17/11/2017 London News

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me,

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.

On BBC London News

this Friday night:

30 years on from the King's Cross

fire - we hear from the sister

of one of the 31 killed.

It is a shocking thing. Every time

something like that happens, whether

it is Grenfell, or a terrorist

incident, you think of all the

people who are getting their news.

The blaze changed fire safety

regulations on the Underground -

we'll look at its impact.

Also tonight:

An increase in the number

of sexual assaults on women

using taxis and mincabs -

we have new figures.

It was as high as three

double-decker buses -

the rubbish pile -

finally cleared after causing years

of misery for residents.

And we are gearing up for Children

in Need at the wizardry world of

Harry Potter for fundraising and

fun. It is going to be magical.

Good evening, I'm Asad Ahmad.

30 years after the deadly

night at Kings Cross,

we look back at the worst fire

in the history of

London Underground.

These are the names of the 31 people

who died as a result of the fire,

started by a single match discarded

on a wooden escalator.

Well, the tragedy brought about

monumental changes in fire safety.

We'll be looking at the impact it

had, but first here's Karl Mercer,

who's been speaking

to Sophie Tarassenko,

who's brother Ivan died that night.

He was pretty laid back,

a happy-go-lucky chap, a drummer.

Very much interested in his art

and his music, his friends.

When you go to King's Cross

now, which you do, do

you still go over...

Yes, absolutely, I go over

to the memorial and say, "Hi, Ivan",

give him a little pat.

It almost means more, that memorial,

than his grave, which is in Dorset.

Because that's the last

place he was alive.

REPORTER:

The situation is confused.

There have been several

deaths and still people

trapped in the underground.

I had arranged to meet a friend

at a pub near King's Cross station,

and in fact we all got asked

to leave at Russell Square,

and everybody moaned.

And then I got a cab

to near King's Cross,

and I could already see the first

fire engines there.

And I thought, goodness me,

that looks like a big one.

She had no idea her brother, Ivan,

had been caught up in the fire, one

of 31 people to lose their lives.

It was the next evening.

I was working in a bar.

My roommate came into the bar

and said, there's been

somebody on the phone

for you from St Pancras mortuary.

And they think that your

brother's in there.

After a sleepless night

with her other brother,

they identified Ivan

the following morning,

but the search for answers

was to be a long one.

You cry a lot, for a long time.

It's a shocking thing, and every

time something like that happens,

whether it is Grenfell

or a terrorist incident,

you just think of all the people

who are getting that news,

and the shock of it.

You are in shock for

quite a long time.

REPORTER:

Outside,

the families of victims spoke

bitterly about the result.

It has been a complete travesty

of the truth, I think.

We came here to find out

how our relatives died,

what happened to them.

Sophie went on to become

one of the lead figures

in the King's Cross

family action group.

You want to find out

why it wasn't avoided,

why those decisions were made,

for what reasons, and the drive

is always to ensure that it

never happens again.

The sadness of it grabs

you suddenly, kind of

almost unexpectedly.

Probably not even on the day,

but a couple of days before

or after the anniversary.

So, yes, but other than that, yes,

there are still moments in the year

where you just suddenly go...

God!

You know.

He should have been here.

My mother died last year on the 18th

of November, coincidentally,

so we have two things to remember

from now on, on the

18th of November.

I mean, I think it's pretty weird to

us that she died on that very day.

She never really got

over, of course, Ivan.

So, yeah, it's going

to be a doubly sad day.

Well you can see there the huge

personal impact the fire

had, even 30 years on.

But the King's Cross fire also

had a massive impact

on the institutions involved.

An inquiry by Desmond Fennell

reported back withinh

a year of the fire,

making 157 recommendations.

Some things, like firefighters'

uniforms were changed

almost immediately.

But there were scores of changes

on the Underground too.

Our transport correspondent

Tom Edwards has been looking

at what's changed since the fire.

Thousands use this escalator every

day, and many don't know this

is where the worst fire

in the history of the Tube started.

