05/01/2017 London News

The new woman in charge of the capital's Fire Service says

we need to be more prepared in the event of a chemical attack.

I think that chemical attack is a really big threat because it's

a kind of unseen one, it's something you can do

with a relatively small amount of chemical if you can find

Accused of not being in the same universe.

The bitter dispute between Southern and unions escalates,

We look at what impact Brexit could have on London's hotels

and restaurants who rely heavily on EU workers.

We can't get British people at the moment that want to do

an awful lot of the roles in the hotels.

And with the help of his guidedog, we get a glimpse of the challenges

Good evening, welcome to the programme, with me, Riz Lateef.

London's new Fire Commissioner says she's hugely concerned

about the prospect of terrorists carrying out a chemical

The Government's issued a stark warning, saying so-called

Islamic State is plotting mass-casualty assaults

In her first TV interview since taking the top job,

Dany Cotton says we all need to be prepared in the event

Here's our home affairs correspondent Nick Beake.

Training in Greenwich today for the firefighters from blue watch. And

watching them, their new boss. Dany Cotton is the first woman to lead

the London Fire Brigade in its 150 year history. And she told us

preparing for a new threat, chemical attack by terrorists, is a top

priority. Huge concern. I think chemical attack is a really big

threat because it's kind of unseen and something you can do with a

relatively small amount of chemical if you can find the means to

disperse it, so it's ensuring we are ready nationally to respond to that

and respond quickly and be able to go there, and if people have been

contaminated, to be able to deal with that and process it quickly.

This week, the security minister said IS militants aspire to use

chemicals in an attack and London's new fire chief says the public

should be aware of that. The natural reaction would be to run away and go

somewhere else but that just spreads it, which is what the terrorists

want. It is very important the people stay where they are, stay

contained and allow the emergency services to deal with the situation.

Today's exercise is very much a standard role but in the coming

months, more training will be specialised and geared towards

dealing with a terrorist attack on her watch. But it is worth

remembering the terror threat level in the UK has stayed the same for

the past two and half years. Time is certainly have changed, though, from

when Dany Cotton first walked through these doors at Wimbledon

fire station as a teenager back in 1988. This is where I would come at

the end of my shift to hang my Fire kit up. The smell and here brings

facsimile memories. A slightly smoky smell. The kit I wore was very

different to this. This is very modern and designed for fire safety.

Mine was made of wool and plastic! This is the dormitory are used to

sleep in! This is where I slept, my bed, in my first year with the Fire

Service. You pulled the bed down out of the wall. I was next to a guy

here who snored chronically! Not much fun! Although it has increased

from when she started, today, only 7% of London firefighters are women.

Dany Cotton hopes her appointment can encourage more to apply, along

with recruits from underrepresented backgrounds. And if the Metropolitan

Police appoints its first female commissioner next month, it will

mean women are running all three of the capital's emergency services.

Let's pick up on some of the points raised with Louise. As we heard, the

terror threat level hasn't changed. It definitely hasn't and it's

extremely important that we highlight this is highly unlikely, a

chemical attack, the capital has to be prepared for any terrorist

attack. We've seen exercises in the past where police and security

services have carried out operations to deal with lone gunman, like we

saw in Paris and Berlin. Interestingly, the last big

exercise, training exercise, was more than 13 years ago in 2003.

There was a chemical training exercise around Bank cue station.

You can see the crews got the chance to test equipment. It's important so

they know what to do in case in the unlikely circumstances this

happened. IS say they want mass casualties and we've seen them used

chemical warfare in Iraq and Syria before. It's been pointed out there

is more proof Islamic State has ambitions of using more chemical

attacks or something like that after a soul was dismantled in Morocco.

They actually found toxic chemicals and biological substances which

could have caused great damage. We've also been talking to a

chemical weapons expert, who said the government is right to be

concerned. We know that Daesh,

the Islamic State, are training their people to use chemical

weapons, they are recruiting scientists to develop biological

weapons in Syria and Iraq, and that the UK is a key

threat target for them. I think the Commissioner's

absolutely right. We must take our head out

of the sand and discuss this so people are aware that it's

a possible threat. Like any threat, with the right

mitigation, you can reduce that. And I think that's the key. A lot of

people are saying the public has to be educated into what to do if there

was a chemical attack. This is what he said. Don't disperse. What we

found in Syria was that the biggest issues are contamination, spreading

contamination and creating more casualties, and then detecting what

that weapon is, and from the biological perspective, the last

thing we want is people spreading biological weapons around London

when actually all the biological weapons we know of and we expect

terrorists might use are readily treatable. I think realistically,

what you can conclude is that we will be seeing more training

exercises in the capital in the future and there will be more

communication with the public. Thank you very much.

