated doors and
:13:28. > :13:32.Liverpool City Council yesterday voted to use driver operated doors
:13:33. > :13:36.on the rail line they control. This is a red herring, it's about
:13:37. > :13:39.industrial muscle. The RMT want to keep control of the guard pressing
:13:40. > :13:43.the button to open the door so in future if they go on strike, they
:13:44. > :13:56.can shut down the network and that is not acceptable. Nonsense. To
:13:57. > :14:02.trivialise this dispute as being about who presses a button shows a
:14:03. > :14:06.total lack of understanding. Chris and other conservative MPs in the
:14:07. > :14:09.South East have prolonged industrial action by the support for this
:14:10. > :14:14.basket case company. He's not representing the constituents, he is
:14:15. > :14:21.pursuing a political agenda and that is to bash her union. You say
:14:22. > :14:28.passengers are behind you, do you really believe that? Absolutely. I
:14:29. > :14:32.understand that upset and they are upset with the trade union, with the
:14:33. > :14:36.Government, with the management. Broadly speaking, they understand
:14:37. > :14:41.what the RMT are doing. These people are injured misery under this
:14:42. > :14:47.company and a half. For someone to come on TV and trivialise it about
:14:48. > :14:52.who presses a button is an absolute disgrace. I remember Parliament to
:14:53. > :14:55.treat his constituents with such content is incredible. Let's broaden
:14:56. > :15:01.out this message. Is legislation something you are looking to go
:15:02. > :15:07.down? Yes, and it is the units are inflicting the misery. On the
:15:08. > :15:12.question of legislation, what we've seen in the last few weeks is a few
:15:13. > :15:15.hundred guards and drivers preventing 300,000 people from
:15:16. > :15:19.getting to work on getting home to see their loved ones. I accept the
:15:20. > :15:22.right to strike and I understand if workers think they are unfairly
:15:23. > :15:25.treated should have that right, but the right to strike should be
:15:26. > :15:29.balanced with the right of the public to get to work and see their
:15:30. > :15:38.family. The only problem with that as it is with Spain and Italy, it
:15:39. > :15:41.becomes something that doesn't even affect the service. If there's a
:15:42. > :15:44.strike on public infrastructure, it should be proportionate and
:15:45. > :15:50.reasonable in the High Court should adjudicate that. In Canada, only 50%
:15:51. > :15:53.of the network can get shut down so I accept the right to strike but I
:15:54. > :15:56.also want to defend the right of my neighbours and constituents to get
:15:57. > :16:02.to work and see their loved ones. That balance is iffy thing and even
:16:03. > :16:07.a Labour MP said yesterday that the unions have pushed us too far. I
:16:08. > :16:10.honestly believe the travelling public support and understand the
:16:11. > :16:14.reasons why we want to keep the railways safe will stop I think it
:16:15. > :16:17.is Chris that is not listening to his constituents and perhaps at some
:16:18. > :16:19.point you will have to start listening to them because the
:16:20. > :16:21.realism of an election is coming at some point and it'll give them
:16:22. > :16:28.something to think about. London schools could be facing
:16:29. > :16:31.bigger class sizes and fewer That's according to the out-going
:16:32. > :16:35.chief inspector of schools. Sir Michael Wilshaw leaves office
:16:36. > :16:38.next week after five years. to prevent vulnerable pupils
:16:39. > :16:40.being exposed to radicalisation. Our education reporter Marc Ashdown
:16:41. > :16:52.has been speaking to him. "Ofsted rates the school as",
:16:53. > :16:55.one phrase which can make or break For five years, Sir Michael Wilshaw
:16:56. > :17:01.has been at the helm. London schools he says are the best
:17:02. > :17:04.year ever but a new funding formula I think it's going
:17:05. > :17:07.to be more difficult. There's no question any
:17:08. > :17:12.funding cut or any funding It might mean larger classes,
:17:13. > :17:19.it might mean there will be it might mean that schools might not
:17:20. > :17:30.be able to appoint support staff in the numbers they were previously
:17:31. > :17:33.doing, but these things happen and it's really up to head
:17:34. > :17:36.teachers and governors to accommodate their staff and
:17:37. > :17:45.requirements to meet any shortfall. For most of his tenure, Michael Gove
