05/01/2018 London News

Thank you.

That's all from the BBC News at

Six, so it's goodbye from me -

Good evening and welcome to the

programme with me Louisa Preston.

The family of a grandmother

who was killed by her former

Good evening and welcome to the

programme with me Louisa Preston.

The family of a grandmother

who was killed by her former

boyfriend has described him

as an 'evil and calculating' killer.

As we've been hearing.

Theodore Johnson murdered

Angela Best at his Islington

home after she started

seeing another man.

He had been convicted for two

previous killings and met his latest

victim whilst on day release

from a secure unit.

Today he was jailed

for a minimum of 26 years.

Frankie McCamley reports.

An inspiration to her

family, Angela Best

was someone who would

help

anyone who needed it.

But it was this kind

of nature that led to her

murder.

As she made her way to this flat

in Tufnell Park to help her

former partner, she was brutally

killed with a claw hammer, before

being strangled with a belt

from a dressing gown.

Today, Theodore Johnson

was sentenced to at least 26

years behind bars after changing his

plea at the last-minute from guilty

of manslaughter to

admitting to her murder.

This convicted murder,

tried to play the system as he had

successfully done so twice before.

He used diminished responsibility as

the cause for his murderous actions.

He knew exactly what

he was doing when he

planned and executed

the

horrific murder of our

beautiful, beloved, Angela.

The 64-year-old already had previous

convictions for killing two other

women.

In November 1981, the garage worker

was convicted of killing his

wife, evon Johnson by pushing

her over the balcony

of their 9th floor flalt.

In March 1993, he was

guilty of killing

his partner, Yvonne Bennett,

by diminished responsibility.

23 years later,

Johnson killed his most

recent partner, Angela Best,

after the relationship broke down.

I have spoken to one

of Theodore Johnson's

former colleagues, where he worked

in Tottenham as a mechanic.

He said he was shocked,

couldn't believe what had happened

but he was also angry,

questioning how Johnson

was able to kill for

a

third time.

He will have been probably subject

to multiple interventions from

police, probation, health and mental

health services, possible substance

misuse services, there are a number

of different agencies who have to

examine what action they took

and whether they can defend the

decisions they made.

Sat in a wheelchair

In court after trying to take his

own life by jumping on to railway

tracks, Miss Best's family heard how

Johnson met his wife while at

hospital. But they say this is now

the start of their life sentence of

grief and pain.

Lots more to come this evening,

including... Panto, helping those

with dementia out of the house and

into the theatre.

The Head of the London Hospital

with the busiest A&E

in the capital has urged patients

to not attend the department

unless absolutely necessary.

North Middlesex in Enfield

was at full capacity over

the Christmas period.

It's new Chief Executive,

has been speaking

to Victoria Hollins about

the pressure her staff is under.

Staff at this A&E know what it means

to be busy. They see on average 500

patients a day over the Christmas

period, yesterday the number peaked

at 599, a challenging time of year

for the new chief executive.

We are under pressure. There is

always pressure each winter but we

anticipate the pressure and start to

plan for it in October. So we

overbook four extra staff, we put on

a range of shifts, we open up extra

capacity across the hospital to take

more people.

This is not exceptional but with a

growing, ageing population with

complex needs, each winter it gets

busier. Yesterday, there were 126

emergency admission, on a normal day

there would be about 77.

Some nonemergency routine operations

are having to be cancelled, so what

would help to ease the pressure?

We

are urging people to try to use

alternative services unless they

really are needing absolutely

emergency care. Please use GPs,

please use 111, or some alternative

to make sure that our staff, our

very precious and wonderful staff

are able to focus on people who need

the extra level of emergency care.

This is a busy hospital, over the

Christmas period, almost every bed

has been full. With the weather

getting colder, the pressure will

increase. So the question every day

is how to go about freeing up bed

spaces. The solution can come from

unexpected places.

Are you on the mend, Frank?

I'm

getting there...

Frank could not be

discharged from north Middlesex

hospital as he had no shoes, they

were lost after he was brought in by

the ambulance. The finances director

heard about his plight during the

daily bed meeting so offered up his

own.