Another Londoner is nominated as a Bafta Rising Star.

I take a look at how the capital is churning out new acting talent.

Talks aimed at avoiding a strike by Tube staff over ticket office

closures have broken up without agreement.

Unions say there has been no significant progress and plans

for the strike on Sunday and Monday continue.

Transport for London said: Both sides are back at the conciliation

Any hope of next week's strike on Southern Railway being called off

One union says the two sides are "not in the same universe",

the offer of direct talks with the Transport Secretary.

It comes as the issue at the heart of the ongoing dispute,

driver-only trains, was declared safe by the rail safety watchdog.

Our political correspondent Karl Mercer reports.

This is what Victoria Station looks like on a normal day.

But next week, it looks like the stations that lead to it

will look more like this, with a three-day strike

in the ongoing row over plans to make drivers responsible

It seems any hope of a deal is gone, despite these words

We've sent a formal offer to Aslef that we believe can bring

an end to this dispute, and we're urging our members to talk

to their leaders to get them to accept this offer so we can bring

this dispute to an end for the sake of our passengers.

They may be optimistic, but listen to how far apart

We're not in the same universe currently.

The reality is that there's been no real move to address the fundamental

issues that are at the heart of the deal.

It's about the imposition of a system and breaking

of agreement that we feel is unsafe, and if everything is going to be

done by imposition in the future, then the reaction's always

The deadlock means there'll be strikes next week on Tuesday,

Wednesday and again on Friday, with Southern warning

More strikes will then follow in the last week of January -

again three days being targetted, again disrupting travel

Today, another twist in the dispute, too, with the organisation that

oversees safety on the railways saying Southern's plans

for driver-only operation would be safe if certain conditions were met.

It is safe as long as you have the right equipment,

competent staff and the correct processes and procedures and you've

done all the risk assessments of the platforms to ensure that,

if necessary, assistance is provided.

Also today, London's Mayor restated his desire to take over Southern.

He wouldn't, though, be drawn on the key issue in the dispute.

Would you say to the unions, if you were to take over Southern,

Well, we'll have to wait and see till we take over the lines.

I mean, once we take over the lines, should the Government see sense,

we'll look at the trains, talk to the trade unions.

Some of the suburban lines we run on London Overground,

It's a conversation you've got to have.

The most important thing is safety but you've got

For now, Southern passengers will have to plan once again

On that note, a reminder that the BBC is hosting a special

televised debate on that bitter dispute which has affected thousands

If you'd like to take part, please email your details,

including your story, to: [email protected].

More than 40 years since the murder of a 23-year-old woman

in Maida Vale, detectives are launching a fresh

Amala Ruth De Vere Whelan was found raped and strangled at her flat

The word "ripper" had been sprayed on her front room wall

There were no signs of forced entry so police believe she either

A London mother being held in Iran has appeared in court to appeal

Charity worker Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe is accused of plotting

Her husband says details of the charges have been kept secret

and claims his wife is being used as a bargaining chip

A decision on her case is expected at the end of the week.

It's been called the modern-day mental health "epidemic" -

families who have to cope when teenagers become dangerously

Increasingly, the NHS is sending young people hundreds of miles away

from home to receive the care they need.

Sarah Harris has been speaking to one family

in Hemel Hempstead whose daughter is being treated in Scotland.

So you can tell by the Benedict Cumberbatch.

Toys and posters - A typical teenager's bedroom

and a place where mum Kimberley comes to feel close to her daughter.

But Louise, not her real name, seen here as a child,

For the best part of a year, the 18-year-old from Hemel Hempstead

has been living in a specialist unit being treated for a severe

To the despair of her parents, that's nearly 400

It's something they say that distresses her, too,

She screams, she cries, she holds onto me.

And...when I leave, the doctors are standing there and the staff

are standing there saying, "We can't imagine

I went, "I wouldn't dream this on anybody".

Louise's parents say their daughter was a healthy and clever child

until she was around 16, when she first became hospitalised,

but they claim things only started to become critical

when she was moved so far away from home.

As a parent, it's heartbreaking because, as you can understand,

if your child's somewhere and it's an emergency and you get a phone

call, you can probably pop in your car and just drive there.

When your child is 400 miles away, it doesn't quite work like that.

Family and friends need to be close, it's part of the treatment and it's

The Government's own guidelines for treating complex mental health

disorders advises treatment close to family but experts say

Unfortunately, cases where individuals have to travel

hundreds of miles away for treatment is a frequent occurrence and we hear

All the evidence shows that family involvement is crucial for sustained

recovery and so it's very concerning when this takes place.

