20/07/2017 London News

security services are already testing it as a tool for hunting

testing it as a tool for hunting terrorists.

Figures obtained by the BBC show the number of reported sexual

assaults on the London Underground have more than trebled

So campaigners are now calling for everyone who uses public

transport to take responsibility for keeping others safe.

Tolu Adeoye has been speaking to a victim -

I was stood behind loads of people and this guy was behind me

and he sort of started rubbing himself up against me,

and I thought, maybe I've got the wrong impression here,

but then I realised, as it became more pronounced

that he was actually, you know, feeling me up, groping me.

Imogen Groome was assaulted while travelling on the Central line

She says the experience has changed the way she now

I will usually try and plan around and take the bus where I can,

just because there's more space and you're not going

It shouldn't happen, that's the bottom line.

People shouldn't just take advantage because they can.

The number of reported incidents is rising.

Statistics show, in the year to March this year, there were more

than 700 reported offences on the Tube.

That's gone up threefold from 225 five years ago.

You know, he shouldn't get away with it.

Police say campaigns like this one mean more victims have

But certainly it will help us build that picture and we can establish

when people come on the system, when people come off the system,

That can open up lines of enquiry to help catch these people.

Research on the London Underground shows that most offences

are reported during rush-hour, dispelling the myth

that this has anything to do with late-night drinking culture.

It's often sober men travelling to and from work

And campaigners say everyone using public transport has

to take responsibility for keeping women safe.

There's lots of bystanders lots of the time just turn the other

eye because they don't want to intervene, but I think it's

really important that we all say, this is not on, it's not

what we want for ourselves, it's not what we want for our children.

We want to create a society where women are free to walk

around and be in public safe without fear of attack.

Imogen didn't report the assault, something she now regrets.

In hindsight, I wish that I had reported it

because it is every little detail that makes the difference.

If I'd just said the time and that this guy was tall and had

a rucksack, which was all I knew of him, that could have

helped to paint a picture of who had done it.

She's urging other women to speak up.

500 people have been evacuated from their homes and businesses

in north London after fears of a possible explosion -

at a fire on an industrial estate in Edgware.

With the latest, here's Jennifer Conway.

Eight fire engines and dozens of firefighters were called

to the blaze on Watling Avenue in Edgware this afternoon.

A workshop on the Edgware industrial estate had caught fire,

behind a row of shops with flats above.

Residents and businesses were evacuated when the London Fire

Brigade became concerned that gas cylinders on the site

Big smoke, like black smoke filling the streets.

People were being evacuated from their shops.

I tried to get some personal belongings as long as it's obviously

safe, which we needed confirmation from the structural engineer.

I'm supposed to be going on holiday on Tuesday so I need

Burnt Oak Tube station was closed as smoke filled the sky.

Tonight the fire was brought under control, shortly before 9pm.

Experts from the 9/11 terror attack in New York,

have been brought in - to help provide specialist knowledge

to police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire in North

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey said

the "extraordinary size of crime scene" meant the "only comparable

advice" that could be found was from investigators who worked

on the collapse of the World Trade Centre in 2001.

This is one of the most complex recovery operations certainly many

of us in the UK have seen in time, and the people we're taking advice

from, which gives you an idea of the skill and complexity of it,

are some of the people who worked on 9/11 and the fall

of the towers on 9/11, because it's an extraordinary

size of crime scene, and extraordinarily complex.

Criminals in London make millions of pounds a year

The money often goes to gangs - which helps fund their other crimes.

So a crackdown by Trading Standards has begun -

and on the front line, are specially trained harmless

Unregulated, untaxed and under the counter,

illegal tobacco in London is big business.

It is an increasing problem in London.

The issue is that the cost of cigarettes have

become much higher and counterfeits are cheaper, so people tend to go

This is one tool on the front line, working

with trading standards officers to identify

what is fake and what is

not, and her handler says she is an important part of the team.

She has been doing this for five years.

The last five years, she has found over

?7 million worth of illegal tobacco products.

But officials estimate this is just the tip of the iceberg.

It's thought criminals are making ?100 million a year

third of London smokers admitted they had been offered illegal

Now campaigners say bargain basement tobacco is finding

its way onto the playground and are tempting

Brian bought his first illegal packet from a friend.

When I was in high school, it was me and five

other people smoking in my school, in my

year, but altogether in the

school, there were so many people smoking.

And there is another problem campaigners are concerned

Illicit tobacco is linked to gangs and criminality and we also

know that there are extra substances added to cigarettes, for example

London trading standards say foreign language on packets, unusual brands

and knock-down prices are all tell-tale signs that what you are

There is no doubt that trading standards is

having an impact and they say that, even with the help

to be done to stamp out this growing illegal market.

A woman from Hertfordshire has been quietly remembering the day,

ten years ago, when she became the first person in Britain

to donate her kidney - to a complete stranger.

Her unselfish act led to a change in the law allowing

others to do the same - and its helped save

Yvonne Hall has been speaking to her.

Quiet and unassuming, but this 73-year-old grandmother has

Kay Mason battled with the NHS for years to try to

change the law to allow helping people to donate kidneys to

-- healthy people to donate kidneys to strangers.

They could not understand one's motivation to do something for

somebody who they did not know and they reckoned

doctors would not want to

I realised what a privileged life I had lead, I had

not had any serious illness and I had four

healthy children and even a

In 2007, what Kay describes as her stubbornness paid off, the law was

Kay and others hope the tenth anniversary of her

donation will inspire more people to do the same.

There are currently 5000 patients in the UK waiting for

Incidence of kidney disease is rising and, every

year, 250 people die whilst waiting for a suitable donor.

It is a big step to offer your kidney to somebody you

The NHS are very thorough in making sure that every

potential donor is aware of the risks.

John says having a kidney transplant has transformed his life.

I am at the gym three times a week, I can run, cycle, tennis, football,

play with my family, which they all notice,

You have helped save the lives of 600 people.

That is a very flattering way to put it, but it is good.

I do not think about every day but, when I

I think she deserves to feel more than good.

Now over to Phillip for the weather.

The good news story. We got there eventually today, quite cloudy to

start with. Here's the good news, tomorrow, mostly dry. A bit breezy,

coming in from the south. It won't be a cold start to the day. You are

stepping into dry conditions. A decent commute, some sunshine

around. The cloud fills in a bit during the day. I wouldn't be

surprised if you saw a shower mainly to the west of the area, rather than

the east, which could stay dry all year. Temperature is 22-23. If you

are out tomorrow evening the cloud will thicken up and I think there's

a greater chance the longer you spend out of seeing some rain. It's

tied in with that front, which eventually pulls away first thing on

Saturday. Then we fall into a bit of a gap. Make the most of that because

it will be a decent day. The chance of a shower, perhaps.