Did you manage to get them on. I'm

only a size 8?!

It helped to get

frank to leave the hospital and free

up a bed. I'm humble #d. It enabled

me to get home with dignity.

I am overwhelmed by this small and

spontaneous action has had. I would

like to emphasise that the staff,

who number over 3,000, will do

something like this every day and it

will go unnoticed.

More imaginative ways to free up

beds could be needed. Winter

pressure is unlikely to ease soon.

Winter pressure is

unlikely to ease soon.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,

has joined victims' groups and MPs

in calling on the parole board

to reconsider its decision

to release a serial sex attacker.

John Worboys was convicted

of twenty offences in 2009 -

but is thought to have targeted

more than 100 women.

Charlotte Franks is at Scotland

yard with more on this.

Charlotte is at Scotland Yard for

us. What more can you tell us about

this? Well, the Metropolitan Police

were criticised at the time of the

original investigation for failing

to follow up on leads at the time.

Today, the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, joined

calls for the Parole Board to

reconsider the decision to release

John Worboys. The Mayor demanded

that the women who had not had their

cases heard at the time, now have

the opportunity for those to be

reopened. Now Sadiq Khan issued a

statement, in it he said that public

confidence in our Criminal Justice

System is crucial and victims and

the public need answers from the

police and the Crown Prosecution

Service about the flawed

investigation and prosecution.

Today, the former met police

detective, Clive Sutton said that it

is time for the Crown Prosecution

Service to explain how and why it

came to that decision to release

John Worboys.

Was it one that was purely based on

practicalities and finances and

resources? Or based on the strength

of the evidence? You know, there is

no point in taking cases to court if

you cannot prove that the person is

guilty. But the thing is when you

get somebody with a distinctive

method as John Worboys had, by using

drugged champagne in the back of a

taxi, you can put other offences on

to that indictment with the strong

cases and you can end up with

convictions where the evidence is

not so strong as it presents a whole

picture to the jury.

Charlotte, what has been the

response from the Crown Prosecution

Service?

Well, the chairman of the

Parole Board, Professor Nick

Hardwick is to go before a group of

MPs to explain his decision. He has

apologised to victims who were not

alerted to Worboys' release, many

found out via the media. He says he

is very sorry but he does not want

to blame anybody. The Met say that

no investigations will be opened.

Charlotte, thank you very much.

Charlotte Franks there.

Former Ukip and Conservative MP

Bob Spink has avoided

going to prison after tricking

elderly people into

signing electoral forms

backing local candidates.

The 69-year-old from Essex was given

a suspended sentence and 150

hours of unpaid work

for the electoral fraud.

Andrew Sinclair reports.

Mr Spink, do you regret your

actions? It was, said the judge, a

sad end to a career in politics. Bob

Spink spent most of his life in

public service, now at 69, he has a

conviction for electoral fraud. It

was here in his seat of Castle Point

that the former MP, got frail and

elderly people to sign for the local

elections but they thought that they

were signing a pepation, not giving

support to candidates from Ukip. The

barrister for Mr Spinks said that he

accepted that people high pressure

misled but no cold hearted

villainry, and no money changed

hands but the judge disagreed. He

said that this may be trite but this

sort of offending undermines the

working of direction structures in

the country.

For most of his career, Bob Spink

was a loyal conservative with strong

views of immigration, in favour of

capital punishment and opposed to

abortion.

I have as of today resigned the

Conservative Party whip...

Ten years

ago he fell out with the party and

spent his last years Ann

independent. He later rejoined and

stood unsuccessfully for the Police

and Crime Commissioner. Also today,

given sentence, a colleague, who had

been in awe of Mr Spink. Tonight,

Ukip distanced themselves from the

former MP, who has well as doing 50

hours of unpaid work, will have to

pay costs of £5,000.

pay costs of £5,000.

A four-year-old boy is still

in hospital with serious injuries

after he and and his mother were hit

by bricks which fell from the top

of a three-storey building.

Ambulance crews were called

to the scene in Epsom

yesterday afternoon.

Police say masonry fell from the top

of a building on Church Street -

and so far it's been too windy

to make it safe.