:17:46. > :17:47.was Education Secretary. To say he was controversial
:17:48. > :17:49.is an understatement. I didn't agree with him
:17:50. > :17:56.on everything but his was the questions that have to be
:17:57. > :17:58.asked are, is giving more power to people
:17:59. > :18:01.on the front line a good thing? Was the examination system not
:18:02. > :18:06.competing with the world? Yes, yes, it wasn't competing,
:18:07. > :18:09.so we address those issues and somebody had to do that
:18:10. > :18:12.and he did it and occasionally, problems were poured upon him,
:18:13. > :18:14.but I supported him He cites the Trojan horse affair
:18:15. > :18:32.as his biggest challenge. Possible plots to radicalise
:18:33. > :18:34.schools, partly focused One of the great dangers of autonomy
:18:35. > :18:38.in some of the schools, most of the schools were talking
:18:39. > :18:43.about, the Trojan horse Those governors did what they did
:18:44. > :18:50.partly because they realised that there wasn't sufficient
:18:51. > :18:53.scrutiny taking place. The local authority had
:18:54. > :18:57.washed its hands of these schools They felt they could bring
:18:58. > :19:06.in their own particular ideologies and I think we've got to learn
:19:07. > :19:12.from that, that all schools, whether academies
:19:13. > :19:13.or free schools, need We don't do enough to promote good
:19:14. > :19:18.leadership in the country. I'm sad at the demise
:19:19. > :19:21.of the National College of School Leadership,
:19:22. > :19:23.which was Tony Blair's idea, How do we get great leaders
:19:24. > :19:30.into unfashionable places? That's going to be the big
:19:31. > :19:33.challenge over the next few years, particularly
:19:34. > :19:34.with diminishing budgets. Do you think it has been
:19:35. > :19:41.an astounding performance? That's rather astute
:19:42. > :19:52.to make a judgment. I've challenge the education
:19:53. > :19:54.system in this country That has caused trouble from time
:19:55. > :19:58.to time and I have spoken out from time to time and I challenged
:19:59. > :20:00.the Government from time to time but lovely people,
:20:01. > :20:03.when they look back at my time in office, will say,
:20:04. > :20:11.he was in it for the right reason, Greenwich Park, Buckingham Palace,
:20:12. > :20:15.the Tower of London - all protected because of the special
:20:16. > :20:18.contribution they make to London, but now some lesser-known sites have
:20:19. > :20:20.also been given similar protection One in particular is a small patch
:20:21. > :20:33.of land in south east London. Our reporter Thomas Magill has
:20:34. > :20:43.been to find out why. It may look like an ordinary patch
:20:44. > :20:50.of green space but this little hill is anything but. In fact, it's a
:20:51. > :21:00.4000 year old burial ground now -- known as a barrow. It could have
:21:01. > :21:02.been twice the height it was now. Historic England have decided to
:21:03. > :21:09.give this ancient burial spot special status, meaning protection
:21:10. > :21:12.from development for ever. Its significance isn't immediately
:21:13. > :21:17.apparent, for those walking past it today, it is the movie welcome.
:21:18. > :21:23.There is no door to get inside so it's got to be something. It's
:21:24. > :21:29.history. I think we have to protect it. I'm really surprised, I thought
:21:30. > :21:33.it was just a random patch of land! This year alone, over 1000 sites
:21:34. > :21:38.have been given protected status, this being one of many in London and
:21:39. > :21:42.it's significant because it is the last barrow support from a group of
:21:43. > :21:47.six in this area. The others were all destroyed to make way for these
:21:48. > :21:50.homes. That's not uncommon. Many similar sites have been lost in
:21:51. > :21:57.London over the centuries as it drew and expanded -- grew, and that is a
:21:58. > :22:01.concern for experts to see places like this can tell is vast amounts
:22:02. > :22:08.about the way we lived in the past. It's like a pyramid and it is
:22:09. > :22:11.positioned at one of the highest points in London which means it was
:22:12. > :22:17.probably the Bronze Age equivalent of the Shard and it would have been
:22:18. > :22:21.the best vantage point. This war memorial dedicated to over 2000 city
:22:22. > :22:27.employees at the church of Saint Michael also made the list. As for
:22:28. > :22:28.shrews barrow, now safe, but who and what lies beneath is yet to be
