20/12/2017 London News

rain were halted because police had

failed to disclose key evidence.

That's all from the News at Six

Tonight on BBC London News.

As police release more details

about the case of a double murder

of a father and daughter

from Deptford, staff at the school

where Marie worked say they're

doing their best to support

children and staff.

One of the questions has been that

no, we don't know who has done this

and that is a very tough question to

answer.

Also tonight...

You know it's Christmas when

engineering work on the railways

brings huge disruption.

We'll tell you all you need

to know and where to avoid.

Relatives of the late singer

George Michael say they do

want the fan's memorial

outside his home to stay.

And the show must go on -

how the neglected art of Variety

performance has been given

a new lease of life.

Good evening and welcome

to the programme.

I'm Alex Bushill.

Police are hunting a man

with a backpack they believe may

know something about the double

murder of a father

and daughter in Deptford.

Noel Brown's body was found next

to his daughter Marie,

at his home in Deptford.

Police believe Mr Brown's daughter,

who worked at a nearby

primary school, was also killed

when she went to check on her father

and may have inadvertently

disturbed the killer.

Tolu Adeoye has spoken

exclusively to staff

at the school where Marie worked.

Who killed Marie and Noel Browne?

More than two weeks after the father

and daughter were found dead at his

flat in Deptford, the police have

made no arrests. Today, staff at the

school where Marie was able creche

worker, have spoken about how this

has affected the school community.

This was horrendous news to receive,

completely devastated. Marie was an

incredibly kind and loving person,

very patient. Obviously, she was a

very valued colleague, much loved

friend, but we must not forget that

first and foremost she was a much

loved mum and we have two girls who

have lost their mum and their

grandfather.

Marie's father was last

seen alive on Thursday 30th of

November at a betting shop he

regularly visited. Police say he had

likely been killed by the following

morning. Marie Brown is thought to

have visited her father's flat after

she was worried that she could not

get in touch with him. She was never

seen alive again. Police leave she

may have seen her father's attacker

as they tried to dismember his body.

Police say some body parts have not

been found. They have released CCTV

footage of a man seen behaving

suspiciously in the area.

The main

suspect is seen in the early hours

of Saturday morning and then he is

seen here as he enters the estate,

having avoided members of the public

waiting underneath some bushes to

enter and going to know's flat. The

CCTV is not fantastic at the moment

that you can see a clear big

rucksack on his back. He has got it

over his shoulder. I want police to

focus on the detail, even though it

is the back of him. They may know

that person to be their neighbour,

somebody they know or anybody.

There

are no clear motive is for the

murders. Noel Brown is a convicted

sex offender and the gamble but

please do not believe those are

reasons for his killing. The

questions about who and why remain.

The children have been asking

questions we have been answering

very honestly. One of the questions

has been, no, we don't know who yet

has done this, and that is a very

tough question to answer.

Lots more to come including...

The faulty water pipes,

the Essex estate and the £2,000

council bill to repair them.

Residents say the council

has ruined Christmas.

Christmas comes but once a year -

and sure enough, it's guaranteed

to bring with it engineering works

on the railways.

This year is no different

and Network Rail is drafting

in thousands of engineers to carry

out the work.

It's of little consolation for those

who will be caught up in one

of the most disrupted

Christmas gateways ever.

Our transport correspondent,

Tom Edwards can tell us more.

If you're going to try and get

around the capital over

the Christmas period,

it might not be

as easy as you think.

Beware Christmas disruption

and the annual engineering works

are just around the corner.

London Bridge station much quieter

than normal this morning.

And next week, along with some major

rail stations in the capital,

it will be shut completely for ten

days, while new

signalling is fitted.

Traditionally, the railway has

always carried out work

during the bank holidays.

We have to shut down

during these periods

because it is the quietest periods.

They are the times that

are traditionally less

busy on the railway,

so it is the most appropriate time.

There is no public transport

at all on Christmas Day,

and over the break, most train

timetables will be amended.

There's also engineering work

on the tube and industrial

action on Greater Anglia,

South-Western Railways and the DLR.