A former executive at

an international entertainment

company who used a hidden pen camera

to film up women's skirts

has been spared jail.

It was suspended in the air

as part of a light festival

He was caught when an off duty

police officer noticed the camera

protruding from his bag at Clapham

station.

A giant ball has been removed

from the centre of Oxford Circus

after a passerby was injured

yesterday.

It was suspended in the air

as part of a light festival

which starts later this month,

but came loose in strong winds.

It will be reinstated

in the next few weeks.

Islington Council is demanding that

at least half of the homes built

on the site of Holloway Prison

will have to be affordable.

It says it won't give the green

light for any plans to go ahead

unless there are guarantees that

local people will get homes.

Our Political Correspondent

Karl Mercer reports.

The lights are on but no-one is

home. In fact, no-one's been here at

Holloway prison since it shut 18

months ago. A prime site near

Central London, looking less than

its best. The Ministry of Justice

owns the plot and is looking for

developers to buy it. Now the local

council is Islington has laid down

the law on what it wants here. It

will not back a plan unless it has

50% of genuine affordable housing on

it.

It is clear you can get 50%

affordable housing on to the site.

There is a housing crisis, we have

18,000 people on the housing

register, the #r5e89 reality is that

working people who work in the

borrow cannot afford to rent or buy

in the borrow at market rates.

Holloway was London's only all-women

prison from 1903 until it closed. It

had housed the suffragettes when

they were jailed. Today, the local

campaigners want that history

reflected when deciding what happens

to the site.

Things that could be on the site are

council housing, support for women.

A women's building. Community

interventions that support families

in the local area.

Look behind you, that is modern

housing?

Nobody in this area can

afford to move into the modern

housing developments. You talk to

the young in the street. They cannot

afford to live here, to rent or buy,

they are desperate for change.

The Ministry of Justice had closed,

they hope to announce the new owner

of the site in the spring. They said

that the amount of affordable

housing would be worked out with the

new owner and the council.

housing would be worked out

with the new owner and the council.

Still to come:

The search for more bell

ringers after a drop

in the number of volunteers.

After a day of sunshine and showers,

the weather is looking brighter and

colder through the weekend. I'll

have a full forecast later on in the

programme.

programme.

This week nearly 1.5

million of us watched

a relative unknown Rob Cross sweep

to victory in the world

darts championships.

His prize money?

£400,000.

This weekend will see some

of the world's best amateurs compete

in the BDO championships

at the Lakeside, where the men

can take home £100,000.

However the world's best women can

only win a top prize of £12,000.

World Championship qualifier

Tricia Wright from Mitcham,

has been speaking to Sara Orchard

about her hopes for

the Women's game.

The British Darts Organisation has

held their World Championships

at the Lakeside Country Club

in Surrey since 1986.

And they've had a women's

tournament since 2001.

After 17 years of trying, Tricia

Wright has qualified to compete.

I've been close so many times,

and I turned round and said,

I'm going to do it before I'm 60.

I'm 60 this year!

I've just squeezed in!

Walking into her lounge isn't quite

the same as a darts walk on,

but known as Tricia

the Right-Stuff Wright,

her walk on music had to be

New Kids On The Block,

you've got it, The Right Stuff...

Do you like the song?

Yeah, it's OK!

The Lakeside prize-money

for the women is eight

times less than the men,

although the hours of graft

by the game's top female stars

rarely differs from

their male counterparts.

We've been arguing this

for years, you know.

And I cannot see where

it's going to change.

And when it comes to Michael van

Gerwen, who competed in the PDC

recently, he said he never thinks

that women will be as good as men at

darts, do you see

that ever changing?

Possibly.

You know, if the women

didn't have to go to work!

And everything else.

For the professional

men, they've got more

time, if they are a full

professional, to just stand at that

board and hammer it all day long.

Tricia has competed against men.

Once pushing three-time world

champion semifinalist Darryl

"The Dazzler" Fitton to near defeat,

and words were whispered at the

oche...

I'm not allowed to repeat it!

He did say a few words,

but all in good fun.

All in good fun.

What Tricia can do

is give me a quick

masterclass in her front room...

I'm aiming for a triple 20...

