16/02/2018 London News

disappointing, cloudier and damp for

most of us.

Tonight on BBC London News, ten

years after the death of this man in

police custody one officer is

suspended and now faces disciplinary

action.

Why should a family have to

fight for justice to find out how

their loved one died at the hands of

the state?

We will have an update on

the case of Sean Rigg who died at

Exton police station. Also denied a

safety drivers launched by Uber to

protect passengers and drivers but

is it enough to win back the

company's license? And the fading

dream of home ownership, how the

number of young adults buying a

property in London is plummeting.

And the films short listed for an

Oscar for their visual effects, we

visit the Soho company which helped

to create them.

Good evening and welcome to the

programme with me, Louisa Preston.

First tonight. Ten years after the

death of a mentally ill man in

police custody and officer has been

suspended. Sean Rigg died in Brixton

police station in 2008. Today his

relatives have spoken out about the

length of time it is taken to find

out exactly how their loved one died

whilst in the care of police

officers. Chris Rogers explains.

Sean Rigg overcame his mental health

issues through music.

In August 2008 he was

arrested for threatening

behaviour.

He was restrained, and later died

in police custody at

Brixton police station.

This week would have

been Sean's 50th, on the

11th.

Reminiscing, basically,

and it is sad that, ten years later,

I'm still having to fight on behalf

of

my family to get some

sort of accountability.

Their only hope is

disciplinary hearings for the

officers involved but the family

accused the Met police of sitting on

their hands as two officers

try to retire or resign,

which would prevent them facing

any further scrutiny.

I will challenge

and try anything for

some form of accountability.

Do you think you will get it?

I have no faith in

the judicial system,

because I've had to challenge every

step of it and I shouldn't have had

to do that.

And not only me but other

families as well.

Three officers involved remain

on restricted duty but today the

family were forced for

a second time to threaten

legal action to stop

an

officer from leaving the force.

The family of Sean

Rigg only learned of

Sergeant Paul White's plans to

retire in the last few days, forcing

them to appeal to the

Met Police to step in.

And next week, the family

are at the High Court, as PC Mark

Harriott appeals against his

suspension to stop them from

retiring.

And we have also learned that both

officers now face allegations

of lying to the inquest

into Sean Rigg's death,

and independent police

watchdog investigators.

It is the latest twist

in a long legal battle,

in 2012, an inquest finds police

used unsuitable force on Sean Rigg

but in September 2016,

the Crown Prosecution

Service decides there

is

insufficient evidence

for criminal charges.

In November 2016, Sergeant Paul

White is found not guilty of

lying at the original inquest.

A charity which represents families

who have lost loved ones in police

custody says it is familiar

territory for most cases.

We have to have a system

that is a lot fairer,

and we need a police complaints

process that is fit for purpose.

Initially, the Met police refused

to comment on Sergeant White's

retirement.

Only tonight after calls

from the family of Sean Rigg and the

BBC was his suspension announced,

and it means the family now still

have hope of finding out exactly

how and why Sean died.

Chris Rogers, BBC London News.

Uber is to introduce

new measures to protect

its passengers and drivers.

The company is currently fighting

for its future in the capital,

after having its licence stripped

last year because of concerns

over passenger safety.

An appeal against that

decision is to be heard

in the high court in June.

Emma North has more

on today's developments

and is at Uber's Headquarters.

Emma.

Think it's safe to say that time is

ticking for Uber. It is five months

now since decided it was not fit and

proper to hold a licence in London.

Uber wants to show it has changed

its ways. So today we heard a list

of things Uber intends to bring in

to make things safer for customers

and drivers. Firstly there will be a

24-hour manned phone line so that

drivers and customers can call in if

there's any problem and this human

being they can talk to. Second big

customers will get more details

about the licenses of the drivers so

they will know whose car they are

getting into and who is driving that

car. And thirdly drivers will be

limited to being behind the wheel

for no more than ten hours at a

stint so nobody drives too tired but

will it work?

Uber's future is at stake.

For both customers

and drivers this means

seeing more of a personal touch.

Gareth, a typical Uber

driver who prizes

flexibility in his life,

he

combines being a stand-up comedian,

home-schooling his son with an

average eight hours

a day behind the wheel.

