13/03/2018 London News

unambiguous answers about what

happened. That's it from us.

Coming up on BBC London News:

happened. That's it from us.

Leaseholders of two Croydon

tower blocks are told

they will have to pay

to remove Grenfell-style cladding.

Tonight there are calls

for the authorities to step in.

The Government allowed that cladding

to go up, must take responsibility

for bringing it down, the Government

must pay for this work to be done,

no one else.

We look at the implications

for this landmark ruling.

Also tonight...

Tackling gambling addiction.

The growing calls in the capital

to tighten regulations

around the industry.

Historic and cultural recognition

for Regent's Park Mosque

as it's given Grade

II listed status.

Plus...

The warrior.

Oprah Winfrey talks to us

about her sci-fi fantasy film

and female empowerment.

A very warm

welcome to the programme

this Tuesday evening.

First tonight, how

the impact of the Grenfell

tragedy and the safety concerns it

raised continue to be

felt across London.

Tonight, leaseholders of two

privately-owned blocks in Croydon

have been told they will have to pay

to remove flammable cladding.

They had argued that it was

the building owner's responsibility

to foot the huge bill,

which could be up to

two million pounds.

The landmark ruling could have

implications for people

living in private blocks

across the capital.

Our Political Editor

Tim Donovan explains.

Somehow we managed to get legal

support...

This man is on to his

lawyer because the news isn't good,

tribunal judgment has gone against

him and other residents. The

cladding was removed when it failed

tests after Grenfell, since then

fire marshals have been patrolling

24/ seven. Together its cost half £1

million so far and that is a bill to

be shared between the 95

leaseholders here after the ruling

the landlords were entitled by the

terms of their leases to recover it

in service charge.

We are already

paying £2000 service charges, and

this year it will increase up to

£20,000 for some people. I have to

pay £4000, I'm not sure how I will

get that.

But that's only up until

now, new cladding could take the

bill to £2 million.

We cannot plan

our lives, people's work is

suffering, they are stressed, it's

affecting our lives on a daily

basis.

The mayor said the Government

should end that anxiety.

The

Government should be stepping in to

make these buildings safe, then

there is a discussion to be had

about the cost and the removal.

Noticeable in this ruling, the judge

says it is foreseeable leaseholders

may have further legal claims

against a number of parties. The

manufacturers of the cladding,

Barratt homes which installed it,

and the local council Croydon which

provided the certification. Finally

the Government itself. If it's

building regulations are found to

have been not up to scratch. It's

possible many other leaseholders

could be affected in a similar way.

We think up to 50,000 leaseholders

in London could be liable for paying

costs up to £30,000 per flat or

beyond simply because they bought a

flat in good faith that the cladding

on the outside of it was safe. They

believed that because the Government

told them it was safe, we now know

the Government was wrong. The

Government must take responsibility

for taking the cladding down and

stop abandoning leaseholders to

their fate. The Government must pay

for this work to be done, nobody

else.

Landlords said today they

would work to minimise the costs of

cladding and urged the Government to

offer support.

Tim's at City Hall, and could this

judgment could have far

reaching consequences?

It called, and you get an idea from

that microcosm in Croydon of the

potential stress, distress, some

people are going to face if the cost

of replacing cladding is passed on

to leaseholders and the judge in

this judgment is clear about that

and warns people, if they go down

the legal route to try to get this

money recovered by someone else,

they could become mired in

litigation which itself could cost

money. All that time their homes

arguably are blighted and on

saleable. He seems to hint in this

judgment one way the Government

might go is to provide compensation

in some form like it has done in the

distant past with social housing but

he says that is a judicial view and

he knows this is very much a

political decision that has to be

made.

Tim, many thanks. Tim Donovan

at City Hall.

You're watching BBC London News,

coming up later in the programme...

This is the home ground of tooting

and Mitchum football club, and for

now also the home of Dulwich Hamlet,

one of the clubs that has been

forced out of their stadium by

property developers who own their

ground.

A London MP has raised concerns

about security in Parliament

after four Muslim MPs were sent

suspicious packages within 24 hours.

A researcher in Rupa Huq's office,

who's the MP for Ealing Central

and Acton, was taken to hospital

after opening a parcel this morning.

Well Marc Ashdown

is in Westminster now,

Marc, what happened?