This is escalator

four at King's Cross.

A lit match ignited grease,

eventually creating a huge fireball.

Stewart Button is now retired,

but nearly 30 years ago he was one

of the first firefighters to arrive.

You heard a sort of

dull whoomph sound.

You could see a thick black wall

of smoke engulfing them.

It was travelling faster

than they could walk.

So what we did was, you know,

we were hurrying up ourselves

to get out of the station,

we were hoovering up people, really,

saying to people, "Get out."

Just two minutes after they arrived,

the fire had flashed over

and engulfed the ticket hall.

It was then that we heard,

or started hearing all the screams.

I thought there must be loads,

loads of people down there,

just scream after scream.

The Soho station officer

died in the fire.

His locker space is left

empty as a memorial.

30 years on, and this

official report still makes

terrifying reading.

It describes how this station full

of commuters turned into a furnace.

It also outlines how the response

from the emergency services

was hampered due to a breakdown

in communication, and there

was a lack of knowledge

of the station layout.

Transport bosses are condemned

as being blinkered, the approach

to dealing with fire

as seriously flawed.

The following inquiry led to huge

changes to the Tube and the Fire

Service's safety regimes.

Among the many recommendations -

wooden escalators should be removed,

smoking should be banned,

and heat detectors and sprinklers

should be installed.

And crucially, the emergency

services should be able

to communicate with each other

underground.

Most of the recommendations have

since been implemented.

These type of exercises

are now part of training,

and legislation ensures minimum

staffing levels on deep-line

stations, although a new radio

system was only introduced

after the 7/7 bombings in 2005.

There isn't a month goes

by in my job that we don't reference

the King's Cross fire.

It had such a phenomenal

and beneficial effect

on the organisation.

So out of a desperate tragedy,

good things have actually come.

So if you stand in his great station

here, one of the things that built

this station is out of that

terrible, terrible disaster.

So our customers should be very

reassured, but our thoughts

are very, very much with the people

who lost their lives

and were injured.

With cuts due on the Tube,

the unions say they'll resist

anything that they think

could compromise safety.

And these changes only happened

after the deaths of 31 Londoners.

Tom Edwards, BBC London News.

You're watching BBC London News

this evening on BBC One.

Still to come tonight...

We look ahead to this

weekend's north London derby,

with a man who's been in both Wenger

and Pochetino's shoes.

The number of women being sexually

assaulted in a black taxi

or minicab has increased over

the past five years.

Figures out today, show there's

been around a 50% rise

in reported attacks,

with offences including

rape and groping.

Ayshea Buksh has more on this.

She's in central London for us.

These figures come from transport

for London, and for the first time

they show which companies drivers

who have been prosecuted actually

work for. Uber, the biggest private

hire operator in the capital,

features, and these figures come at

a sensitive time for the company.

Travelling around London at night by

CAB is often regarded as the safer

option, but sometimes that is not

the case. Back in 2011 there were

107 offences committed by licensed

or unlicensed drivers. Last year

that rose to 164, and of those, 31

drivers were charged, resulting in

14 convictions. All of them were

minicab drivers, nearly half

employed by Uber.

It is clear that

more women have come forward and

gone through with prosecution, which

can be very difficult, and I hope

that Transport for London and the

police in London and all those with

responsibility continue to send out

very clear messages that they will

treat sexual offences with the

utmost priority.

Transport for

London's concerns over Uber's safety

record has led it to revoke its

operating licence, and the mayor has

said the company's legal appeal

could take years.

Anyone licensed to

drive in London should be 100% safe.

Any operator who uses a taxi hire or

private driver hire in London should

be assured that vehicle is safe. It

is all about safety. The mayor needs

to revoke the Uber's license today.

In a statement, Uber said they take

any allegations of this nature very

seriously and their GPS technology

means every trip is electronic

detractor and recorded.

I have

always had a safe journey in Uber,

always.

Do you use others?