In the time that you've been working

for Uber, how has the

attitude towards their

drivers changed?

Well I did have an issue

with something and I had to send an

e-mail, and there was no

number to call, so this,

it's always nice to speak to a human

and not kind of go

through a series

of FAQs on a screen.

Serious worries about Uber's safety

and security led to TfL

taking away its licence last year.

Uber says its new measures,

such as a telephone

hotline and more of

the

drivers' details being available

to customers are a sign it's learnt

its lesson.

What's your relationship

like with TfL at the moment?

We are in constructive

conversations with

TfL and today some of

the announcements we've made a

responding to the criticism we've

had from them so we've got a new

approach to reporting incidents

to the police and we hope this

demonstrates that we've listened

to the feedback and we are making a

positive change.

Uber's battle to stay

on our streets is very much a

public one.

When it lost its licence,

or than half a million

people signed a petition to get

TfL to change its mind.

But Transport for London

holds all the cards here

and it is making sure

its rules will reflect

transport in London has changed.

For example it is looking

at cutting the number of

hours drivers can work

and forcing companies

to hand their data to

the

government.

One suggestion from TfL

was a service or women only.

Why, can you imagine if someone said

Ubers are going to be men only?

There'd be an outrage.

It's a good idea I think.

Also I think people can make use

of other features they have,

like you can send your tracking

information to friends, it's a good

idea, especially if it makes

people feel more safe.

It's just assuming that the men

are like, have bad

intentions, I guess.

But you never know who you

are going to be in a

car with.

This is all about intentions,

Uber wants to give its

40,000 drivers and its 3 million

customers here in London.

To do so it has to be

seen to be turning the

corner.

So some pretty serious promises but

bear in mind there was serious

criticism aimed at Uber by TfL last

year. Uber will find out if it had a

feature in the capital later this

summer. Emma North, thank you.

So we've been hearing how

the number of young adults

buying their own homes has

significantly fallen

over past 20 years.

Well the dream to buy a property has

faded in the capital more

than anywhere else in UK.

We've visited one London firm

where employees have outlined

the huge challenge they face to get

onto the property ladder.

Here's our political

correspondent, Karl Mercer.

It's Friday morning

at Big Sky Set Build,

a busy workshop in North London

with a skilled and young staff -

just the sort of people a report out

today says are finding it harder

and harder to buy a property

here in the capital.

Hi, I'm Dan Lawrence.

I've lived in London

for about 14 years now,

and I'm a set builder.

Yeah, pretty much all my

friends, that are working,

normal skilled jobs,

getting paid average.

No one seems to be able

to afford a house.

It's up to getting

an inheritance or something,

the only real possible way.

My name is Sam Cunningham.

I've lived in London for five years,

and I'm 26 years old.

We currently rent in zone five,

which means I'm paying rent

and travelling in from zone five

every day to zone one,

so it kind of takes off any sort

of extra income I might have.

An Institute for Fiscal Studies

report today shows how

things have changed

for 25-to-34-year-olds earning

between £22,000 and £30,000.

Back in 1995, nearly half

owned their own home.

Now it's just 20%.

So London's seen the sharpest

fall in home ownership,

and that's not surprising

when you consider the fact that

three-quarters of 25-34-year-olds

in London face average house prices

in the capital of more than ten

times their annual income,

so for the vast majority

of Londoners today it really does

seem like houses are out of reach.

That means demands

on money can hit hard.

Saving for a deposit

can be difficult.

My name's Dino Forte, I'm originally

from the Scottish Borders.

I've been down in London

for coming up about six years,

and I've been working on my current

job for about five years.

So I'm 30.

My fiancee, Natasha, she's twenty...

27.

You better get that right!

Yeah, I know, just thinking that.

I proposed to her in the summer, so,

you know what I mean,

not only saving up for

a wedding, you know?

And I guess in that sense, like,

you'd have to potentially

put that on hold -

say you did want to get

married, it's either...

You can't do both things.

My name's Jon Petrie.

I'm originally from Glasgow.

I'm 35 years old.

I've lived down in London

for almost six years.

You're led to believe that

you should own a house and that

that is the value of success.

