13/04/2017 London News

Inspectors find serious failings by Tower Hamlets Children's Services

There is evidence senior members were not going to committee members,

reports were lost and data was not protected. That needs to be

tightened up, so we can ensure our young people are protected.

The council accepts that more needs to be done.

Also tonight: Will it ever get built?

Now the Garden Bridge Trust hits back after a damning report said

Never too late to take up running - we meet 81-year-old Eleanor who's

the oldest female runner taking part in this year's Marathon.

Plus we're with the Harlem Globetrotters as they

limber up to entertain the crowds at Wembley.

Welcome to BBC London News with me, Riz Lateef.

"Widespread and serious failures throughout children's services"

and "insufficient scrutiny at all levels".

Just some of the failings found by Ofsted inspectors in Tower Hamlets -

who've rated children's services there as inadequate.

Officers and councillors say they were unaware that

children were being left in harmful situations.

The council says it accepts the criticisms and will make it

an absolute priority to improve things.

Here's our Education Reporter, Marc Ashdown.

Tower Hamlets looks after 333 vulnerable children, but are they

keeping them safe? Ofsted says too many children you are being left in

situations of potential or actual harm. Inspectors found widespread

and serious failure is to write children's services. There was

insufficient scrutiny at all levels. Offices and politicians across the

council didn't all about the extent of failure is. New manages and

covered a deeply worrying picture, yet there was still insufficient

rigour in challenging weak management. Ofsted is said children

living with abuse wait too long for help. And there was a failure to

work out weather children had been left abandoned. The last inspection

was in 2012. Children's services were said to be found to be good

with some outstanding features. Since then, there has been a

significant decline. 22 children were taken into care in January.

Only ten were planned. Three very young children had to spend the

night in a police station as there was nowhere to go. I blame the

previous administration, but the current administration has not

tightened up what they inherited. Is evidence senior members were not

going to committee meetings, evidence of reports being lost, Nate

-- data not being provided, that needs to be tightened up so we can

ensure our young people are safe and protected. I deal with a lot of

vulnerable women facing domestic violence. I raised this eight months

ago. It is significant that the lead member, the chief executive, did not

know about this. What were they doing? They say cleaning up the mess

left by the previous administration. She maintains the current mere

inherited a flagship service. You have been in there for two years. It

takes time to turn organisations around. Looking at the

recommendations, if I had known then what I know now, we would have

knuckled down faster. We are making progress. The headline is this is an

improving service. But it clearly criticises the way we have been

doing some of our practice. And we will learn from that. More than 3000

children in this borough require some form of help from the local

authority. Ofsted has made a raft of improvements to ensure vulnerable

people are failed no more. Brought to the screen

with money from the EU - we look at the future

of the capital's film industry The Chairman of the Garden

Bridge Trust has defended the project across the Thames -

after a review suggested Labour MP, Dame Margaret Hodge who

examined the plans for the bridge - said it would be better to cancel it

now, than risk costing the public But the Trust's chairman,

Lord Davies, said her report was "full of errors" -

and the extra money could Here's our political

correspondent Karl Mercer. We have seen the videos, we have had

the pitch. We've also had plenty of rows. Last week, Margaret Hodge

published a scathing report on the project. The response from the

Garden Bridge Trust today was equally scathing. Seems no common

they don't buy what Margaret Hodge has been saying. Don't put another

penny of taxpayer money into this project. I know money has been lost,

but I would cut my losses now. We have been working on this for three

years. We have planning consent from two borrowers. We have agreements in

place. We have raised almost ?70 million of private sector funding.

We are basically ready to go. I am extremely sceptical looking at a

record of their ability to raise the money. We have lost two major

donors. The gap has grown because the cost have excavated --

escalated. We need certainty on this project. You need a climate of

certainty, a level playing field to get momentum back and we can go out

to potential funders. We are confident we can do it. If the

Garden Bridge Trust can come up with the money, then build it. But don't

risk any more taxpayer money. We have spent three and a half years

doing it, we have spent huge amount of money to get a point where we are

ready to start construction. We are committed to this. We have a Board

of Trustees with enormous experience in fundraising, willing to do this.

The future of the project will be decided by the London Mayor. I'm

told there was a meeting next week between the Garden Bridge Trust and

mere officials, where the trust will try to persuade them they have a new

business plan. We are told the final decision will not come for a couple

of weeks. Without his support, the Garden Bridge will be dead.

It was a brutal murder more than thirty years ago that's

An elderly widow was found dead in her flat in Southwark in 1985 -

a broken beer bottle one of the only clues left at the scene.

Now police are offering a ?20,000 reward to help catch

Sonja Jessup has been speaking to her son.

