05/03/2018 London News

That's all from the BBC News at Six

- so it's goodbye from me -

Tonight on BBC London News.

- so it's goodbye from me -

Frustration as taps run dry in parts

of the capital leaving some people

without water for more than 24

hours.

I have got five kids and literally

we have been without water since six

o'clock yesterday morning. It is

terrible.

We'll question Thames Water.

Also ahead.

Challenging the Met over its gangs

database which says 80%

of gang members are black.

Plus we meet the former

city worker on a mission

to clean up our waterways.

And that Oscar win.

And the South East Londoners

celebrating Gary Oldman's Oscar win

like it were their own...

It made me feel delighted -

cause it's so close -

he's not family but it

feels like that!

Welcome to the programme

this Monday evening.

First tonight - schools closed, care

homes and nurseries without water,

residents struggling to go

about their daily lives,

all because large parts of London

have been without water

for nearly two days.

Thames Water says the pipes burst

as a result of the bad weather last

week but said this afternoon

the problem had been fixed.

Despite that, many people have

told us they still don't

have water this evening.

We'll speak to the water

company in a moment -

first here's Marc Ashdown.

First in line for water this

morning, mum of three, Zara, she has

had to walk a mile to collect

bottles. At the moment everyday life

is virtually impossible.

The washing

up, the sewage, and literally

cooking as well, I cannot cope

without water. I have three kids, it

is quite hard.

As you can see.

Nothing is coming out. Dozens of

schools and nurseries have been

forced to close, leaving parents

with the childcare headache, but

without water, it is not faced --

safe to have 70 children here.

All

the meals are done on site, we have

babies ranging from nine months and

children up to five years old, you

can imagine the children going to

the toilet, learning how to toilet

train, we need water for food,

washing plates, the dishwasher, in

every aspect of the nursery, we need

water.

This care home has

transported water from 40 miles

away, two days without it and

growing anger at the lack of

information or support from Thames

Water.

Very frustrating. I was. Very

disappointed. Care homes, hospitals,

they should have some form of plan

for those areas. We cannot afford to

function without water.

These were

allowed for some movement.

Thames

Water has apologised and blamed the

extreme cold which God so quickly

lead to cracks in older pipes. It is

estimated around 12,000 people have

been affected, from Streatham and

Ahern held to Cricklewood and

Hampstead. A car park in Balham,

water distribution centres set up

around London. Thames Water say they

have given out 200,000 litres of

bottled water and by the end of

today, it is expected to be more

like 600,000. They have started

rationing it here, giving one pack

of six bottles per household. At the

moment, they are struggling to keep

up with demand. Some are muddling

through, this bakery serving up a

cake, tea and said that they two

frustrated regulars.

We feel like we

cannot wash up anything, are kitchen

is close the copy machine is dead,

we cannot do coffee. That is

devastating for people.

We are still

open. They are hoping that the taps

are back on soon.

We can talk now to Jerry White,

Senior operations

manager at Thames Water.

Thank you for coming in. If you were

a resident or business without

water, would you be satisfied with

how your company is handling it?

No,

I cannot say I would be. Clearly

what we have done so far in some

areas is not good enough and we have

been trying very hard in quite

difficult circumstances, but we are

now getting on top of things and

this applies in those areas are

returning.

You can control

convenient access to water, because

how our arms with prams, elderly,

the disabled expected to carry

bottles of water? You could be

better at that and at

communications.

That is true. What

you see on some of the video around

those stations, that is not all that

is happening. For vulnerable

customers who cannot come to us, we

are running water out to them and we

are blemish in stocks throughout the

day. Communicating, we could be

better, it has been difficult to get

the right message to a broad

coverage of area but we are trying

hard to get better.

We have been

here before. It could happen again,

because temperatures can fall

below zero again.