Getting ready to make her weekly trip up to Scotland

NHS England says they are working hard to eliminate distant

out-of-area placements but transformation

Kimberley is praying that that won't come too late

Join me and the guide dog to see how she is trying to end discrimination

against the blind. And after a frosty morning that saw

some of us start the day at minus four degrees, there are changes for

the weekend. We lose the chill but does that mean we lose the sunshine

as well? All the details later. All this week we've been looking

at what impact leaving the EU Tonight, we focus on one

of the biggest employers of low-skilled workers

in the capital - hospitality. Although there are high

hopes that a weak pound will boost visitor numbers,

there are concerns whether there Emma North has spent the day

at a hotel near Victoria reliant Once a year, London grabbed the

chance to tell the world what it has got to give. -- grabbed the chance.

This year, it drove the point home harder than ever.

Dipping cutlery in vinegar is a far cry from the fireworks but it's the

details that keep this city's reputation so polished. Assad is a

rarity in London's hospitality sector. He's British. When it comes

to his EU colleague, he has to work hard to catch up. They are really

fast at what they do and at the start I was left behind with the

rhythm of the team. I was quite slow. Hotels and restaurants here in

London rely heavily on EU labour. For example, six of the seven people

who work at this hotel come from mainland Europe. But come Brexit,

the rules which currently allow people to move around the EU freely

in order to find a job could well change, and this change could deeply

affect the hospitality sector. 11% of the London population are EU

migrants. Of them, 14 are classified as low skilled workers, such as

waiters. They currently don't have these restrictions but if we applied

the same rules to EU migrants as we currently do to people coming from

outside the European Union, then four out of five low skilled EU

workers might not qualify. Esther, who is from Hungary, may have a

Masters in psychotherapy but she is still classified as a low skilled

worker. I don't agree with this! I would say that I need skills to work

here. I think even as a maid, how I started, as a waitress, but even as

a manager now, you need the moral of working, your attitude. This hotel

is still owned by the same family that built it 150 years ago. If the

rules governing who is allowed to work here change, why not just hire

from a home-grown workforce? We can't get British people at the

moment. We've visited catering colleges, trying to make inroads

with schools, we have work placements, but despite that, after

four years of trying we have four! Attracting people in the first

place, tell me what we can do! But could Brexit be just the thing to

nurture a home-grown hospitality industry? Now, argues, is the sign

-- the time for Government to make its move. Invest in skills and this

industry to be the Open University, if you like, in terms of vocational

training. The city that welcomed thousands of foreign workers, but

now, who will do it in the future? Imagine trying to negotiate London's

streets and travelling on busy Well, one man from South East London

fitted his guide dog Kika, whom you can see here,

with a camera, to show the challenge Let's hear more, because Asad Ahmad

is with him at his home in Eltham. This is Kika, the impeccably behaved

guide dog, as you would imagine. She is the eyes for her companion, are

an -- her owner, Ahmed. Kika has a camera attached to her back to

expose discrimination. What kind of discrimination? We get barged about

on public transport, people think it's a game to push us closer to the

tracks will stand in our way, because she is a guide dog she can

walk around them, but it makes life a bit difficult. Of course it would

do, especially when you have your beautiful baby boy here. Let's go

into your living room, if Kika can take us here. It will surprise many

people because we are a nation of dog lovers. And especially guide

dogs. When you lost your site three years ago, were you surprised at the

reaction you got? Yes, we weren't expecting any issues whatsoever, so

coming across hurdles just on daily routes, it made journeys difficult.

I'm sure it did. I know Kika has been recording some of those

journeys on her back. Let's look at what she's filmed.

This is what travelling on London's public transport looks like from the

view of a guide dog. The camera is strapped to Kika's back but the

problems of being blind begin when people don't see or step in to help

Ahmed. This is that a train station in central London which was

temporarily closed. Ahmed is lost because he doesn't know what's going

on or where to go. Hello? Hello? The station staff say they were

looking the other way so didn't see Ahmed or his guide dog. The footage

suggests otherwise. Well, Network Rail say, we're always

keen to have feedback from our passengers, positive or otherwise,

and we work with our team to make sure people have a safe and journey.

