21/12/2016 London News

The Prime Minister says she'll tackle homelessness in the capital,

What I am announcing today is the start of an ambitious

programme which is actually putting prevention at the heart

But critics say it's simply not enough to help solve

Proposals for a register of drone owners and a flying

test after concerns about how they're used.

Plus - we take you back in time to the house Charles Dickens lived

in and the inspiration for A christmas Carol.

We're at home with Jools Holland - talking about his passion for piano.

Welcome to the programme, with me, Riz Lateef.

She's labelled it an "ambitious" plan to tackle homelessness.

Today the Prime Minister Theresa May was in south London to promote

a ?20 million cash boost to prevent rough sleeping.

The money will be shared by projects in 19 boroughs around the capital.

But critics say much more is needed to solve the ongoing housing

Recently I was actually thinking about suicide.

And it was the hardest thing in my life.

Leighton began his career in the Army and went on to become

one of the country's top gastro chefs, but earlier this year things

changed and he found himself living on the streets.

After being refused help by three different councils,

he approached the Armed Forces charity SSAFA.

They found him temporary accommodation at this hospital in

East London. -- hostel. It felt like I had won the lottery. I then

realised I could start to rebuild my life. The hardest it is the first

step. Like him, these former rough sleepers in Peckham have also taken

that first step, they are being trained with new skills which they

got to show off to the Prime Minister today. During her visit,

Theresa May also announced ?20 million for projects to tackle

homelessness and the capital. This is the start on an ambitious

programme that I am announcing which will put prevention at the heart of

tackling homelessness. This is important, we want to make sure that

people do not become homeless in the first place and here at Thames

Beach, the work that they do is so important in helping people get

skills, get a place in work so that they can move on. The money pledged

will be spent on dozens of different initiatives across London, including

almost ?400,000 for the employment academy in Suffolk and help people

find work and put them in contact with employers. The North London

Housing partnership covers sex parlours, they will get nearly

?100,000 to pay for seven specialised staff to help those with

addiction and unemployment issues. ?414,000 will be shared to develop

no first night out programme aimed at people stopping rough sleeping in

the first place. -- six hours. This is something that is very

challenging in London and that is evident when you think that some

homeless people, especially single men can sometimes have to wait up to

20 years for a permanent home. Everyone did tackle homelessness we

have to get people into genuinely affordable homes, where they can

have some stability. Social housing is only to do that and certainly

London just does not have enough. We can also make more use of the

private rented sector and again, rents in London are so unaffordable

that people just cannot afford the home out there and available for

them. Leighton has a long journey ahead of him but getting off on the

streets had enabled him to start rebuilding his life again. It is

hoped this funding will help those like him do the same.

In the run-up to Christmas, the Prime Minister isn't the only

one talking about how to tackle homelessness...

That is correct, yesterday de Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, visited a

women's shelter in Marylebone and announced ?50 million that will go

into building housing to help tackle homelessness and the idea is that

this money is used to build around 1000 properties and get people out

of temporary accommodation and hostels and refugees and break that

cycle of homelessness because what it does is give them back their

independence and makes sure that they can start having a long-term

living arrangement, which a lot of charities have said does help to

tackle it in the long term. So, this money should really make a

significant difference, charities are telling us they need more

housing in London, rents are too high, it is very difficult for

people to fall back on their feet once they become homeless, so this

is really about creating more housing and that ultimately, is what

will help solve the housing crisis and homelessness problem in London.

Thank you very much for that, Emilia.

We'll reveal the Mayor's new minimum salary for London's bus drivers.

People who buy a drone could have to register it and even take a test

to prove they can fly it safely in future.

The new rules are being proposed by the Government after concerns

about how some drones are being used.

In the past year, there've been a reported 56 near misses involving

airliners in the UK - most of them in the

Flying beneath the streets of London, the BBC used this drawn to

give you a unique tour of Crossrail's new tunnels. Look at

this bird's eye view of the city, whoever set up this Braun has broken

the rules and has growing concern that some are not being used safely.

If people do not use drones safely and follow the rules and regulations

in place, that is a safety issue firstly, but it could also affect

the long-term future of drones. That would be bad news for many who are

hoping their technology offers exciting new business opportunities.