South-Eastern services

at London Bridge will be

closed for ten days,

as will Cannon Street Station

and Charing Cross.

Paddington will also

be shut for four days.

In the Thames Valley tracks

are being replaced and new power

lines will mean these electric

trains will be able to run

on the Great Western.

It's taking out the 1970s track

and installing it with faster,

more reliable equipment.

Network Rail says it is confident

it will finish on time

and the work is essential.

So as ever, check before you travel.

There is a lot of detail.

If you want to find out more,

you can go to our website

or our Twitter page.

Good luck to anyone braving the

Christmas getaway!

Three men have been arrested

following a series of police raids

aimed at reducing the huge rise

in moped crime.

The men are believed to have stolen

more than £60,000 worth of luxury

items from shops in the City over

the last few months.

Frankie McCamley joined officers

during the dawn operation.

A warning that Frankie's

film contains flashing

images from the start.

One of four police raids

in the early hours of this morning.

It is part of Operation Winter

Night, cracking down on crime

and anti-social behaviour.

The focus today, those using mopeds

to carry out robberies.

The man being arrested

inside is alleged to have taken part

in a series of smash and grab raids

using mopeds and an axe,

which police say they found just

behind the front door.

As officers retrieved

the axe from the property,

the 18-year-old is taken

into police custody.

He is one of three arrests

made across the city.

All are men aged between 17 and 20.

Officers believe the suspects

were involved in four recent thefts,

taking off with thousands of pounds

worth of luxury merchandise.

Each time, mopeds were used.

The people involved in these type

of offences are a real menace

to society and they blight our

communities, so we recognise we must

do more to tackle this issue.

An issue which not only involves

theft but is often linked

to knife and drug crime,

and has seen what has been described

as an extraordinary rise.

In the last 12 months,

mopeds have been involved

in nearly 23,000 offences,

compared with just

8000 the year before.

That is near threefold increase.

I think some it is generational.

I also think there is

a bit of a glorification

associated with it as well.

We have seen a lot of media

reporting around that.

Also, it is the mode

of transport around the mopeds.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner

says the force is iplementing

new tactics to crack down

on the crime.

There are a small number of people

who have been involved in a very

large number of offences.

Some of them are quite organised.

Some of them are frankly being

exploited by organised criminals.

Some of them are little

more opportunistic.

It is not a huge number of people.

We are bearing down on them,

catching them, locking them up

and also the public are becoming

more alert in high crime areas,

locking up their mopeds

and being more careful

around their phones.

But with such a significant increase

around these offences,

this is still a problem

which still needs addressing.

Now with just days to go before

Christmas, imagine waking up

to a letter through the post

from your local council -

asking for £2,000 by the New Year.

Well that's exactly what's happened

to an entire estate in Essex.

Residents there have been told

they need to pay to fix faulty

external water pipes

outside their homes.

Chris Rogers is in Basildon

for us now with more.

Chris, not much of

a Christmas present?

No, not really. Welcome to Basildon,

Essex. There is not much Christmas

cheer here where more than 5000

households are on a unique water

system. There is a communal boiler

to pump hot water into their homes

and, no water pipes running

underneath their houses. That makes

them privately owned pipes which

Basildon council needs access to so

householders are responsible for

maintenance and repairs. More than

200 private residents received a

bill for more than £2000 each. Merry

Christmas, everybody. Some of the

disgruntled residents have joined

us. You have got your bill here. How

did you feel when you opened it up?

Quite gutted that it arrived 14 days

before Christmas. It is a real shock

that they sent it out that late and

also there are people on fixed

incomes on the estate. We do feel

for them.

They will be worried.

Steve, Basildon Council have told us

today that you have known about this

for five years and the works were

completed in April.

We have known

about it but there were numerous

aspects which had not been resolved.

And there are lots of people who

will not be able to afford that and

as Gill said, to give us a bill of

that size and weeks before Christmas

is just ridiculous.

Some are still

not sure exactly what they are

paying for, they have not had a

proper itemised bill. That is

something you are concerned about

but you are worried about how you

will pay to?