Yes.

Well, you got a treble.

Is that...

Is that triple 18 or triple four?

That's a triple four.

Yes!

And after just five minutes...

No jerky.

I'll take that!

The BDO World Championships starring

Tricia Wright, not me,

starts tomorrow.

Sara Orchard, BBC London News.

Quite impressive from Sara!

For those with dementia getting out

and enjoying a social life can

sometimes be very difficult,

not just for those with the

condition but also for their carers.

Now a theatre in Havering is trying

to break down social barriers -

putting on a range of special

productions including

dementia friendly panto.

Helen Mulroy reports.

A day out at the theatre, a rare

treat for husband and wife of 52

years Margaret and Ken.

Since Ken's dementia

diagnosis two years ago,

getting out and about has become

much more challenging.

We did a lot of things,

but we did a lot of

things on our own

which now we don't do.

Now, our lives are very

much more together,

because he needs

the

back-up.

That's what I'm there for.

But it's possible because here

at the Queens Theatre in Havering,

they've put on a range of accessible

performances for audiences with a

number of different needs.

Today's is their dementia

friendly pantomime

Beauty And The Beast.

As you can see, our

house lights are on and

they will remain on during the

course of the performance so that

people are free to move

around if they require.

You'll see that our band

are on stage for the duration and

sound levels will be reduced

to avoid any shock or higher levels

that might be uncomfortable.

Scenic elements such

as pyrotechnics,

smoke, they are removed

from the production

to avoid any confusion

or

distress.

More than just changes

to the performance on stage, the

theatre actually put

up extra signage.

They also have more highly visible

and trained staff on hand to

help patrons.

Further to that, the Havering

Dementia Action Alliance

set up an information

table for those looking

for further support.

For those running a local dementia

community group, events like this

are invaluable.

You get a lot of isolation

because initially, you

don't know where you can

go, and they haven't

got a label on their

forehead saying,

"I've got dementia".

got a label on their

forehead saying,

"I've got dementia".

It's very important that people

socialise, if you've got

dementia and also for the carers

to be able to take someone to places

where they don't feel embarrassed

if they do something silly, or

something embarrassing.

Bringing a group of people

to something setup

for dementia, that's great.

And it isn't just the audience that

recognise the benefits.

It is one of the reasons why

we go into this sort

of business, because the theatre

should be for everybody.

It's about bringing stories

and music, and it's

not about bringing it

to one type of audience.

Margaret and Ken, how's it going?

It was good fun, yes.

And it's nice to have some

audience participation.

The Queens Theatre are planning

more accessible shows

this year.

They hope to inspire other

theatres to follow suit.

Helen Mulroy, BBC London News.

The sound of bells ringing is deeply

rooted in our culture but it seems

that the tradition could be under

threat in the capital.

London is suffering from a shortage

of bell ringers with many churches

struggling to get enough people

to operate the bells.

Ayshea Buksh has more.

It's a traditional sound in many

parts of Britain, but there's a fear

some of London's most famous

bells could fall silent.

Simon Meyer organises bell-ringers

for this city church

which is home to

the famous Bow Bells.

They are often rung for state

occasions such as a royal

wedding, as well as religious

festivals and regular Sundays.

It is always challenging

when you get big

events that need ringers at lots

of venues at the same time, because

there aren't enough

ringers in London to

man all the ropes at

the

same time.

You get some big occasions

and you're having to ring

at a lot of different venues.

You actually have

to cast the net quite

wide.

It's not uncommon for me to contact

40 or 50 people to try and

get a band for ringing here.

And to commemorate this

year's centenary of

the end of the First World War,

the government wants church bells

across the country to ring out

in unison on

the 11th of November.

There is a national

drive to recruit more

bell-ringers in order to remember

the many that died during the war.

We shouldn't be worried,

but we need to be

practical and pragmatic,

we

need more.

We need to build the pipeline

for the future so that's

what were trying to do,

for this remembrance

of the 1400 ringers

of

World War I who lost their lives,

and would like 1400 more this year

so that they can ring

on Armistice Day in November 2018.

This church in the West

End already has a

healthy bell ringing team but many

regularly travel in from outside

London.

