:00:11. > :00:15.The police watchdog, responsible for looking
:00:16. > :00:20.into wrongdoing, finds itself at the centre of an investigation.
:00:21. > :00:21.It follows allegations that one of its commissioners
:00:22. > :00:24.withheld evidence in support of an officer.
:00:25. > :00:26.The PC was dealing with a disturbance
:00:27. > :00:32.Alex Bushill has this exclusive report.
:00:33. > :00:34.It is a little before three in the morning
:00:35. > :00:38.on what was a violent night in Harrow.
:00:39. > :00:44.A phone camera clearly records the noise of a taser.
:00:45. > :00:47.Five years on, Mark Gatland has returned
:00:48. > :00:53.Police had been called after a party got out of control and spilled
:00:54. > :00:58.During the disturbance, Mark Gatland tasered this man,
:00:59. > :01:03.an off-duty firefighter who was arrested for obstruction,
:01:04. > :01:11.The Met also apologised to him and paid him substantial damages.
:01:12. > :01:13.In the fallout, Mark Gatland was himself accused of acting racistly,
:01:14. > :01:15.but his gross misconduct hearing collapsed
:01:16. > :01:21.when the IPCC failed to provide any evidence against him.
:01:22. > :01:24.Now the commissioner in charge of his case at the regulator
:01:25. > :01:26.faces allegations that she suppressed crucial evidence
:01:27. > :01:32.which today resulted in a police investigation being launched.
:01:33. > :01:35.It's almost eight months now, and I'm disappointed
:01:36. > :01:37.it has taken this long, because as a member of the public,
:01:38. > :01:39.I expect prompt and effective investigation.
:01:40. > :01:42.It was like fighting against an entire army on my own.
:01:43. > :01:43.There didn't appear to be any support,
:01:44. > :01:49.and there wasn't the political will to back me up.
:01:50. > :01:52.This has now been passed on to Police Scotland,
:01:53. > :01:55.because they're not under the jurisdiction of the police
:01:56. > :01:57.regulator for England and Wales, that's the IPCC, removing any
:01:58. > :01:59.possible conflict of interest they might have faced.
:02:00. > :02:01.Nonetheless, it does represent a truly exceptional situation
:02:02. > :02:02.where the police regulator, the IPCC,
:02:03. > :02:09.is now subject to an investigation by a police force.
:02:10. > :02:11.The commissioner at the IPCC who is now being investigated
:02:12. > :02:16.Now Mark Gatland wants to know why she hasn't been
:02:17. > :02:19.suspended from active duty, as he was.
:02:20. > :02:22.If an allegation of this strength is made against a police officer,
:02:23. > :02:28.yet she's still in post, affecting police officers' careers.
:02:29. > :02:53.In short, the tables have been turned -
:02:54. > :02:56.where once a serving police officer, Mark Gatland,
:02:57. > :03:03.now the police regulator itself will have to explain theirs.
:03:04. > :03:05.It was the worst tower-block fire in the UK,
:03:06. > :03:07.in which six people died including three children.
:03:08. > :03:10.Eight years on, Southwark Council has been ordered to pay
:03:11. > :03:12.more than half ?500,000 for failing to maintain
:03:13. > :03:13.fire-safety measures at Lakanal House.
:03:14. > :03:29.When a small electrical fire broke out in a ninth floor flat, it should
:03:30. > :03:33.have been contained, but quickly and spread, jumping floors above and
:03:34. > :03:36.below. The victims were wrongly advised by the fire brigade to stay
:03:37. > :03:42.in flats that were supposed to protect them. Three women and three
:03:43. > :03:43.children died as a result. The emergency calls were used as
:03:44. > :04:01.evidence at the 2013 inquest. Maria survived. There was a big
:04:02. > :04:06.fire, like a dragon, but spreading. There wasn't two ways, just one way,
:04:07. > :04:11.and we was lucky, even likely to get down, because everywhere you looked,
:04:12. > :04:15.you couldn't say properly. Southwark council had only renovated the flats
:04:16. > :04:19.three years earlier but there were no seals on fire doors, and there
:04:20. > :04:21.were no partition is in suspended ceilings.
:04:22. > :04:23.Southwark Council admitted their guilt last week,
:04:24. > :04:27.so today was about finding out what punishment they would face.
:04:28. > :04:30.The judge decided it should be a fine for the charges against them,
:04:31. > :04:36.and it would have been more had they not pleaded guilty.
:04:37. > :04:45.the total that Southwark Council has to pay is more than ?500,000.
:04:46. > :04:53.To put that into perspective, they're operating budget last year
:04:54. > :04:56.was ?283 million. Year in year out, we are within budget, but this will
:04:57. > :05:02.be part of a contingency, so there won't be a direct impact on
:05:03. > :05:07.residents as a result of the fine, albeit is significant. Do you feel
:05:08. > :05:12.it is fair or excessive? I feel it was fair, taking into account, as
:05:13. > :05:15.the judge did, all of the mitigating factors that we have put forward,
:05:16. > :05:18.particularly close working relationship with London Fire
:05:19. > :05:21.Brigade since the incident and the money that we have spent on putting
:05:22. > :05:28.right these issues that were identified as the problem in this
:05:29. > :05:33.fire. One man who spent 25 years keeping buildings safe from fire has
:05:34. > :05:38.done mike hazards says lessons have been learned. This has to be an
:05:39. > :05:45.Next month it will reopen after an ?11 million refurbishment.
:05:46. > :05:47.Southwark residents will once again call this 14-storey
:05:48. > :05:54.The trust behind plans for the controversial
:05:55. > :05:58.Garden Bridge across the Thames has been cleared of
:05:59. > :06:00.financial irregularities by the Charity Commission.
