22/02/2017 London News

Good evening. I'm Asad Ahmad.

So the top job in policing, and the person responsible

for keeping you and me safe, has gone to Cressida Dick.

She's made it to the top in less than 35 years

and during that time, she's been Head of

Counter-Terrorism, and in charge of the operation which led

to the fatal shooting of an innocent man on the London Underground.

Well, Ms Dick now faces the challenge of having her policing

budget slashed while trying to get crime levels down.

Here's our home affairs correspondent Nick Beake.

Cressida Dick takes the top job at a time when crime

So what do Londoners want the police to prioritise?

We had a break-in a little while ago and I think sometimes,

you just feel it's not really worth contacting the police.

Cybercrime, including online fraud and online bullying,

For me, there's a lack of investment in local policing.

We recently lost our local police station.

It's been sold and is being turned into flats.

I'd quite like the rise in race hate crime and that kind

of thing to be addressed, because we are a multicultural city

My son, at the age of 17, his life was suddenly taken

In north London today, a mum tells schoolchildren

Yvonne Lawson's son, Godwin, was stabbed to death in 2010.

She's campaigned tirelessly to reduce knife crime

I would like the commissioner to ensure that police officers work

very closely with the local communities to ensure

I would also like the police officers to find out the reasons why

young people are carrying knives in the first place.

But less money for the Met could mean a drop in the number

The rank-and-file worry it could fall to below 30,000.

I can't see how we can protect the streets in the same way we do

That's a huge number and that will have a massive effect

on all the departments within the metropolitan area.

Another concern is how to stop young Londoners being radicalised.

Here in Southall, football is used as a way of fighting extremism.

I think it's incredibly important that we have a commissioner that has

compassion and has that approach where you can speak

to the youth of London, all of this country,

So, many challenges, rising crime and less money.

The new boss may soon discover it's tough at the top.

One of those who had a say in today's appointment

He welcomed the incoming Commissioner, but warned that a lack

of money could lead to a cut in front line policing.

He spoke to our political correspondent Karl Mercer.

There are challenges facing the Met police service as a consequence

of the government's cuts over the last six years and decisions

made by the government leading to further cuts over

To give you an idea of the scale of the challenge we face,

over the last six years, we've lost more than ?600 million

Over the next four years, we are losing another ?400 million.

On top of that, there's a danger, as a consequence of the police

funding formula being changed, we may lose further money.

Do you share Bernard Hogan-Howe's concerns and those of

the Met Federation that London could lose thousands of officers?

If it is the case that the government changes the funding

formula which means we could lose up to ?700 million, the experts

last year predicted between ?170-700 million,

the consequence of that cut will mean front line officers

And day one for Cressida Dick, what will be on her desk from you?

She knows the challenges we face as a target for terrorists.

She knows the challenges we face in relation

She recognises that hate crime has gone up in the recent past but also,

I suspect and I know this from the interviews we had with her,

she's already started her homework in relation to making sure

It's really important we do our bit as Londoners to help

So, fewer police officers in London - that won't be popular.

But I think it could well be the reality the new boss faces because

remember, the Met has already sold buildings, reduced the number of

civilian staff, and so not replacing as many officers when they leave the

force could be the next step. Today is a significant one, though,

because the beat -- in the 188 year history of the Metropolitan place,

they have had captains, Kyle Mills and generals running the show but

today for the first time it will be a woman in the top position at

Scotland Yard. -- captains, colonels and generals. Cressida Dick is very

popular amongst the rank-and-file and is acknowledged to be very

intelligent and a good operational tactician but the fact remains for

many people, she is synonymous with Jean Charles de Menezes and we heard

the family said today that her appointment sends the message that

police officers can act with impunity. In contrast, the Prime

Minister Theresa May has praised her public service and says she has

exceptional qualities. And she will need them because the ongoing threat

from terrorism remains. We have seen that crime has been creeping up in

the last year or so. She will have to tackle that with less money. She

used to be an accountant, for two years before she joined the police

in the 80s. She might find that all these years on, that skill is

important. Could be useful. Thank you.

Millions of owners of potentially dangerous tumble dryers have been

warned not to use them, while they await repair.

Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit brands have been involved

in a series of fires, including one at a block

of flats in Shepherd's Bush, from where Tolu Adeoye sent this

It took 120 firefighters to bring this tower block blaze

A London Fire Brigade investigation found it was caused by a faulty

tumble dryer owned by the company Whirlpool.

It was one of millions of dryers subject to safety notices,

meaning they needed repairs and posed a fire risk.

The Fire Brigade repeatedly advised people not to use them.

We feel that it is a fire risk. You should unplug it.

You shouldn't use it and you should wait until it has been seen

by the manufacturers or a qualified electrician.

But Whirlpool maintained they were safe as long

Today, it changed that guidance on affected brands, following advice

There was relief from residents affected by the Shepherd's Bush

fire that the advice has finally been changed.

I'm over the moon. You know, we've been through hell.

Three and a half months, we were all homeless and it's been

hell trying to deal with Whirlpool and not knowing where we stand.

I'm over the moon that they have finally done that.

Nobody else will have to go through what we have

Whirlpool has written to 3.8 million owners of affected brands but more

It is urging them to come forward and get their dryers fixed.

It says its number one priority is safety.

Some of the residents affected by the Shepherd's Bush fire

But the hope is that the new guidance will reduce the risk

Thousands of plastic drinking bottles are thrown away

in London every day, with many ending up on our streets

So now there's a call to "tax" them like plastic bags,

Thousands of years ago, one of the reasons people settled

here was because of the plentiful supply of drinking water.

How ironic, then, that all these years later,

one of the reasons the ecosystem is being damaged is because of

2500 plastic bottles have been found by the Thames in just one day.

Volunteers working for the environmental charity,

Thames 21, collected the mountains of waste at the dozen

They say the containers are changing the shape of the shore.

I don't think people realise how, how detrimental it is.

Yeah, just through drinking water every day when you can also just

Most of the damage could be prevented, according

to environmentalists, by making less packaging and making

Scientists have looked at fish and crabs and other animals living

in the river and they have found that their stomachs and their whole

Bottle deposit systems are working in other countries.

It is something members of the London Assembly

In Malmo and Berlin, for example, they have very high

rates of collection, up to 98% across

We are nowhere near that in London or the UK.

So if we had a small tax on bottles, a bit like the plastic bags,

It's estimated each week, millions of plastic bottles

are dumped after being used just once in London alone.

Campaigners say our behaviour has to change if the River Thames

and its wildlife is to thrive, to be enjoyed by

That's it for now from me, but let's find out what the weather's up

Much cooler today than Monday and I understand storms on the way?

Yes, quite blustery today but a bit of sunshine. Some of that tomorrow

but the wind will become a feature. Still quite gusty tonight but

nothing too strong, bringing in the odd spot of rain or drizzle. Not

desperately wet by any means but a south-westerly wind and quite mild,

temperatures not dropping below double figures for some but

tomorrow, the wind starts to whip up, a gradual process but the Met

office have issued an amber, be prepared warning for parts of the

reasons, particularly part of Essex, Bedfordshire, partridge and North

Buckinghamshire. Gusts of 60-70 mph north of London but 50 or 60 is

where, a spell of morning rain rushing eastwards with gusts but

while we will see some sunshine, one or two showers for the rest of the

day but the wind will remain strong even in the centre of town, in

excess of 50 mph which could cause damage and transport disruption,

especially to the north of London. Into Friday, things get quieter with

some sunshine around and light winds. For more

some sunshine around and light winds. For more on Doris and its

impact, here is the national weather.

Good evening, a rough patch weather on the way. Time to fasten your seat

belt. A high wind warning from the Met office, an amber one, so pretty

severe. Let's see where Storm Doris is right now, only just developing

to the west of the UK, in its early stages which is not good because it

will be at its peak when it crosses the UK. You can see this hook of

cloud which is where the twisting is starting to happen, which is where

the big mid-latitude cyclone is starting to develop and it will slam

into the centre of the UK during the morning and move across the country

through the morning and into the afternoon. Two rounds from this

storm, we will see some snow across southern and central parts of

Scotland first tonight and into the early hours of Thursday morning.

Let's look at the snow, also an amber warning from the Met office,

the Southern uplands, the borders, including Edinburgh, there could be

a fair bit of