Rupa Huq wasn't here at the time,

she was at a committee but one of

her staff members was going through

the mail, opened this package and

got a sticky substance on his

fingers. He raised the alarm, was

taken to hospital for treatment but

has been sent home on armed. This

happened in the buildings behind me

where almost 200 MPs have their

offices, next door to portcullis

house a stone's throw from

Parliament and police have confirmed

they cordoned off the office of Rupa

Huq and another MP, also Muslim, who

also received a suspicious package

this morning. They took them away,

examined them and found them not to

be hazardous but this comes a day

after two more Muslim MPs also

received suspicious packages and

Rupa Huq says she is concerned about

security here.

It is worrying these

things are getting through security

screening because I know it is

rigorously screened. I've seen that

process happened because it as

sniffer dogs so stuff is slipping

the net, that is a worry but it's

also worrying someone out there

thinks it is open season on Muslim

MPs.

And there are wider

concerns about this?

Yes, this package also contained an

abusive letter and it seems to be

part of a wider pattern. Over the

weekend these letters were sent to

various addresses around the

country, seeming to be encouraging

people to take part in Punish Us

Limp Day. Counterterrorism police

have launched an investigation into

this. As for the packages, we still

don't know what this substance was.

Tests are ongoing, an investigation

is under way. Downing Street says it

is concerned about this incident,

MPs want answers. They don't have to

look far, Scotland Yard is just over

there.

Many thanks.

Research

suggests that more than half

of Londoners participate in some

sort of gambling.

For some however, it can

become an addiction

with devastating consequences.

There are growing calls for tighter

regulation to govern the industry.

Chris Rogers reports

from the only NHS clinic

for gambling addiction,

based in London.

I have struggled to hold down a job,

and I've lost every single job I've

had at some point in time as a

consequence of my struggle with

gambling addiction. My marriage

broke down. The cost on family life

is enormous, it's not just about

money.

Tony is not alone in his

battle against gambling addiction.

There are 430,000 registered addicts

across the UK, more than half the

population of over 16s in London

participate in some sort of gambling

activity of which one in 20 are at

risk of having a gambling problem.

People are losing a huge amount of

money. In 2016 the gambling industry

made a record £13.8 billion profit.

I am on a road in Earls Court just

around the corner from me there is a

clinic for gambling addicts. Here

across the road, there are two

betting shops, another one just

behind me here, and over there a

casino. A passer-by has heard to

talking to me on camera and admits

he may have a problem.

So you lost £5,000, got it back and

lost it again?

Yes.

And I have done

the same thing so do you see

yourself as someone with a gambling

addiction?

Sometimes, but other days

I say no, I'm fine.

This gambling

clinic is partly funded by the NHS

and the industry. We have been

invited here by the Labour deputy

leader because he is demanding more

clinics like these but it's the

former Labour government that

relaxed gambling regulations.

Today's Labour Party admits that was

a mistake.

We think there's a hidden

gambling epidemic in this country

and yet I'm in the only dedicated

treatment centre in the whole of

England and Wales. So we are taking

a much wider view and looking at the

harm done by gambling, how we can

pay for it and what responsibility

the industry must take.

The

Government is also looking into the

issue. It seems the tide could be

turning against the gambling

industry, which has broadly agreed

to fund addiction support. In the

words of this addict, they can

afford to.

No-one knows

for sure what Brexit

will mean for London.

There is though a small group

of Londoners in the heart of Belgium

who know exactly what it will mean

for them - the loss of their jobs.

They are of course our

representatives at the

European Parliament.

Katharine Carpenter has

been speaking to two

of the capital's MEPs,

with opposing views on Brexit,

about life in Brussels

since the vote to leave.

For 18 years, Labour MEP

Mary Honeyball has made

this journey from London

to the European

Parliament once a week.

She's one of the longest serving

MEPs, still believes Brexit can be

stopped and denies it's having

an impact on her work here, yet.

Obviously, everybody here is aware

of Brexit, but we are still

in the European Union and we're

all still getting on with our jobs.

But for one of the two London MEPs

who voted to leave the EU,

things have been more

tense at times.

I thought perhaps one of the things

that went through my mind is -

actually ,will I have to resign?

Will I lose my job as group leader,

and I was prepared for that.

