24/03/2017 London News

As a fourth victim of the Westminster attack is named -

tributes are paid to the 75-year-old from Clapham.

Now I'm retired, he was the only person I could really talk to.

More details emerge of how lessons from 7/7 meant emergency services

It's the closest I would ever want to be to a warzone, it was chaos.

I need to be their rock, they calm me for help and we are

School's out for hundreds of pupils at a Harrow primary that's closed

Bringing a touch of Barcelona to London -

the Gaudi-inspired house created in Chiswick.

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

First tonight - tributes have been paid to the fourth victim

of the Westminster attack who died in hospital last night.

The 75-year-old from Clapham has been described

as "a good neighbour, a kind man who'll be sorely missed".

Friends have been speaking of their shock and sadness

to our reporter, Jim Wheble, who joins us from the estate

where Leslie Rhodes lived since he was a boy.

It's been a day where the news hasn't really sunk in as far as the

neighbours are concerned. It's that thing where people feel strange

about talking about someone in the past tense for the first time.

Today, that someone is Leslie Rhodes. And it's also been a day

where people have been trying to fathom out what are the chances of

this happening? He was at the hospital,

Saint Thomas's Hospital. That's why it's so unbelievable,

because for him to be there was unusual, because it was

a one-off appointment. It would have been a matter

of seconds, coming out of the entrance of Saint Thomas's,

walk across the road to the bus. So to be on that bridge at that

particular moment in time... Phil is talking about his

neighbour, Lesley Rhodes. The fourth victim of

Wednesday's attack. A single man in his 70s,

no family to speak of. But his death has created

an unexpected hole. He used to walk everywhere,

go out on his bike every day. It doesn't matter if it

was raining, snowing. Since he was a boy, Leslie Rhodes

had lived on this small estate by Clapham Common,

opposite his old friend, Bob. I moved here when I was ten

with my big family. My mum and dad, they came

here when I was ten. Him and his brother

and his mum and dad, yeah. When he finally packed up

working with his mate, he brought himself a bike and asked

I wanted to go with him. I was about is about 65,

I suppose, just retiring. You often saw him at two or three

o'clock in the afternoon coming down the stairs with his bike

on his shoulder. I miss him, because now I'm retired

he was the only person We used to, quite regular,

sit in the garden, and he was on the balcony

and talk to me. Barbaric, neighbour and friend of

Leslie Rhodes, speaking to us earlier. -- Bob Barrick.

Two days on, and stories are still emerging of how London's

emergency services helped to save lives after Wednesday's attack.

One firefighter has described the scence

Our Political Correspondent, Karl Mercer, has been hearing

how the speed of the response has been put down to lessons learned

It was the day they'd trained for, but had hoped would never happen. A

day when London's emergency services were truly tested. The true size of

what we're going to be dealing with was going through my head. I felt as

though I did a good thing. As always, with everyday.

Two days on, and a time for reflection and thanks. Thank you

very much for your hard work on Wednesday. Katy Brand met the mayor

this morning. On Wednesday she took one of the first emergency calls

from Westminster Bridge. I need to be their rock. They call

me for help. We're trained to handle those situations by keeping them

calm, specifically with that call as well, the person I spoke to the

phone was quite and upset. I used all my training, kept her calm.

London's ambulance deployed new specialist teams for the first time

on Wednesday, using lessons learned from the 7/7 attacks. These teams

were set up to counterattack a MTFA. They all have two with intensive

training with other emergency services as they start, then two

weeks specialist training every year. One crew is always near

Westminster. We did deploy specialist teams to

manage that type of incident. We have those teams on duty 24 seven.

Actually, they've proven their worth. Soho firefighter Mark Maclean

and his colleagues from Lambeth were among the first onto the bridge, a

gay meeting with the mayor this morning but with Wednesday's event

is still fresh in his mind. -- again meeting with the mayor this morning.

Leros on images that will stay with me. -- there are some images that

will stay with me, but I've done the best that I can do professionally to

make the situation better. His colleagues from the brigade's River

band team helped rescue a person who had fallen into the Thames from

Westminster Bridge. She was unresponsive in the water

and it was clear she had suffered serious injuries in the recent past.

The crew working on her were very busy and genuinely have their work

cut out. Lives were saved by London's

emergency services on Wednesday. The mayor today paid tribute to them.

