0:00:00 > 0:00:00Merkel's government runs aground both Mac and why paper chase was
0:00:00 > 0:00:01forced to apologise to
0:00:11 > 0:00:17Good evening from BBC London News.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20For the first time, the extent of modern-day slavery
0:00:20 > 0:00:21here in the capital has been revealed.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23The charity which compiled the report says it's
0:00:23 > 0:00:32rising year on year, and highlights the boroughs
0:00:32 > 0:00:34where the problem is at its worst.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36We hear the plight of one woman who was beaten daily.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Our political correspondent Karl Mercer has the story.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43It's a very real issue for the Government, and it's a very
0:00:43 > 0:00:44real issue for all of us.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's a very real issue for Mama, too - brought to London
0:00:47 > 0:00:50for what she thought was a cook's job working
0:00:50 > 0:00:51for an overseas ambassador.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53She ended up a modern-day slave.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Good afternoon, everybody.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56My name is Mama.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02I come from Morocco...
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Now being helped by a specialist charity, she endured months
0:01:04 > 0:01:06of beatings and bad treatment, made to work
0:01:06 > 0:01:09extremely long hours.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26She is far from an isolated case.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Last year, the charity Hestia helped more than 600 victims
0:01:29 > 0:01:30across the capital -
0:01:30 > 0:01:32that's a 30% increase on the previous year.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36And already this year, they've seen 822 people.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38The worst three boroughs were Croydon, with 61 cases,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Southwark with 54 and Newham with 46.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45It was very moving, especially the account from Mama,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49the victim of human trafficking.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And it's so important that we always remember that behind
0:01:51 > 0:01:55the statistics are people.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58This is a very important report and it has shone a light on what's
0:01:58 > 0:02:01happening in London, to men and women in London
0:02:01 > 0:02:02who have been trafficked.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03Stand clear!
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Raids like these ones launched last month in London
0:02:06 > 0:02:08and across the country do help, but dealing with the
0:02:08 > 0:02:11victims can be tough.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15One young Albanian woman who had been trafficked to the capital
0:02:15 > 0:02:19and used as a sex worker was taken in by the charity at one
0:02:19 > 0:02:20of their safe houses.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22When she first arrived here, she actually thought
0:02:22 > 0:02:23that she had come into a brothel.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28And when I thought about it, I thought, oh, my goodness,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31it was five other women in that house and there was a madam.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I was the madam.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36And when there was a knock on the door, her thought was,
0:02:36 > 0:02:41that's it, now that I've been her3e a little while, the men
0:02:41 > 0:02:44that's it, now that I've been here a little while, the men
0:02:44 > 0:02:45are going to start conming in.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Because that's how it started.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50City Hall has now set up a team to look at modern
0:02:50 > 0:02:52slavery with charities, councils and the police.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It wants to stop the trade in the first place, but also to help
0:02:55 > 0:02:58rescue those being used as modern-day slaves in the capital.
0:02:58 > 0:03:06Victoria Hollins has got more on this.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11How much is this particularly a London problem?What the charity has
0:03:11 > 0:03:15done is to break the idea of modern-day slavery into three areas.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20The first is domestic, the second is those put into forced labour and the
0:03:20 > 0:03:25third is those put into the sex industry. It seems that London and
0:03:25 > 0:03:30the rest of the country has two different stories. In the rest of
0:03:30 > 0:03:33the country it is predominantly men put into forced labour in very bad
0:03:33 > 0:03:38working conditions. In London 80% of those who are trafficked are women
0:03:38 > 0:03:42and most of them are going into the sex industry. They've also looked at
0:03:42 > 0:03:46where these people tend to becoming from. Two countries make up more
0:03:46 > 0:03:53than 50% of those trafficked, Albania and Nigeria. It is also
0:03:53 > 0:03:57interesting to look at why the numbers seem to be going up so
0:03:57 > 0:04:02significantly. Is it because it will feel more comfortable saying that
0:04:02 > 0:04:05they are victims? There has been a lot of discussion about this. Or is
0:04:05 > 0:04:09it that actually there are more people affected and this is becoming
0:04:09 > 0:04:16a bigger problem? We do not yet know the answer to that question.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19It's the first tangible sign of Brexit - employees at two
0:04:19 > 0:04:21European agencies who currently have their headquarters
0:04:21 > 0:04:23in Canary Wharf today found out they'll be moving
0:04:23 > 0:04:24to Amsterdam and Paris.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Some small businesses have told BBC London they'll ALSO
0:04:27 > 0:04:29consider moving as a result.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32EU ministers have been voting on which two cities will host
0:04:32 > 0:04:34the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority
0:04:34 > 0:04:35when the UK leaves the EU.
