09/01/2018 London News

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me

On the programme tonight...

The 90-year-old stabbed

in the neck by her carer.

It's now claimed the company

which employed her were told

of her previous assault conviction.

All through this, I've

been calmly upset, but

now I'm extremely angry

and I want something done.

I want something done.

One charity tell us the "home care"

sector is in crisis.

Also ahead...

Giving parents extra time off

while their premature

babies are in hospital.

The London borough hoping other

employers will follow suit.

From the capital to Canvey

Island - why members

of London Orthodox Jewish community

are relocating to the Essex coast.

And celebrating the circus

as 2018 marks 250 years

of the popular art form in Britain.

A very good evening,

welcome to BBC London News.

First tonight: 90-year-old

Pamela Batten was almost killed

when she was stabbed in the neck

in her home by her carer,

who's been jailed for 21 years

for attempted murder.

But it's now claimed

that the healthcare company that

employed her knew that she had

a previous conviction for assault.

One charity has told this

programme Pamela's case

warrants a major inquiry.

Yvonne Hall has this report.

19-year-old Pamela Batten left

disabled and very frightened by a

so-called character to kill her --

90-year-old. Her son Sammy has

filled his mother for us. This is

what the so-called carer did to

Pamela. She hit her over the head

with a hammer and stabbed her in the

neck for cash. She's been jailed for

21 years for attempted murder. She

had convictions for assault and

burglary and should never have been

given a job looking after vulnerable

people.

I'm really angry. It may not

look it from the outside, but I'm

very, very angry.

The company who

employed the carer has always

insisted that despite robust safety

checks, it was not told by the

government's criminal records

checking system, the DPS, that the

carer had previous convictions for

assault and burglary. It says it

would not have employed her if it

had been told. But today, the Avant

said it had warned Avant about the

applicant's violent past and added,

this certificate listed Beavis

convictions, serious offences such

as ABH would not be filtered and

would be disclosed. This was Pamela

Batten's reaction today.

I am

surprised, because they always said

they didn't know anything about it.

So I am surprised.

Her son Sammy is

furious and is now considering legal

action.

I'm really upset. All

through this, I've been calmly

upset, but now I'm extremely angry

and I want something done. And I

want to see it done, I don't just

want to hear words. I want to see

positive actions and I want

something done about this.

A charity

campaigning for more protection for

elderly people says it's concerned

that others also be at risk.

The

reality is that the care sector has

been in crisis for a long time.

People are making decisions that are

expedient, that are there for the

moment, and they are starting to

disregard the protection of

vulnerable people.

We have been

trying all afternoon to get some

response from Avant health care

services to the DBS statement saying

the company was warned about the

applicant's violent background, but

so far, nobody from turkey has been

available. As well as action to stop

anyone else going through what she

has, Pamela would also like an

apology.

I'm disappointed. I mean, I

haven't heard anything from them

apologising or anything.

Coming up later in the programme...

We meet the woman who suffered

stomach pains for years -

only for doctors discover pieces

of a Heinz sauce sachet

in her intestine.

Now, having a baby can

of course be a daunting

experience for any new parent.

But for those give birth

prematurely, it can be even more

overwhelming and stressful,

often requiring a long

spell in hospital.

Around one in every 13 babies

is born prematurely.

And that's about

60,000 babies a year.

Now one London borough is believed

to be the first employer

in the country to give staff

extended maternity leave to care

for their premature newborns.

Here's Tolu Adeoye.

Imagine spending the start

of your new baby's life in hospital,

worried about their health instead

of at home, enjoying watching them

grow and develop.

Granny had to wait more

than six weeks to hold you.

What?

That's what happened to Katrina.

Her son Samuel was born at 30 weeks.

She says she then had

to go back to work before

she or Samuel were ready.

We were in hospital for eight weeks

before bringing him home,

and then when we came home,

he was very tiny and it was

difficult to bond with a baby

that had been taken away

from you at birth and

you had to leave him

in the hospital for so long.

And within months, it was time to go

back to work and for me,

that was too soon, but I had no

option but to return to work.

But once I was back

at work, it wasn't easy.