The emergency services ran towards danger to help, whilst encouraging

others to run away. Day in, day out the Ambulance Services and emergency

services, including the police, worked their socks off. It is right

and proper that we say thank you to them on behalf of Londoners and

visitors. The mayor's final stop of the day

was at new Scotland Yard where he laid flowers. He knows London's

emergency services stepped up this week when the city needed the most.

As we know, people have been so moved by the bravery of

PC Keith Palmer who sacrificed his life in the line of duty

that hundreds of thousands of pounds has been raised to help the families

We've been speaking to a communications consultant

caught in the lockdown in Westminster,

And as Ayshea Buksh reports, he's not the only Muslim Londoner

who felt the need to do something or speak out.

This is what Mr Ahmed saw from his meeting room, minutes after the

Westminster attack, when he was finally allowed to go home after a

five hour lockdown he set up a fundraising website for the victims'

families. So far it's laced over ?20,000. The group describes who we

are, but our donations have come from everywhere. It happens to be a

Muslim-led campaign, but in its essence it is a multicultural

campaign. It is a bunch of people coming together and investing in the

idea of a shared, positive London that works for

that positive image of London is one this imam also wants to promote.

Last night he and other young Muslims from a mosque attended the

vigil in Trafalgar Square. Their aim was to spread a message of unity.

At a Londoner I wanted to show my solidarity and stand shoulder to

shoulder with other Londoners and sure what happened was completely

atrocious. It's not just because that is morally correct, but my

religion teaches me we need to be together at such moments.

That sentiment of not in my name was felt by this woman, after surviving

a 7/7 Underground bombing at King's Cross, she left her job in the City

to create a charity helping Muslim women tackle radicalisation.

We can't be defeated by this. We can't let this one lone attack

affect our lives and change our lives, whereby we live in fear. I

urge London and I urge the community here in London to come together, to

stand together, so that we can overcome this issue. Like we did 12

years ago. The people we've spoken to do not

claim to speak for the so-called Muslim community, and in London is

done is a diverse a religion as Londoners are. But what unites them

is that they are prepared to speak out and say that the extremism may

have seen this week in their city does not represent their values.

Now, we heard from 7/7 survivor Sajda Mughal there.

And on the same train as Sajda was Gill Hicks.

Unfortunately, the bombing meant she lost both of her legs.

She joins us now from her home in Adelaide via webcam.

Gill, very good to see you, and not just because it's around 5am. The

last time we spoke was on the tenth anniversary of the London bombings.

This attack must have brought back some difficult memories. Absolutely.

For the last ten or 11 years, I have completely devoted my life to

looking at how I can contribute to finding ways to bring people

together to indeed counter violent extremism. So the world now is not

unfamiliar to me, but, still, this is London. I think for anyone who's

ever been a part of London, you're always a Londoner inside. So for me,

this is still a big part of my identity of home. So absolutely it

hurts. What is wonderful to see, though, is the incredible

acknowledgement and praise for the emergency services. Because I'm

living proof, indeed, of their remarkable courage, dedication and

effort. And I must say that what they gave me indeed was not just

saving my life on that dreadful day in July 2005. They gave me a sense

of absolute unconditional love. That, I believe, has saved my life

every day since. Gill as someone who has had to deal with the physical

and emotional trauma, what is your message to anyone who was affected

by Wednesday's attack? I think, for me, I've had to learn that we can't

control the events that happen in life. But what we can control is how

we react and how we respond. I've had to learn that every day,

especially if I'm in pain or indeed all of the periods of great

inability that I'm still having to face, that I have two still make

choices. Those choices are of how can I react and respond to this

every single day. And I have to choose the path of humanity, and

what I'd been shown. My role models have been the emergency services.

And that's who I keep in my heart and in my mind - of how do I

continue day, after day, after day? Gill, I was at the vigil in

Trafalgar Square last night for the victims, as were thousands of other

people. And there was a message of unity and defiance. You understand

only too well that at the centre of this their grieving families whose

lives are changed forever. Absolutely. And it's so hard. The

game, I identify -- again, I identify with a real sense of anger.

As the years have gone by, I get angry myself. But it is how to use

as a positive motivator for change. That's her only power and force

against extremism. I refuse to allow the tools of fear, the desire of

terrorist organisations to want to divide our society. We can't fall

into that game. We have got to stand very strong together. On that

positive note, an inspirational message. Gill Hicks, we will leave

it there. Many thanks, good to speak to you. Thank you so much.

Listening to that was our Home Affairs Correspondent, Nick Beake.

This does of course bring back memories of 7/7.