0:04:35 > 0:04:42Our Brexit reporter Katharine Carpenter has the details.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44This is the European Medicines Agency.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Around 900 people work here.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49And over in the upper floors of that skyscraper
0:04:49 > 0:04:56is the European Banking Authority, which employs around 200 more.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Ever since we voted to leave the European Union, we've known
0:04:58 > 0:05:01they have to leave London.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03And today, the workers here and their families will find
0:05:03 > 0:05:07out where they might be living next.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10EU cities have been competing to offer them a new home.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13And now, we know Amsterdam has won the prize of the EMA's
0:05:13 > 0:05:17well-paid workforce, its 36,000 visitors each
0:05:17 > 0:05:25year and the 30,000 or so hotel rooms it books.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Having a regulator creates this sort of "halo effect",
0:05:27 > 0:05:31because lots of American and Japanese businesses set
0:05:31 > 0:05:33shop in London precisely because they want their staff to be
0:05:33 > 0:05:36close to the regulator so that they can help shape
0:05:36 > 0:05:38its decisions and get their products under their noses.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And so, lots of companies have said, once the regulator moves,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43they're going to have to think about maybe sending some
0:05:43 > 0:05:44staff to follow it.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47The idea is that any health and care worker in the world can
0:05:47 > 0:05:48use this technology...
0:05:48 > 0:05:50It's a dilemma facing this small business in Waterloo.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It's developed a secure messaging service for health workers.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Having the EMA close by has been important for growth.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59There's a lot of complex regulation, a lot of hoops you've
0:05:59 > 0:06:04got to jump through.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06If we're losing all the people who know about these regulations,
0:06:06 > 0:06:07that's a disaster for us.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Is it enough of a disaster that you would consider moving
0:06:10 > 0:06:11to wherever the EMA moves?
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Yeah.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14We'll probably still have a London-base office
0:06:14 > 0:06:17but I could easily see us creating a European office to be moving
0:06:17 > 0:06:20with them and stay close to the regulators and the key people
0:06:20 > 0:06:21that we need to work with.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25There are hopes that the UK might be able to come up with a more
0:06:25 > 0:06:26streamlined approach to regulation.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Others say London's pulling power is a place to work
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Others say London's pulling power as a place to work
0:06:31 > 0:06:34is still stronger than its rivals.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37London remains a global city with a fantastic opportunity,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39money that can invest in life sciences.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41So, I think we can still continue to attract talent to work
0:06:41 > 0:06:43with our fantastic science, our great scientists,
0:06:43 > 0:06:44our great institutes.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47It's just made it a little bit harder, losing the agency today.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Of course, Canary Wharf is made up of so much more than these
0:06:50 > 0:06:52two European agencies.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But losing them will have an impact here.
0:06:56 > 0:07:03And that loss may be felt more widely across the capital, too.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06This is phase one of the HS2 high speed rail line linking
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Euston to Birmingham.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14And it was here in Harefield that the Green Party co-leader
0:07:14 > 0:07:17visited protestors who have set up a makeshift camp in the path
0:07:17 > 0:07:18of the proposed route.