Absolutely. I do not

have that sort of disposable income,

especially not at this time of year

when you are

trying to look after your family. I

have no idea where I will find this

from, even from a monthly payment,

if that is the route we end up

having to go.

Basildon Council say

they have offered these residents a

financial plan so they campaign

monthly. They have 28 days to get

back to the council to decide

whether to pay in full or in the

monthly instalments. You are all

feeling a bit bar humbug but you are

going to try and have a good

Christmas? We do wish you a Merry

Christmas from BBC London. Alex,

back to you.

Thank you.

Still to come.

Dozens of balloons,

pictures and letters left

in tribute to George Michael -

we'll find out what could happen

to the memorial his fans have

built near his home.

And variety performance is not dead.

Comedy chaos this Christmas,

courtesy of slightly fat features.

It was the healthy fried chicken

shop helping to limit child obesity.

But Chicken Town will close its

doors.

It is almost last orders at Chicken

Town, Tottenham's health fried

chicken shop.

Setting up a new

business is a challenge. I feel sad

that Chicken Town is closing down.

We have strong relationships with

families, primary schools and other

people in the area.

And 2015, this

has sold chicken to schoolchildren,

subsidised by the other customers.

Haringey Council has given them

£340,000, part loan, part grant.

Other zoos are not happy.

Working

here for 17 years, we have not been

given anything. There is another

chicken chop next door, another one

here, everywhere is the chicken

shop.

The money was part of the

fund, set up to provide employment

in Tottenham, but opposition

councillors say it would always be

risky. Fire macro as you can see,

there are hardly any footfall around

here and there are 34 fast food

places in a mile radius and we could

not see how it would be successful.

Haringey Council said they decided

to invest in Chicken Town after

reviewing a business plan and they

did monitor its funding. You are a

young teen comedy drink you were

naive when you set out to create a

restaurant? -- you are a young team,

do you think you were naive?

I do

not think it is about naivete, I

think it is about the severity of

the challenges that you face when

trying to create a positive

business.

The £210,000 loan and the

team here will be taken on by the

new owner. The community projects

will continue but the £130,000 grant

has gone and very soon so will

Chicken Town.

A teenager from north London,

is calling on the Prime Minister

to give free sanitary products

to all girls - who already

receive free school meals.

Amika George says she was taken

aback at the number

of women who simply can't

afford these products.

We'll be speaking to her in a moment

but first here's Alpa Patel,

who has been looking

at the cost of having a period.

On average, tampons and towels cost

13p each. According to one

organisation, one in ten girls aged

between 14 and 21 cannot afford

sanitary products. Using the BBC's

period calculator, on average a

woman will spend at least £1600 on

products throughout her life.

Campaigners say that means that some

go without. Which results in some

girls and women using substitutes

like toilet roll or clothing, which

can lead to rashes and other health

issues. We are just opposite Downing

Street and there are hundreds of

people here all in solidarity of

women and their periods. There are

banners, there are balloons. There

are women and men here, women of all

ages and from all over the world. We

will speak to the young campaigner

who is behind this. She is 18 years

old. She is Amika George.

My

campaign is called hashtag free

periods. It is asking the government

to provide free menstrual products

for all girls on free school meals.

They are the people from the lowest

income families. We know they are

from the lowest income families and

they are the ones who are most

likely to be suffering from period

poverty. This is when people miss

school for up to a week every single

month just because of their periods

or they force themselves to go to

school using tissue, toilet paper,

T-shirts, newspaper, horrible

alternatives which are obviously

hugely damaging.

And you have seen

this in your own school?

I have. It

is not just London. It is going on

all around the world and all over

the UK. I think that is what has

shocked a lot of people. The issue

came to light because of a charity

which was providing free products to

schoolgirls in Kenya had to redirect

them to schoolgirls in Leeds and I

think that sharp contrast is what

shocked a lot of people. Here, we

like to think we are very

prosperous, we are the fifth largest

economy in the world, everyone is

fine and then an issue like period

poverty comes to light and it proves

that there is real abject poverty.