Yeah, painful parallels. Back in 2005 we had the defining images of

the bus that had been bombed, people emerging from the Underground,

bloodied and bewildered. Just this week, I attack at Westminster Abbey

heart of Parliament. There are differences, though. Back in 2005 we

had people attacked on four different parts of the underground

network. Thousands of people were affected physically and mentally by

it. The attack this week was confined to Westminster, but the

impact for those involved is no less diminished. I think that also

reflects the way the terror threat has changed. 10-15 years ago, the

likes of Al-Qaeda were obsessed with blowing up planes. Now the so-called

Islamic State want to inspire people to pick up a knife and maybe get

into a car and carry out an atrocity in their name. Today as police

released an image of the attacker, this complicated investigation is

moving at speed? Absolutely. And at the heart of it is whether the

perpetrator was acting alone. It may have been a lone wolf attack at its

final stages, but was there someone who inspired him or encouraged him

in any way with yellow that is why we've heard from the Met police

today asking if anybody has any information. If they do, can they

please get in contact. You can see the number on the screen. They will

gratefully received any information. 11 people have been arrested so far.

This may have been an attack that struck our city, but the

investigation and its scope is now nationwide. Nick, thanks very much.

Turning to some of the day's other news,

and hundreds of pupils at a junior school in Pinner, North West London,

are not sure when they'll be able to go back to the classroom.

The reason is the school was evacuated after it was

discovered that it was sitting on a collapsing chalk mine.

This is where it started. A hole in the car park of a school. This might

look like a load of old gravel, but this was the first clue that there

was something going on under the school. When they couldn't fill the

hole in, they brought in geologists who discovered that there was a

chalk mine underneath the ground 20 metres below. There are three

tunnels running underneath the school with roof collapses. This is

the heaviest part of the building. Geologists don't know how close the

mine could be to collapsing. It could be anything from days, two

weeks, two months, or years. Even tens of years. The process can be

quick, or it can take a long time. The school was evacuated yesterday.

Today teachers are clearing up their classrooms. I have to say, it's been

a huge shock, really. In my career I've never known anything like this.

We've always prided ourselves here as an outstanding school, that we

really are a special place and that there is a real family feel about

Pinnar Wood School. This week we've seen that more than ever. We have

Kwame Daplyn strapline. Today it is Pinnar Wood Forever. -- we have

coined our own strapline. The costumes have found empty classrooms

in other schools, but some by two mile drive away. We all devastated.

We're gutted that we have to disband and give in to separate school. Is

massively disruptive for your home life, and it will be disruptive for

the education of the kids. We can get through one term without

damaging the school, but beyond that I think it will be harmful to the

kids and to the community as a whole. Can you guarantee that the

school will be back in one place by September? That's what I want to

happen. Obviously, you can never be sure. As leader of the council and

committed to making sure that we can do that, if we can. Now the children

have gone, the geologists will start work to find out what lies beneath

Pinnar Wood School. The community here hopes this site has not been

packed out for good. Football - and Tottenham

have moved a step closer to playing their home

games at Wembley. Chris Slegg is there

and can tell us more. It was at a lengthy and heated

meeting at Brent Civic Centre late last night, just after 10pm, the

local councillors granted permission for Tottenham to play 27 matches at

the full capacity of 90,000 seats at Wembley. Local residents shouted

down councillors at some points in that meeting. Not everyone is happy

with these plans. Tottenham say they need to move away for a year.