Is this a case of

a cumulative lack of investment in

the pipe network. You're basically

putting short term profits before

long-term resilience. That is the

accusation. That is not really the

case. We have been investing £1

billion a year in infrastructure. We

have an old infrastructure. It dates

from the Victorian legacy. We are

working hard, every day to try and

find and fix leaks and keep the

water flowing and we will continue

to invest record sums for the next

period as well to try and get on top

of leakage.

You have no problem

rewarding shareholders millions or

paying chief executives hundreds of

thousands, you cannot really blame

customers were being so angry and

having little confidence in new?

Of

course. Given some of the

shareholder dividends that have been

put on hold recently and the extra

investment by shareholders, that is

proved that we are trying to go

above and beyond to turn the

situation around.

In the year that

you were fined just over 8 million

for leakages, you paid investors 100

million in dividends. Does that

sound like a cast that I go a

company putting customers first?

We

have now invested more than that

number to trying get back on top of

the situation and we will continue

to do so until we get back contract

with our targets.

Does that sound a

little bit feeble to people in North

and South Londoner who have not had

water for nearly two days?

I can

understand how customers feel. We

sincerely apologise for the impact

and we will continue to work to get

those customers back in as soon as

we can. The situation is improving

and hopefully keep all other

customers back in supply.

With

respect, we hear these apologies

every time there is a leak, but have

been warned that you need to be

better at planning, to deal with

these situations, you have had

record fines last year and you have

been criticised by the regulator.

Are you just not learning or do you

just not care?

No, we are learning

and we are an organisation that

continues to learn all the time and

continues to try and give better. We

were planning for this and we

planned several weeks ahead, but the

severe situation over the weekend

but we got a sudden thaw, we were

not prepared for that level of

impact and whilst many customers

across our region are still in

supply, a couple of isolated

incidents has caused us problems on

Saturday.

For those people watching

tonight, who still do not have water

this evening, when can you guarantee

that they will do?

What I know today

is that tonight the pressure is

returning to those areas, just

before I came in, there were

encouraging signs and as we go

through the evening, I believe that

all customers will be back in supply

by the end of this evening.

I do

hope we do not have to have this

conversation again the next time we

have this bad weather. Thank you for

coming in.

You re watching BBC London News.

Coming up later in the programme...

It is in your blood. It is in your

bones.

The businesswoman pledging to

protect the tradition of pie and

mash.

Scotland Yard has defended

the intelligence database it uses

to map criminal gangs -

describing it as "a vital tool

in the fight against violent crime".

A Freedom of Information request has

revealed that 80% of those

on the Gangs Matrix are black

but the Met says that includes

victims as well as perpetrators.

Alex Bushill reports.

To understand knife crime, just as

the children who have to live with

the threat of it every day. This is

the Brookfield club in Peckham, what

of the kids here was stabbed to

death last year. These teenagers

knew him well.

Our friends can be

arrested and our friends can be

killed.

This makes me feel sad,

because they are...

Sometimes it

makes me feel scared. Such is life,

really.

Such is life. It is

certainly true that there has been a

recent spike in stabbings which is

where the Gangs Matrix comes in, it

was set up after the London riots of

2011 to better understand London's

gangs. The Gangs Matrix is based on

police intelligence and maps violent

gangs. It says there are just over

3500 gang members in London and The

Met believes there are 194 different

active gangs here as well. What is

controversial is who appears in this

Gangs Matrix by ethnicity.

The smallest groups, Middle Eastern,

whites and Europeans. Asian gangs

account for 5%, white northern

European, 9%. Far outstripping any

other community according to the

matrix is the black community with

80% of gang members listed as

Afro-Caribbean. Which is why these

figures have now sparked allegations

of racism.

How do they get onto it

in the first place? It could be that

the cousin is there and they go to

the football with them. Do they live

next door to someone on the Gangs

Matrix. You're automatically in a

gang, because the definition is so

loose and problematic. It is like

racial profiling around a problem.

They will be in a gang because they

happen to be black.

The Met says two

separate pieces of intelligence are

needed to put you on the Gangs

Matrix and it cannot be racist as it

identifies gang members who are also

victims.