If you own your own home,

then you have that security,

but it doesn't really feel secure,

the idea of owning a home, any more.

It feels like more of a burden

than anything else.

A woman has been charged

with murdering a seven-month-old

baby girl who died last year.

Shalina Kukkundoor

Padmanabha appeared

at Chelmsford Magistrates Court.

Police were called to a home

in Buckhurst Hill last

August after receiving

a tip-off from paramedics.

The baby died in hospital -

and tests showed the child had

suffered multiple fractures.

Utility companies could be charged

up to two and a half thousand pounds

a day for digging up the busiest

roads at peak times.

The aim would be to cut traffic jams

caused by roadworks.

Councils could be given the powers -

following a trial in parts

of London and Kent,

which significantly cut congestion.

Next the DIY detective.

A store owner who felt he had

to do his own investigation to help

catch a shoplifter who stole

expensive equipment from him.

The owner of Camden Guitars felt

the police weren't doing enough

and took matters into his own hands

to seek justice.

Jim Wheble has the story.

Camden Guitars, all about the spirit

of communication and with all this

equipment a bit of trust.

I had a

bad feeling so I came downstairs to

check what was happening.

In March,

Deicola Neves the owner was robbed

by somebody in his studio.

I went to

check the microphone, it wasn't

here, the box was empty, it was

gone.

The loss of that £3000

microphone lead to an unlikely

journey from shop owner to DIY

detective.

I had to find a way to

track him, to find where he is all

track. So I went to the computer,

his Facebook was mobbed in there,

and it had his name in their --

logged in.

With this and CCTV given

to the police and the real

detectives found an address but

several visits led to no arrests.

After two months, I didn't hear from

them and I was sending them all the

details, I was doing my own

research. But eventually the police

just said, we have to close the

case.

Deicola persevered, finding

out with a shoplifter was gigging,

finding out even when he had

previously worked and visiting his

old workplaces, telling the police

to no avail until Deicola had as an

breakthrough, the shoplifter was

performing at a gig right around the

corner.

So I said, I'm going to go

around there and see if I can find

him. So I went there and he was

there.

So you ran to the high street

to find officers, you managed to

find them and they're what happened?

They came and they finally arrested

him.

That arrest finally led to a

conviction that it is an experience

that is left Deicola feeling let

down by the police.

I was

disappointed, I expected the police

to be more helpful.

To do what you

did.

Exactly.

The Met police say

they are happy to discuss any

concerns he has about the

investigation but for the DIY

detective it is case solved. Jim

Weibull, BBC London News. Still to

come, tech success, how boffins in

Soho have been behind the scenes of

an Oscar win every day for a decade.

And coming up in whether the last

thing we want is a sunny Friday

followed by a cloudy wet weekend.

What will happen with the weather

this weekend? Keep watching, I've

got the full forecast coming up.

Now to one of London's largest urban

talent shows, which helped launch

the careers of stars like singer

Leona Lewis and the dance

group Diversity.

It's held at the Hackney Empire

and organised by a group aiming

to steer young people away

from gangs and crime.

Ayshea Buksh is there,

where the show is well underway.

Good evening from a fantastically

noisy and excitable Hackney Empire.

The show is well under way, this is

the under 13 section, and the

audience is full of friends and

family and supporters of those

taking part. But for the organisers

this is far more than just a talent

show.

Last minute preparations and

the Crib youth project in Hackney

for their biggest night of the year.

The talent show has singers, dance

groups and poets performing

live on stage at the Hackney Empire.

The young people come from different

youth clubs and centres across

London.

Organisers say the aim of the event

is to show the creative potential

young people have when given

the right support.

All we ever hear is negative

things about young people,

like gang-related - this one's

getting stabbed, the parents

bury their children,

so we need to show the positive side

of young people, what they actually

do, because that is not being shown.

The Crib is based in

the De Beauvoir Estate in Hackney.

It works with hundreds of young

people and their families.

As well as a youth club,

it runs regular workshops on issues

such as knife crime and mental

health and well-being.

Pembe Tokluhan went to the Crib

as a youngster, and now works

as a professional stage manager.

She's been coordinating

the Boroughs United event.

We have over 200 people backstage -

there are all volunteers.