I have a great friend who's

into his 80s now and he comes in

every Sunday morning and will ring

out two or three towers.

But those sort of people

are a dying breed,

sadly.

And some of the towers are really

struggling on a Sunday

because people do not

live up in London

and they aren't around

on a

Sunday morning but there is

a committed group of people who do

come in and maintain

the ringing on Sundays.

We even found one bell-ringer

who was on holiday from

Australia.

Since I've been here,

every tower I've been to there's

been lots of people around, and lots

of enthusiasm and lots of young

people, or people of all ages.

It's been really

good since I've been

here.

With many big occasions coming up

this year, it is hoped more

people can be found to pull

the ropes of London's famous bells.

Ayshea Buksh, BBC London News.

Let's get a check on the weekend

weather with Sarah Keith-Lucas.

Let's get a check on the weekend

weather with Sarah Keith-Lucas.

It is looking lovely, isn't it? Yes,

we saw some sunshine out there

today.

A wet and windy start of 2018 but

the weather is now planning down. It

will improve as we had through the

weekend. This was the scene earlier

today, taken by one of our Weather

Watchers in Twickenham. There could

be a few more showers, you can see

here that there is low pressure in

charge at the moment with weather

fronts approaching from the West and

the North. There is a bit more rain

to get out the way, before we see

the return to sunshine later in the

weekend. Through the rest of

tonight, there is a cloud increase,

some spots of light rain. Colder and

the North. There is a bit more rain

to get out the way, before we see

the return to sunshine later in the

weekend. Through the rest of

tonight, there is a cloud increase,

some spots of light rain. Colder on

more recent nights. Some mist and

hill fog in north London, a touch of

frost on the roads first thing in

the morning. Some frost Brown. A

chilly start on Saturday morning.

The day will not be improving in a

hurry, cloudy through the day,

drizzly rain, that will creep to the

south through the course of the

afternoon. There will be brighter

glimpses with temperatures colder

than recently. Cloud with patches of

light rain, sinking to be self,

three Saturday night and into the

early hours of Sunday, as the cloud

sync southwards, taking away

showers, clear and dry conditions on

Sunday morning. A chilly start of

the day, widespread frost, Sunday

morning could have the odd icy

stretch and in the countryside,

temperatures could fall below

freezing. After a cold start, a lot

of glorious sunshine. Early morning

mist clears away, and Sunday is set

to be a sparkling day. Temperatures

still of only 5-7d. Chilly despite

the sunshine around but it will stay

dry. High pressure stays in charge

of the weather through Sunday and

injured Monday. Keeping the weather

front at bay in the Atlantic. It

looks like a dry and settled spell

of weather continuing into Monday

too. Monday is fairly cloudy. And

fairly cool. Glimpses of brightness,

but turning less windy and dry too.

fairly cool. Glimpses of brightness,

but turning less windy and dry too.

A nice and bright weekend. Thank

you.

Now the main headlines...

The chair of the Parole Board has

apologised to victims of the serial

sex attacker John Worboys after some

of them were not told

of his imminent release

from prison.The black cab driver

was jailed in 2009,

for offences against 12 women.

One of the killers of the toddler

James Bulger has been charged over

indecent images of children.

The Crown Prosecution Service

says Jon Venables -

who now goes under a different name

- will appear at an unnamed

court, in private.

The author of a book

about the Trump presidency has said

staff at the White House

described their boss

as being like a child,

in need of instant gratification.

Michael Wolff told NBC News that

Mr Trump neither reads

nor listens to advice.

The White House has described

the allegations as "phoney".

A man from Islington who killed two

of his former partners has been

sentenced to a minimum of 26 years

in prison for the murder of a third.

Theodore Johnson admitted

beating and strangling

Angela Best in December 2016,

after she had ended

their relationship.

The Head of London's Busiest

Accident and Emergency Department

tells the public not to visit

unless it's vital.

The Chief Executive

of North Middlesex Hospital

in Enfield says its under pressure.

That's it.

I'll be back later during the ten

o'clock news, but for now

from everyone on the team

have a lovely evening.

Goodbye.