Earlier this month Amazon made its first delivery by drone. There has

also been a growing number of headlines like this. There have been

56 near misses with airliners in the UK within the last year. This is

what the prison service is now up against, drugs and mobile phones

delivered direct by drone to a Wandsworth jail cell. There are

plenty of rules already about flying one of these, you cannot get too

close to buildings or people, but while professional users have to

register with the Civil Aviation Authority, anyone else can buy one

and start flying. The government is consulting on regulations which

would mean new drones would have to be registered. Users would have to

pass a David Guest, like the one for drivers, and there would be tougher

penalties for using drones in no-fly zones. Some experienced donors

believe the rules are already too complex. We have regulations, as

they put them in place and are too complicated, they will scare people

off and you will deny that future industry this pool of talent that we

need. At this central London store, drones are topping the Christmas

gift list. Maplin has said it has sold over ?1 million work in the

last two months. So what the customers make of the tightening of

rules? I think that some sort of training is necessary, I think a

test might be too much. Drones have been used to capture some

spectacular projects, remember the poppies commemorating World War I at

Buckingham Palace? The Government believes this A-listed could be

worth billions in the next few years but only if it is done safely.

An American internet star claims he was removed from a flight

at Heathrow Airport for speaking Arabic.

We spot a different language on the plane and now we're getting checked

out. Now we are getting kicked out. -- we spoke.

Adam Saleh, who has more than three million YouTube followers,

claimed he was making a phone call to his mother, who

He says he was asked to leave because other passengers

Delta Airlines says it's conducting a full review of the incident.

A gang of four men have been jailed for exploding several cash

machines in the capital, during a month-long robbery spree.

The gang stole ?125,000 from ATMs by pumping a flammable gas

The men were sentenced to more than 40 years in prison

Scotland Yard has brought forward extra security measures

for the "Changing the Guard" ceremony at Buckingham Palace

We can join Emma North who's got more on this.

So, Emma, are these restrictions are being introduced

Yes, they are. Today has been a day of gestures, public and private.

Public, we saw the roads around Buckingham Palace close to send out

a message to Londoners and visitors to the city that when something

happens in Berlin as happened a few days ago, London will take it

security seriously therefore an step up immediately after. The private

gesture, that happened that the German ambassador's house today. A

book of condolence was open for the victims of the Berlin attack. First

in the queue was a Danish ambassador to explain why he wanted to. On the

sad occasion of the loss of 12 lives and many wounded people on such a

festive occasion, we can only regret that yet another time we have had

terror attacks on innocent civilians on European ground. Well, I am

joined by Chris Phillips, he used to be head of a national

counterterrorism security office. There is a balance that must be

struck between giving Londoners safe but also keeping London moving. Yes,

there is no doubt that the London and the UK is one of the safest

cities in the world and has been for many years because we foresaw these

kinds of attacks many years ago. What do you then do to ensure that

our city moves, what can be seen or not see on our streets which keeps

us safe? There is a great deal of work that has gone into the

infrastructure of the city over the years, which goes a long way to

protecting crowded places from terrorist attacks. So things than

the normal street scene that you would not necessarily notice which

are barriers and blockers are actually there to protect you. Such

as? Bus stops and cycle holding areas, even actual barriers and

blockers. You will see them across London. Outside MI5 now, inside, how

much communication is taking place with authorities there and the

people trying to track down the attacker in Berlin? Massive, it

would be unusual if there is not some UK Link to this attack. The

people in this building are doing a great job of keeping us safe and

they will have incredible intelligence options open to them.