Ahmed, that is an occasion, and not the only time you've experienced

discrimination? No, we had issues ordering taxis where we've been

stood on the corner waiting and I've driven past because they don't want

a dog in their cap. That would surprise a lot of people, as with

the fact that sometimes Londoners aren't as warm and friendly to Kika

as you might expect. Yeah, I had my baby in a chest harness and Kika was

on my left hand side and we had a Lady trying to barge her way up the

escalator, and when I commented to say, you know, give us a few minutes

to get to the top, she turned around and told me that because of my dog,

she's going to miss her train. When I explained its a guide dog, she

didn't want to know. You were a doctor before you lost your site and

you'd been married for 18 months. As well as all these difficulties you

are having to face, what would you say has been the most difficult

thing? The hardest thing is not being able to see my loved ones. I

think that's the one thing I struggled in. I've got my

independence back, I've got my motivation back, but the one thing

is I won't see him grow up. I would see the way he looks at me and

everything else. That's still a bit raw. Ahmed, thank you for speaking

to us. Some hope that Londoners will be a bit more mindful when they see

you and Kika. She is recording what she sees when she's out and about

and it's not there to catch people out but hopefully make people more

aware of the situation blind people face. And Kika uploads her videos

onto Twitter, if you believe! Take a look if you can.

Great to see you there and Kika's pictures. Thank you very much.

If you're a young actor on the cusp of global stardom,

And there've plenty of Londoners nominated

In fact, last year's winner was John Boyega, of Star Wars fame.

Among the nominees this year, a young man who may be

Tom Holland from Kingston upon Thames is the latest London are

nominated as a rising star. That was awesome! At Bafta HQ, the

announcement was made today by Noel Clarke, who won it in 1989. I truly

believe if I hadn't won it I would have been -- I wouldn't be standing

here now. -- won it in 2009. He's been acting and conscious to pay

back his success. I was given an opportunity in my younger days to

get into the business and I've always been aware of rising talent

and stars, so it's imperative we continue to support and push that

and I love this award massively because of that. James McAvoy was

the first to win it in 2006. But since then, it is London that has

added the sparkle to this award. Six out of the 11 winners have come from

the capital. Including last year's winner, John, who was born in

Peckham. You come to London and there is every possible person you

could dream of, every style, every look, every background. They're all

here so it's no wonder London provides so many of the rising star

nominees. And the winners. In 2011, Tom Hardy, most recently seen in The

Revenant, and this actor who has starred alongside Jennifer Aniston.

It's the only award that goes to public vote, so could it be lucky

Londoner number seven? Let's hope so! From Spiderman two

weatherman. What have you got? We've had some award-winning

weather! Lots of sunshine but at this time of year, sunny weather

often comes with chilly weather, and that was certainly the case. A

widespread frost this morning, as captured by our weather watcher

James. Many places have started at -5 minus four degrees, but after

that, cracking sunshine. I can't promise as much tomorrow. This cloud

will be moving in our direction from the West. With those clear skies,

though, temperatures are already plunging below freezing for tonight,

and it remains cold. A widespread frost. One difference is we will

have quite a lot of fog in places, with dense patches, so that could

cause a few problems for the morning commute tomorrow. So frost and fog

for tomorrow morning but then a decent day with sunny spells. Not

clear blue skies and unbroken sunshine, though. A quiet start

thanks to high pressure but these systems are waiting in the wings and

this will eventually bring some cloud and rain. So remember the fog

first thing and possibly icy stretches. That's how frosty it will

be. Spells of sunshine as we go through the day but more cloud in

the mix, with temperatures creeping up a bit as well. Six or 7 degrees.

If you are out and about tomorrow night, we will see the cloud and

rain spill in from the north and west. The rain will be patchy but

quite a damp, soggy affair, misty and murky in places. Overnight

temperatures will hold above freezing as we go into Saturday

morning, so a milder start. Maybe some mist around and as we go on

through the day, disappointingly cloudy sums things up. There could

be some brightness with the odd spot of rain but temperatures at nine or

10 degrees, so we'll have lost the sunshine and the chill as well. A

similar day on Sunday with a lot of cloud around. Some breaks and some

spells of sunshine and we stick with the milder feel to the weather. So

through the next few days, changes, chilly to start tomorrow but things

cloud over, and then through the weekend, milder conditions, and then

for Monday, well, you don't want to think about that yet, but wet and

windy weather on the way. Thank you, Ben.

Jill Saward, the first survivor of rape to wave her right

In 1986, she suffered a violent assault by two men during a burglary

at her father's vicarage in West London.

The number of new cars sold in the UK hit an all-time high in 2016.

The increase was mainly due to high demand from business customers.

But sales are expected to fall sharply this year.

London's new Fire Commissioner, Dany Cotton, says the public needs

to be more prepared in the event of a chemical attack.

The RMT union has accepted an offer from the Transport Secretary,

Chris Grayling, to discuss the long-running dispute

over operating train doors on Southern Rail.

That's it for now, so thanks for joining us.

Plenty more on our website, or join the conversation on Facebook.

We'll be back later during the ten o'clock news.

We're looking for someone who can sing, someone who can move.

Someone who can keep an audience on the edge of their seat.