If you are a young black

man in London, you can be the

subject of violence, as a victim,

and be in a gang and you

will be on the Gangs Matrix and we

will look to divert individuals away

from a life of crime, that are on

the Gangs Matrix.

Looking at your

custody record, you're 21 and you

are unemployed, is that right?

Others were programmes like this

coming, informed by the Gangs

Matrix, The Met seek to divert young

criminals at the point of arrest

while in custody away from a life of

gang violence.

We have people

brought in for possession of

firearms, we have people who are

high harm offenders and we got them

at the right moment. We got them

where they have said, enough is

enough. It does not answer why it

features so many young black men.

David Lambie worries what other

implications there are.

This has

become a real stamp of shame. It is

not just use by The Met, it is used

by a whole raft of professionals.

You can be turfed out of your house,

you can be excluded from a school.

You can find yourself not been able

to access certain benefits and other

things if you are on the Gangs

Matrix.

This is significant. The Met

says robust systems are in place as

to what information is shared and

that they need to share information

to keep the public safe. Either way

the Mayor of London is carrying out

a review which should address these

issues of race and racism, that

still surround the Gangs Matrix.

"We understand why passengers

were frustrated but they should've

stayed on the train" That's

what Southeastern has

told this programme.

Hundreds of commuters

who were stranded on Friday night

forced open doors and left

the carriages - but the rail company

says they could have been

killed on live tracks.

It's apologised and says it

will offer compensation.

Here's our Transport

Correspondent Tom Edwards.

Stranded and frustrated, commuters

on Friday night forcing open the

doors on nine trains and walking

down the tracks. Some had been

stranded for hours.

Just outside

near Lewisham station. It is

obviously a little bit snowy,

looking forward to getting home and

having a nice cup of tea. You can

see everyone is waiting on the train

for a bit of instruction, we have

had the go-ahead from the police, it

looks like there is a train in front

of us. We have been there for a very

long period of time.

Today's South

East and said it had to cut the

power or passengers could have been

electrocuted. You can understand

their frustration.

I absolutely do

understand the frustrations. They

were stuck on trains in difficult

conditions, however the safest place

for people to be is on the train. We

wanted to try and get trains moving

as quickly as we could and the

safest way to do that was to get

everyone on board and reenergise the

network and get moving. We are not

able to do that because for a period

of three hours we had people on the

tracks.

Some passengers say a lack

of information just confuse the

situation.

In these conditions, I

would ask passengers to stay on the

train, that is the safest option of

getting you moving, get a new home,

is to stay on the train and there

are with us.

Calling them at

trespassers as soon as they got out?

They were not happy about that.

I

understand again that some of the

communications, we need to take a

look at, but it is important for us,

particularly in the middle of those

emergency situations, that we put

out a strong message to keep people

on the train.

Today the rail company

apologised, offering compensation.

Do you regret running trains? We

were conscious that we had hundreds

of thousands of people in London who

we brought in and we needed to try

and find the best way we could to

get them home.

There will now be

investigations into what happened.

This was an extremely serious

incident that could have been much

worse.

The recent BBC Blue Planet series

seems to have got everyone talking,

including the Queen -

about how we can reduce

our plastic waste.

Tonight we meet one man on a mission

to keep our Thames clean.

Because According to the Port

of London Authority around 300

tonnes of plastic is cleared

from the river every year.

Sean Fletcher has the story.

In 2015, I raced a 70-foot yacht

from London to Rio de Janeiro

and in the middle of nowhere

we found these two turtles caught

in a maze of fishing

nets and water bottles.

It has got yellow and orange

around its front right fin.

Well done.

In the middle of nowhere in this

amazing ocean like it is blue water

everywhere and then you have

all this plastic.

In London 66,000 tonnes of plastic

were sent for recycling last year

alone but nobody knows how much

was simply discarded elsewhere

and while the government has pledged

to ban all avoidable plastic waste

by 2042, some Londoners

are taking action now.