I always

use Uber. I think they are great.

I

have always thought it was the

safest option, instead of the night

tube.

Black cabs?

They are so

expensive.

I use them, but not

normally alone. Normally in a group.

Transport for London said

allegations are taken seriously and

they work with police to bring

offenders to justice and push for

the toughest penalties possible.

The final lorry-loads

carrying what was a mountain

of illegally stacked rubbish,

have been leaving a site

in south east London.

Nearly 20 tonnes of waste has been

removed after it blighted the lives

of neighbours living nearby.

Every last bit should

be gone by Christmas

but it hasn't been easy,

as Yvette Austin can tell us.

It was the waste pile that shocked

anyone who saw it and brought misery

to the lives of local residents.

The smells when it was operational,

the smells were terrible.

Couldn't open doors, windows,

couldn't usual back garden.

You had the constant

threat of the fires.

Wonderful to see it disappear.

Finally, after years of legal

wrangling and after 650

lorry loads leaving,

it's nearly clear.

It began back in 2011 when recycling

firm Waste for Fuel began being paid

to dispose of waste,

but it simply stockpiled it here,

and the company abandoned the site,

with rubbish even spilling

into a nature reserve next door.

At its height, the waste was so high

and so heavy it completely pushed

the walls over that were erected

to keep the waste in.

We had a huge fire earlier

in the year that the firemen thought

were due to the focus of rays

through a bottle.

It burnt out all the reed beds over

in the nature reserve.

It has all cost the Environment

Agency more than £4 million.

So why was it allowed to get so bad?

We did take really

early steps, actually.

The Environment Agency used the full

range of our regulatory

and enforcement powers to try

and address the site.

We even took the company

and its directors to the High Court

in 2013 but they ignored

the High Court order and brought

more waste onto the site.

Bromley Council, which owns

the site, believes the case

will prompt new legislation

to prevent such waste

crime happening again.

If you drive a diesel car and want

to park in the borough of Islington,

the amount you pay is going to be

£2 more than other drivers.

It's after the council decided

to introduce the borough-wide

Parking a diesel car in Islington

is about to get a lot pricier.

It's become the first local

authority in the UK to bring

in a borough-wide surcharge

for diesel-vehicle drivers

using short-stay parking.

It's essential that we do this

to reduce air pollution...

The council says it's to deter

people from using vehicles

which most contribute

to London's poor air quality.

Our residents are breathing

in these unhealthy fumes,

and it's really leading

to people suffering.

We need to do something now,

this is a real crisis.

This diesel surcharge

is the right thing to do,

because it's enough

to enable people

to think again and to switch

and to use another vehicle.

The new surcharge will be introduced

from January at all 6500 short-stay

parking bays in Islington,

so that will be an extra £2 per hour

on top of existing fees

for diesel-vehicle drivers.

And this isn't

the first bit of bad news for them.

Just last month, the new £10

T-Charge was introduced for driving

older, more polluting diesels

in central London,

and diesel-vehicle

owners in Islington

already have to pay

a surcharge for residents' permits.

Our feeling is that diesel drivers

are already playing their part

in Islington.

Perhaps some drivers who do drive

diesel cars would dearly love

to switch to a newer,

cleaner, greener vehicle,

but the cost is probably too high.

The other thing is

it's not just about diesel drivers.

Buses, private-hire vehicles -

those really need to be tackled

in the borough as well.

So do people living in the area

think the new charge is a good idea?

Yes, I do, because it's been

proven that it's really,

really detrimental to people's

health, especially young kids.

It sounds like a moneymaking scheme

to me, to be perfectly honest.

Yeah, yeah.

Why?

Just because diesel cars

pollute the environment more,

people need to make a decision

as to whether they want to pay

more in parking charges

or just buy a new car.

Islington isn't alone.

Westminster Council

is currently trialling

a similar scheme

in certain areas,

so this could well be the future

for more parts of London.

Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.

It's Friday 17th November -

BBC Children in Need night.

