02/05/2017 London News

It was a surprise and a controversial appointment,

and today was his first day as the new editor of

The former Chancellor George Osborne, who has little professional

experience in journalism, has promised that under his

leadership, the paper will inform and entertain.

Some say he's already ruffling political feathers.

The BBC's media editor Amol Rajan reports.

George Osborne's new working hours mean he will probably

But this morning, he looked eager to get his feet under the table.

It's very exciting to be starting in the new job.

It's a really important time in our country where people

are going to want the straight facts, the informed analysis,

so they can make the really big decisions about this country's

The Evening Standard is going to provide that and it's

We have got a paper to get off stone.

Keen to show familiarity with newspaper jargon,

Osborne will have been relieved that at least his pass worked.

But outside the Standard's offices in Kensington, Central London,

London's cab drivers say the Chancellor was too close

to Uber, the private hire firm, allegations that he denies.

When George Osborne turned up for work this morning,

he would have had the same priorities as any new newspaper

editor, getting to know staff, talking about his editorial vision,

but it's clear his time as editor is going to be dogged

Staff are relieved he is stepping down as an MP but there

is still concern about his work for Blackrock and it is clear that

London's cab drivers intend to disrupt his editorship.

The ?650,000 per year that Osborne earns for four days

a month at Blackrock, the world's biggest asset manager,

leaves him exposed to accusations of a conflict of interest.

With limited resources and a business model under pressure,

Osborne will need to turn the Standard's finances around.

For a former Chancellor who practised austerity and is no

stranger to controversy, this new job has eerie

Amal Rajan, BBC London News, Kensington.

Well, with more on this, I'm joined by our reporter Alpa Patel.

Give us a sense of the tone of the first edition. It is very

anti-Brexit, from the front page, which takes a swipe at the Prime

Minister and her handling of the Brexit negotiations so far. In the

editorial, which says that Brexit is a historic mistake for the country.

It is important to remember Theresa May dismissed George Osborne as

Chancellor when she came to office so it is believed that George

Osborne is using the paper to at the very least hold Theresa May to

account hard over the Brexit negotiations.

This is absolutely George Osborne making the best use he can of this

newspaper as a weapon to attack all Brexiteers and to scrutinise

the government very, very clearly during these difficult

London is Remain, the city is Remain, George Osborne is Remain.

I think he's going to wallop them all over the place.

And there is concern over that, voiced on social media this evening,

that the paper won't reflect the democratic will that the country

voted to leave the European Union and reflect the voices of

Brexiteers. This is the first edition so we will have to wait and

see. We shall. Thank you for joining us.

Successive governments have failed victims of the IRA

bombings in London - the damning findings

The Docklands Bombing in 1996 and the attack on Harrods in 1983

both used explosives supplied by the Gadaffi regime.

The report says decades of failure to seek compensation from Libya

It was intended to hit London's financial services

Back in 1996, the IRA gave a 90-minute warning about a bomb

near South Quays Station in Docklands but not everyone

I was told that there is some, some explosion around

Then we were told about five o'clock that, yes, it was Iman and John

A huge truck bomb went off outside Ihsan Bashir's shop.

His brother Iman and fellow employee John were killed.

Explosives used by the IRA in this and other attacks were supplied

This report slams successive British governments for failing its victims

and their families, while other foreign governments successfully

negotiated substantial compensation deals.

The report found Tony Blair's government failed to resolve

the issue on multiple occasions, the coalition government was focused

on pursuing business opportunities in Libya and Libyan frozen assets

held in the UK should be used as leverage with any negotiations.

This London law firm represents victims of various Libya-linked IRA

attacks that happened in both England and Northern Ireland.

It goes further than that, to say that the government needs to enter

into government-to-government negotiations with Libya,

which for years it has refused to do so.

And even more, it is said that if the matter isn't

resolved through such government-to-government

negotiations by the end of this year, that our government should set

up a fund to compensate the victims directly.

It won't bring back my brother. The money won't bring him back.