They will be linking together with the Germans and across Europe to

make sure that these people hopefully are brought to justice as

quickly as possible. Close links now, what will happen when the UK

Bees the European Union? Very little. Terrorism is the friend of

mine once all those links will continue. We have bullied

intelligence and we have often given that intelligence to Europe. Thank

you very much. The terrorism threat in the UK is still at Severe. The

second highest level that it can be. If you are out and about in London

around Christmas and New Year, do expect it heightened presence by the

security service and indeed by the police. Thank you very much for

that, Emma. The first black bishop in 20

years has been appointed Reverend Prebendary Karowei Dorgu

will become the Bishop He becomes only the second black

or Asian bishop in England. Martin Bashir has been looking

at why there is such a lack of ethnic minority clergy making it

to senior levels in The Reverend Tunde Roberts has been

leading a growing and diverse congregation for the last 17 years

and cannot understand why ethnic minorities can fill the pews

and pulpits of the Church of England What is it about being

a bishop that we cannot do? The appointment of Karowei Dorgu

yesterday as Bishop of Woolwich does Of 41 dioceses, there is only one

black bishop, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York,

and he is one of just five senior black Asian and minority ethnic

clergy in the entire I do not believe that the Church

respects and embraces Rose Hudson-Wilkin has been chaplain

to the Speaker of the House I am absolutely excited

for my brother, Karowei, he is a wonderful human

being and a really And doesn't that prove

that the Church of England When you describe the Church as not

respecting people of colour, of being visible and invisible,

are you not describing the essential It is a heavy burden, it is really

a heavy burden to say that, because that is the church that

I belong to, that is The growth of ethnically diverse

churches means they are unlikely to be so patient if forced to wait

20 more years for It was something Sadiq Khan was keen

to point our during the mayoral election campaign -

that he was the son of a bus driver. Well, today, he tackled

the issue of drivers' pay. For years the amount

they were paid depended The Mayor's introducing

a new minimum starting salary. With the details,

here's our transport It led to strikes and, as an issue,

it incensed bus drivers At the moment, different

bus companies can pay Today, though, the Mayor said

he was taking the first steps in introducing a minimum wage

of ?23,000 a year. In future, Transport for London

will only accept contracts from bus companies where they will provide

a minimum salary level So essentially, we are stopping

that race to the bottom, and making sure that

all of our drivers have a decent At the moment, pay for

bus drivers can vary. The minimum can be ?17,000 a year,

the maximum ?28,000. The argument had been that different

routes had different requirements Now, from April, all new bus

contracts will have the minimum The unions say the deal

is ground-breaking. This is a great example of what can

happen when unions are allowed to talk to employers

and progressive politicians. We can work something out

for the benefit of everyone. It's a win-win situation

for the passengers as well. Critics say in the end the taxpayer

will subsidise these changes City Hall, though, says the bus

companies will bear that, and it means the capital's bus

drivers are treated fairly. Stay with us because

still to come... I am at the Trinity Centre but this

man, Jools Holland talking about his love of the piano and tinkling the

ivories! There has been a treat for the youngsters at Whipps Cross

University Hospital this afternoon with Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris and his team-mates handing out presence. -- presents.

It's a classic Christmas tale - a heart-warming story

of the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge.

A Christmas Carol was first published 170 years ago.

Now, a version of Charles Dickens' book is being performed

And as Ayshea Buksh reports, the inspiration behind the novel

Man of the worldly mind, do you believe in me or not?

Many of us like to believe in the magic of Christmas.

Nowhere more so, perhaps, than here at the Charles Dickens Museum.

It is required of every man that the spirit within him must walk

48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury was where the author

and his family once lived, and enjoyed the festive

Charles Dickens himself enjoyed Christmas immensely,

he grew up in a family that celebrated it.

Even if they were going through one of their harder times,

they really enjoyed celebrating Christmas.

So he drew that into his own life as an adult, in his own family,

with his wife Catherine and their growing

So this was a very special day in the calendar for him.

In the lead up to Christmas the house is being decorated as it

And his most famous festive work, A Christmas Carol,

is being performed in each of the rooms.

But I'm here tonight to warn you there is yet a hope and a chance

When Dickens wrote the novel, there was a Victorian tradition

of reading ghost stories at Christmas, but the real

darkness was inspired by a Parliamentary report into child

He wrote A Christmas Carol in order to raise awareness

And many of its themes are still relevant today.

Dickens would recognise that there are still people

living in poverty today, and that there are a significant

number of social issues and challenges we have still,

that he was very passionate about, that he wrote about,

not only in his stories, but as an editor, as a journalist.

Many of the trimmings of a Dickens' Victorian Christmas

are still visible and the deeper moral questions of

Next - why one of the best goalkeepers in the world today

Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, who's also France's skipper,

was in north-east London spreading festive cheer among the children

We have brought you some presents. That is for you, for Christmas.

There was no safer pair of hands to trust Christmas presents to children

than those of the Hugo Lloris. He would not have been every London

fan's choice of number one. Who do you support? Arsenal. The

first corner of the game, brilliant save, Hugo Lloris! Hugo Lloris led

France to the runners-up spot at Euro 2016 and two for position for

taught them last season in the Premier League. But he looked back

on last season as one of success or missed opportunities? -- Tottenham.

We had a good run and I think the Spurs fans and the French fans would

be very proud of what we did the season. Looking ahead to 2017, you

look at the Premier League table, Chelsea, ten points clear of Totten

or RFID, realistically, if the title possible for taught in the season?

The title is not the main expectation from Tottenham. Then the

Premier League, it is very competitive but we are nearly there.

The gap is reducing every year. We're seeing a lot of your

team-mates signing new contracts recently, Canada and find expected

to do likewise soon? They would love that. We will see, I will try to do

my best in the meantime and achieve some great things and that is my

motivation every day. -- can they expect you to do likewise?

Tottenham fans hope that Hugo Lloris will spread festive cheer in London

for many years to come. Chris Slegg, BBC London years.