I said, I thought I shouldn't put my

own position ahead of my decision.

The UK has 73 MEPs, eight of them

represent London and they earn just

over 100,000 euros a year before

taxes, with generous

pensions and allowances.

Mary Honeyball admits perhaps

they could have done more to counter

the perception by some that they're

living the high life in Brussels.

One of the consequences

of Brexit is that Europe,

the European Parliament,

what the EU does, has suddenly shot

up the political agenda.

So now I think we are getting a lot

of exposure and people do know

who we are and what we do.

For Mary, that involves meetings

like this Brexit briefing

by the Shadow Health Secretary.

She thinks her party's position

is still a work in progress,

even raising the possibility that

MEPs will have a role to play

beyond March next year.

No chance, says her colleague.

My job will come to an end,

end of March 2019.

At that time the UK will leave

and there will be no British MEPs.

Will you feel sad about

it despite your vote?

Of course I'll feel sad.

I mean, I've made many good

friends and it's been

a large part of my life.

As for the future, he hasn't

ruled out another attempt

to become London's Mayor.

If my party decides to select too

early and I'm still involved

in helping in negotiations,

then that won't work for me.

Probably when that role

starts to wind down,

when we get closer to an agreement,

towards the end of the year,

early next year, then I'll have

to start seriously looking

for a new role.

What's next for you

now after Brexit?

I'm not really sure, actually.

I've had a long career in politics,

which has been good.

I should take time

to reflect, I think.

Katherine Carpenter,

BBC London News.

Still to come before 7pm:

We find out the history behind

London's Central Mosque as it's

given special protection

by Historic England.

And we're on the blue carpet waiting

to talk to perhaps the most

influential woman in the world,

Oprah Winfrey, at the European

premier of A Wrinkle in Time.

The pros and cons of gentrification

has been much debated,

especially as swathes of London have

been bought up to build flats.

Now a non-league football club

in Dulwich has been forced from its

stadium after the land was sold

and a row broke out

over how to develop it.

But is the local council

poised to buy it back?

Here's Chris Slegg reports.

Enter

Match days at Dulwich

Hamlet are colourful,

passionate and vibrant.

Champion Hill has been

their home for 87 years,

but for now it's home no more,

they've been locked out

by the property developers

who own the site, Meadow

Residential.

I mean, it's shocking really,

the actions of Meadow,

our landowner, have been spiteful.

They've used this as leverage

in their battle with the council

and, ultimately, we are the victims.

So Dulwich are now locked out

of their ground and these

barriers have gone up.

Now, when Meadow signed

their agreement with Dulwich,

back in 2014, they said

they would fund the club.

The plan was they were going

to build flats on this stadium,

but provide Dulwich with a new home

right next door.

Southwark Council though turned down

that application last year,

partly because of a lack

of affordable housing, and then

the relationship turned sour.

Meadow stopped funding

the football club.

They then claimed they were

owed £120,000 in rents.

And last week, Dulwich were told

they could no longer play here.

Fans will now have to travel eight

miles to watch home games

at Tooting & Mitcham FC.

I mean, this is our home.

This is where we should be.

It's really quite a sorry state that

we're not going to be here.

I just think Meadow really do not

know how important this

is to the local community.

They are New York based, they don't

really have a great understanding

of communities in London.

At a meeting this afternoon,

Southwark Council were expected

to waive through a motion to begin

attempts to acquire the land

and restore Dulwich

to their rightful home.

Are you confident that you can

convince Meadow to sell without this

being pushed all the way

to a potential CPO?

I hope Meadow will sell because it's

important that we secure the future

of the football club.

It's important actually that the bit

of the site that can be developed

for housing is delivered as housing

and I just hope, as I say,

that we can do a deal with them

sooner rather than later.

Meadow failed to respond to our

request for a statement today,

but last week blamed the club

and Southwark Council for failing

to enter into dialogue with them.

For now, the future of Dulwich

Hamlet lies away from Dulwich.

Has there been a final decision?

There has indeed. I will bring that

to you from the boardroom here. It

doesn't feel like home. They are

trying to make it feel like home.

Everyone is drinking out of their

pink and blue Dulwich Hamlet mugs.

They voted to release the funds to

bid to buy that site back from

Meadow Residential. It might take a

long time to do so, two or three

years if it goes to a CPO. I can

speak to the vice-Chairman of the

football club. The protests will

continue.

