07/12/2017 London News

whether it will mean more snow.

Can't wait! Louise, thank you.

Coming up on BBC London News:

As the official report

into the Croydon tram crash

is published, a survivor tells

us her life will never be the same.

I'm suffering.

I'm alive and I thank God

for that, but I'm suffering

and struggling as well.

Constant pain all the time.

My life has changed completely.

She says things must change.

We'll get reaction

from transport bosses.

Also tonight:

I'm in the City, where

the Government have been given

a stark warning over the slow pace

of Brexit talks and the

impact on the capital.

Plus - while on a trade visit

to Pakistan, the Mayor says he has

no interest in becoming Britain's

first Muslim Prime Minister.

The ball comes free from the edge

of the box, and I get a chance

to shoot in the top right-hand

corner and score a glory goal?

I wouldn't do that, because I've

already got a great job.

I'm playing a different game -

I'm busy playing cricket when you're

offering me a job playing football.

And carrying on the tradition

from 1947 - seven decades

on London's most famous

Christmas Tree is lit up

in Trafalgar Square.

A very warm welcome

to the programme.

It was a day that changed

lives in South London,

when a tram travelling at speed

derailed, killing seven people

and injuring dozens more.

Today the findings

of an official report

into the Croydon crash

were published, which

found that the driver

had probably dozed off

moments before it happened.

The speed warning signs for drivers

weren't appropriately positioned.

And there was a "culture of fear"

among staff which meant

incidents weren't being reported.

Today one of the survivors who broke

her neck after being thrown

from the carriage said,

"things must change"

as lives have been ruined.

She's been speaking to our transport

correspondent Tom Edwards.

All I could feel, my head

was pounding, my neck was hurting,

I couldn't breathe.

I was just...

All I could think of

was pain, pain, pain.

Christine fractured her

neck and broke ribs

in the Croydon tram rush.

She was thrown through

one of the windows.

I was sitting through the window,

because the window had

completely broken out.

And I was sitting, I could see

the tram tracks and the stones.

She was rescued from this wreckage

and spent over three weeks in

hospital.

She's lost her job,

and her old life is gone.

I'm in constant pain all the time.

I can't sleep, I don't even

know what eight hours'

sleep is like any more.

I'm suffering.

I'm alive and I thank God

for that, but I'm suffering

and struggling as well.

Constant pain all the time.

My life has changed completely.

Today's report found a broken

reporting system at the tram

operator run by First Group.

Nine drivers told investigators

they were going so fast they used

the emergency brake,

on the same sharp corner

where the tram later derailed,

but they didn't feel

they could report it.

The

And just days before the crash

a tram nearly toppled over taking

the same corner too fast,

and a passenger complaint

from Chantelle Singh

wasn't acted on properly.

I was thinking, this is it,

that's the end of my life,

because when I looked up and looked

through the window, there

was another tram waiting there -

I think it was a Beckenham Junction

tram, just at the junction -

and I was just thinking

that I was going to die.

Just thinking I was going to die.

I believe that, and any other driver

could potentially have been put

in the same position,

and therefore I think that the tram

operator needs to come out

and explain why that previous event

was not properly investigated,

and what steps they will take

to make sure that any near-misses

such as this are properly reported

and properly investigated.

Christine isn't sure who to blame,

but she wants the authorities

to make changes so the same thing

doesn't happen again.

They do need to really really

get their staff to be able to talk

to them if there is a problem,

because negligence causes lives

to be ruined, you know.

You can't just have your staff

and your staff can't come

to you if there is a problem,

because we are putting our

lives in their hands.

that was Christine Jess speaking

there.

Transport for London has

offered its condolences

to the all families affected.

Earlier they told our political

editor Tim Donovan that

all 15 of the recommendations made

were already being acted upon.

Immediately, we lowered the speed

limit on the tram system totally.

Where the speed goes from a higher

speed to a lower speed

with quite a difference,

we staged those down,

so down from 70 to 60,

to 40 to 20 kilometres per hour.

We have changed the signage

on the sharp corners in order

to make sure that the drivers

are fully aware of the approaching

corner, and we have fitted a device

in the cab of the tram,

a driver protection device,

which is designed to

guard against fatigue.

It is widely used in the trucking

industry, and also in coaches,

especially overseas,

and this detects whether the driver

perhaps is suffering

from a distraction, maybe a fatigue,

sets off an alarm and also shakes

the seat to make sure the driver's

always vigilant at all times.