The only time the government acts is when we highlight it,

The Foreign Office told BBC London it supports UK victims of Gaddafi

sponsored IRA terrorism and the next government will respond

A 24-hour strike at London Bridge Tube station is set

to go ahead next Monday, after bosses refused

to reinstate a member of staff following a dispute

The RMT union has described the dismissal as "an appalling

But London Underground claims the staff member's

Latest figures show a rise in the number of passengers

being injured while travelling in taxis, minicabs and

Is the use of apps while driving partly to blame?

There are calls for them to be banned while at the wheel.

Here's our transport correspondent Tom Edwards.

Tempers can fray outside St Pancras, as taxis and minicabs

Double parking and U-turns are common.

Can I get a quick look at your badge?

And it is here new compliance officers are running checks.

This industry has changed rapidly, driven in part by apps like Uber.

We've got loads of things, tyres, windscreen wipers not working, some

drivers not wearing their badge, some not carrying their insurance.

TfL says it has concerns over occupants being injured

The latest figures show that over a two-year period,

The data isn't yet broken down between taxis and minicabs

but during that time, taxi numbers have stayed

the same and minicab numbers have gone up 54%.

You have between 10-15 seconds to react to that job.

Is the use of apps while driving the cause?

I'm looking at the phone, interacting with the phone,

Now there are calls for TfL to ban the use of apps while driving.

I've got the minicabs coming on the side of me and, like,

they are doing 30-40 mph and they are looking over,

trying to work out where the street is and going like this.

I mean, it is a massive public safety issue as well.

What I would like is that technology can be put in place to disable

the app while the car is moving so that would stop you being tempted

But I think also the mayor needs to issue very thorough advice

through the Met Police to all licensed drivers in London,

as Essex Police have done, to make it very clear that you don't

touch your phone while you're driving.

Uber says drivers must be in proper control of their vehicle

and concentrating on the road at all times.

Unions representing minicabs say drivers shouldn't

I think the answer at the moment is, just don't interact with the phone.

You've got to be safe because frankly, for all you know,

there is a policeman behind you who is more than happy to give

you six points and a ?200 fine and not even think

TfL says it is changing how it records data for collisions and that

incidents could be increasing due to improvements in reporting.

It says it is up to individuals to make sure they are driving safely.

Should using apps while moving be banned?

What is vital for us is that drivers give their full attention

If they are at any risk of being distracted,

then they need to stop and they need to engage with whatever

they are trying to engage with when the vehicle is in a safe

The mayor wants to be able to cap private hire numbers.

Others want intervention from TfL or they fear more injuries.

Time for me to wish you a very goodnight.

And I'll leave you with Stav Danaos and a check on the weather.

What have you got? A bit disappointing because we are

on the eastern side of the UK and we have an easterly wind so we will see

the line's share of the cloud with the best sunshine for the West.

Overnight, cloud screening in, -- streaming in, pick in for the odd

spot of rain over eastern areas but temperatures not below six or seven.

Tomorrow, rather cloudy day and we will see thicker cloud moving in to

bring patchy rain at times. Not a wash-out but it will be a nuisance

factor, a bit of light rain here and there. Temperature is not as good as

today, where we saw 18. Looking closer to 13 or 14. We hold on to

the nagging easterly breeze which will feed some cloud of the near

continent. Even a weather front may enhance it at times. The best of the

sunshine always across the North and west of the UK, where it will be

more sheltered. Thursday rather cloudy, maybe a notch up, 14 or 15

with the odd spot of rain and maybe a bit of sunshine. The output, it is

set to stay the same set to stay the same towards the

weekend. Now Nick Miller with the National forecast.

I doubt you need me today that for most places, April was a dry month

and if you colour the map depending on how much rainfall you had

according to the Met office, it looked round, drier than average,

and a flick of white in Devon, more in Scotland, close to average and a

bit of blue in the far north-west, some places wetter than normal but

foremost, it was dry and the UK as a whole, the tenth driest April on

record, and quite a contrast between wettest and driest in the