13/12/2017 London News

memorial service with my colleage

Mishal Hussain.

That's all for tonight.

Now on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.

Good evening.

I'm Claudia-Liza Armah.

There are claims tonight that

homeowners are being exploited,

paying extortionate service charges

to maintain their buildings for work

that isn't even carried out.

We've heard from some Londoners

who say they're paying

thousands of pounds a year.

One MP says the complaints

in her constituency are mounting up

and she's now calling

for a parliamentary investigation.

Sonja Jessup reports.

Look, he's sitting there,

cleaning himself.

Oh, yeah.

He is climbing.

A very unwelcome guest at this

Hounslow housing block.

Residents say they've been

complaining to their landlord for

three years about a rat infestation.

So serious, these neighbours say,

they are considering moving out.

It's like you cannot sleep

because the constant screeching

and running around of the rats

in the wall.

You've got a list of your charges.

It came as a shock, then,

when some received bills

for nearly £200 each.

They suspected to tackle

the rat problem.

But say it's not clear what they're

actually paying for.

They've never said what it's for.

It just says it's

a surcharge deficit.

They are among an increasing number

of Londoners who are complaining

about service charges,

fees paid by most leaseholders

for maintaining communal areas.

And, as more new flats rise up,

legal experts say it's

inevitable that so too

will the number of disputes.

Some service charges add up

to thousands of pounds per year.

These are quite large

sums of money now.

They can be two, three, £4000,

for relatively modest properties.

We are not talking

your One Hyde Parks.

This MP has heard so many complaints

she is calling for a parliamentary

investigation into service charges

across the country.

I am very concerned that residents

are being exploited and that this

is little short of a scandal.

We know that there is a huge need

for affordable housing and models

like shared ownership but I believe,

it's a matter of great concern.

She wants stronger legislation

so residents are clear what charges

are for what service to expect

and a fair system to

deal with complaints.

If residents feel the charges

are unfair they can challenge

them in court but that can be

a complex and costly process.

That's something Pamela Rose

and her neighbours discovered.

She's tried to challenge

service charges which she

believes are unfair.

She says she has sometimes received

bills for hundreds of pounds,

often with no explanation.

When you open a bill,

you just don't know...

You start crying.

Sometimes, just cry.

Because just to think,

what am I working for?

Where'd you get the money from?

They just increase the charges

for whatever they want.

Her block is managed by the housing

association a2dominion,

the focus of many of the complaints

to the local MP.

In a statement, they told us...

"We always aim to ensure our service

charges are as clear

and transparent as possible."

"When a scheme requires

major or cyclical works,

such as repairs to the roof,

we write to residents

in advance to consult them."

"We also offer payment

support and advice."

"We are sorry to hear that some

of our residents have concerns

and we are providing as much

information and help as we can."

A2dominion has also

apologised for the ongoing

problem with rats here.

It says it has been working hard

to tackle it and is now

carrying out further works.

It says the £200 bill sent

to residents are not related but,

so far, has been unable to tell us

what they are for.

The government has just carried out

a consultation on service charges.

It's thought the law

could be changed in future.

Londoners like Pamela are worried

how far it will go and whether it

will help people like them.

Sonja Jessup, BBC London News.

Tomorrow marks six months

since the Grenfell fire,

and a memorial service is being held

at St Paul's Cathedral to remember

the 71 people who lost their lives.

Among those attending

is Clarrie Mendy, whose daughter

and cousin lived on the 20th floor

and died in the tragedy.

She's been talking to Helen Drew

about how she continues

to fight for justice.

Mary Mendy and Khadija Saye,

the mother and daughter who died

trying to escape from their flat

on Grenfell's 20th floor.

Six months on, Mary's cousin

pays tribute to them.

They were inseparable.

When you saw one, you saw the other.

They was very close.

Quiet, caring.

Their personalities were just...

They shone.

24-year-old Khadija was a rising

artist, becoming recognised

on the world stage.

Earlier this year the BBC filmed

in her Grenfell flat,

which doubled up as her art studio.

Back in central London,

24-year-old photographer

Khadija Saye is here with her mum.

Both my parents are from Gambia,

and my mother is Christian

and my father is Muslim,

and it's one of the first times I've

been able to explore it

through my photography.

And she recently featured

in a Venice exhibition.

