26/06/2017

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:00. > :00:10.safe from fire. But to a former housing minister. Join me now

:00:11. > :00:17.There are claims tonight that Rydon, the company responsible

:00:18. > :00:19.for carrying out refurbishments to Grenfell Tower, ignored

:00:20. > :00:21.fire safety warnings during the refurbishment of another

:00:22. > :00:30.Hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes

:00:31. > :00:33.on the Chalcots Estate on Friday, after London Fire Brigade said

:00:34. > :00:35.they couldn't guarantee the safety of those living there.

:00:36. > :00:37.But this programme has heard from a contractor who claims

:00:38. > :00:40.he warned Rydon about his fears over one of the blocks -

:00:41. > :00:44.But he says those concerns fell on deaf ears.

:00:45. > :00:51.Tonight hundreds of residents are still out of their homes,

:00:52. > :00:57.They were evacuated with little warning on Friday night from four

:00:58. > :01:01.tower blocks here on the Chalcots Estate.

:01:02. > :01:04.Now BBC London can reveal how we were the first to highlight

:01:05. > :01:06.safety concerns to the council and Rydon which led

:01:07. > :01:12.There are one of two gas risers on this floor landing,

:01:13. > :01:19.this was one of the risers and my concerns are that

:01:20. > :01:23.if there is a fire in this communal area and the fire breaches this pipe

:01:24. > :01:26.which is basically a PVC gas pipe behind this small bit of what feels

:01:27. > :01:29.like a bit of timber cladding, this resident would not

:01:30. > :01:31.Meet Sebastien Stevenson of Diligent Developments.

:01:32. > :01:37.I met him a week ago when we filmed here inside Taplow House.

:01:38. > :01:40.If there's a fire in that floor it will breach that fire door

:01:41. > :01:45.We filmed as he listed all his concerns inside the tower block,

:01:46. > :01:53.A fire door should actually look like this, compositely set up

:01:54. > :01:56.with a solid core panel door with an inch emission strip,

:01:57. > :01:59.maybe there's a door closer on the internal side of this door.

:02:00. > :02:02.And in the fire this strip heats up and seals it.

:02:03. > :02:06.And in the fire this strip heats up and seals the door and prevents

:02:07. > :02:09.smoke inhalation into the actual space whereas this glass is just

:02:10. > :02:11.simple safety glass and would crack under the slightest application

:02:12. > :02:15.He first saw this building when his company came

:02:16. > :02:18.in to refurbish the 17th floor after a fire inside

:02:19. > :02:22.So clearly you can see here the images of the fire

:02:23. > :02:29.He says he raised these concerns with Rydon, the company

:02:30. > :02:34.It's five years later, there is no excuse for these safety

:02:35. > :02:37.violations to still be intrinsic into these buildings.

:02:38. > :02:40.We raised his concerns on Tuesday of last week with the council.

:02:41. > :02:45.On Friday, three days later, a dramatic development.

:02:46. > :02:49.Taplow House and three other towers nearby were evacuated precisely

:02:50. > :02:53.because of fears over the cladding and the interior fire safeguards.

:02:54. > :02:56.What is more, Taplow House has had a fire inspection, which it passed,

:02:57. > :02:59.as recently as the spring of last year so what went wrong

:03:00. > :03:05.In a statement the company, Rydon, have said they have no record

:03:06. > :03:08.whatsoever of any concerns or warnings being raised

:03:09. > :03:11.by Diligent Developments and that the particular areas

:03:12. > :03:14.of concern, whether that is the fire alarms or gas risers,

:03:15. > :03:18.the responsibility for them lies instead with Camden Council.

:03:19. > :03:22.The statement goes on to say that Rydon prides itself on the quality

:03:23. > :03:25.of all works that they carry out, they have been working with local

:03:26. > :03:27.authorities for more than 40 years, and that safety is integral

:03:28. > :03:31.As for Camden Council, they said tonight they have

:03:32. > :03:33.been on the front foot, as they put it, to ensure

:03:34. > :03:36.their tower blocks meet the required safety standards,

:03:37. > :03:38.and they will be asking serious questions about the management

:03:39. > :03:50.Well, we know that Camden is a very specific case,

:03:51. > :03:53.But let's get the wider picture in London.

:03:54. > :03:57.Jim Wheble is here with more details.

:03:58. > :04:05.Across the capital eight London boroughs sent cladding away for

:04:06. > :04:11.testing and it came back with failures. Hackney is the latest to

:04:12. > :04:17.be added to that list. A block on the Woodbury downed estate, part of

:04:18. > :04:24.Genesis Housing Association. The others include Camden, Hounslow,

:04:25. > :04:29.Islington, Brent, Barnett, Lambeth and Wandsworth. And should resident

:04:30. > :04:35.in these Boers be worried they could be evacuated? -- in these boroughs.