There is a photograph of my mother with her brother. This is how he

would like to remember his mother, Clara Kirton. A frail 86-year-old

grandmother was the victim of a violent attack in her own home. It

was like walking into hell. Seeing your mother like that. I just

remember screaming. There is never a day goes past now where I don't

remember what I saw. Police hunt has been launched for the killer of an

elderly woman in her own homes... The case then and now has baffled

detectives. It is thought this was a burglary which went horribly wrong.

Trawlers were thrown open. Her purse was stolen. Police believe she may

have known her killer, who panicked and then attacked her. Police

appeals at the time focused on a broken beer bottle and a bloody

trail of footprints left on the scene. Detectives today have no new

evidence. They're offering a ?20,000 reward for any information. We have

looked at forensic opportunities. We have some unidentified fingerprints.

If anyone wants to put somebody forward, we could easily eliminate

them or not from our enquiry. Brian Kirton says the death of his mother

has devastated his family. But he says he has not given up hope. I

know somebody out there knows something. I would love to see

justice for my mother. She went through two world wars. To end up

like that, that is when I stopped believing.

And a reminder of that Crimestoppers number again if you have any

The EU's spent more than 50 million euros over the last three years

on cultural projects, not least on the capital's

But London's access to money from the Creative Europe Fund

And there are warnings of the harm that will do,

As our Political Editor Tim Donovan reports.

A Booker prize-winning novel mode turned into a film,

made by a company which has received about ?170,000 from

Money that boss says is vital for development, finding ideas,

seeing if they will work, help in the early stages.

It gave some space and time and an extra energy,

I think it would have happened anyway, but it certainly

made it a lot easier, having this EU grant.

The Creative Europer fund has nearly 1.5 billion euros to distribute

across the continent between 2014 and 2020.

So far, over the last three years, 56 million euros has gone to the UK,

Most public help for films comes in the form of tax breaks.

Exclude that and this money has accounted for about 9% of public

London is the creative industries, and to have that European funding

directly going into that art, and it's not subsidy,

it's not good money going after bad, it's absolutely central

And for the success of this great capital city.

But others are welcoming the Brexit separation,

deploring a subsidy culture which they say tends to help

It can't be the purpose of any grant or subsidy body to be funding either

multimillionaires who could actually fund themselves on their gold cards,

The media class in the UK is treating Brexit and the loss

of EU funding or the potential loss of EU funding as if there's been

In fact, in the short-term, there has been one

As a direct consequence of Brexit, I moved my next film

It is an under $1 million budget, Brexit meant the currency

went down about 11%, so we're getting a lot

The government says it has invested more than ?400 million

But once it's no longer paying into the EU, will there be more

To mark two decades since her death, a new memorial garden has opened

at the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales -

Called the White Garden, it's filled with flowers that

are inspired by memories of Diana's life, style and image.

Formerly the Sunken Garden, it can be viewed from a public

walkway and will be at its best until September.

A spectacular sight on the Thames - as the Tall Ships

The Harlem globetrotter is turned 90 this year. Tonight, they bring their

entertaining skills to London. Let's look ahead to an Easter

weekend of sport. Yes, a huge weekend

in the Premier League. Tottenham play Bournemouth

at lunch-time on Saturday hoping to close the gap on leaders Chelsea

- who visit Manchester United And Spurs and Chelsea feature

in today's PFA footballer 4 of the 6 players hail

from London clubs. Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante

is the favourite to win. His team-mate Eden Hazard

is on the list as are Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez

and Tottenham striker Harry Kane whose manager is delighted

to have him back to full fitness. He is fit again and

available to play. He is very fresh in his

body and his mind. And he is very hungry

to score again. Middlesex won't back plans

for cricket's new Twenty 20 tournament unless they receive

greater assurances from the ECB. They start their County Championship

title defence away The ECB wants to launch a Twenty 20

competition in three years' time which will involve

eight city-based teams. Middlesex say they fear the counties

could be downgraded. In Formula One, McLaren look set

to bring Jenson Button out of retirement to replace

Fernando Alonso for next The Woking-based team will almost

certainly turn to 2009 World Champion Button after Alonso

announced he will miss the race to take part

in the Indianapolis 500. Now, if you are one of the thousands

of people preparing to run in the London marathon a week

on Sunday, and you are starting to wonder if you'll manage it,

how about this for inspiration? At 81, Eleanor Draper will be

the oldest woman running. And her slightly younger husband

Dennis will be with her too. Emma Jones went to meet them

at their home in Welwyn Garden City. This is 1992 and we were

Andy Pandy Loopy Lou. They have each already

run over 200 marathons. So Eleanor and her husband Dennis

have plenty of fond memories. My comment to Dennis

was when he started running, was you will never get me running

around the street. was you will never get me running

around the streets. They only took up marathon

running in their 50s. Something to keep them fit

they could enjoy as a couple. 80-year-old Dennis has

had a hip operation, But there seems to be

no stopping them. So when will Eleanor

hang up her trainers? Until that time tells me,

then I will just keep going. Dennis says his knees might mean

this is his last London Marathon, but don't be surprised if we see him

and 82-year-old Eleanor Good luck to them. What an amazing

couple. And of course to everybody else. Thank you.