You need to keep the pressure on

Meadow?

Definitely. We hope between

700 to 1,000 of fans will be there

on Saturday and put on pressure. The

honourable thing is to sell and go

and let us get back.

That will be a

march through Dulwich.

Yes.

What do

you think of the situation you ended

up in.

Nothing to do with the

football club. It's between the

developers and council who had a

falling out. We are in the middle.

They peaked made us pay and been

very nasty towards us. It's very

unfair. This club has been going for

125 years. We do a lot of things in

the community. They have taken that

away from us.

OK thank you very

much. The vice-Chairman of Dulwich

Hamlet football club. This is a home

from home here. They are grateful to

Tooting & Mitcham for letting them

play here. They would much rather

move back to their real home. They

will exert pressure on Meadow

Residential to get back there as

soon as possible.

Thank you very

much for the update. Chris Legge.

Some of London's Mosques have been

recognised for their heritage

and cultural importance

by Historic England.

Across the capital there

are around 450 mosques,

though many though are found

in houses or other

converted buildings.

Of the purpose-built ones,

the Shah Jahan in Woking,

which was already listed has been

given more protection.

The Fazl Mosque in Southfields

and the London Central Mosque,

better known as Regent's Park

Mosque, have both been given

Grade II status.

Here's Tolu Adeoye.

So I was lying here as a child,

this childhood memory,

this very kind of fond memory,

actually, of sort of lying

here gazing up, and just seeing this

incredible blue expanse.

Just kind of gazing into it.

When you look at it, you can see

the kind of scale of that.

It's been described

as an exceptional place of worship.

Now London Central Mosque has been

awarded Grade II star listed status,

recognising its historic

and cultural importance.

While British mosques are typically

established by local communities,

this remains the first and only

example to have been built

at a diplomatic level.

One of the main points

of the campaign to build

the mosque was that,

at the time, and this

is from 1910 onwards,

the argument was that there

were more Muslim subjects

in the British Empire than there

were Christian, for example.

But that there was no

nationally significant mosque

in Britain to represent that.

So that was part of

the kind of campaign

the Muslims used at the time.

The movement to establish a central

mosque in London spans

for more than 70 years.

Although the first fund

for the new mosque was set up

in 1910, construction didn't

start until 1970.

It was finished seven years later.

From outside, you can really

appreciate the architecture.

Regent's Park was picked

as a location under

Winston Churchill's government back

in the 1940s, in recognition

of the importance of the Muslim

community in an increasingly diverse

British society.

The Fazl Mosque in Southfields

in London has been given Grade II

listed status today,

while the Shah Jahan

mosque in Woking has gone

from Grade II to Grade I,

giving it extra protection.

Historic England says

it's about time more

mosques were recognised.

Mosques and the Muslim faith

are an extremely important part

of our national cultural life,

but they are somewhat

underrepresented on our list

of the most important buildings.

So it's really rewarding to be able

to undertake this exercise

and protect the most important

mosques and celebrate them.

And Regent's Park Mosque isn't just

popular with worshippers.

We have about four schools

visiting every day.

We have tourists walking

in and out of this place.

So it is great to have it listed

because it is a big honour for us.

In fact, it is a cherry on the cake.

With the listings, Historic England

says it's about celebrating not only

outstanding buildings,

but also the heritage of Muslim

communities in England.

Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.

It's not how we're used

to seeing Oprah Winfrey,

who's been called "the most

influential woman in the world."

Her recent speech about a new day

on the horizon for women and girls

made headlines around the world.

Tonight she's in London

with her co-star Storm Reid

for the European premiere

of their sci-fi fantasy film.

And Wendy Hurrell caught up

with them moments ago.

Ladies.

I'm OK.

You need an Oprah

hug.

Yes.

We all need an Oprah hug.

We do.

You go on this marvellous

adventure that you lead her around

on. Tell me, was it a very

supportive environment with the

sisterhood here?

Yes, it was. Miss

Oprah Miss Ava did a great job of

welcoming me with warm arms and

making me feel relaxed. We were all

in this together. You could really

feel that. I'm glad I had them my

corner to guide me and teach me and

pour into me.

She's our baby girl.