I struggled with my own mental

health, but also Samuel's health.

In the UK, maternity

and paternity leave start the day

after a baby is born.

Katrina has been campaigning

for extra leave for parents

of premature babies, and her charity

has its first real victory.

Waltham Forest Council is thought

to be the first to decide

to change its policy on leave,

even though there is

no legal requirement.

For every week before the due date,

the parent will be entitled

to full pay and leave

for maternity and paternity.

It's the right thing to do

for the right reasons to make

a difference to our staff,

to be a good employer

and to hopefully be a beacon

to others to follow suit.

This employment lawyer knows all too

well how challenging it can be

to have premature babies.

Her twins arrived at 33 weeks.

She says even if employers can't go

as far as Waltham Forest Council,

there's lots they can consider

to help support staff.

They might want to think

about additional annual leave.

They can think about unpaid

or paid special leave

and be a bit more flexible

and exercise some discretion.

For example, once a baby

is home, there are likely

to be further hospital

appointments and follow-up.

Often, sadly, there are also often

medical conditions that follow

from a premature birth,

so keeping that understanding

going beyond the return to work

and looking forward is also

something employers

should be looking at.

The idea to extend leave has been

discussed by MPs, and there

are guidelines advising employers.

Waltham Forest Council is a start,

but Katrina says she will keep

fighting until more parents

of premature babies get the leave

she believes they need and deserve.

A council leader criticised

for saying "aggressive begging"

should be tackled in Windsor ahead

of the Royal Wedding has

defended his comments.

Simon Dudley, of the Royal Borough

of Windsor & Maidenhead,

said he was referring

to "anti-social behaviour",

not homelessness.

The Prime Minister was among those

who disagreed with his views.

This the new Justice Secretary has

announced a review of procedures.

The decision to free the serial sex

attacker nine years after he was

sent to prison has prompted anger

from his victims. Some of the women

he had attacked found out from the

media.

Jo Johnson, the MP for Orpington

and younger brother of former

London Mayor Boris Johnson,

has become Minister for London.

He has been moved in the government

reshuffle to become

a Transport Minister,

moving from Education, where he had

responsibility for universities.

He will also take on responsibility

for the capital, replacing

Trade Minister Greg Hands.

Firefighters are still

on the scene of a huge fire

in Staples Corner in north London.

The blaze which started last night

destroyed a paint factory

and surrounding businesses have been

forced to close.

Firefighters removed

gallons of flammable liquid

tp stop it spreading

across an industrial estate.

But there are concerns

about the environmental impact.

Victoria Cook has more.

It took more than 100 firefighters

to get this fire at a paint factory

under control. Witnesses described

seeing fireballs shooting into the

air.

The smoke was visible

for miles across London.

No one was injured, but the building

has been completely destroyed.

The problem with a lot of these

buildings is that once

they become involved

with fire, they start

collapsing in on themselves.

That creates pockets

which we can't access

without getting into

the building, and there

are obviously risks associated

with entering a building which has

undergone partial collapse

in this way.

Surrounding businesses

were also forced to close,

the damage clear to see.

The local council says it will help

any businesses affected to try

and help them continue trading.

Not only are the Fire Service

dealing with the damage

to the building from the fire,

but paints and chemicals

from inside the factory have now

mixed with the water from the fire

from the fire pumps,

and it's now streaming down

some of the local roads.

The Environment Agency

are now here on site.

They've erected some of these yellow

barriers and they are aiming

to try and stop this from entering

the local water reservoirs.

We are working to prevent more

material than would cause

a significant pollution incident

to the watercourse, so we are trying

to prevent any fish or aquatic

organisms from being affected

and trying to prevent

anything from affecting

the drinking water supplies.

In today's instance,

drinking water should not be

affected as it doesn't come

from the reservoir, so we are

focusing on the aquatic environment.

The cause of the fire

is not yet known but

an investigation has begun.

The cordon will remain in place

here until at least tomorrow.

Fire crews will continue

to work on the building

throughout this evening.

The Football Association

is to introduce a new process

for whistleblowers.

Today came the admission that it

didn't have the right

climate for players to feel

comfortable airing concerns.