And I think that's

the difference with us.

There are a lot of talent

competitions, but there is nothing

that specifically targets all 33

boroughs across London,

and that's what we target,

within London and bringing everyone

together to be one community.

One local young woman taking part

is singer Elaria Admasso.

It will be the first time she's

performed on such a large stage.

I think getting to a bigger place

kind of expands my experiences,

and it helps me and my future

with my singing career.

It's like I really appreciate

it, and it feels like

an achievement to me.

Organisers hope tonight

will help break down barriers

between youngsters from different

parts of London, and promote

peace and positivity

to the wider community.

Ayshea Buksh, BBC London News.

Well, that message of peace is

certainly evident tonight at the

show. It got underway with a montage

of young people that had been killed

since last year's show at the

Empire, and at this very noisy venue

a few minutes of silence was

observed by everybody here. Then, of

course, the talent came on, and the

act started to perform. A huge

variety of acts, all different ages.

One of them, who was a previous

winner, is here tonight. Good

evening. Jermaine, you were the

winner is here at Boroughs United.

This must take you back?

It takes me

back to all those many moons ago

when I performed on this hackneyed

Empire stage for Boroughs United and

it is great to see they are

continuing with the effort to engage

young people in their talents and

skills and giving them a platform to

know their value and their words.

Actually, I am good at dance,

singing, production, and all of a

sudden sending a positive message

out to the world

that this is what our young people

are doing. Stop focusing on the

violence on the streets and start

focusing on the great work these

young people are doing in our

communities, on Aristides.

Have you

seen some good acts you like

tonight?

Yes, I am a judge. Well

they are performing now I have

someone performing for me but the

talent is really is.

Jermaine has to

get back to the box to judge this

evening, and the show will go on

late into the night. Back to you.

STUDIO: Ayshea

late into the night. Back to you.

STUDIO: Ayshea, enjoy it. Thanks

very much.

Football now, and the FA Cup 5th

round gets under way tonight.

For the first time in 10 years,

only two London teams

have made it this far.

Both will be hoping to avoid shock

defeats this weekend starting

with Chelsea who host Hull

at Stamford Bridge tonight,

where Chris Slegg is.

Chris?

Yes, Chelsea will be firm

favourites against them tonight. And

Hull will be firm favourites against

Rochdale. Is this Chelsea's most

realistic route to silverware now?

Manchester City have run away with

the Premier League, and in the

Champions League Chelsea have a huge

task with the Barcelona visit here

on Tuesday in the first leg in the

round of 16, so plenty riding on

this. Added significance to this

match, because there has been the

sad news this week that Ryan Mason,

the Hull midfielder, has had to

retire at the age of 26. He used to

play for Tottenham, grew up in

Enfield, and he fractured his skull

when Hull played Chelsea here last

season. We can hear from him now and

then from a very sympathetic Chelsea

manager Antonio Conte.

Medically, from a medical point

of view, it's a no-brainer.

The more research and the more

things we found out,

the risks are just far too high.

So, like I said, I'm content.

I know I'm making the right

decision, 100% the right decision.

I'm not going to regret it.

It's a pity.

This news is bad news for us,

and we are very sad.

The players in the club wish him

and his family the best,

the best for the present,

the best for the future.

Chris, very difficult time for Ryan

Mason. But on the pitch what can we

expect from Chelsea tonight?

Well,

after a run of results, you know,

the mood has lifted somewhat after

the 3-0 game with West Brom, taking

the pressure somewhat of Antonio

Conte. He will have to rest some

players with that huge Barcelona

match coming, then a tough fixture

away to Manchester United, then

Manchester City in the league. He

has a few injuries to content with,

David Luiz and Ross Barkley among

them, but you would imagine whatever

team he puts out tonight will be too

strong for Hull side one point above

the relegation zone in the

championship. Just to see there is

live commentary of this match on BBC

London Digital radio. Back to you.

Chris, thanks very much for that.

Prince Harry joined 10,000 rugby

fans at Twickenham Stadium

today to watch an open training

session with the England rugby team.

The Prince met the players

who are currently preparing

for their Six Nations match

with Scotland next week.