It's not often the Thames is packed with this many sailing ships.

But this weekend, some of Europe's most spectacular vessels will gather

in Greenwich for the 2017 Tall Ships Festival.

The event is back in London, where three years ago it attracted more

Our Reporter Nesta McGregor is on Woolwich Pier.

If you are fanatical about all things nautical, this is the hottest

ticket in town. Over the next three days, 40 ships will gather across

the Thames. Half will be based Europe will appear, the others will

be just down the river by Greenwich Pier. They will stay here before

setting off to places like Portugal, Boston, Bermuda and some going as

far as Canada as part of the Tall Ships Festival 2017. All day, people

have been coming from all over the world and London to see these ships.

We have spoken to some local residents who will be working on

these ships. 16-18 years old. Some were shocked there was no Wi-Fi

on-board. They will travel to Portugal on a two week trip. It will

be very interesting. People have been admiring these magnificent

vessels. We are very involved with nature. Nature is a very good

teacher to make people as humble as they should be. It is about sailing,

adventure, teamwork, learning about yourself and there is always

something special about Tall Ships. Captain Jack Sparrow, that type of

thing. The love of the sea. We are an island nation. I was born in

London and yet I didn't really know much about the history of the River

Thames. And the ships. I think it is fantastic. Great opportunity,

especially for children. Now, the ship I am standing on his some

maritime history. This is an exact replica of the first-ever ship to

successfully sail across the world. It is from Spain. A chance for some

great photographs. And also have a history lesson. I have picked up an

interesting fact for a pub quiz. Why are pirates cold pirates? Because

they are. I think I should walk the plank.

They effortlessly combine sport with showmanship...

As anyone who's watched them will tell you.

But the heritage of the Harlem Globetrotters dates back

to the 1920s when their basketball playing was less about entertainment

Now in their 90th year - a world tour has brought them

I will not state the obvious... This is a problem. When you interview

someone who plays basketball. I tried to get some new high-heeled

shoes. It wasn't going to make a difference. I am six tell me about

the heritage of this great team. We have been around for 91 years. We

have been entertaining fans around the world since then. Comedy and

ambassador Balkan vine. 90 years. Still going strong? Going strong. We

bring smiles around the world. The Easter holidays are here for some

children. A bank holiday in England. Perfect time to practice some

basketball skills? Can you teach me something? I will teach you the five

basic steps of becoming a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Pass the

microphone so I can teach you. I will give it to the crew.

It needs to be off the knees like this. Are you ready? That is a good

start. Around the waist. Under the legs. Are you ready? I got you! He

is the slam dunk of the team. Listen, I need to get you to show me

some skills. These are not everyday basketball skills. You guys have

some moves! There is some things you won't see at a regular basketball

game. Like this. I love this! I love this. OK, boys. Not easy. I think

the only thing for it is to score another basket. Do it, man. Come

year he goes. 90 years old, this team. Still as fresh as ever. They

will be entertaining in Wembley this evening. Backs EU.

That I believe is called a slam dunk. Weren't they tall?

The weather is looking a bit mix for the weekend. Variable amounts of

sunshine. This was how things look today. Some blue sky for Kingston

upon Thames. Some cumulus cloud. We can see that on the satellite image.

Some late sunshine still holding on out there. It is feeling fresher

than it did to start off the week. As we move through the remainder of

this evening and overnight, fairly cloudy skies. It will not be as

chilly as it has been of late. The morning of Good Friday, we are

likely to see some sunshine. Heading through the day, the cloud will

build up and increase. Many of us staying dry. Temperatures up to

around 16 degrees. Not a bad day at all. We are moving through the rest

of Good Friday evening and into Saturday. Rain pushes its way south.

Saturday is looking like not a bad day. Some sunshine around. Patchy

cloud here and there. Temperature wise, by the time we get a Saturday

afternoon, about 12-14 . Heading through to Easter Sunday, looking

predominantly dry. Quite cloudy. Temperatures, 14 degrees, should

stay dry. Rain moving in from the North. Over the next few days,

plenty of dry weather, a bit of sunshine around. Watch out for some

spots of light rain. The Syrian President,

Bashar Al-Assad, says claims his army was behind

a chemical attack is "a hundred Theresa May said the evidence

against his regime was clear. Children from "ordinary working

families" are to be prioritised at new grammar schools in England

according to the Critics say there's no evidence

grammars benefit students. That is all from his. Plenty more on

our website Facebook. Have a lovely Easter bank weekend. Goodbye.

the most that have ever voted for anything in this country,