They're looking to play here because of course they're building a new

ground next to their existing white hart lane Stadium. They say for that

work to be completed, they have two move away. But they haven't

committed to being here next season. They have been given until March 31

by Wembley to tell them what they are going to do. But that deadline

could yet be extended. In light of this week's events, what is the

latest on security for England's World Cup qualifier on Sunday? You

may remember armed police were here when England played France just days

after the terror attacks in Paris in 2015. That was very different, that

was an attack on the stadium in France. The Met would be drawn on

specifics. They think they will have an appropriate presence here on

Sunday. -- the Met will not be drawn. When Billy say they will have

enhanced security and fans should live two arrived early. -- Wembley

say they will have enhanced security and fans should arrive early. Chris,

thank you. It probably hasn't

escaped your notice that it's Red Nose Day -

when people across the capital raise money for good causes

in aid of Comic Relief. We sent actor and comedian

Sharon Horgan to one London charity that's benefited -

a bakery in Stoke Newington that works with vulnerable women

and helps get them into work. What was the situation,

if you don't mind me asking? When I came to the UK,

I tried to lay low, because anybody that has been a victim of traffic,

the way they treat us is different. I think everybody has

different opinions. And so how much have things changed

now, since you've been working here? So many good things

are happening for me! We wanted to support women

and get them into work, so running our own commercial

kitchen meant that we could provide practical training,

and on the job training, as well as specific training

in our teaching room as well. 14 women are in

training at any time. They come one day

a week for training. And at the end of that they can

apply for paid apprenticeships All we help them to

find work elsewhere. Comic Relief funding enabled us

to expand what we're doing, It's wonderful that all of these

women who've had such a tricky beginning to their lives have found

a place where they are just happy to be themselves,

and happy to get the opportunity You don't realise that there

is these little corners in London where these wonderful things

are happening, because people decide that they care enough

to do something about it. I just want to enjoy this second

opportunity that I've gotten life. This is a second chance for me,

so I'm going to use it very well. Oh, you're definitely

going to do that! Also, I've tried your cookies,

and they're really good! Just one of the ways money you raise

for Comic Relief benefits people And a reminder that a host

of celebrities will be taking part in tonight's TV fundraising

extravaganza which starts at 7 o'clock here on BBC One,

straight after this programme. Now, if you've been to Barcelona

you may well be familiar with the work of Gaudi -

the Spanish artist is famed for decorating public

spaces with mosaics. A group of artists in West London

have brought a touch of Catalan modernism to Chiswick,

as Gareth Furby reports. Spring has come to West London,

and it's not just the flowers After almost 20 years

in the making, a new work of art And it a house that's

entirely covered in mosaic. It's been the dream of artist

Carrie Reichardt, who started work on her house in 1999 because it

gave her total artistic freedom. I wanted to make something

where no one could tell me The back of the house

was finished first. All of the ceramics

have been made by me. They were all made at

Richmond Adult College. Now the front is just weeks

away from completion, with artists coming from around

the world to help out. And Novenka has come from Barcelona,

where the modernist architect Gaudi built his fame

by using mosaics on buildings. But she thinks this new work

in London could now All of this Gaudi tradition,

and everybody wants to see his mosaics, but nobody is doing

contemporary mosaics, Well, they are in Chiswick,

and it's all been carefully planned. I'm mad in Chiswick,

really, aren't I? I don't think I've ever

seen a place like this, a private house that was transformed

to this degree. You can add stone cladding, pebble

dashing or tiling to your house. It really adds a huge amount

of colour and interest to the area. Whether it's in the right place

or not, I don't know. It's fantastic to have such

a colourful, lovely house. Thanks, I'll give

you a tenner tomorrow! Scaffolding should

come down in April. Let's see how the weather's

shaping up for the weekend - It's almost like the weathered knows

it's the weekend in good ways this time, rather than the low pressure

coming in. Dry for most of us and warm outside the win, that is the

negative part of this, chilly wind with cold nights. If you are

planning to get out in the garden and perhaps plans and then you may

want to cover them at least overnight. The reason for the

settled weather is the wind that makes it feel chilly. It has

recently brought us a lot of cloud. This was the morning in Twickenham.

Come on the afternoon, we have plenty of sunshine. You can see the

rain early in the morning near the south coast. The cloud getaway and

hence it has been a fine afternoon and evening. That translates to a

cold night, colder than last night. Temperatures will get within a

degree also above freezing. To the north we could have a touch of

frost. That should clear fairly quickly and on Saturday it is

shaping up to be a lovely, sunny day. Plenty of dry and wet weather.

Again we have that breeze that picks up again, close to gale force near

the Channel coast. Away from there, perhaps 15 in shelter. That is a

little higher than it's been today. Another cold might will follow. Just

to remind you, the clocks will go forward an hour. So one hour less of

sleep for most of us. And for mothers on Mothering Sunday. But at

least we will see some usable weather. The chilly breezes still

with us and that would limit temperatures. They might be a degree

also down on those of tomorrow, but again plenty of dry and wet weather.

Perhaps a little bit of fair weather cloud. Staying fine for the match at

Wembley. The weather starts fine but it will start to head downhill

towards midweek. Helen, thank you. Detectives have released the first

image of the Westminster attacker, Khalid Massod, who was named

Adrian Elms at birth. Meanwhile, two more significant

arrests have been made as police try to establish

whether he was acting alone. Asad will be back later

during the ten o'clock news, but for now from everyone

on the team have a lovely evening.