There are people living in horrible

destiny to conditions and that needs

to be addressed. -- destitute

conditions.

This is a great protest, there are

politicians, actors here.

It is a

shame and a disgraceful stop there

are girls in the added kingdom that

regularly don't go to school because

they cannot afford sanitary

products. It's a disgrace we still

have sales tax on sanitary products.

It's absolute disgrace that so many

people are made to feel ashamed and

taught to feel ashamed of their

bodies from the youngest age.

Just

quickly, one last word from you. You

want Theresa made to listen to your

protest.

The reason we have done

this protest is to get the

government's attention, the

Conservatives have been dismissive

of period property and we are

presenting a solution, free

menstrual products to all children

on free school meals and the whole

reason for the protest is to get her

to respond, to get Theresa May or

Justine Greening to look at period

poverty and realise it an issue. It

would be amazing to get a meeting

with her and gas curd to address it.

-- get her to address it.

Thank you,

Alpa Patel.

A relative of George Michael has

said people should be able to gather

and add their own messages

and mementos to a memorial

outside the late singer's

house in North London.

Fans have looked after it

since it appeared after his

death last Christmas.

There had been some

reports which suggested

it should be removed.

Tarah Welsh reports.

We loved him so much.

It's been really tough.

He was such a big part in our lives,

you know, all of us.

He was like all of our

rock, to be honest.

That's what sort of man he was.

MUSIC: Never Gonna Dance,

by George Michael

A year ago on Christmas Day

George Michael passed away

at just 53 years old.

His music is famous around

the world and is still

topping charts.

But his fans say they need

somewhere to visit to

celebrate his life

and this has become it.

A garden outside the star's home.

What's important for fans

is we have somewhere we can

go and sort of like pay our

respects, because, you know, without

anything official being done

by anybody else this is all we have.

Different groups take turns

to keep the area tidy.

A lot of us are actually

still in denial and this

gives us a focus.

This became a sort of unofficial

memorial garden after

George Michael passed away.

So many flowers and

tributes were left

outside this home.

The fans move them over here.

Now, this is private land

and it belongs to George

Michael's private estate.

Michael's estate.

But there have been

media reports that some

neighbours aren't happy.

Well, I think the row's

been very talked up.

I haven't had any complaints.

Of course, there

are conservationists

who say they don't want this

to happen, but actually most people

I've spoken to think

it is absolutely fine.

George wouldn't want

a fallout with anybody, you

know, about it.

But his fans were very important

to and if this makes

them happy he'd be very grateful.

But what have locals in the pub

opposite been saying?

It's just part of the Highgate

furniture now and it's a real

destination spot.

A lot of tourists who come

into the public house may

be families who have

travelled from Australia,

South Africa, but this

is

a destination more so

than Highgate Cemetery.

Both fans and family agree a more

permanent tribute would be

needed eventually.

But for now this seems

to bring some comfort to so

many affected by the loss

of George Michael.

Tarah Welsh, BBC London News.

A lottery winner from Slough

who works as a care worker,

says she'll still do her 12-hour

shift on Christmas Day

because she loves her job -

caring for the elderly.

Patricia Aldridge and her husband

Robert won £1 million

in the Lotto raffle -

but say they won't

give up the day job.

I was already rotaed

to work Christmas Day,

so I'm just going to carry

on doing my shift and, you

know, so I've got no

plans to give up work.

I love what I do.

You never think you're

going to win it but

yeah, we won it, and

it's going to be nice.

First we had music hall and then

variety performance,

now most of us probably can't

remember the former,

but Variety was until quite recently

packing out theatres across the

West End.

These days, there's

only a handful left.

The most famous -

the Royal Variety Performance -

was on TV last night.

As Wendy's been finding out one

cabaret group is now trying

to reinvent the genre.

Well, I have to be very

careful what I say

here being as I'm in

the

middle of the show.

They cool themselves

Slightly Fat Features.

I didn't call them that!

Juggling is not the only thing

you'll see on the stage.

Stop, stop, ringmaster!

Tell us, what else will we see?

At Slightly Fat Features we've got

comedy, cabaret and chaos.

