:00:13. > :00:18.Hundreds of residents in Southwark will be evacuated from their homes
:00:19. > :00:24.It follows investigations carried out after the Grenfell Tower fire.
:00:25. > :00:28.BBC London took a safety expert to inspect tower blocks
:00:29. > :00:31.on the Ledbury Estate in July and their report said
:00:32. > :00:34.the buildings could be at risk of a catastrophic collapse
:00:35. > :00:38.Southwark Council said the experts were wrong -
:00:39. > :00:41.but has now told residents their gas and water supplies will be turned
:00:42. > :00:50.off, leaving them unable to cook and with no hot water or heating.
:00:51. > :00:54.This was Ronan Point, a block of flats in Newham.
:00:55. > :00:59.Because of the structure of the building, one
:01:00. > :01:05.Homes were destroyed, four people died, and the law
:01:06. > :01:08.was changed so that blocks with a similar design
:01:09. > :01:15.But the fear nearly 50 years later is that this could happen again.
:01:16. > :01:18.Tonight, at a different block of flats, the gas is about to be
:01:19. > :01:21.turned off and all the residents will have to leave while they
:01:22. > :01:26.A lot of the residents I've seen are very upset.
:01:27. > :01:33.They want to know why has this happened.
:01:34. > :01:36.They want to know why these problems weren't picked up sooner.
:01:37. > :01:47.Do you think you've been safe during that time?
:01:48. > :01:54.The Ledbury tower blocks are a similar construction to Ronan Point.
:01:55. > :01:56.The council thought they were reinforced too,
:01:57. > :02:03.After the Grenfell Tower fire they were being examined
:02:04. > :02:07.by structural engineers to check they met fire safety measures,
:02:08. > :02:12.but our independent expert was concerned by the gas supply.
:02:13. > :02:16.The council should immediately cut off the gas supply until they know
:02:17. > :02:20.that the building can withstand the blast of a gas explosion.
:02:21. > :02:24.At the time the council told us the blocks were safe.
:02:25. > :02:27.The four tower blocks on the Ledbury estate were actually
:02:28. > :02:29.built after Ronan Point and are of a different design.
:02:30. > :02:36.So therefore we feel that they are safe to have gas in them.
:02:37. > :02:39.However, we have asked the structural engineers looking
:02:40. > :02:43.Why are you keeping people in the buildings before
:02:44. > :02:48.We said to people if they don't feel safe we will move them,
:02:49. > :02:50.but a mass evacuation isn't the right thing at the moment.
:02:51. > :02:53.We've put measures in place to ensure there is safety.
:02:54. > :02:56.But today, residents heard that the council would turn off
:02:57. > :03:00.the gas imminently and all of them would be asked to leave while repair
:03:01. > :03:05.At every stage of this investigation we've put residents' safety first.
:03:06. > :03:09.We've acted on the best information available.
:03:10. > :03:12.Residents have been given hot plates and told they can shower
:03:13. > :03:18.There's no word yet on when the gas will come back on.
:03:19. > :03:30.What exactly does this mean for residents? If you are resident in
:03:31. > :03:33.those tower blocks you will be temporarily moved out, you are
:03:34. > :03:37.evacuated, only bit by bit. Not everyone will go in one moment. That
:03:38. > :03:41.will be while they make the repair work. What about more widely, other
:03:42. > :03:45.people in tower blocks tonight might be concerned about their own safety.
:03:46. > :03:50.Well, at the moment we don't know. It was 50 years, nearly 50 years,
:03:51. > :03:53.that this tower block was potentially dangerous and we didn't
:03:54. > :03:56.hear about it. The council have alluded to that in their statement.