It's not every day an artist

makes their Venice debut.

They look amazing on the

wall, they really do.

Are you happy?

Yeah, extremely happy.

It's real now.

The saddest thing about it,

you know, she was asked "Where do

you see yourself in ten years?"

And to think not even ten

days later she is cut...

She's worked so hard, the world

was just becoming her oyster,

and to be cut down in your prime

like that is...

What Clarrie wants now

is justice for her family.

Every grain of sand

needs to be unturned.

So as long as we get it right,

yeah, let's do the job.

Meanwhile, the head

of the Metropolitan Police has made

it clear again today that relatives

hoping for quick answers

to what happened at Grenfell Tower

are likely to be disappointed.

With more on this,

Chris Rogers joins me now.

This is Cressida Dick making it

abundantly clear that the criminal

investigation will be painstakingly

slow?

When she explained why. Her

officers, 200, 400 at its peak, are

sifting through tonnes of debris,

thousands of files of evidence and

interviewing hundreds of people --

thousands of people. This will have

to be done before they feel they can

deliver any sort of conclusion. It

could be 2019 on many more years.

She is asking for more money from

the Government to do a better job.

She explained why it will be a

painstakingly slow investigation.

This will be a very significant,

very important matter

for the Metropolitan Police

for many, many, many months to come.

Indeed, I would be astonished

if we were finishing the criminal

investigation within 12 months.

I am sure it will be

much more than that.

Of course, families of victims are

desperate for answers a lot sooner

than 2019 and beyond. The focus will

be very much on them tomorrow with

that memorial service for the 71

people who died at St Paul's

Cathedral. It is a national tragedy,

so that service will be broadcast on

BBC One at 10:30am.

Now, we've had the walkie talkie,

the cheese grater, and now

the latest building to grace

the capital is the the Glass Cube.

With a price tag of around

£750 million the US Embassy could be

the most expensive embassy building

in the world.

Well, with its new home

by the Thames, security

is a top priority,

as Tolu Adeoye found out.

It is a striking building,

said to signify transparency,

openness and equality.

The new American Embassy in London

has been ten years in the making.

This has been one of those projects

that begins with the Bush

administration and approved then,

and starts design and construction

during the Obama administration

and is completed during the Trump

administration, but it's a building

designed for 60 to 100 years,

and it's going to probably transcend

maybe even ten presidencies.

Developing the site

has cost $1 billion.

Once it opens, 800 members of staff

will be based here and there will be

around 1000 visitors daily.

The security of the building is,

of course, a top priority.

Well, clearly they've spent

$1 billion on this building,

so you would expect bombproof glass,

bullet-proof glass, all those usual

features that would be considered.

The old embassy was effectively

within ten metres of roads,

it had a large public area in front,

so it was very difficult to defend

in terms of counterterrorism.

This building is effectively

an island site, so through excellent

use of architecture they've

distanced the building

from the threat.

You won't be able to approach

this building at speed.

Out front there's the lake,

there's bollards, so this

is going to be a very hard building

to target if you were a terrorist.

The embassy will be

operational from January,

but what of the ceremonial opening?

Do you hope President Trump will be

here to open the building in person?

Yes I do hope it, and we're

going to welcome him when he comes.

No...

No...

No date set.

So we will have to wait to find out

whether the president will be

here in person to open what has been

described as the centrepiece

of America's long-term

commitment to our country.

That's it for now from me, but let's

find out what the weather's up

That's it for now from me, but let's

find out what the weather's up

to with Stav Danaos.

Thanks very much. We have a few

showers around this thing tonight, a

little bit of winteriness over

higher ground. The showers should

begin to ease towards the second

part of the night and will be quite

breezy, stopping a frost developing.

Those in the City around two or

three.

Tomorrow starts chilly, there should

be good spells of sunshine through

the day and a mixture of showers as

well. It will be quite windy,

blustery day. The wind 's strongest

across southern and western areas

where some will move through

proposed... Most places should stay

try, cooler than today, temperatures

of around six at best.

Things set to turn colder by Friday,

the low-pressure opens the

floodgates to the north. Quite a

quiet, calm day on Friday. No

showers around, quite a bit of cloud

through the morning, we should seek

sunshine pushing towards the north,

top temperatures five or six.

As we head into the weekend it is a

cold start to Saturday, things