We've escapologists,

people escaping from things.

Things like this.

We've got magicians,

illusionists doing amazing things.

Things like this.

There will be weird

and wonderful things.

Things like this.

As you can hear we have original

live music throughout the

show tonight and putting

the eat into the beats...

DRUM ROLL.

Oh dear.

It's traditional variety, isn't it?

We know it has a history.

Does it have a future?

It definitely has a future.

Tonight we're going to pack

out the theatre with

grandparents, grandchildren,

comedy, cabaret, chaos.

We've been at the Palladium

this year, we've been to

France, we've been to Montreal doing

variety and it's working, so it's

come back.

It's not old-fashioned?

Definitely not.

This is comedy, it's cabaret,

it's chaos, it's a mixture

of stuff.

Kind of a little bit

of a nod to the old times.

But it's a new feel.

Proper variety then?

A proper variety show.

OK, you're going to give us

a finale, aren't you?

We are.

Go and get set up.

These guys are going

to be on stage at the

Leicester Square Theatre

until the 23rd and if nothing else

some silly fun on stage rather

brightens up the

gloomy days in the run-up

to Christmas, doesn't it?

Take it away, chaps.

Here we go, we are Slightly Fat

Features at the Leicester Square

Theatre until the 23rd of December.

Here we go.

Drum roll, please.

DRUM ROLL.

Oh, yes!

APPLAUSE

Slightly Fat Features,

thank you very much.

And I can reassure you no

reporters were hurt

in the filming of that report.

Now onto much safer terroritory

with the weather with Ben Rich.

Safe but not that inspiring at the

moment, if you were looking for

bright skies today you would

probably have to look pretty hard I

couldn't find many from our weather

watcher pictures, that was the scene

in London early on and in Sudbury,

grey skies, mist and murk earlier

this morning, and expect more of the

same the next few days, generally

cloudy, often murky, that it will

stay pretty mild. Here is your

satellite picture from earlier

today. Some rakes in the cloud as

you look closely enough but for the

most part we kept grey skies and as

we go through the evening and

tonight the cloud will be extensive,

it will lower down onto the hills

giving mist and fog and perhaps the

odd spot of drizzle as we head into

the first part of the morning. Look

at the temperatures, nine or 10

degrees, those are your overnight

lows, in mild night for this time of

year. Into tomorrow we will start

off with lots of cloud,

mist and murk, the odd spot of

drizzle around, and I'm not that

optimistic things will brighten up,

we will be lucky to see much in the

way of sunshine, largely dry into

the afternoon at temperatures not

doing too badly, 11 or 12 degrees at

best. Heading into tomorrow evening

you've guessed it, more of the same

and cloudy conditions and mist and

murk, and perhaps some more drizzle.

That takes us into Friday. For the

first part of Friday we might see a

bit more extensive light rain and

drizzle but it will not last long.

Actually there is a better chance on

Friday that skies will brighten a

bit. You can see the map writing and

in English touched so there may be

some sunshine, still double-digit

temperatures, and you may have

travel plans into Saturday and

Sunday, Christmas Eve, of course.

The weather is fairly plain sailing

but more of a chance of seeing

brightness, some sunshine at times,

and then what about the big day

itself? The pressure chart looks

like this, wriggling weather front

up to the north taking training to

the north-west of the British Isles

but it looks like we will stay

largely dry through the day and

pretty mild as well. In the run-up

to Christmas it looks pretty quiet

but not that inspiring, a lot of

cloud, some wrist and murk at times.

but not that inspiring, a lot of

cloud, some wrist and murk at times.

And a weekly weather front! Thank

you, Ben.

Now the main headlines:

The Metropolitan police,

is reviewing all its current sex

offence investigations

after the collapse of two rape cases

in the space of a week.

Police are keen to speak to a man

with a backpack who they believe may

know something about the deaths of a

father and his daughter last week.

It is thought the men are

responsible for more than £60,000

worth of thefts over the last few

months in mopeds related crime. That

is it from me. I will be back with

much more after the ten o'clock news

but for now have lovely evening.