This is what's still to come

before it all kicks off.

As we gear up for Children in Need

tonight, we'll be looking at one

of the charities that's benefited

from the money raised.

And I will be here with the weekend

forecast, another chilly evening at

there, and if you thought the

sunshine was a taste of the weekend,

think again, lots of cloud tomorrow,

blue sky by Sunday, all your weather

coming up.

Now to a rivalry which virtually

all football fans in London know

about even if they're not

part of it.

It's the one between

Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal,

and they meet in

the Premier League tomorrow.

Well, a man who's experienced

the fierce competition

from both sides is George Graham.

He's been speaking to

our sports reporter Chris Slegg

about his time

in charge of the clubs.

It's a hundred years

since English football produced

an occasion such as this...

Such was the drama of Arsenal's

1989 title win over Liverpool,

it's now been turned

into a documentary.

They pipped their opponents

to the championship

in the very last seconds

of the season.

George Graham was their manager.

What a task, they've got to

go up and beat Liverpool

at Anfield by two goals,

two clear goals.

Liverpool dominated,

dominated English football

at that time, and rightly so,

they were the best team

with the best players.

But I had to sort of do my job

and sell the idea of going up there

to beat them 2-0,

I had to sell it to the players.

Arsenal are no longer quite

the force they were under Graham

or in the early Arsene Wenger

years, so what's missing?

I would say they've just dipped,

you know,

from the standards

they set theirself.

I would say that they've

just edged slowly, slowly away.

With the ball, they're fantastic.

Without the ball, not so good.

Tottenham finally finished

above Arsenal last season

for the first time since 1985 -

do you think the power base

in North London has now shifted?

No, I don't think so, not yet.

But I think it's on its way,

and unless Arsenal

up their their game plan,

then I think there's every chance

now that Tottenham could do it,

could do it.

They've got an outstanding

manager, right?

I think he's going to

be one of the best.

But the next hurdle for them

is now to win some silverware.

Which is what Graham himself did

when he crossed the north London

divide and led Tottenham

to their 1999 League Cup triumph.

His heart, though - many suspect -

will always be with Arsenal.

You enjoyed your time at Tottenham,

but you're still desperate

to see Arsenal win tomorrow?

Not desperate, no.

I've got feelings for both camps.

You'll be cheering them on, George.

So...probably yeah, I will be, yeah.

Tomorrow's north London derby

is eagerly awaited -

even though it can't quite

top '89 for tension.

Chris Slegg, BBC London News.

You don't need me to tell you

it's Children in Need night,

and as well as there being

lots of fun and laughter,

thousands of young people

across London

receive a huge amount of help

with the money you raise.

One of the charities that benefits

is based at the Lyric Theatre

in Hammersmith.

Rewind is a ten-week project working

specifically with young

people between 11 and 16,

mainly focused on those

who are having difficulties,

who might be at risk of exclusion,

or are having difficulties with

attendance and things like that.

What?!

They would work with a director

or a practitioner on a script,

or they might devise a piece

of theatre on their own,

and then over the next two

or three weeks shape that

into what would become

a performance.

I'm going to smash you...

My name is Ahmed,

I'm 13, I've been coming

to the Rewind Project

for seven weeks.

To be fair, it's like...

It feels better when I have, like,

a school week and then go

here on Friday,

it's the best day of the week,

and then on Monday,

back to school fresh.

OK, so this is our theatre,

come and take a seat.

The money from Children in Need

allows us to create interventions

into their lives that helps them

get back into school.

Help them with attendance,

and really change the path

that they might have

been going down.

So today we're going

to talk about power...

It's an amazing experience,

to look at a particular young person

that starts with us, is scared

of coming into the theatre,

or just doesn't know

what's going to happen,

and watch them change and grow

over the ten weeks

to become these confident,

brave, incredibly artistic

young people.

And for them to be so proud

of the work that they make too,

that work, for me,

is little bits of gold dust.