But it took this tragedy

for you to do this,

when it shouldn't have

done, should it?

Because there were other

incidents that were reported.

There was one other incident

just a few days before

which wasn't reported -

alarming.

The system has had a very good

safety record, but sadly

on the 31st of October,

just a few days before

this tragic incident,

a member of the public did send

in a report that a tram, she felt,

had been travelling too fast.

This report went straight to the

operator, Tram Operations Limited,

and was in the process

of being investigated.

And only a few days

later, of course, we had

the terrible tragedy.

Now, this report took far too

long to investigate.

One of the things that we have done

now is to make sure that those

reports come through us at Transport

for London so we have

visibility of them straightaway,

because we want to make sure

that these investigations,

when there are reports like this,

are acted on immediately.

Do you accept that if it had

been acted on faster,

that actually these lives

could have been saved?

The report does say that that

particular incident was not a causal

factor of this incident,

but it has to be the case that

anybody who has any concerns

about anything to do with safety

on our transport system in London

feels able to report it

and we should act on it as soon

as possible in order to prevent any

sort of safety incident.

And do you accept that that has not

happened and you should be really

concerned about that?

Because people have talked

about a culture of fear,

an inability to report,

or a worry about reporting

to this operator?

What do you say about that?

Well, nobody should have any fear.

Members of staff...

But they did have.

Well, yhey shouldn't have,

because they have a number

of ways of reporting.

Of course, the right thing to do

was to report it to their manager.

If they feel unable to do so,

people are able to report

it to the trade union.

There is a confidential

whistle-blowing service

provided by the operator.

People can report any safety

concerns, and so we say

to all of the staff,

if there's anything that concerns

you about safety on the network,

you can report it without fear.

You can report it confidentially

if you wish to, and it's my job

to make sure that those reports

are acted on immediately

and we satisfy ourselves that

safety is paramount.

Reaction from Transport for London

on those findings.

And our transport correspondent

Tom Edwards joins me now.

You've been following every step of

this since it happened in November.

Tom, what's your take on

what we heard today?

I think the report is damning

particularly when it comes to the

report and complaint procedures that

were completely broken and didn't

work, and as we heard last night the

families of those who died are

furious about that. They think there

were systemic failures and

opportunities were missed, in fact

the system was so flawed it has now

been taking back in-house by

Transport for London.

Are there

wider implications?

I think it is bound to raise

questions again about private

operators, and how they operate

within the transport system, and

whether it has become too

fragmented. Also there may be

questions around safety, if the

systems didn't work on the tram,

what about other areas where private

operators are running services, like

the buses, the overground and the

DLR? I spoke to one bus safety

campaigner just a little earlier and

he said to me there needed to be a

systemic overhaul of the management

and operational safety practices of

TFL. It said tonight that the system

is inherently safe.

For now, thank

you very much, transport

correspondent, Tom Edwards. Stay

with us.

Still to come this Thursday evening:

Marking their homecoming 25 years

on - how community spirit saw

Charlton return to the Valley.

Plus...

By each year since 1947 and

early Christmas present has arrived

in London in the form of a Norwegian

tree for Trafalgar Square.

Businesses in the City could move

jobs abroad by Easter

If the Government fails to move

Brexit talks on next week.

That's the warning

from the Confederation

of British Industry as pressure

mounts on Theresa May

to reach a deal by Sunday.

Our Brexit reporter

Katharine Carpenter

is in the City for us tonight.

How serious is this?

Well, we all know that feeling, when

you are approaching deadline and

you're not sure if you are going to

make it. That must be how Theresa

May has been feeling a bit this

week, and it is also causing anxiety

for some of the people in those

buildings behind me in the City.

They are desperate to move on to

start talking about the three Ts,

trade, transition and talent, and

receive that does not happen soon

they will have to activate their

plans to move jobs elsewhere. I ask

head of policy earlier if that was

just tough talk

or if she was really concerned.

I

think it is very serious.

People are making their contingency

plans and they will have to start

incrementing Dems and so they know

they can serve their customers on

the first day if we don't have a

deal.

-- start implementing their

plans.

The CBI says they might have

to start incrementing them by

Easter. Is that realistic to?

Very

realistic, because people will need

to start doing so over the next

quarter -- is that realistic to you?

Is this the most worried

you're been

since the referendum?

I have been

consistently worried. We don't seem

to be making progress at the right

rate.

