20/06/2017 London News

problems which affected the start of the programme. Now on BBC One,

First tonight, the urgent work taking place to ensure London's

As firefighters continue to search through the wreckage

of Grenfell Tower, local authorities are conducting fresh inspections

Croydon Council has become the first to announce

that it will fit sprinklers into many of its high rise blocks.

Not far from Grenfell Tower, many residents are worried.

Reassurances from Westminster Council about the

cladding and the safety of the high-rise haven't worked.

Since it happened, I hardly sleep because

I am worried that it could happen here

They've got to take it down, because they've

Councils are now trying to reassure residents

across London, and Croydon was the first in the capital to say it'll be

installing sprinklers up to 25 blocks.

Our blocks in Croydon, pre-Grenfell Tower, if you like,

We are examining the cladding further,

as we speak, but it isn't right to not offer

residents in our blocks the reassurance that

After six died in the Lackenall fire in 2009, the

government said that councils should consider

fitting sprinters to old buildings, but very few did.

In this block in Croydon, there are smoke

this is the only way out, this stairwell.

Croydon Council now say they are going to pay ?10 million to

retrofit sprinklers in all of their blocks

There are now calls for other councils to follow suit.

To pay for them, the council wants the government to

relax borrowing rules, or it says other improvements may have to

John has lived in this block for 25 years.

They are improving things, making people happy, so it

This is a test of the effectiveness of sprinkler systems.

Campaigners have been trying to get the government to make

them compulsory in all buildings for many years.

In the States they fit 40 million sprinkler heads a year.

We used to be the great leader in all these things but

now we can't do this, too much bureaucracy, not enough money.

I was going to say it's tragic but it is self evidently

The Grenfell Tower fire is changing how authorities regard

The question now is how many landlords will improve

Let's get more on this story with Marc Ashdown.

And Marc, what more do we know now about how many other tower blocks

could have safety issues across the capital?

We approached all 33 London boroughs, asking them what safety

checks they have carried out. We have heard back from 40.

Non-planning sprinkler systems, as we heard in Croydon. There are 900

tower blocks. In nine boroughs they have cladding. 140 buildings in

total. None have the same cladding used in Grenfell Tower. What is the

government said? We asked them for a picture of her many inspections are

being carried out in recent days. They haven't got back to us. They

have written to every council telling them to look for a certain

type of cladding cold ACM, and this if they find it, get it urgently

inspected. Nothing has been found by any council tip. Although the

cladding is a key part of the investigation, no blame has been

attributed yet. On this question of the original response by the local

council, what is the protocol? Kensington and Chelsea was

overwhelmed by the enormity of what happened. But there are questions as

to what the council did and when it did it. This is not an informal

process. There is a formal plan in place. There is a pan London

resilience plan which can be triggered. That requires the host

borough to affect -- effectively ask for help. There is frustration among

some borrowers involved because some were standing by, prepared to offer

assistance very early on. That has caused friction. We have had

criticism of the secondary response. The provision of shelter, food,

clothing, basic support to those most badly affected. Some councils

feeling they have been drawn in on fairly by that criticism. Thank you.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has told BBC London her

force is "stretched" and is asking the Government for help.

Cressida Dick says her officers are carrying out "very extensive"

terror investigations on top of dealing with

Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Nick Beake, reports.

Three terrorist attacks, five more foiled.

All this on top of rising violent crime in

The pace feels relentless for the Metropolitan Police.

We are not having any fewer calls for help

The commissioner reveal to us she was now

talking to ministers about the

?400 million of savings Scotland Yard says it

We do undoubtedly need a very capable

police service in the future for all the reasons people can see.

I'm sure we can become more efficient however

we need the resources to do the job and I'm talking to the government

Sources say they are confident the government will listen

The Home Office insisted it would ensure the Met has

the resources needed to cut crime and keep communities safe.

But the mayor rejected a department's claim

that the police budget had been protected.

Scotland Yard also announced today it was paying to

train an extra 1800 officers to carry Taser stun guns.

The commissioner ordered the move after a rise in

knife crime and attacks on officers but explained they could also help

I felt our emergency response teams should have

Clearly, the horrible attacks in the last few weeks...

I think will be high in people's minds.

And there are instances when Taser will be and, indeed, has been

used in some arrests recently but it would

be a very useful tool for the officers to use.

Critics say Tasers are dangerous and is used far too

often, partically against black people but Scotland Yard feels it is

an increasingly important weapon in policing the capital today.

People gathered for a vigil in Finsbury Park this evening,

in support of those affected by yesterday's attack.

Among the speakers, local MP and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn,

who called for all communities to remain strong.

This is who we want to be. This is who we are. This was the message

they wanted to come from Finsbury Park. Less than 48 hours after the

attack, a community together, not apart. For those directly affected,

they are deeply shocked by the -- touched by the response. We have

overwhelmed by the huge support that we have from the local community. It

is so nice to see. The number of flowers, phone calls, e-mails, the

number of people who came last night to show their support, they love and

respect. One of the messages that keeps coming out time and time again

is that people here say the attack yesterday will not divide them, it

will not create resentment between different parts of the committee. In

fact, it is bringing people together. The other thing of course

it hasn't shown is that any community can be a victim of a

terrorist attack. It was in the very early hours of Monday morning when

worshippers who had just left mosque awestruck. A van ploughed into

crowds leaving many casualties. But today people heard positive

messages, including from local MP and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. If

this mosque is attacked, if a synagogue is attacked, if a church

is attacked, if any person is attacked, we are under all attack

because of that. Let's have that sense of solidarity. That is why so

many people wanted to turn up. It was important to me that this was

seen as an act of terror on London just like all the other acts of

terror. It is important for society to show that terrorism has no

colour, no religion. We are united as one. Extra police patrols will be

deployed to protect people here while the community comes to terms

with what has happened. But let's find out

what the weather's up Not so great for sleeping? No. Very

uncomfortable again tonight. Warm and sticky. Today is the fourth day

in a row that we have at temperatures over 40 degrees. Just a

bit lower than yesterday. Another very one night ahead. Uncomfortable

for sleeping. Just a touch cooler than it was last night. But still

lows of around 17 Celsius. It will feel very warm into tomorrow

morning. It is the summer solstice. The heat will peak. It could --

could turn out to be the hottest June day for 40 years, since 1976.

The sun will rise at Cuadrilla flight -- Cuadrilla five. Lots of

sunshine. Fairweather Cloud. Some warm air. High pollen levels. Top

temperatures peeking out at 34 Celsius. The good news is if you

suffer from the heat there will be some respite from Thursday. The

outlook for the rest of the week is it is going to look cooler and

breezy, and we should see more cloud as well.

breezy, and we should see more cloud as well. Here is more with Thomas

Savernake. Good evening. We are on course for

the hottest June day in the UK since 1976. Temperatures will be soaring