:22:29. > :22:33.discovered. It's that time of year for eating
:22:34. > :22:36.too much and enjoying In London, there are hundreds
:22:37. > :22:42.of restaurants offering a special But, as our reporter Victoria Cook
:22:43. > :22:45.has been finding out, there are some places slightly more
:22:46. > :22:49.unusual than others. You know, I think it's
:22:50. > :22:57.time to find something First stop, a special
:22:58. > :23:03.school dinner for wizards. This is Christmas dinner
:23:04. > :23:06.here at Hogwarts in the Great Hall. Quite a few people have got dressed
:23:07. > :23:16.up for the occasion. And, of course, the
:23:17. > :23:24.dreaded Death Eaters. I've come all the way from Canada
:23:25. > :23:27.just for the Harry Potter dinner. The chance to have dinner
:23:28. > :23:30.in the Great Hall feels like you're re-enacting those parts
:23:31. > :23:31.of the movies. It's a present from our
:23:32. > :23:33.parents for Christmas. Well, this is my next
:23:34. > :23:51.stop in Old Street. Inside, it's a seven-course
:23:52. > :23:53.Nordic yule feat. I'm not sure I have much room
:23:54. > :24:00.after visiting Hogwarts. It's a Scandinavian
:24:01. > :24:03.winter wonderland. All this pops up for Christmas
:24:04. > :24:07.and then disappears again. We didn't want to go
:24:08. > :24:16.for a traditional Christmas-cracker lunch, we wanted to do
:24:17. > :24:18.something different. I've tried everything and I'm
:24:19. > :24:30.so full, but I think I have got room This is my final stop ?
:24:31. > :24:41.Christmas dinner on the Tube. This disused carriage
:24:42. > :24:44.sits in Walthamstow, a four-course meal on board is ?75,
:24:45. > :24:48.but they don't take Oyster cards. We're used to being
:24:49. > :24:50.on the underground, but it's nice I've eaten on trains that move,
:24:51. > :24:57.but not on one standing still! To eat in a Tube carriage,
:24:58. > :25:00.it doesn't get much Well, I never thought I'd get
:25:01. > :25:08.to eat Christmas dinner I am completely full
:25:09. > :25:15.and definitely can't walk. The good news is, I'm on the Tube,
:25:16. > :25:19.so I'm going to see if the driver Let's get a check on the weather
:25:20. > :25:43.with Elizabeth Rizzini. Another grey, gloomy start to the
:25:44. > :25:59.day. My favourite picture is this one of the market. A lot of mist and
:26:00. > :26:04.rain around today. The rest of the week will be unsettled. We have a
:26:05. > :26:07.strengthening jet stream and it will turn wet and windy at times but
:26:08. > :26:11.tomorrow is the nicest day of the next few. Try and break with
:26:12. > :26:14.sunshine around and after that it turns unsettled and windy as we head
:26:15. > :26:17.towards the end of the week and there will be some outbreaks of
:26:18. > :26:22.rain, fluctuating between mild and cooler weather, but will it be a
:26:23. > :26:29.white Christmas in London? Unlikely, but it is possible, so keep an eye
:26:30. > :26:33.on the National forecast for other part of the country. This room
:26:34. > :26:36.wasn't amounting to much at all and is clearing overnight tonight. We
:26:37. > :26:42.will see clear spells develop even there. Whatever patches of fog
:26:43. > :26:47.possibly and even some frost into tomorrow -- watch out for patches of
:26:48. > :26:53.fog. Lows of four or five Celsius. Into tomorrow, we lose the grey
:26:54. > :26:59.weather and it should brighten up and we will see sunshine he learned
:27:00. > :27:03.there, the nicest day of the next few, we are looking at temperatures
:27:04. > :27:08.between six and eight Celsius. On Wednesday, it will turn milder and
:27:09. > :27:16.it will be quite drab again. I think we'll see Opec 's of rain here. A
:27:17. > :27:17.mishmash of weather. Christmas Eve is looking blustery and there could
:27:18. > :27:19.be showers at times. Now the main headlines:
:27:20. > :27:22.Russia's Ambassador to Turkey has been shot and killed in an attack
:27:23. > :27:24.at an art exhibition A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
:27:25. > :27:33.said Andrei Karlov died of his wounds after he was attacked
:27:34. > :27:37.while making a speech at a gallery. The UN Security Council has approved
:27:38. > :27:39.the deployment of observers to Aleppo as thousands of people
:27:40. > :27:41.are evacuated from We'll be back later during the ten
:27:42. > :27:45.o clock news, but for now, from everyone on the team,
:27:46. > :27:48.have a lovely evening.