You have spoken of real

reputational damage to London being

done now? Is that a new thing do you

think?

Town centre more and more we

are having to prove our case. We are

still the leading global financial

centre and there are all sorts of

reasons why people want to come and

do business here and that will

continue but I am having to argue

much more forcefully by that remains

the case.

We have had lots of

conversations with the Government

about Brexit. Where you -- were you

surprised to find that they had not

done any assessments about the

financial industries, for example?

That it seems uprising. We have done

a lot of work ourselves across the

sector and have come to some

assessments about what the impact is

likely to be.

Where you led to

believe they had been assessments?

I

understood impact assessment had

been done, so it is surprising to

hear they have not been, but as I

say we have done a lot of research

and Said the UK for example have

commissioned work, which showed the

likely job losses -- City UK. If we

left with an ordeal.

Well, earlier

there was a robust defence of the

Government handling of these

negotiations by Baroness Goldie in

the House of Lords. She said Theresa

May has been approaching these

negotiations with determination and

rigour, but there could be some good

news coming for Theresa May. We have

heard in the last hour or so that

Donald Tusk, the president of the

European Council, is due to make a

statement on this first thing in the

morning. Could this be the

breakthrough that some in the City

have been waiting for?

We will wait

and see. Laleh, thank you very much.

-- Katharine, thank you very much.

It's emerged that a father found

strangled in his flat in south

London alongside his daughter

was a convicted sex offender.

Noel Brown and his daughter Marie

were found in the early hours

of Monday at the flat in Deptford.

Both had been strangled.

Police think it's likely

she disturbed the attackers.

Detectives say they're

keeping an open mind

about a motive for the murders,

but don't believe the attack

was a result of a robbery

or the time he spent betting.

Noel was a well liked

member of his community.

He used to go to Paddy Power,

probably about 11

o'clock every day.

We know he didn't go

there on the Friday.

He used to bet small money,

and win, probably even

smaller money.

There is no suggestion

that this is over a big

betting win, absolutely whatsoever.

Following the conviction of a former

abbot for abusing boys in the 70s

at a Catholic school

concerns have been raised

about whether enough

is being done to protect pupils.

But Lord Carlile, the man who led

a review into safeguarding

at St Benedict's School in Ealing

says there's been a complete

overhaul and the school is "as safe

as any in the country."

Here's our education

reporter, Marc Ashdown.

Lord Carlile's independent

view of Saint Benedict's

in 2011 was damning.

After a string of complaints

of sexual abuse stretching back

decades, he said the school should

be doing more to keep pupils safe.

Andrew Soper's conviction

for assaulting and raping ten boys

has again cast a spotlight.

It a great pity that Soper didn't

have the courage to plead guilty.

He would have saved a lot of agony

for the survivors of his abuse,

and frankly, he would have saved

a lot of agony for the survivors

in Ealing Abbey and Saint Benedict's

School, who are conscious every day

of the wrong he did to young

people when they were

vulnerable and in his charge.

But Lord Carlile now represents,

speaks for, the very school

he once investigated.

The headteacher maybe should be

answering this, not their lawyer.

I'm as independent as ever I was,

and indeed, I'm only commenting

because the school asked me

here to comment and give

an assessment, which probably I'm

better qualified to give

than anybody else about how

the school has progressed

since those dark, dark days.

And so at Soper's trial,

various witnesses claimed teachers

and priests had been operating

a paedophile ring for six decades,

and just last year, the deputy head,

Peter Allott, was jailed for 33

months for possessing,

showing and making category-A

indecent images of children,

the very worst kind.

One of Soper's victims believes

the school is still in denial.

The Allott case proves

that still a problem,

that this monastic order

and its educational establishments

are still attracting

this kind of offender.

What is needed is a complete change

in the culture to make non-reporting

completely unthinkable,

and I think we are a long

way from that yet.

The school, or...?

The school, the Abbey

and the Benedictine group

of monasteries in general.

It's always disappointing

when another teacher is found

to have child issues,

but in the case you're referring to,

there was nothing the school

could have done that it

failed to do.

Unfortunately, one

just had a bad apple.

There's a lot of bad apples though,

is that good enough?

That bad apple fell

from the tree, fortunately.

Is it good enough, though?

I think the governance and scrutiny

of this school is as good

as any you will find now.

When he is sentenced next week,

Andrew Soper can expect to spend

the rest of his life in jail.