He's one of our best-loved musicians and many of us often see

Well, his long-running passion for the piano is now

Our entertainment correspondent Brenda Emmanus caught up

Jools Holland plays an impressive duet with actor Hugh Laurie,

for decades he has been a champion of a broad range of music

and music stars through his long-running programme,

Later, and now his own musical offering to fans is an album

celebrating his passion for the piano.

Well, I think, and that's exactly the right way of looking at it,

you do fall in love and I think it's the only way to learn something

by really falling in love with it, and my grandmother had a piano

in her front room and I remember she used to lift the lid and outside

of the piano was all blackened and charred, where a bomb had

gone off in the war, but the inside, it was all...

She'd lift the lid and say, "Look at that, isn't it nice?"

And she used to play a little bit, and it was a Pianola,

but then then my uncle played the old...

And I thought, "That's great, I've got to learn that, what is that?"

The new album, simply called Piano, features a number of original

compositions as well as carefully selected pieces interpreting

the work of the piano artists and composers that Jools loves.

What it is is an insight into me, so I've realised, you know,

it's a bit like this is what I sound like.

You could like it, you could dislike it, it could make you dance,

it could make you not want to dance, but it doesn't really matter,

it's sort of getting to the root of what I am and what I've been sort

I've been invited to meet Jools at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire

The great thing about the piano is you can voice all sorts

of emotions through it, but dance is one of the things

I really like and the fact that this record was -

all of our records that we make are made here in sort

of Greenwich and Deptford - and the fact they were all here,

and I wanted to get their take on the piano music.

Earlier this year, the star played a surprise session

at St Pancras International Station on a piano donated

We wanted to get, like, different pianos in different

We've got some lovely beautiful concert grand pianos but also some

old bashed up pianos, because they can sound great too.

And I'm not saying Elton's is a bashed up piano

at St Pancras Station, but I thought the ambience

of the station might be great to record.

Well, with the party season coming, how is this for a great double act?

Not bad at all, I could listen to him for ages!

OK, let's get a check on the weather now and Louise Lear has joined us...

Some stormy weather on the way but not for the London area. It has been

one of those grey, dull, dab, dreary days. More sunshine coming tomorrow

but rain on its way from this weather front. The stormy weather

has been to the North West, we have seen hail, thunder, even at lower

levels here, but for the London area, the ring will arrive this

evening. Some heavy for a time South of the Thames, it moves away quickly

and with clear skies we could see some patchy fog forming, perhaps

some frost. It will be a chilly night and a chilly start tomorrow

morning as temperatures in the North West could fall close to freezing.

Yes, it is a chilly start, murky as well but spells of sunshine to look

forward to tomorrow. Overall, not a bad day, be patient, the fog will

lift and we will see a decent day, fair weather cloudy developing

perhaps for the afternoon, but overall not looking too bad. I is

fresher than the last few days at six or 8 degrees. Hopefully the

sunshine will compensate. I am sure you have heard on the news and the

weather, Storm Barbra is moving in from the North West, the second

named storm of the winter season and it will affect Scotland and Northern

Ireland. I know many of us from the capital will be travelling up to see

friends and family, just to get up to 70, 80, even 90 mph. Any Saudis,

a straightforward day on Friday. Dry some sunshine coming through, more

cloud around and perhaps slightly breezy, but nevertheless, not too

bad at all. As we head towards the Christmas period and a Christmas

weekend, Christmas Eve looks pretty straightforward. If you are going to

be out and about, walking with the dogs, walking off some of the XS,

eight or 9 degrees and Christmas Day looks promising to, it will be dry

for all of us, more cloud around, windy but mild.

Thank you for that, Louise Lear. A Europe-wide manhunt is underway

for a new suspect in connection with the lorry attack on a Christmas

market in Berlin. German prosecutors named him

as 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri and warned that he could be

armed and dangerous. The medical director of the NHS

in England has defended proposals to radically change how health

services are delivered in England. The plans could result in some

A and ward closures. The Prime Minister has launched

what she calls an "ambitious" plan to tackle homelessness

in the capital. The ?20 million pledge

will be shared by projects And that's it for now,

thanks for joining us. There's more from me later

during the Ten O'Clock News. Plenty more on our website or join

the conversation on Facebook. The roads we walk have demons

beneath them... ..and yours have been waiting

for a very long time. What is this? We can't do this.

Is this supposed to be a game? I thought this was some

kind of... What? ..trick. Of course it's not a trick.

It's a plan. What's the very worst thing

you can do... Celebrating 20 years of one of

Britain's best-loved comedians,