He attended the event to celebrate

grassroots clubs and charities

using rugby for good.

What Harry does so well

is that he is so accessible,

and I think he does a great job

of promoting sport,

and I think working,

coming down to the RFU today,

the crowd having the opportunity

to see the players but also to see

a member of the Royal family,

it just adds to that bit

of icing on the cake.

He has done at the last three

or four times we have been here,

and I think it just makes the day

that little bit more magical.

They're scenes of futuristic

worlds which transform

us in time and space.

Behind the computer generated

content is a company in Soho

which has become a world leader -

so much so it's worked with every

film nominated in the Visual Effects

category at this years Oscars.

Wendy Hurrell has been

to meet the team.

Behind the visual effects that put

us in fantasy spaceships...

Bring life to the faces of chimps...

Or take us into dystopian futures...

There is a very clever piece

of software developed in Soho.

It's called Nuke.

It's about mixing the real

and unreal together to make them

look like they blend together

perfectly and are shot

from the same camera.

So while the actors play

ape on the sound stage

with special effects, the creatives

are generating computer

imagery, and they are seamlessly

merged here at Foundry.

It's actually tracking

where all the pixels are going

in the image, the movement.

Clever. So your computer at this

point has built itself a camera?

A

virtual camera, yes, following the

path of that image over the

sequence.

You have drawn it as an

old-fashioned camera as well, a nod

to the old days.

LAUGHTER

In this year's Oscars, they can't

lose. Every nominee in the Visual

Effects category has used their

software. They have been behind win

every year for the past decade in

fact, but you will never see them

upon the dazzling Oscar stage.

We

get recognised, but not in that way.

We work on the tools, the software,

the solutions, to help them bring

that magic to the screen, but we are

absolutely in the background.

They

got this Academy Park last weekend.

For the science bit, there is a

separate ceremony. -- Academy

plaque. Once in an office above a

chicken shop, Foundry now uses 3000

people worldwide and they will be

come February the 4th behind another

Lovely today, what has the weekend

got in store for us?

Nick Miller.

Friday sunshine normally

Friday sunshine normally puts a kiss

of death on the weekend, but we will

have some sunshine tomorrow. Not as

much as this, this skies above

Esher. Some cloud coming into the UK

at the moment which will turn things

wetter overnight, and although we

will see some cloud in our skies, as

the night goes on there. A few holes

in that cloud allowing temperatures

to dip away for a touch of frost.

Focusing on are part of the world

ahead of that system, then again

some cloud drifting through the

skies of temperatures not in as much

of a hurry to drop down as they were

yesterday evening but they are still

expected to fall close to freezing,

perhaps a little below in some

parts, so still a touch of frost

going into tomorrow morning, just

not as cold as it was this morning.

Tomorrow morning there will be some

sunshine around and there will

continue to be some sunny spells for

much of the day. More in the wake of

patchy cloud here and there, and I

think we will see that into the

evening, but after the chilly start

it would be pleasant again, the eyes

of around 8-10 or even 11 Celsius.

Into the evening cloud increasing

and there may be a light shower

moving through but it is more likely

to stay dry. Once that has gone

later tomorrow night there will

still be a touch of frost, but this

is the second part of the weekend on

Sunday, a whole different story. The

cloud and rain I was talking about

for Sunday night looks to be an

earlier. If you were with us

yesterday it looks to be an earlier

for Sunday but through the afternoon

we will see some outbreaks of rain

moving this way, so increasingly

dull and damp, but it will not be

particularly chilly over the course

of the weekend. That takes us on to

next week. What we can expect,

cloudy and damp start, fairly mild

on Monday but you will notice

looking at this forecast the

temperatures are dipping away and

the wind turning to an easterly as

well. We are expecting cold weather

to come back our way. Get us to next

week, is just look at the weekend.

And enjoy it. Thank you, Nick.

Now the main headlines.

The head of Oxfam has asked an

independent commission to deal with

claims of abuse from its staff. And

more vigils are being held across

Florida, was last night thousands

attending a candlelit vigil with

many calling for tougher gun

controls. A dramatic decrease in

young people buying their own homes

across the UK in a report. And I

will be back later with the ten

o'clock News. But for now, from all

of the team,