After cycling 150 miles

on the Thames, ex-city worker

Dhruv Boruah is collecting plastic

from canals on board his

floating bamboo bicycle.

In just one hour in the canal

I collected this full load

of plastic rubbish from balls

to Styrofoam packets,

to water bottles, to energy drinks,

to single use packaging.

I can't collect everything

because if I collect

everything I will sink.

The plastic that is being dumped

in our waterways is having a huge

impact on marine life.

A recent study by the Royal Holloway

University found up to 75% of fish

living at the bottom of the Thames

have plastic in their guts.

It is really disgraceful.

We are harming the life

even right here.

Obviously we are harming us

in the end because we are going

to eat the fish as well.

Cheers.

Cleaning up the river, for me

personally, I do not believe it is

the solution and my whole goal, to

go and learn about it and talk about

it.

Ultimately we have to go and educate

the young people and make them more

aware of how damaging this

is and how we are destroying

their world, their planet.

We are making it worse for them.

And you can see more on that story

later this evening on Inside Out -

that's at 7.30pm here on BBC One.

Still to come....

Born and bred in south east

London, but honoured

in Hollywood last night.

We're with the community

in Deptford, who still think of him

as one of their own.

Before that - pie and mash

is the quintessential East End meal.

Though there may be fewer

of them around, families

often pass the business

from generation to generation.

June Robins tells us her story,

and about her determination to keep

the tradition alive.

And when I was a little girl, my

sister and myself used to sit in the

window while my mum served the pie

and mash in green Street, so I would

get some pie and mash.

So I never had any money. I said,

have you got £500? It seemed a lot

of money in those days, 60 odd years

ago, he said just about, saving it

up. I said can I borrow it, please?

ago, he said just about, saving it

up. I said can I borrow it, please?

Years ago it would have been in East

Hampton are there would be two

takeaway businesses, one was fish

and chips and one was pie and mash.

Then gradually they became pizza,

and tachycardia fried chicken,

Chinese, Indian. People in the area

did not know what green liquor was.

I want to do this tribute to Tom,

because he was always, it can be sad

sometimes, but he used to say to me,

go on, June, have a go. And I did.

And he had faith in me. You know,

you want to be on and you want to

have pride in your life and you want

to do something for your children

and grandchildren to do, then you

start, don't you? Because if you are

providing something that is

necessary, it will never go out, it

is like shoes. People will always

need shoes, won't they? Pie and mash

is in your blood, it is in your

bones, you see.

June Robins speaking there.

And you can find that story

on our Facebook page,

where your views are very welcome.

He's been in charge at Arsenal

for more than two decades.

But despite the success

he's seen in the past,

are the calls for Arsene Wenger

to step down as manager

getting louder?

After another defeat yesterday,

more fans appear to be

calling for him to go,

as Emma Jones reports.

COMMENTATOR:

Given away horribly by

Arsenal.

This is Arsenal heading

towards yet another defeat.

Murray

is in the middle, he will reach that

come it is 2-0! That is an absolute

gift from Arsenal expect

it is a

league loss that leaves them 14

points behind Tottenham. With Arsene

Wenger and his captain conceding

confidence is worryingly low.

We are

going through a tough, tough time.

Of course it is difficult at the

moment.

As tough as you can

remember, do you think, this week?

Three defeats back-to-back.

It never

happened to me in my life, but we

were hit deeply maybe on the

continent side, and you could see

that the team struggles in the

league.

It is a bad period for the

club at all the players, staff and

fans we are all together. We won and

we lose together. So it is important

to have everyone behind us.

Wenger

only signed a new contract at the

Emirates last summer, but how do the

fans feel about him now?

I want

Arsene Wenger out, because it has

been 22 years, we are not do

anything you as a club and we need

fresh blood.

I wanted him to go out

on a good legacy and not finish on a

bad note.

He has had his time and he

is no good any more, he needs to go.