It comes after the high profile case

of discrimination suffered

by Chelsea Ladies player Eni Aluko.

Our Sports Reporter Chris Slegg

joins me with more on this.

Some would say finally, an

acknowledgement here?

Yes, it took

three internal reviews and an

appearance before a parliamentary

select committee to prompt the

reforms we are hearing about today.

The FA was accused of a cover-up,

something it denied, before it was

finally established that the England

women's manager Mark Sampson had

used discriminatory language against

Eni Aluko and her Chelsea team-mate

Drew Spence in the form of what was

termed to be ill judged jokes. By

that point, Mark Sampson had lost

his job anyway for a separate

matter. He was found to have had a

relationship with a player when he

was a manager at Bristol academy,

before he even got the England job.

So badly did the FA and the Aluko

case that there was stinging

criticism against the chairman, Greg

Clark, and the chief executive,

Martin Glenn. There were numerous

calls for them to resign. They have

clung onto their jobs, but have

admitted that the FA is too white,

too old and too male. They have now

brought in this new whistle-blowing

process, which they say should give

confidence to players from any

background to come forward with

concerns they have about bullying,

harassment or any inappropriate

behaviour or language.

The lessons we had to learn

from the Eniola affair

was really one of...

We didn't quite have the right

procedures in place for elite

people to raise concerns.

But I think more subtly,

we probably didn't have the right

climate in place for people to feel

they could raise those

concerns easily.

We want to make sure

that anybody who puts

on an England shirt,

male or female, has the opportunity

to air concerns or grievances

in a speedy and prompt manner.

Some would say we have heard these

assurances from previous FA

figureheads, but even Eni Aluko

herself has said on Twitter today

that she is pleased to hear about

these reforms. She appears to have

some confidence that change will now

happen.

And the FA announced another

key reform today.

Yes, the Rooney

rule. It was first brought into

American football in 2003, named

after the head of diversity there,

Dan Rooney. It means that whenever a

managerial or coaching vacancy comes

up at the FA, then at least one

qualified candidate from a black,

Asian or minority ethnic background

will at least be interviewed. This

is to try and get rid of the

perception that candidates from such

backgrounds are not given a fair

hearing, that there is some sort of

conscious or subconscious bias

against them. The English football

league, the professional game below

the Premier League, has already

brought us in on a voluntary basis.

The Premier League has yet to do so,

but the FA is bringing it in for all

of its national age-group teams, the

England men's and women's team, 28

teams that the FA overseas, and will

bring in the Rooney rule for any

managerial vacancy in any of those

teams.

Many thanks.

Stay with us because

still to come...

We are at the Natural History

Museum, where there are circus acts

among the artefacts for a very

special anniversary.

And after another day of grey,

the promise of something a bit

brighter, if not sunnier tomorrow.

Join me for the full

details in the forecast

later in the programme.

Before that, we've been to meet

a woman from Slough who thought

They've long had ties

to Stamford Hill in north-east

London, but now some

of the capital's ultra-orthodox

Jewish community are on the move.

They're heading to Canvey Island

in Essex, in what's believed

to be the biggest exodus

since the Second World War.

Part of the reason for the move

is the soaring cost

of housing in the capital.

Tonight, a BBC documentary looks

at the challenges they face

as they attempt to integrate

in an area once voted the most

English place in Britain.

Gareth George reports.

We're more or less keeping

the building structurally as it is.

Joel Freidman shows me plans

to build a Jewish Community Centre

on Canvey Island and he explained

why 35 Orthodox Jewish families have

relocated to Canvey.

The decision was taken simply

because the house prices in London

are through the roof,

almost unaffordable,

and Canvey Island is

the promised land.

This is where they're from,

Stamford Hill in Hackney,

but big families are squeezed

into tiny flats.

In Stamford Hill a four

or five bedroom property

costs £1 million or more.

On Canvey, a similar size

house is half that price.

I'm on my way to

Canvey with Natalie.

The story of the community's move

from London to Canvey is told

tonight in a BBC One documentary

called Canvey - The Promised Island.