She is our baby girl who is on the

adventure of a lifetime in the movie

and is now in life on the adventure

of a lifetime. I remember 14, very

hard age for me. It is for a lot of

kids. Trying to figure out, a lot of

girls, figuring out who you are and

where you are. Going into another

form of womanhood. I've never met a

better prepared, more grounded,

gracious, graceful young woman than

this one. This one has got it all.

She's got it. Mainly because she has

been raised by her mummy. Bring her

mummy in here.

Come in.

No-one gets

this good, this strong, this solid

this prepared without a mother. This

is her mother, Robyn.

Nice to meet

you.

Incredible job.

How do you now,

in your industry, make sure this

wonderfully talented woman can carry

on thriving?

See, this is a thing

that people don't understand about

fame and notoriety. Now everybody is

going to know her face. She will be

hard to go to McDonalds. Nothing

changes within you. You already are

who you are. That's the message of

this movie. Other people's reaction

to you change. Her parents have done

such a great job that they don't

have to worry about - is this going

to go to her head? When it's

grounded it does not. When you don't

know who you are, you believe you

are what everybody says you are.

When you know who you are, oh, baby.

Oh, baby. Listen with Black Panther

and this movie, one and two in the

box office, are we in a tipping

point now in terms of race and

gender?

It's the beginning.

Everybody gets all excited when

there is something new on the

horizon, which is what I've talked

about in the Golden Globe speech.

This is the new, but we have to

continue the new. You can't do this

and then wait ten years before you

do something else. I want to know

how she raised such a great

daughter?

I was just a veriesel. I

was told I'm just the vessel. This

is what God intended for her and I'm

just here to support it.

Wonderful.

Ladies, have aened woerful evening.

You are an inspiration to us all.

Thank you. They are. Wendy there and

I could listen to Oprah all evening.

It's time for a check on the

weather. Darren is here. It looked

nice out

weather. Darren is here. It looked

nice out there. I could have brought

her downed and she could have done

this.

If only.

Tomorrow we will find

a stronger breeze picking up. If

anything, it should be a little bit

milder than today. This was weather

watcher picture taken this morning.

Dartford, where we had sunshine. It

wasn't sunny all day, mind you. We

had cloud come over. It gave us a

few showers particularly late on in

the day. Those have pretty much

cleared away. Moving away towards

the east. It should be dry through

this evening and overnight. We will

have clear skies and we have light

wind as well. It will be a good deal

colder than it was last night. Away

from town thoses numbers not far

away from freezing. There may be a

pinch of frost. It will be

short-lived mind you. Sunshine comes

up early enough at this time of the

year. We should see sunny spells

throughout Wednesday. Cloud from

time to time, it may turn hazy, some

high cloud spilling our way. We have

a sorely wind actually. We are

drawing in dryer air. The hence more

sunshine around. Those higher

temperatures, 14 possibly even 15

degrees. That is as warm as it will

get mind you. Thursday, looks very

different. In the morning we have a

band of rain that will push

northwards and eastwards. It could

be heavy for a while. Around about

the middle part of the day it will

brighten up with sunshine. We could

see sharp showers from mid to late

afternoon. Temperatures not as high

on Thursday, not too bad, 11

degrees. We will find instead of a

sorely wind we get an easterly wind

arriving, just in time for the

weekend. It is the beast from the

east, but it's probably more of a

mini beast. After tomorrow we have

got more cloud around. We will find

some rain there. You can see

Thursday and in Friday as well. More

likely to have some snow for the

weekend before it becomes dryer into

the beginning of next week. Those

easterly winds will make it feel

really cold for a while, four or

five degrees this is weekend

compared with 14 or 15 tomorrow.

Sounds good. Darren, thank you.

Recapping the main headlines:

Police have been giving more details

about the last known

movements of Sergei Skripal

and his daughter before

they were poisoned.

They're looking for witnesses

who saw the pair's red BMW car.

The midnight deadline for Russia

to give credible answers is looming.

Rash ya said it will ignore the

deadline.

And leaseholders of a tower block

have been told they will have to pay

to remove flammable cladding.

That's it for now, but I'll be back

with our late news at 10.30pm.

You're very welcome to get

in touch with your views

on our Facebook page.

From all of us here,

thanks for watching

and have a lovely evening.

Goodbye.