:00:14. > :00:19.London has appointed it's new fire commissioner -
:00:20. > :00:21.the 19th in the Brigade's history - and for the first
:00:22. > :00:25.Dany Cotton started her career as a teenage firefighter in Wimbledon -
:00:26. > :00:27.and she's been speaking about her new role -
:00:28. > :00:30.and her concerns about the threat of a terrorist chemical
:00:31. > :00:38.She spoke to our Home Affairs Correspondent, Nick Beake.
:00:39. > :00:41.Training in Greenwich today for the firefighters from blue watch.
:00:42. > :00:48.Dany Cotton is the first woman to lead
:00:49. > :00:51.the London Fire Brigade in its 150 year history.
:00:52. > :00:54.And she told us preparing for a new threat, chemical
:00:55. > :00:55.attack by terrorists, is a top priority.
:00:56. > :01:11.I think a chemical attack is a really big
:01:12. > :01:14.threat because it's kind of unseen and something you can do with a
:01:15. > :01:17.relatively small amount of chemical if you can find the means to
:01:18. > :01:19.disperse it, so it's ensuring we are ready
:01:20. > :01:20.nationally to respond to that
:01:21. > :01:24.and respond quickly and be able to go there, and if people have been
:01:25. > :01:27.contaminated, to be able to deal with that and process it quickly.
:01:28. > :01:29.This week, the security minister said IS militants aspire to use
:01:30. > :01:32.chemicals in an attack and London's new fire chief says the public
:01:33. > :01:36.The natural reaction would be to run away and go
:01:37. > :01:39.somewhere else but that just spreads it, which is what the terrorists
:01:40. > :01:42.It is very important the people stay where they are, stay
:01:43. > :01:45.contained and allow the emergency services to deal with the situation.
:01:46. > :01:48.Today's exercise is very much a standard role but in the coming
:01:49. > :01:50.months, more training will be specialised and geared towards
:01:51. > :02:00.dealing with a terrorist attack on her watch.
:02:01. > :02:03.But it is worth remembering the terror threat level
:02:04. > :02:11.in the UK has stayed the same for the past two and half years.
:02:12. > :02:13.When Dany Cotton first walked through these doors at Wimbledon
:02:14. > :02:30.fire station as a teenager back in 1988.
:02:31. > :02:33.Well, let's speak a bit about the issue raised in that interview.
:02:34. > :02:46.We heard them reacting to what Ben Miller said about an attack in
:02:47. > :02:54.London. We have to point out that there is no specific possible nature
:02:55. > :02:57.of attack here. Ben Wallace is concerned about the use of chemical
:02:58. > :03:03.weapons here. There are concerns about that. In Morocco, they found
:03:04. > :03:06.chemical weapons there. We've been speaking to a chemical weapons
:03:07. > :03:13.expert today, he said that the Government is right to be concerned.
:03:14. > :03:16.We know that Daesh is, the Islamic State, are training people to use
:03:17. > :03:21.chemical weapons, recruiting scientists to create biological
:03:22. > :03:26.weapons in Syria and Iraq and the UK is a key target for them. We have to
:03:27. > :03:31.take our head out of the sands and discuss this, so people aware it is
:03:32. > :03:34.a possible threat. Like any threat with the right mitigation, you can
:03:35. > :03:39.reduce that. Experts say that the public must be
:03:40. > :03:45.better informed, obviously the instinct is to runaway from danger
:03:46. > :03:49.but in the sense of a chemical aTalibaning, you must stay where you
:03:50. > :03:52.are not to spread the chemicals it is safe to say we will be hearing
:03:53. > :03:53.more about this in the months to come.
:03:54. > :03:56.Strikes by train drivers on Southern Railways are set
:03:57. > :03:59.to go ahead next week - after a union said the two sides
:04:00. > :04:02.involved in the dispute - "aren't in the same universe".
:04:03. > :04:04.That's despite the issue at the heart of the ongoing dispute -
:04:05. > :04:06.plans for 'driver-only trains' - being declared SAFE
:04:07. > :04:13.This is what Victoria Station looks like on a normal day.
:04:14. > :04:16.But next week, it looks like the stations that lead to it
:04:17. > :04:18.will look more like this, with a three-day strike
:04:19. > :04:21.in the ongoing row over plans to make drivers responsible
:04:22. > :04:27.It seems any hope of a deal is gone, despite these words
:04:28. > :04:31.We've sent a formal offer to Aslef that we believe can bring
:04:32. > :04:33.an end to this dispute, and we're urging our members to talk
:04:34. > :04:37.to their leaders to get them to accept this offer so we can bring
:04:38. > :04:39.this dispute to an end for the sake of our passengers.
:04:40. > :04:42.They may be optimistic, but listen to how far apart
:04:43. > :04:46.We're not in the same universe currently.
:04:47. > :04:49.The reality is that there's been no real move to address the fundamental
:04:50. > :04:51.issues that are at the heart of the deal.
:04:52. > :04:53.It's about the imposition of a system and breaking
:04:54. > :04:57.of agreement that we feel is unsafe, and if everything is going to be
:04:58. > :04:59.done by imposition in the future, then the reaction's always
:05:00. > :05:03.The deadlock means there'll be strikes next week on Tuesday,
:05:04. > :05:07.Wednesday and again on Friday, with Southern warning
:05:08. > :05:11.More strikes will then follow in the last week of January -
:05:12. > :05:13.again three days being targetted, again disrupting travel
:05:14. > :05:19.Today, another twist in the dispute, too, with the organisation that
:05:20. > :05:21.oversees safety on the railways saying Southern's plans
:05:22. > :05:27.for driver-only operation would be safe if certain conditions were met.
