0:00:00 > 0:00:00Plenty of food from thought there fromical foreigna.
0:00:00 > 0:00:01--
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Good evening, welcome to the programme.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23BBC London has found there's been a huge rise in the number of victims
0:00:23 > 0:00:25of sexual assault coming forward to the Met Police.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28We've obtained figures that show reports have gone up by more
0:00:28 > 0:00:29than 7,000 in the last four years.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Scotland Yard says it suggests victims are more confident that such
0:00:32 > 0:00:33crimes will be taken seriously.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36But support groups say many cases are still not reaching the courts.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41Our home affairs correspondent, Nick Beake, reports.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Jenn Selby wants to speak out about what happened to her.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48She says she was raped by a man she knew well.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52It was a really difficult decision for me to come forward about it,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55because it involved a lot of people that I knew and a lot of friends,
0:00:55 > 0:00:59and it took me quite a few days to decide to go to the police.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00I was in a lot of shock.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I did that, and I ended up being on this absolute emotional
0:01:03 > 0:01:07roller coaster of a court system.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It took police a year to charge the man, and the court
0:01:10 > 0:01:12case was delayed twice, before being dropped -
0:01:12 > 0:01:16just three days before the trial.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19The first time was absolutely devastating because as a diligent
0:01:19 > 0:01:28worker that I am, I'd organised all my own time off and cover,
0:01:28 > 0:01:35and I was determined to come back and get on with my job and get
0:01:35 > 0:01:38on with life, and this would be done, and I was so mentally
0:01:38 > 0:01:40transfixed on this date being the time that it
0:01:40 > 0:01:41would be over.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44And then it just moved, and I couldn't imagine
0:01:44 > 0:01:46going through another six months of waiting and waiting.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48There's been a big rise in the reporting of sexual assaults.
0:01:48 > 0:01:5010,000, in all, back in 2012.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Last year, more than 17,000.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53The number of reports of women being raped went
0:01:53 > 0:01:56from 3,000 to more than 5,400, and reports of male rape has tripled
0:01:56 > 0:01:58in the last four years.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Mary Mason's charity is supporting more and more
0:02:00 > 0:02:04victims of sexual crimes.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07She says the increased reporting had not been matched by a similar
0:02:07 > 0:02:10rise in prosecutions.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13So, they'll say the woman won't make a credible witness
0:02:13 > 0:02:19in court, which I find deeply, deeply troubling.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23So, because somebody is vulnerable, do we allow them to be
0:02:23 > 0:02:25raped, with impunity?
0:02:25 > 0:02:27That is not acceptable.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Police officer Richard Unwin has supported victims of sexual
0:02:29 > 0:02:30offences for over a decade.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34His force says it's now better at investigating,
0:02:34 > 0:02:41and attitudes have changed.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Some things have been in place for such a long time.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46The attack in a dark alley at 2am because of what someone
0:02:46 > 0:02:50was wearing, or by a stranger - that can happen, but it's not
0:02:50 > 0:02:52something that we deal with all the time.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54What we tend to deal with are assaults, sexual violence
0:02:54 > 0:02:56involving partners, or friends.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01The Crown Prosecution Service says more defendants have been
0:03:01 > 0:03:03convicted for sexual offences than ever before.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08It insists it wasn't its fault Jenn's case was delayed and then
0:03:08 > 0:03:10dropped, but campaigners say more offenders need to be
0:03:10 > 0:03:12brought to justice.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Nick Beake, BBC London News.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22The widow of a man killed when a plane exploded over Libya -
0:03:22 > 0:03:25killing 157 people, 25 years ago - is demanding compensation.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27At the time, experts believed it was a mid-air collision.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But since the fall of Gaddafi, there have been claims the plane
0:03:30 > 0:03:33was deliberately destroyed.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35That, and the deaths of many other Londoners,
0:03:35 > 0:03:36have all been linked back to his regime.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40But so far, no UK families have received compensation,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42despite Libyan assets in London being seized.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Jim Wheble reports.
0:03:47 > 0:03:54This piece I did, self-portrait, it represents my lost life.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57I'd lost my husband, I felt I had been killed and I'd
0:03:57 > 0:03:59lost my life as well.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Her husband was Victor Prazak, a contractor working in Libya,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and one of those on board Flight 1103.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Denied the right to bring back her husband's body,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13or even to visit the grave for years after, painting was how she coped.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I can express myself more in paintings than in words.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20How I felt.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And then, after the fall of Gaddafi, a different truth emerged.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27His inner circle admitting the plane was shot down on Gaddafi orders -
0:04:27 > 0:04:29an act of terror the present Libyan government has not
0:04:29 > 0:04:31publicly accepted.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Yet, Felicity has never received a penny of compensation.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39It's just what I should have.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43If other people have had big pay-outs, why is my husband ignored?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46As a family, we try to cope, but we know our lives would have
0:04:46 > 0:04:51been very different.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53And yet in the UK, around £9 billion-worth of Gaddafi
0:04:53 > 0:05:01frozen assets are held.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04This house in North London was some of it until, in this case,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07the High Court gave it back to the current Libyan authorities.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09The question for UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism -
0:05:09 > 0:05:12why can't some of these frozen assets be used to pay compensation?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Yesterday, a memorial was held for the victims
0:05:14 > 0:05:22of the 1983 IRA Harrods bomb - the explosives supplied by Gaddafi.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Susanne Dodds' police officer father, hailed
0:05:24 > 0:05:26a hero, lost his life.