You know, we know, fundamentally,

we are changing lives,

and it's an incredible thing

to be a part of.

Well, tonight for Children in Need,

Riz has headed to Hertfordshire.

Somewhere very special.

Hello to you and the children behind

you!

I know, thank you very much indeed,

welcome to the great hall at

Hogwarts, look at the welcome

everyone is getting. Many people

will recognise it from the Harry

Potter films, this is a piece of

movie history, but tonight it is

where BBC London is hosting Children

in Need, and we will be meeting lots

of the wonderful fundraisers and

charities from across the capital.

The enthusiasm here is amazing, who

is excited to be here?!

Yes!

And it

is not like they have not dressed

for the occasion, look at this, who

are you supposed to be?

Hermione.

Harry Potter.

What have you been

doing, fundraising?

Yes, I have been

doing a run with my dad, and I did

some cakes.

What about you?

Our

school raised money by wearing

spotty clothes.

I did a cake sale at

my school.

Lovely, it is going to be

a wonderful night, we are just

gearing up at the moment. We will

hear from plenty more fundraisers

throughout the evening, lots going

on, Pudsey will be doing his stuff,

we have graphic designers from the

company, we will be learning

calligraphy, we have got face

painting, and we also have a very

special prop from the films that was

used in this very place. It is so

special that I am not allowed to

touch it! It all starts at seven

column 30 here on BBC One, we hope

you will join us, it is going to be

a magical night. -- 7:30.

It promises to be a great night.

I am very jealous of her being

there, it is going to be great,

thank you for your invaluable

support. Now it is time to look at

the weather forecast with Nick.

Temperatures dropping away now,

further into single figures, low

single figures already in some

spots, there will be a touch of

frost around overnight, maybe not as

sharp as it was last night, but into

tomorrow we will be changing our

skies, we will be teased with some

early sunshine, but it will turn

cloudy and still feel cold. These

are the clear skies this evening,

low single figures, some of us

ending up at or below zero. Patchy

cloud, these temperatures not quite

as low as last night, but still

enough to scrape the ice off the car

in the morning. And we will be

teased with early sunshine, but it

is not going to last, because cloud

will be increasing, a little bit

more of a breeze compares with

today, and as that cloud rolls

across, a few outbreaks of rain,

light and patchy, not amounting to

much, but it will make for a cloudy

and damp afternoon, and that

enhances the cold feel to things,

with temperatures in single figures.

Not the glorious blue sky we had

today. Going out tomorrow, light

rain for a time, but then it clears

away south, clearing skies once

again, and a frost once more going

into Sunday morning. And again on

Sunday, we have early sunshine. An

area of Glasgow West on Sunday, it

is going to try to come in, some

uncertainty about when. -- an area

of cloud to our West. The further

west you are, the more likely you

are to see cloud, more sunshine in

the youth. For the latest on that,

check out the forecast on Saturday.

We are going to change the chilly

feel next week, we are going to lift

temperatures back into double

figures, perhaps above average for

the time of year, but that will come

with plenty of cloud. When we do

have some sunshine, on Sunday, make

the most of it, because the cloud

will be coming back with rain at

times.

There mind of the main headlines. --

there mind. Theresa May has been

held in talks with EU leaders about

the deadlock in the Brexit talks,

Donald Tusk says Britain marched

deliver more progress to move on to

trade discussions. A light Eckhardt

and a helicopter have collided over

Buckinghamshire, the incident

happened close to the village of

Waddesdon, reports suggest there is

a number of casualties. And Robert

Mugabe has appeared in public in

Zimbabwe for the first time since

the army took control of the country

early this week, opening a

graduation ceremony as talks

continued about removing him from

power. That is it, I will be back at

half past ten.

Stay with us on BBC One

for a bit of EastEnders,

Blue Peter on Strictly,

and much, much more.

It's all for Children in Need,

and it follows

a One Show special up next.

Enjoy it -

I'll see you later, goodbye.