:06:01. > :06:05.Let's cross to Claudia-Liza Armah who can tell us more.
:06:06. > :06:07.Yes, that's right, Riz, a small victory for those
:06:08. > :06:17.It was all over a complaint made by Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey,
:06:18. > :06:20.who had serious concerns about spending, a worry that
:06:21. > :06:22.individuals or companies donating money towards the construction
:06:23. > :06:26.of the bridge were also being awarded contracts.
:06:27. > :06:28.However, the regulator ruled that those accusations were unfounded.
:06:29. > :06:30.That outcome has been welcomed by the Garden Bridge Trust.
:06:31. > :06:33.Does it mean we're closer to getting this bridge? Not quite.
:06:34. > :06:39.they've told me that there are still a few hurdles.
:06:40. > :06:42.Firstly, they're awaiting a review by Dame Margaret Hodge.
:06:43. > :06:49.to determine whether it provides value for money.
:06:50. > :06:53.Then it needs Mayor Khan to sign a guarantee
:06:54. > :06:55.that will ensure his office will pay for its upkeep,
:06:56. > :07:01.if money can't be raised via donations.
:07:02. > :07:03.The problem is ?36 million of taxpayers' money
:07:04. > :07:07.has already been invested in this bridge.
:07:08. > :07:13.If it doesn't go ahead, that money will be lost.
:07:14. > :07:16.This year marks the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation
:07:17. > :07:20.of homosexuality, but campaigners say more still needs to be done
:07:21. > :07:23.to improve equality for people living here in the capital.
:07:24. > :07:27.Thomas Magill has been hearing one man's story reflecting on how things
:07:28. > :07:36.have changed over the years for the gay community in London.
:07:37. > :07:39.A modest gathering on a momentous day,
:07:40. > :07:41.the capital's first Gay Pride in 1972,
:07:42. > :07:43.but it took five years after the legalisation
:07:44. > :07:51.Thought by some as radical, welcomed by others.
:07:52. > :07:54.There was a great feeling in these clubs
:07:55. > :08:01.Men like Stuart - he was forced to come out
:08:02. > :08:03.in the '50s after being spotted with his partner, a move that
:08:04. > :08:14.and so I was met with jeers, shouting, general pandemonium.
:08:15. > :08:22.And so that was my sort of coming-out moment.
:08:23. > :08:28.So I decided after a bit that I'd had enough of that, and so I sort
:08:29. > :08:33.of broke my apprenticeship, found a job in an office,
:08:34. > :08:40.because I thought that would be a safer place than a factory.
:08:41. > :08:43.Like many young gay men, Stuart was soon attracted to London,
:08:44. > :08:46.and today he's returning to some of his old haunts.
:08:47. > :08:56.so quite a discreet sort of little Soho alleyway.
:08:57. > :08:58.Despite it being illegal, London had loads of little gay
:08:59. > :09:03.secret underground cafes, bars and brothels scattered
:09:04. > :09:09.all over the city, long before the Act was introduced.
:09:10. > :09:12.As attitudes changed, London's gay scene grew,
:09:13. > :09:17.and with it calls for more rights and acceptance.
:09:18. > :09:19.We were saying it wasn't preferential treatment,
:09:20. > :09:26.So Stonewall came directly out of this homophobia,
:09:27. > :09:34.Much has changed since Stuart first came to London,
:09:35. > :09:39.to return to a spot that holds special memories.
:09:40. > :09:42.I spent my 21st birthday in there, actually.
:09:43. > :09:53.The club's now gone, but the memories haven't,
:09:54. > :09:59.Stewart and Michael agree there is still more to be achieved.
:10:00. > :10:13.and I'll leave you with Elizabeth Rizzini for the weather.
:10:14. > :10:19.As well as being pancake day, it was the end of the meteorological
:10:20. > :10:24.winter, and February has worked out to be quite mild, dull, not as much
:10:25. > :10:27.sunshine as we would have liked, drier than normal, although not
:10:28. > :10:32.today and it will not be dry either. For the Thursday of meteorological
:10:33. > :10:37.spring, Darryn Binder drizzly through the afternoon. Still a
:10:38. > :10:44.chance of showers overnight, possibly a touch of frost into
:10:45. > :10:47.tomorrow morning in rural spots, so a chilly but bright start, some
:10:48. > :10:56.sunshine around through the morning, high cloud, patchy rain through the
:10:57. > :10:59.second half of the day, turning windy on Wednesday night. Thursday
:11:00. > :11:07.is the nicest day of the next view, otherwise chilly and unsettled.
:11:08. > :11:13.Good evening. We are about to head into March, the days are getting
:11:14. > :11:18.longer, but are they getting any warmer? Not really. We will get
:11:19. > :11:21.there in the end, but we will have to be patient, not very springlike
:11:22. > :11:26.at the moment. Some showers scattered around across England and
:11:27. > :11:30.Wales will tend to diminish in number, a few left behind, wintry
:11:31. > :11:34.showers across the north of Scotland, snow at low-level is, ice
:11:35. > :11:38.as well as temperatures fall close to freezing. A cold night with a
:11:39. > :11:45.touch of frost in a number of places. Plenty of sunshine across
:11:46. > :11:49.southern areas first of all, but it will not last, rain spilling from
:11:50. > :11:54.the south, the best brightness and eventually further north across the
:11:55. > :11:57.UK. Mostly fine afternoon to come across northern areas, Scotland,
:11:58. > :12:03.still wintry showers across the far north, but plenty of sunshine
:12:04. > :12:05.further south. 5-6, not feeling too bad in the sunshine. The odd shower
:12:06. > :12:06.for Northern