:03:57. > :04:00.They said they didn't own the tower block when it was constructed, so
:04:01. > :04:04.they are reliant on records that are about 50 years old. They also said
:04:05. > :04:09.in a statement that they have referred this matter to the
:04:10. > :04:11.government, whether or not this will affect other buildings around the
:04:12. > :04:16.rest of UK and potentially London, that doesn't mean people should
:04:17. > :04:19.panic about it. It just means that we might see further investigations
:04:20. > :04:20.into the strength of some of these buildings structurally in the
:04:21. > :04:22.future. Very much. Meanwhile, London Fire Brigade
:04:23. > :04:24.won't receive any more money from the government to fund
:04:25. > :04:26.lifesaving equipment - following the Grenfell tragedy -
:04:27. > :04:29.despite a request from the Mayor. He'd written to the Home Secretary
:04:30. > :04:32.asking for help to buy, among other things, new breathing
:04:33. > :04:35.apparatus for firefighters, But Amber Rudd says
:04:36. > :04:39.they have the resources they need and it's up to City Hall to decide
:04:40. > :04:42.how it's spent. Jeremy Corbyn has told
:04:43. > :04:44.this programme he wants Here's our political
:04:45. > :04:52.correspondent, Karl Mercer. The Grenfell fire led
:04:53. > :04:54.to calls for London's They had to borrow an aerial
:04:55. > :04:59.ladder from Surrey and a drone from Kent to
:05:00. > :05:01.help tackle the blaze. London's Fire Commissioner then drew
:05:02. > :05:04.up a list of new equipment Top of the list, three
:05:05. > :05:07.new aerial platforms, 1200 new breathing
:05:08. > :05:09.apparatus sets and two new drones,
:05:10. > :05:12.along with more masks, The mayor has said he will raid
:05:13. > :05:20.savings to pay for now, but wants the Government
:05:21. > :05:22.to cover the cost. I've had, this week, an initial
:05:23. > :05:27.response from the Home Secretary which I regret to say is not
:05:28. > :05:29.encouraging and stresses that it is a matter
:05:30. > :05:32.for the GLA to manage within its existing
:05:33. > :05:34.funding arrangements. This is the letter the Home
:05:35. > :05:37.Secretary sent to the mayor. "Funding of the Fire Brigade is a
:05:38. > :05:41.matter for you," and says City Hall already gets
:05:42. > :05:44.enough money from Government. She signs off with,
:05:45. > :05:46."Best wishes, Amber." The message from the Home Secretary
:05:47. > :05:50.to the mayor is a blunt one. She said, in the wake
:05:51. > :05:52.of the Grenfell fire, if London's Fire Brigade wants
:05:53. > :05:54.more kit, City Hall will The worry here at City Hall is that
:05:55. > :05:59.paying for it now will leave a black hole in the finances
:06:00. > :06:02.in years to come. How can we afford all this
:06:03. > :06:06.if the Government doesn't help? I think this will be a serious
:06:07. > :06:09.problem in the future, about balancing the books
:06:10. > :06:13.for the London Fire Brigade. Let's fund our Fire Service properly
:06:14. > :06:16.and recognise how vital I ask the Home Secretary,
:06:17. > :06:21.think again. Sadiq Khan has been
:06:22. > :06:26.elected Mayor of London. He understands the
:06:27. > :06:28.situation in London. He's making that call,
:06:29. > :06:30.he's doing it for a reason The mayor says paying
:06:31. > :06:34.for the new kit could mean scenes with the potential for fire station
:06:35. > :06:38.closures and the loss of jobs as was seen three years ago,
:06:39. > :06:42.when similar savings had to be made. The Home Secretary's letter says
:06:43. > :07:00.City Hall is getting enough money Police believe a van driver may have
:07:01. > :07:04.been killed on the M11 in Essex after a lump of concrete was thrown
:07:05. > :07:07.from the bridge. Detectives say the object hit his windscreen as he was
:07:08. > :07:12.driving close to Stansted Airport yesterday afternoon. The man, in his
:07:13. > :07:16.60s, lost control of the van, feared off the road and hit a tree. He
:07:17. > :07:20.Three people have been treated for minor injuries
:07:21. > :07:23.after an "unidentified substance" was delivered in an envelope to a
:07:24. > :07:26.The Metropolitan Police said the incident is not
:07:27. > :07:30.An investigation's under way after a double-decker crashed
:07:31. > :07:33.into a shop in south-west London during this morning's rush hour.
:07:34. > :07:37.Two passengers trapped on board had to be cut free.