One family is amazed at how much

more space they'd have.

What about the garden?

The garden's a good size, again.

It's huge.

Wow, man.

This is exactly 12 times the size

of my entire house, the garden.

I'm not talking about the house.

Canvey is in a constituency

which voted overwhelmingly

for Brexit and there were concerns

about the reception the Jewish

families would get, but in a cafe

on the seafront, deputy mayor

Barry Campagna said Canvey

welcomes newcomers.

This is the idea of the documentary,

to let Canvey people know about them

and let them know about us.

When they first come down here,

they didn't really say much,

but Canvey people won't let you walk

past without saying hello.

So that's a bit of an icebreaker.

So far, so good.

It's very nice.

The documentary shows the two

communities having a meal together.

Whatever our religion,

whatever our tradition,

what we have in common

is our humanity.

They have many things in common.

For decades, Canvey Island has

provided a home for those

leaving the capital hoping

for a better life.

Gareth Goerge, BBC London News.

You can see the programme, Canvey -

The Promised Island,

tonight at 10.45pm, here on BBC One.

Before that, we've been to meet

a woman from Slough who thought

she had a debilitating stomach

condition for six years,

only for doctors to find pieces

of a Heinz sauce sachet

in her intestine.

a leading Medical Journal

where people have developed bizarre

symptoms or illnesses

from every food, drink

and domestic items.

Frankie McCamley has the story.

This doctor was handed her case.

The

place that it occurs is in the last

bit of the small bowel. Jo had a

lump exactly in that area. In fact

when I examined her, she had a

tender lump. I will no doubt in my

mind that this was Chron's lung.

He

realised it had nothing to do with

it when he operated.

Suddenly a

piece of blastic popped out from the

middle of a small abscess. That had

clear letters "Heinz" on It was a

it.

Big mystery?

I had no

recollection of eating these pieces

of plastic. To this day, I don't

know when it could have happened.

They could have been in there

years... For six years, it could

have been there for how many years.

The team sent her case to the

British Medical Journal. This month

it's been highlighted as one of the

most bizarre symptoms or illnesses

developed from every day domestic

items.

Despite the investigations

that we had, the package would not

show up and it very, very

accurately, to a degree, mimicked

what you can sometimes see in

Cron's.

Jo has made a full recovery,

five years on, and is looking

forward to what the future has to

offer. Unbelievable.

A trip to the circus these days

can be a spectacular

sight with acrobats,

cutting edge visual effects

and even the odd clown.

But the attraction has a long

history here in the Capital -

250 years in fact.

Wendy Hurrell is at the Natural

Museum History where a special

performance is taking place to mark

this year's anniversary.

I see you found a few friends,

Wendy?

Oh, yes. Welcome to the

Natural History Museum, as you've

never seen it before. Underneath the

blue Whale we have in#kredible

performers. Circus acts. --

incredible. The reason for the

circus theme this year is because

today is a very special anniversary.

Horses in headdresses,

clowning cricket, the Ringmaster,

all under the big top tent.

Circus has been an enduring

family entertainment.

But its history goes much,

much further back than this

mid century archive.

It was on this day, 250 years ago,

than an ex-cavalry man, called

Phillip Astley, roped off an area

here in Waterloo and performed

tricks on horse back.

Later he filled his shows

with astonishing acts - jugglers,

acrobats and tumblers.

It was the world's first circus.

He even married an expert horse

woman and she did an act

where she dipped her hands in honey

and bees were attracted to her hand,

and theb she would canter around

the ring with a muff of bees

around her hands.

Extraordinary.

What must Londoners have

made of this spectacle?

Well, I think they thought

it was absolutely wonderful and

it attracted them to

the South Bank of the river,

it attracted them to the South Bank

of the river, which was

the theatre for entertainment.

Because by this time you'd got

the established theatres

over on the north side,

but on the south side you began

to get all this rather exciting

sort of entertainment.

Back north of the river,

today's circus isn't about equines

rather a theatrical show

of superhuman strength and skill.

As demonstrated by Cirque du Soleil,

which has rolled up

at the Royal Albert Hall this week.