:05:28. > :05:29.It is safe as long as you have the right equipment,
:05:30. > :05:33.competent staff and the correct processes and procedures and you've
:05:34. > :05:36.done all the risk assessments of the platforms to ensure that,
:05:37. > :05:41.if necessary, assistance is provided.
:05:42. > :05:43.Also today, London's Mayor restated his desire to take over Southern.
:05:44. > :05:47.He wouldn't, though, be drawn on the key issue in the dispute.
:05:48. > :05:51.Would you say to the unions, if you were to take over Southern,
:05:52. > :05:56.Well, we'll have to wait and see till we take over the lines.
:05:57. > :05:59.I mean, once we take over the lines, should the Government see sense,
:06:00. > :06:02.we'll look at the trains, talk to the trade unions.
:06:03. > :06:07.Some of the suburban lines we run on London Overground,
:06:08. > :06:10.It's a conversation you've got to have.
:06:11. > :06:12.The most important thing is safety but you've got
:06:13. > :06:17.For now, Southern passengers will have to plan once again
:06:18. > :06:30.Brexit - and its impact on one of the biggest employers of low
:06:31. > :06:32.skilled workers in London - could be huge.
:06:33. > :06:34.I'm referring to the hospitality sector which relies heavily
:06:35. > :06:37.on workers from across the EU, to fill its posts.
:06:38. > :06:40.Without them, hotels and other services would struggle to cope -
:06:41. > :06:42.and so Emma North went to hotel in Pimlico - to find
:06:43. > :06:54.out what THEY think the consequences could be.
:06:55. > :06:58.Once a year, London grabbed the chance to tell the world
:06:59. > :07:09.This year, it drove the point home harder than ever.
:07:10. > :07:11.Dipping cutlery in vinegar is a far cry
:07:12. > :07:13.from the fireworks but it's the
:07:14. > :07:15.details that keep this city's reputation so polished.
:07:16. > :07:17.Assad is a rarity in London's hospitality
:07:18. > :07:23.When it comes to his EU colleague, he has to work
:07:24. > :07:29.They are really fast at what they do and at the
:07:30. > :07:31.start I was left behind with the rhythm of the team.
:07:32. > :07:38.Hotels and restaurants here in London rely heavily on EU labour.
:07:39. > :07:42.For example, six of the seven people who work at this hotel come from
:07:43. > :07:46.But come Brexit, the rules which currently allow
:07:47. > :07:50.people to move around the EU freely in order to find a job could well
:07:51. > :07:53.change, and this change could deeply affect the hospitality sector.
:07:54. > :07:56.11% of the London population are EU migrants.
:07:57. > :08:10.Of them, 14 are classified as low skilled workers, such as
:08:11. > :08:13.Of them, one in four are classified as low
:08:14. > :08:14.skilled workers, such as
:08:15. > :08:17.They currently don't have these restrictions but if we applied
:08:18. > :08:19.the same rules to EU migrants as we currently
:08:20. > :08:20.do to people coming from
:08:21. > :08:23.outside the European Union, then four out of five low skilled EU
:08:24. > :08:26.Esther, who is from Hungary, may have a
:08:27. > :08:29.Masters in psychotherapy but she is still classified as a low skilled
:08:30. > :08:33.I would say that I need skills to work
:08:34. > :08:37.I think even as a maid, how I started, as
:08:38. > :08:38.a waitress, but even as
:08:39. > :08:43.a manager now, you need the moral of working, your attitude.
:08:44. > :08:46.This hotel is still owned by the same family
:08:47. > :08:54.If the rules governing who is allowed to
:08:55. > :08:57.work here change, why not just hire from a home-grown workforce?
:08:58. > :08:59.We can't get British people at the moment.
:09:00. > :09:02.We've visited catering colleges, trying to make inroads
:09:03. > :09:06.with schools, we have work placements, but despite that, after
:09:07. > :09:16.Attracting people in the first place, tell me what we can do!
:09:17. > :09:17.But could Brexit be just the thing to
:09:18. > :09:31.nurture a home-grown hospitality industry?
:09:32. > :09:33.Now, is the time for Government to make
:09:34. > :09:36.Invest in skills and this industry to be the Open University,
:09:37. > :09:38.if you like, in terms of vocational training.
:09:39. > :09:42.The city that welcomed thousands of foreign workers, but
:09:43. > :10:03.That's it for now from me, but le'ts find out what the weather's
:10:04. > :10:21.It is cold, frosty already. There is mist and fog overnight. So grey by
:10:22. > :10:26.the end of the night. Cold and probably freezing.
:10:27. > :10:31.Temperatures down to minus three or four. So a slow start to the day.
:10:32. > :10:37.The mist and the fog lifting later on in the afternoon.
:10:38. > :10:42.The temperatures up a notch or two at six or seven Celsius.
:10:43. > :10:46.Notice the clouds, to drift to Friday evening. Bringing patchy rain
:10:47. > :10:51.but clearing by dawn on Saturday. Then we should be frost-free but it
:10:52. > :10:55.will be fairly cloudy. If we look at the outlook we see it will be a
:10:56. > :10:59.cloudy weekend. Temperatures are creeping up by a notch or two, 10,
:11:00. > :11:02.maybe nine creeping up by a notch or two, 10,
:11:03. > :11:10.maybe nine Celsius. Here is Louise with the national picture.
:11:11. > :11:17.Won't it cold and frosty this morning? The coldest night of the
:11:18. > :11:22.winter so far in England. Down to minus 8 Celsius. But widely, the
:11:23. > :11:26.temperatures below freezing. Through the night, cloud and rain, so
:11:27. > :11:30.temperatures for many holding up above freezing. The slightly less
:11:31. > :11:33.cold theme to continue into the weekend. But cloudy and at times
:11:34. > :11:34.with