08/12/2017 London News

Now on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.

Good evening.

I'm Asad Ahmad.

The Mayor of London has welcomed

the Brexit agreement

reached in Brussels,

saying he's glad that EU

citizens will continue

to live and work in London.

Sadiq Khan was speaking at the end

of his visit to the sub-continuent

where his message to India

and Pakistan is that London

is very much "open for business".

Our Political Correspondent,

Karl Mercer has been

travelling with the Mayor.

For most of Karachi, it was business

as usual this morning.

This is a city of 15 million people,

the commercial capital of Pakistan,

and a city that continues to grow.

It's also home to Mazar-e-Quaid,

the mausoleum for the country's

founding father, Muhammad Ali

Jinnah.

In a solemn ceremony,

the mayor laid a wreath.

As everywhere else in Pakistan,

it's a visit that has

attracted huge attention.

And a huge security presence.

This was at his next visit

to a local university,

where the mayor explained how

he became a lawyer.

There was this TV programme called

LA Law, and, in this programme

the lawyers wore great suits

and drove fast cars.

And I thought, yeah, I can do that!

A joke for a crowd keen to hear

from London's mayor.

So, it's a big deal because we find

a lot of parallels between London

and Karachi, and we never knew

that was actually possible.

And he really opened

new lines for us to share

between the two cities.

The reception at a cricket charity

was just as enthusiastic.

But while the mayor is ending

his South Asian tour,

we learnt today the UK would be

starting detailed

trade talks on Brexit.

I'm really pleased that finally,

16 months on, EU citizens,

Londoners who contribute so hugely

to us in our country,

appear to have been given

the guarantee I wanted,

which is them having rights

after we leave the EU,

that they have now.

But here's where it gets really

tough with the European Union.

My worry is, that all the evidence

we have so far is the government

is not prepared to do a good

negotiation with the EU.

They have no idea what

the destination is, let

alone how we get best.

alone how we get there.

Like Boris Johnson when he toured

India, the mayor couldn't resist

picking up the bat here in Pakistan.

A light-hearted end

to his six-day trip.

What are the three words that stick

in your memory from this?

LAUGHTER.

The key thing I have been

saying to people in London

for the last 16 months is,

London is open,

and around the world.

We have brought this message now

to Pakistan and India.

Finally, his innings was over.

Stumped by the current

Pakistan cricket captain.

But the trip is over, too.

The mayor, and the poster

behind him, are hoping

to leave the simple message.

For the third time in as many years,

there's a damning report

into Wormwood Scrubs prison in west

London.

This time, an inspection has found

it to have "Persistent failings"

with "high levels of violence"

against staff and inmates.

Inspectors said there were "filthy

conditions" inside and they raised

serious concerns about how

Wormwood Scrubs is performing.

Here's our Home Affairs

correspondent, Nick Beake.

More than 1200 men are held

within the Victorian

walls of Wormwood Scrubs,

and the huge problems inside have

been well documented.

Filthy and unsafe -

that is how Wormwood Scrubs prison

has been described by inspectors...

Figures show an increase

in assaults, with

Wormwood Scrubs named...

A jail in west London has been found

to be rat-infested and overcrowded,

with some prisoners too frightened

to leave their cells...

Now, once again, inspectors have

delivered a damning assessment.

For the third time in a little over

three years we've inspected

Wormwood Scrubs and found

the conditions there

are completely unacceptable.

What needs to happen

is that the prison service needs

to do something to support

the governor and his team,

who are working incredibly hard

in really difficult circumstances.

Inspectors described a dramatic

increase in violence against staff -

90 assaults in six months.

They found two thirds of inmates had

themselves felt unsafe and some

prisoners were locked in cells

for up to 23 hours a day.

The organisation representing prison

staff say that government funding

cuts have made things worse.

I highlight the same issues -

lack of staff, lack of regime,

unsafe prison, drugs,

lack of resettlement.

The government have

got to get a grip.

No minister would do an interview

today, but the Ministry of Justice

said Wormwood Scrubs had taken

decisive action to reduce violence

and improve conditions.

120 extra officers are

also being recruited.

But one charity which campaigns

for better prisons says the current

approach simply isn't working.

We cannot keep doing this to people,

to staff, prisoners,

victims, taxpayers.

Action has to be taken.

The Secretary of State must act

and there has to be a reduction

in the number of people

in Wormwood Scrubs

and in other prisons.

Some problems here could take years

to fix, but inspectors say

there is no excuse for more basic

failings, like not providing

enough clothes and bedding

for the men who live here.

A compensation payout

which could total £100 million

is being offered by Lambeth Council

to victims of child sex abuse

going back 60 years.

It follows an investigation

into child abuse which led

to victims coming forward

from the council-run

Shirley Oaks Children's Home.

That's it for now from me,

but let's find out what the

weather's up to with Darren Bett.

People wondering if there will be

snow this weekend.

It is unlikely to happen. Other

parts of the country had some snow

today. We had blue skies and

sunshine. We start the weekend with

more sunshine. The wind will be

lighter but the weather will change

for the second half of the weekend.

Right now it's pretty cold out there

and we will have clear skies

throughout the night. A dry night.

The north-westerly wind already

beginning to ease down so

temperatures will be lower than last

night. A widespread frost out there.

A bright and sunny start. Looks like

quite a nice day on Saturday. Will

not be as windy as today and

probably won't feel as cold as

today. Although temperatures will be

the same. It'll be a dry day with

lots of sunshine. But by the early

hours of Sunday morning we could

find a bit of sleet and snow that

will turn back to