Abuse at Saint Benedict's is now

being investigated as part

of a wide-ranging independent

enquiry into child sexual abuse.

It is a dark chapter in the school's

history which might not

yet be entirely closed.

Mark Ashdown, BBC London News.

The Mayor of London says he has no

interest in becoming the next leader

of the Labour party or Britain's

first Muslim Prime Minister.

Sadiq Khan was speaking ahead

of a meeting with Pakistan's

Prime Minister in Islamabad.

From there, our Political

Correspondent Karl Mercer

sent this report.

It's the sort of reception leaders

of countries usually get.

The highest of security,

the best of welcomes.

Pakistan's leading politicians

opened their doors to the Mayor,

if not entirely to the

chasing British press.

Today, for Sadiq Khan, a meeting

with Pakistan's Prime Minister.

It's an honour many visiting British

ministers haven't even been given.

I'm very proud that

you are the Mayor.

They call these grip and grins,

it's what politicians do a lot of.

This, the commerce minister...

This man, Pakistan's

Foreign Secretary.

Could you help us understand how

it is that the mayor of a humble

city in the United Kingdom gets

to meet such high-ranking officials

in Pakistan such as yourself,

and later the Prime Minister?

It's an honour for me that

Mr Sadiq Khan has been

the Mayor of London,

it's a matter of pride for us,

a great honour for us.

And we are proud of the values

and traditions of British people

that a person from the subcontinent

of Pakistani regions

could rise to that level.

When Boris Johnson travelled

the world when he was mayor,

people criticised him.

They said he was putting his

own political ambitions

ahead of those of London.

So what about this man?

Here in the ambassador's garden,

meeting and greeting

dignitaries from overseas.

Are you saying you don't have

those grander ambitions?

Let me be quite clear.

I love being the mayor, I think I've

got the best job in the world.

I've no intention of being whatever

Boris Johnson wanted to be.

You don't even want to be

the leader of your party?

I do not want to be leader

of the Labour Party.

Ever?

Ever.

You don't want to be Prime Minister?

I do not want to be Prime Minister.

Ever?

I think I've got a great job.

Ever.

I've got a great job

as the Mayor of London.

I get to help the city that

I was born and raised in, and love,

but also I get to meet people whose

lives have been improved by some

of our policies from City Hall.

I love being the mayor of my city,

I have no intention of running

for the leader of the Labour Party,

no intention of seeking

to be the Prime Minister.

Absolutely ruling it out?

I'm ruling

it out.

Even if the ball comes free

from the back of the scrum?

If the ball comes free from the edge

of the box, and I get a chance

to shoot in the top right-hand

corner and score a glory goal,

I wouldn't do that, because I've

already got a great job.

I'm playing a different game -

I'm busy playing cricket when you're

offering me a job playing football.

For now then, he says the job

he's actually sticking

to is that of being mayor.

Charlton Athletic are celebrating

a special anniversary this week.

It's 25 years since a fierce

community spirit and the hard work

of fans saw them return

to The Valley, the home they'd been

forced to leave seven years earlier

because of financial hardships.

The club will wear special

shirts this weekend but,

as Chris Slegg reports,

not all the fans are in

the mood for a party.

It was once the Valley of despair -

Charlton, unable to retain

the freehold, had been forced out

and left to ground share

with Crystal Palace then West Ham.

Fans like Chris Parkes fought

tirelessly to return the club home,

even forming a political party,

the Valley Party, to

pressure the local council.

It was just an amazing effort.

There were 60 people involved

in the Valley Party,

from volunteers putting leaflets out

for people, putting posters

all around the local area.

And I think Greenwich

Council realised that we

can't be messed with.

And so, after a seven-year exile,

on December 5th, 1992,

Charlton returned to the Valley.

They beat Portsmouth 1-0 that day.

To mark the 25 year anniversary,

Charlton will wear the same shirts

on Saturday, as manager

Carl Robinson's side take

on the same opponents, Portsmouth.

What Charlton fans did 25 years ago

was quite remarkable,

the dedication they showed

to their team, the dedication

they showed to have their club back

in their area, and that's how

football always was.

Not all fans are in

the mood for celebrations.

Some are continuing

to protest against Belgian

owner Roland Duchatelet.

They want him to sell

up and move on.

Do you sense that a sale

of the club could be imminent?

I was told no.

I think every football club

does have its price tag.

And whatever that is, I don't know.

I'm not a politician.