All hopes will now hang on winning

the Europa League, but with a match

against AC Milan away on Thursday,

the tough test for this stuttering

side keep coming.

Turning now to the Oscars,

and Gary Oldman, who crowned his

successful career with a Best Actor

award at last night's

Academy awards.

He may now be based in Hollywood,

but his story started

in South East London,

where he was born and bred.

And, as Sarah Harris reports,

the Deptford community is determined

to celebrate with him.

Gary Oldman!

It was for his

portrayal of blue blooded Winston

Churchill that Gary Oldman finally

won his Oscar, but his background in

south-east London could not have

been more different. Jamie Byrne

went to the same primary school in

Deptford, and is celebrating while

doing the day job.

I saw it and I

thought, wow, it made me feel

delighted because it is so close. He

is not a family member but it is so

close it makes you feel like that.

No blue plaque as yet outside the

house where Gary Oldman was born

here in south London, although that

might change now he has won the

Oscar. This was about as working

class and upbringing as you could

get. These houses were typical two

up, two down in the 1950s and 60s.

Gary's dad was a welder, and after

he failed to get into rather, his

first job was at a sports shop in

Peckham. Nil by mouth was written

and erected by Gary Oldman, inspired

by his early London life. Part of

the film was shot in the pub where

his dad was a regular.

Dickens had a

room here as well, which was

inhabited while one of his

mistresses, so I've heard. So the

pub has a long kind of artistic,

literary heritage.

Many of the young team members at

Millwall Football Club in the 50s

lived in the Oldman's small Cottage.

His mum took them in as Borders in

one of the most successful periods

of the club's history, but it did

not turn a young Gary's head away

from acting.

People are still doing

that job for us, looking after the

young scholars. After the war,

taking the kids in and giving them

the chance to become a footballer.

Obviously didn't work for Gary come

he has become an actor instead.

And

that seems to have gone quite well.

Sarah Harris, BBC London news.

Congratulations to him. Let's

checked on the weather with Chris

Fawkes.

Is not as cold as it has been for

sure compared with the weather last

week but today we have seen a lot of

cloud in the sky. Let's take a look

at the forecast. This was how things

looked in Twickenham. A pew breaks

in the cloud and a massive fly as

well probably on the lens. The next

24 hours, this weather system moves

up from the south-west. Most should

stay aware from us but just a few

showers skirting in across the likes

of Surrey, Hampshire, and they will

probably just flirt in the western

parts of London for a time. However,

this rain will be clearing

northwards. If you are unlucky

enough to catch a shower over the

next hour or two, it will clear

through, and then essentially the

rest of the night sees the cloud

breaking up and we will see clearer

skies coming in. Underneath the

clear skies later in the night it

will turn out to be quite a chilly

night, temperatures in High Wycombe

getting down to about three degrees.

I wouldn't mind betting there would

be a few colder places perhaps

towards Surrey and Hampshire where

we could see Temer just getting

close to freezing. A fine start to

the day for most of us have a fair

amount of sunshine. The cloud will

tend to bubble up as we go through

the day. For most of us it stays

dry, just an outside chance of a

passing shower but foremost a dry

day, temperatures reaching a high of

12. The cold weather firmly behind

us. Looking

at the weather front will skirt in

towards our area. We might find

Wednesday morning starts off on a

wet note with the rain rather more

extensive across eastern parts of

the region in particular. But it

should clear through and then we

will see those clouds brightening

up. Temperature-wise, highs of 9

degrees, so turning just a little

bit cooler or so, but for most of

the rest of this week, even into the

weekend, it will stay on the mild

side.

weekend, it will stay on the mild

side.

An update on the main story, Thames

Water has a follower jazzed after

thousands of Londoners still do not

have water following burst water

pipes following the bad weather last

week. A company spokesman told us

that supplies should return by the

end of this evening. You can get

more on the day's stories on London

on our website, Facebook page and

Twitter. Victoria Hollins will be

back with the late news, so from me

and all the team, thank you for

watching and have a lovely evening,

goodbye.