:04:36. > :04:39.It seems like the concerns on the Chalcots estate have not been

:04:40. > :04:44.replicated elsewhere. Almost all that failed the cladding test have

:04:45. > :04:49.subsequently had the London Fire Brigade reassess their safety

:04:50. > :04:52.procedures and apart from a few alterations, notably 24-hour

:04:53. > :04:58.patrols, they have said that while the cladding is removed resident art

:04:59. > :05:04.says -- are safe. I spoke to Genesis Housing Association earlier, one of

:05:05. > :05:09.their blocs failed the test today, and they said that only a small

:05:10. > :05:13.amount of cladding covers their building and that they have

:05:14. > :05:16.reassessed their fire safety assessment and reassured residents

:05:17. > :05:17.that they are safe while the cladding is removed. Many thanks for

:05:18. > :05:20.now. 14 police officers have been injured

:05:21. > :05:22.and five people arrested during a protest over the death

:05:23. > :05:25.of a young father in east London. Edson Frederico Da Costa died a week

:05:26. > :05:29.after being stopped in a car His family said they'd arranged

:05:30. > :05:34.a peaceful march last night, but others threw bricks and lit

:05:35. > :05:36.fires, as our Home Affairs This was the stand-off outside

:05:37. > :05:49.Forest Gate police station. Demonstrators said the Met had

:05:50. > :05:52.questions to answer. A local man had died

:05:53. > :05:55.after being stopped by officers. How did you start fighting for his

:05:56. > :06:04.life? That's what we need to know

:06:05. > :06:08.from the police, simple. 25-year-old Edson Frederico Da Costa

:06:09. > :06:10.died last Wednesday. The police watchdog said it believed

:06:11. > :06:13.the Met used CS gas and force. Campaigners claimed he received

:06:14. > :06:19.significant injuries and anger spilled into disorder

:06:20. > :06:25.at this latest protest. You imagine in a war zone

:06:26. > :06:29.or something, you don't imagine The trouble last night happened

:06:30. > :06:33.on Ahmed's doorstep. Bins burning in the street

:06:34. > :06:38.where many families were celebrating I haven't see nothing

:06:39. > :06:46.like this in 50 years. Luckily they did not smash

:06:47. > :06:49.the cars and didn't throw So what is the background

:06:50. > :07:01.to the story? On Thursday, June 15th, Met Police

:07:02. > :07:04.officers stopped a car in Newham. Mr Da Costa becomes unwell,

:07:05. > :07:06.according to the police He is taken to hospital

:07:07. > :07:09.in a critical condition. The following Wednesday,

:07:10. > :07:15.he dies in hospital. The next day, as campaigners claim

:07:16. > :07:19.he has been brutally beaten, the IPCC says a postmortem

:07:20. > :07:22.examination found he had no broken neck, no spinal injuries,

:07:23. > :07:25.or bleeding to the brain. Despite the flames and the obvious

:07:26. > :07:34.fury, the protest at this police station last night was contained

:07:35. > :07:41.and did not spread particularly far. The level of anger over the death

:07:42. > :07:44.of a young black man after contact with the Metropolitan Police has

:07:45. > :07:46.worrying echoes of another The shooting of Mark Duggan by armed

:07:47. > :07:58.police started the 2011 riots. This summer, feelings

:07:59. > :07:59.are also running high. The authorities will want

:08:00. > :08:02.to try and ease tensions A minute's has been held to remember

:08:03. > :08:12.those affected by the terrorist One man died and 11

:08:13. > :08:19.others were injured. A 47-year-old has been charged

:08:20. > :08:21.with terrorism-related The floral tribute in Finsbury Park,

:08:22. > :08:32.a reminder of events just a week ago, the fourth terrorist attack

:08:33. > :08:35.in just three months. The nation invited to pause

:08:36. > :08:41.and remember those impacted And then, gathered outside

:08:42. > :08:50.Islington town Hall, civic leaders, the local Mayor,

:08:51. > :08:54.and members of staff, many working and living locally,

:08:55. > :08:57.all gathered to show solidarity with the Muslim community in this

:08:58. > :09:03.multiethnic part of north London. A gesture greatly appreciated by

:09:04. > :09:08.the chair of Finsbury Park mosque. We know that we are here

:09:09. > :09:11.in Islington a diverse community, Those people who try

:09:12. > :09:19.to divide us, they failed. We have proved it

:09:20. > :09:25.in the last few days. This is why I am really glad that

:09:26. > :09:28.Islington and the country have come together to make sure

:09:29. > :09:31.that these people are failing. With the end of Ramadan

:09:32. > :09:34.at the weekend, there is normally a sense of joyous celebration

:09:35. > :09:36.amongst Muslims, but following the attack last Monday,

:09:37. > :09:38.joy has been replaced I'll say goodnight and

:09:39. > :10:01.leave you with Wendy Quite so, this week ahead will be

:10:02. > :10:03.cooler from tomorrow onwards and there will be quite cloudy

:10:04. > :10:10.conditions with spells of rain. This is the grand picture, it is a mess

:10:11. > :10:14.of low pressure systems, isobars and France and the rain coming with it

:10:15. > :10:19.which gives you an idea of how unsettled it will be -- and fronts.

:10:20. > :10:22.At the moment we have some cloud come in with some isolated tiny

:10:23. > :10:27.showers and there might be a few more through the night. It is fairly

:10:28. > :10:32.warm with temperatures of 15 degrees and we start with a fair amount of

:10:33. > :10:36.cloud and I can't guarantee you won't see some rain first thing but

:10:37. > :10:40.it will become more prevalent as the day goes on. If we get any dry and

:10:41. > :10:44.bright spot in between it looks likely temperatures might get a bit

:10:45. > :10:47.higher than the 21 degrees you concede that in the afternoon and

:10:48. > :10:51.evening and overnight to Wednesday there will be more heavy rain and

:10:52. > :10:56.that will have a knock-on effect to the temperature, from 35 degrees

:10:57. > :10:58.last week to 19 degrees this Wednesday will stop we do have

:10:59. > :11:01.unsettled conditions through the week with further spells of rain.

:11:02. > :11:05.The weekend will week with further spells of rain.

:11:06. > :11:06.The weekend will be called with breezy conditions and