0:07:18 > 0:07:24Jonathan Bartley said he was fully supportive of their campaign.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Here's our political editor, Tim Donovan.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32On a muddy verge directly on the route of the proposed new train
0:07:32 > 0:07:34line, a small camp has been set up.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35It could be here some time.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Sarah has been here longest, and has already made her mark.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40One night, she slept beneath a digger.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41Last week, she climbed up this crane.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44More fencing and more security have now been put in place.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47The high-speed rail route has the legal backing
0:07:47 > 0:07:50of an act of Parliament, but Sarah says the works have
0:07:50 > 0:07:54already breached EU law on habitats.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57About 500 trees have been cut, all different ages, including
0:07:57 > 0:08:02some very, very old trees, and no attempt has been
0:08:02 > 0:08:08made to protect any of the wildlife.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Well, that's clearly against the habitats directive.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13It's clearly illegal.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Our wonderful view of what we're trying to save!
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Kitchenaria...!
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Today, she had a visit from the Green Party's leader,
0:08:19 > 0:08:20and gave him a tour.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24This is our office.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27This tent donated by the fishing tackle shop...
0:08:27 > 0:08:37And he offered his strong support.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39The only means of stopping this massive destruction
0:08:39 > 0:08:41is for local people to take direct action.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44And absolutely it's right they should do it, and absolutely
0:08:44 > 0:08:45right that we should support it.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It may only take an hour and a quarter to get from London
0:08:48 > 0:08:52to Birmingham on the existing track now, but those who back a high speed
0:08:52 > 0:08:54rail route through this landscape say it will greatly increase
0:08:54 > 0:08:55connectivity to Leeds, Manchester and beyond,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and bring huge economic benefits to the whole country.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Realistically, you won't claim you can stop this route, will you?
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Is it about slowing it, delaying it?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04I think we should be optimistic about what we can
0:09:04 > 0:09:05achieve, and I would
0:09:05 > 0:09:08like to see this project stopped, absolutely, and scrapped.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Today, a spokesman for HS2 said he understood the strong
0:09:10 > 0:09:12feelings in the area, but everything was being done
0:09:12 > 0:09:15to limit the impact on woodland, wildlife and local communities.
0:09:15 > 0:09:24Tim Donovan, BBC London News.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28I'll wish you a very good night, and leave you with Alina Jenkins,
0:09:28 > 0:09:29who can tell us what the weather's up to this week.
0:09:29 > 0:09:36who can tell us what the weather's up to this week.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40A bit of a seesaw going on with the weather at the moment. One minute it
0:09:40 > 0:09:43is cold and then it is mild and barely the end of the week, it will
0:09:43 > 0:09:53be colder again. Through the rest of the night there will be the odd spot
0:09:53 > 0:09:57of patchy light rain but it will not amount to much. It will be a mild
0:09:57 > 0:10:06night, temperature is not much lower than ten or 11. May the odd spot of
0:10:06 > 0:10:12rain but for most will be a dry and rather cloudy day tomorrow. Quite
0:10:12 > 0:10:17breezy at times, particularly over higher ground. As we go into
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Wednesday, again we're greeted with a lot of cloud but it looks like it
0:10:20 > 0:10:24should break up a little bit more readily to give some spells of
0:10:24 > 0:10:30sunshine. For much of Wednesday it will be dry and mild. But the winds
0:10:30 > 0:10:34will be strengthening. You can see the squeeze in the isobars, and we
0:10:34 > 0:10:38have a frontal system pushing south-eastwards on Wednesday night
0:10:38 > 0:10:44into Thursday. Behind it, on Thursday morning, some spells of
0:10:44 > 0:10:48sunshine, but again quite a strong wind, especially over higher ground.
0:10:48 > 0:10:54Still just about in the milder air but as we get into Friday it looks
0:10:54 > 0:11:00like some colder air starts to dig in. As the rain starts to clear over
0:11:00 > 0:11:02the weekend, it will turn colder