The traditional circus still exists

and it's really important

to maintain that history

and that culture.

What Cirque du Soleil did, in 1984,

was take away the animal aspect

and just focus on the strength

and the amazing aspects

of what people can do,

and we've been able to take those

crafts and grow with them

and modernise them and bring them

to a whole new level.

There will be a lot of circus

throughout this year to celebrate

that anniversary. To tell us more is

a representative from.

This is a

huge celebration of the UK's

creative industries that are our

fastest growing sector. It's

dynamic, cool and fun. We have

circus celebrating 250 years. We are

at the Natural History Museum you

see the whale here, a huge refurb.

That is what makes London amazing.

It's what makes the UK great. It's

really our calling card around the

world and we're here to celebrate

it. 600 guests tonight.

It will be a

great event. Circus is so popular

across London?

It is. It's hugely

upon o popular. Look at all our

arts, culture and creative

industries, amazing museums and

galleries, our theatre, people

playing video games, TV,

architecture, fashion, music we are

all there. They are all our members.

It's a growing movement. The really

important part is we have all the

top politicians from all the parties

celebrating the absolutely crucial

economic and social benefit that

this incredible sector brings. This

isn't just entertainment this is

hard benefit for this country.

£92

billion I think it creates in

revenue. Thank you very much for

joining us. That is a celebration

not just of circus, as John said, of

all the creative industries across

London of which there are many,

aren't there?

Absolutely.

I love the attendive lion there.

Wendy, thank you very much.

Time for a look at the weather

and Matt is here.

What have you got for us?

What have you got for us?

This weather watchers shot across

the Thames. It has been a grey, damp

and chilly day across the capital

and the south-east. We will inject

more colour back into things

tomorrow. Bringing that change is

what is happening to the west of the

UK. This is a weather front which

will slowly push northwards and

eastwards behind which we have

clearer skies, a little bit of

sunshine for tomorrow. It's across

Cornwall and Devon at the moment.

This evening will be dry, misty and

murky. There will be patchy rain or

drizzle spreading northwards and

eastwards. Light winds but

temperatures should hold between

three and seven degrees into

tomorrow morning. A grey start, a

damp start, patchy rain or drizzle

mainly across to the east by the

time we hit 8.00am. It may take a

while to bright up. It will be a day

of sunny spells rather than clear

blue skies. A big improvement. With

that sunshine and light wind it will

feel warmer. Temperatures to around

10 Celsius for one or two as we

finish the afternoon. Wednesday

night, the temperatures will drop.

We have clear skies to begin with,

light winds. You will notice the

misty hue appearing on the map.

Dense fog patches will form into

Thursday morning and temperatures

close to freezing. We have that

problem for the morning commuters on

Thursday of frost and also dense

fog. . That fog, where it does form,

could linger for good parts of the

morning, if not into the afternoon

for one or two. It will still feel

rather chilly. Temperatures will

drop comparative to Wednesday, down

around six or seven degrees. The

pressure chart, not many lines on it

as we go through are Thursday night

into Friday. Light winds and a risk

of mist and fog to take us into

Friday. It should be dry, but not

particularly warm. To go with the

frost some of the fog will linger as

well. We may go back to the grey

skies after that welcome sunshine

tomorrow. A cheeky smile there.

Matt, thank you.

A reminder of the main headlines.

A court's heard that the former

football coach Barry Bennell

was a "predatory and determined

paedophile alleged to have

subjected a number of boys to abuse

on more than 100 occasions.

He denies multiple historical

sex offence charges.

North and South Korea have

held their first talks

than two years and have agreed

further discussions

to ease military tensions

in the region.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested

on suspicion of murder

after a shop worker in Mill Hill

was attacked and died

in hospital yesterday.

Officers say when staff refused

to serve them because of their age,

they became aggressive.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have

visited a youth radio station

in Brixton on their first royal

engagement of the year.

Reprezent FM trains hundreds

of young people every year in media

and employment skills.

You can see more on that on the BBC

London Facebook page.

That is all from us for now.

I'll be back with our

late news at 10,30pm.

From me and the team here,

thanks for watching

and have a lovely evening.