:07:38. > :07:40.A nurse who was on the bus, claims the driver told her he had blacked
:07:41. > :07:47.At the start of rush hour in south London,
:07:48. > :07:52.A passenger travelling on this number 77 bus along Lavender Hill
:07:53. > :07:58.in Clapham described how it veered off the road and into a shop.
:07:59. > :08:02.There was a lot of screaming from passengers on the bus.
:08:03. > :08:05.There was a lady wedged in the front right seat, you could only see
:08:06. > :08:13.She was screaming for help, there was a lot of blood.
:08:14. > :08:16.Went to try and help her, the first reaction was to try to
:08:17. > :08:19.pull her out but it was physically impossible to pull her out
:08:20. > :08:24.It was then up to the London Fire Brigade to save her.
:08:25. > :08:26.She and another woman also on the top deck were rescued
:08:27. > :08:32.That's an aerial ladder platform which is a height vehicle
:08:33. > :08:35.which we use to reach either tall buildings or in this case,
:08:36. > :08:38.when we have casualties trapped on the upper deck of the bus,
:08:39. > :08:40.as in this situation, we can use it to provide
:08:41. > :08:45.to bring the casualties down, which is what we've done.
:08:46. > :08:48.Other passengers on board were treated by paramedics at the scene.
:08:49. > :08:51.And the driver was also taken to hospital.
:08:52. > :08:53.It has been claimed he had some sort of seizure
:08:54. > :08:58.I didn't see the bus driver but I heard from other passengers
:08:59. > :09:04.Another lady on the bus said she saw him slack-jawed,
:09:05. > :09:09.No one was inside the shop as it hasn't yet opened.
:09:10. > :09:13.The upmarket kitchen showroom said in a statement that its thoughts
:09:14. > :09:18.As the bus is meticulously and slowly taken away, you can see
:09:19. > :09:22.the full extent of the damage and how the front top end of the bus
:09:23. > :09:28.Transport for London along with the Met police are now
:09:29. > :09:37.A cinema that's been shut for more than 30 years is to be restored.
:09:38. > :09:42.The Savoy Cinema in Hackney was built in the '30s, but shut in 1984.
:09:43. > :09:45.The new owners are going to turn it into a cultural hub for film,
:09:46. > :09:51.theatre and music, to be called the Hackney Arts Centre.
:09:52. > :09:54.That's it for now from me, but let's find out what the weather's
:09:55. > :10:07.Good evening. After yesterday's deluge, today came as something of a
:10:08. > :10:10.relief, because there was a lot of dry weather and gradually things
:10:11. > :10:14.brightened up. We saw some sunshine. That's how tomorrow starts off. It
:10:15. > :10:18.will be dry, there will be spelt of some sunshine around. Staying dry
:10:19. > :10:22.through the rest of the night. There could be the odd mist patch under
:10:23. > :10:25.clear skies. It will turn a bit chilly, 13 in the centre of London,
:10:26. > :10:31.but out in the countryside some spots could get down towards single
:10:32. > :10:34.digits. Tomorrow, a cracking start. Blue skies and sunshine for the most
:10:35. > :10:38.part. We'll see some high cloud streaming in from the West. It will
:10:39. > :10:41.turn the sunshine hazy around lunchtime, I suspect, and the cloud
:10:42. > :10:47.macro will thicken up in the afternoon, maybe some rain in the
:10:48. > :10:50.west later. 22 top temperature. We will see some patchy rain moves
:10:51. > :10:53.through during Friday night. We'll keep a lot of cloud on spots of
:10:54. > :10:59.drizzle on Saturday. Temperatures around 20. Sunday should be a
:11:00. > :11:05.brighter day. We'll see some spells of sunshine. If you are heading
:11:06. > :11:08.further afield, let's check the National forecast with Helen
:11:09. > :11:13.Willetts. Good evening. A much nicer day after
:11:14. > :11:19.yesterday's deluge across southern and eastern areas. As you can see,
:11:20. > :11:21.it has already been a wet month. A very wet month across southern and
:11:22. > :11:22.eastern