12/07/2017 London News

figures? We also confirm the first case of cyanide poisoning amongst

the survivors. Join me now on BBC BBC London has seen a letter

from the Mayor of London to the Home Secretray,

Amber Rudd which accuses the Government of not doing enough

to keep London safe from a large Sadeeq Khan called for

more money for police, as well as the fire brigade,

and he raised concerns about how London would cope

with another three months Here's our Political Correspondent,

Karl Mercer reports. In March, the terror attack

on Westminster Bridge that left In then at the start of June,

eight more innocent victims murdered by terrorists

in an attack on Borough Market. Within days, the fire

at Grenfell Tower, which claims at least 80 lives and shortly

afterwards, another man killed in a The emergency response

to all four has been widely praised, but today comes

a warning from the Mayor. He has written to

the Home Secretary, raising concerns about how

the capital would cope if there were to be larger

scale terrorist attacks. This is how the Met prepares

for so-called marauding terrorist firearms attacks,

but the Mayor's worried it may not be enough and government

is not doing enough to keep We showed the letter

to Kenny March from the Metropolitan Police federation,

which represents officers. It always concerns me

when you have different political parties pointing to each

other, but I think this is relevant, because he is in charge of us

and he is asking the question, because ultimately he wants to be

able say, my police can go out there and keep

the streets safe, I'm not sure at the moment, should we have another

major incident, we could do that. The Mayor's letter

goes further, it also asks the Government

for at least ?6 million for new equipment for

the Fire Brigade to help

tagle high rise fires. Of course there is a whole list

of issues that we need - from equipment around aerial

lifting equipment, issues specialist equipment

that we need, technology's moved on in relation

to the ability of fire

service do their job. We have got to make sure they have

got the tools they need to keep No ministers were available

for interview tonight, we were told instead: "W3 believe

the Home Office has received the letter and will respond

in due course." Well, it's exactly four weeks

since the Grenfell Tower fire - and a vigil's been held in the area,

for the victims. There's also been a highly charged

residents meeting with police and the new Leader of Kensington

and Chelsea Council. Louisa Preston is in

the area tonight. Louisa you were at that

meeting I just mentioned, but first tell us about the vigil

which took place where you are now. Well yes, you might be able to see

from behind me that people are still here this evening bgs lighting

candles and remembering the people that died and people that are

missing after that fire in Grenfell Tower four weeks ago. An earlier

tonight at the start of the vigil the roads were shuts and hundreds

were standing around, some in tears, just standing and remembering what

happened. There is still a lot of anger among locals. Earlier at that

public meeting, there was a lot of frustrated people, extremely angry

by what's happened and they feel isolated. The leader, the new leader

of the council, Elizabeth Campbell was there and she was told to go

home. People were extremely angry and hostile to her and became

frustrated with a senior policeman and they said they wanted answers,

when he said he couldn't give any more information, they were shouted

at saying people should be arrested. I spoke to some people earlier. I

think there is a need for the community to express how they feel

and it might come across as being angry, it is because of the lack of

information and the deepening of the mistrus of the public and there is a

huge gap between local authorities and residents. It is another text

book case of the council coming in that has no answers for the

questions we have been asking for four weeks. Such as when are we

going to be housed. Theresa May promised everyone would be housed

within three weeks, people are still living on floors. The mayor has

added his criticism to the council as well? Yes, he has been extremely

critical of council. But today he has been extremely critical of their

new leader, saying there is no way she will be able to win back the

trust of the people. Mainly because this morning she said she hadn't

actually been inside a tower block, one of these tower blocks in this

area, which didn't do her any favours. But I have been speaking to

people and there is a sense that they believe that the community's

pulling together and they're working together. But they're not getting

any support from the council. Back to you. Thank you.

Well the issue of fire safety is very much in the forefront

of the minds of anyone living in a tower block.

Our reporter Marc Ashdown asked London Fire Brigade

whether the advice to stay put remains -

even though many tall buildings are failing fire checks.

I understand why that confusion's there, but it is more about the

protection that is in place in the building and as long as the the

building is properly maintained and by that

I mean that fire doors are

well fitted, corridors and escape route kept

clear, then people are

safer staying in their flats, allowing firefighters to get in to

Well, when it comes to fire safety checks have been carried out

in tower blocks across London, but a fire safety expert has

identified four blocks which, in his view,

could allow a fire to spread from flat to flat within seconds.

They're in Peckham, as Gareth Furby explains

If there is a fire, they are trained to evacuate us.

I'm not going to burst out crying but I just don't feel safe.

The reason people live in these blocks are so concerned can be seen

A total of 28 fire wardens brought in by Southwark council just over

a week ago on the advice of the Fire Brigade,

such is the apparent risk of any fire spreading.

They are now on duty 24/7 to ensure these blocks can be

evacuated immediately, should any fire start.

We filmed inside, as a fire safety expert invited in by some residents

And his conclusion is that the cracking visible on some

walls and ceilings constitutes a major fire risk.

This will mean that fire can spread rapidly from flat to flat

He also found a gap in a ceiling and holes in a floor by a gas pipe

and believes fire could spread rapidly by this route.

You have zero minutes between a fire starting in one flat

This man removed some samples of the filler used in some of these

gaps and then took them outside to see if they burned.

Southwark Council says there are no surprises in any of the points made

They are matters the council has been dealing with for years

and the Fire Brigade is happy with its measures

But following the events at Grenfell Tower, many

If there is a fire, it will basically spread like wildfire.

This tenant doesn't have much faith in the fire wardens.

We caught one napping and she claims it has happened before.

I have been out there at 8am in the morning

to take our son to school and they are out there asleep.

Southwark Council says any issue raised about fire marshals will be

But at the end of the meeting last night with councillors

and their experts, some residents were not convinced.

I feel more confused now than I did when I went in there.

How are we safe if they haven't even finished their investigation?

The council says all safety issues are being addressed properly.

Other news now and a Para-athlete has died after being

struck by a metal pole during a training in Newham.

Abdullah Hayayei was due to represent

the United Arab Emirates in the javelin, discus and shot-put

in the London World ParaAthletics Championships this month.

The 36-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

This morning's rain didn't last long and in the afternoon we saw the

cloud breaking up and the sunshine coming through. This is the view

from space. The sunshine came out for the afternoon. It is quiet

tonight with some clear spells. Temperatures will drop away with the

light winds. It will be fresher than it has been in recent mornings and

some places will be close to single figures. So a bright start with

clear skies and sunshine through the morning. Cloud amounts will increase

in the afternoon, but it stays fine and dry and in the low 20s. A decent

day in Wimbledon. Sunny spells and temperatures into the low 20s.

Looking ahead to Friday, more cloud, but staying fine and dry and

temperatures creeping back up but staying fine and dry and

temperatures creeping back up to the weekend.

Good evening. Beautiful day across most of the UK today. A big

difference compared to what we had yesterday, some managed to dry off

after that deluge. Today, beautiful blue skies in London and this

beautiful picture in Cumbria. This is the satellite from earlier, you

can see a bit of cloud in the morning. That pulled away and that

mass of cloud was the rain that we had yesterday. But at the moment, it

is very quiet out there. The stars are out, the winds are light, I

could mention there might be some mist. Relatively mild in the middle

of city, but further north in rural spots could be as low as four or