Politics has certainly played

its part in Charlton's history.

Saturday will be

a special day for many.

At the game on the 5th of December,

1992, is I was just standing there,

and I had tears in my eyes.

I'll have tears in my eyes

on Saturday, without a doubt.

Whatever their current

problems, Charlton have

survived far tougher times.

Chris Slegg, BBC London News.

It was 70 years ago that Norway

gifted the first Christmas tree

to the people of Britain to be

displayed in Trafalgar Square.

And seven decades on,

this year is no different.

Wendy Hurrell is there now,

and it's twinkling away

as the lights were switched

on this evening.

That's right and it's one of the

more simply decorated trees across

London, with its vertical light down

the tree in the traditional

Norwegian style. That's because it

is not being flashy and brassy, it's

a commemorative tree. The first one

was given to us in 1947 and drew

crowds similar to what we are seeing

this evening who no doubt brought

festive cheer after the war. And it

was given to us because of our

support to Norway during the Second

World War when the country was

occupied. The Norwegian government

and for a short time the royal

family took refuge in London and

back then this tree standing behind

me was a sapling in the forest

waiting for it turned. So it was

down to the Lord Mayor of

Westminster and the mayor of Oslo to

help felled tree that was brought by

land and sea to here in central

London. They are very specifically

selected, there's a short list of 20

for their size and shape and boast

20 are given some extra special care

and

tree food to keep them green and

bushy. This evening, as you say, we

saw the lights switched on for the

festive period. It's looking very

pretty behind me here in its simple

noble way. I think when the lights

go on in Trafalgar Square, it

signals the start of the festive

season for many Londoners across the

capital. It certainly does, and as

you say, looking noble.

The best place to eat

in London on Trip Advisor

doesn't actually exist.

The ficticous eatery was created

by Oobah Butler, a writer for Vice,

to show how online reviews

on Trip Advisor can be manipulated.

The company criticised

the journalists fake listings

and said the majority

of its reviews were authentic.

Eventually, after all this work,

all my family and friends review it

and we get to number one.

At that point, I'm like, OK, let's

open it for a night, so I opened it

to the general public.

Three tables of real people,

about five tables of actors saying

how incredible the place was,

and they bought it, you know.

Let's get a check on the weather

with Tomasz Schafernaker,

who's joined us.

It looks very festive in Trafalgar

Square,

It looks very festive in Trafalgar

Square, what about the weather?

We have some snow on the way, maybe

a little bit. Don't get your hopes

up, but we could get some over the

next couple of days. I think

tomorrow for most of us it's a cold

day, maybe a flurry of snow moving

across London. Other parts of the

country as I speak are getting quite

a bit of snow. Storm Caroline to the

north of us and we got a rash of

cold air behind this cold front.

This is what it looks like tonight,

the blobs of blue are rain showers,

water mostly. Just above my head,

you can see some snow falling across

the Midlands, they could get a bit,

5-10 centimetres. It will be chilly

tonight with Frost in some areas.

Look what happens with these sleet

and snow and rain showers, they are

hit and miss so I cannot say exactly

which place will get them and which

not but it looks more likely towards

may beacons field, High Wycombe,

those sorts of areas. Through the

course of the weekend, and there

will be sunshine around so sunshine

and occasional snow flurries, a cold

and sunny weekend on the way to

start with so we are mostly talking

about Saturday here. A bit of blue,

that is the Frost on Saturday. Some

rain or snow flurries affecting

Norman London but we are talking

about a sunny day. In the wind it

will feel colder than five, probably

close to freezing, then it gets

interesting because we have a

weather front moving off the

Atlantic. Look at that snow moving

across the Midlands. It will only

take a slight shift towards the

south, probably north of the M4, for

us to get smoke. At this stage it

looks like it won't snow on Monday

but it might

looks like it won't snow on Monday

but it might so I'm hedging my bets.

Thank you.

Recapping the main headlines:

BBC research has revealed the number

of patients waiting more than four

hours in A&E has more than doubled

in the last four years.

In the past year alone,

some 3 million patients waited

longer than the four-hour target.

An investigation into the Croydon

tram crash has found the driver

probably dozed off just

before the accident.

It also found there was a "culture

of fear" among staff which meant

incidents weren't being reported.

That's it for now.

You can keep across the latest

on our website, and you're welcome

to get in touch on our Facebook

Page.

We'll be back at 10:30pm.

Thanks for watching,

and enjoy your evening.