0:05:26 > 0:05:33Our government should be stronger with the frozen assets.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36We do have a bill going through the House of Lords.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38It's going to the Commons, hopefully in January.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And the Government needs to stand up for their victims, to actually give
0:05:41 > 0:05:48us the compensation.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51In a special debate here last week, the Minister for the Middle East,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Alastair Burt, addressed these questions of Gaddafi's
0:05:53 > 0:05:58frozen billions.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01He said that the UN resolution used to freeze the assets is clear -
0:06:01 > 0:06:04they should be for the benefit of the Libyan people, and to breach
0:06:04 > 0:06:08that would break international law.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11This is the aftermath of the IRA's 1996 Docklands bombing -
0:06:12 > 0:06:14again, using Gaddafi explosives.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The local MP feels compensation for the victims in his
0:06:17 > 0:06:21constituency needs to be paid.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Families have not been compensated.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27The frozen assets are sitting in bank accounts.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Other countries have been able to compensate their victims.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I don't understand why the UK Government can't compensate ours.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38You've lived with this for 25 years, and I can see you've lived with it
0:06:38 > 0:06:39every day of your life.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I think you never give up hope.
0:06:41 > 0:06:51Once you give up hope, all is lost, really.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57At points, I have given up hope, but something will happen, in new window
0:06:57 > 0:06:58will open.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59in new window will open.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01A Foreign Office spokesman said the Government is determined
0:07:01 > 0:07:03to see a just resolution, but due to the problems
0:07:03 > 0:07:05facing Libya, progress is likely to remain slow.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07The hope is, another 25 years won't pass by.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Jim Wheble, BBC London News.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14She has described it as a wonderful privilege.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16A former nurse in the NHS has been appointed as
0:07:16 > 0:07:17the new Bishop of London.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally is the first woman to ever be
0:07:20 > 0:07:23appointed to the role, which is one of the most
0:07:23 > 0:07:24senior positions within the Church of England.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Some of the first to meet her following the announcement might not
0:07:27 > 0:07:28be who you'd expect.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33Here's our religious affairs correspondent, Martin Bashir.
0:07:33 > 0:07:42It wasn't the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45but students at Urswick secondary school, in Hackney, that had
0:07:45 > 0:07:47the first opportunity to meet with the new Bishop of London.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50A nurse by training and profession, her appointment as the 133rd Bishop
0:07:50 > 0:07:54of London marks an historic move toward gender equality and means
0:07:54 > 0:07:57that a woman now holds one of the three most senior positions
0:07:57 > 0:08:01in the Church of England.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03London is a diverse place and, therefore, it is right
0:08:03 > 0:08:07that we represent the diversity of this city.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10The Diocese of London is one of the few areas where the Church
0:08:10 > 0:08:11of England is growing.
0:08:11 > 0:08:18But it also has a formidable presence of conservatives -
0:08:18 > 0:08:20both from the Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical traditions -
0:08:20 > 0:08:22who disapprove of women priests.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25For those that can't accept my ordination as either
0:08:25 > 0:08:28a bishop or a priest because I'm a woman, I say to them I fully
0:08:28 > 0:08:32respect their theological position.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And my question to them always is, how can I enable their
0:08:35 > 0:08:40ministry to flourish?
0:08:40 > 0:08:46Bishops of London are traditionally made Dean of the Chapels Royal.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Churches like St George's Chapel, in Windsor.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51This raises the prospect of Bishop Sarah at the Royal wedding.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Is there any possibility that you might officiate at the wedding
0:08:53 > 0:08:55of Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I haven't even officially become the Bishop of London yet.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01There are many parts of my roles that I have yet to discover.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04At the moment, I just want to celebrate with Prince Harry
0:09:04 > 0:09:09and Meghan, and my prayers go with them in the time ahead.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Bishop Sarah will now prepare for the installation
0:09:12 > 0:09:14at St Paul's Cathedral, which is likely to take
0:09:14 > 0:09:15place in June next year.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21Martin Bashir, BBC London News.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Let me wish you a very goodnight now, and I'll
0:09:23 > 0:09:24leave you with Elizabeth, who's got the weather for us.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35A lovely day today, starting with a frost which was crisp, and lots of
0:09:35 > 0:09:40sunshine around. This is more like what we will be looking at tomorrow.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Or not looking at! A lot of fog forming overnight. As we look at the
0:09:45 > 0:09:51weather for the week ahead, Doctor night, quite widespread. Some of it
0:09:51 > 0:09:55is freezing fog patches. Very cold out there. Mild for much of the rest
0:09:55 > 0:10:00of the week at Melton are from Tuesday onwards. And mostly dry.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Under the influence of high pressure. Overnight tonight,
0:10:03 > 0:10:10conditions ripe for widespread fog, moist and colder, clear skies, light
0:10:10 > 0:10:14winds. Temperatures below freezing away from towns and fog very
0:10:14 > 0:10:19stubborn to clear into tomorrow morning. A Met Office weather
0:10:19 > 0:10:22warning for the fog, very poor visibility on the roads tomorrow. If
0:10:22 > 0:10:28you are travelling in the rush-hour or flying, check before you go to
0:10:28 > 0:10:32the airport even. Very poor conditions. Keep up-to-date by
0:10:32 > 0:10:36watching BBC London in the morning. Some clearance of the fog through
0:10:36 > 0:10:42the afternoon. It should brighten up at temperatures between 5-7. For
0:10:42 > 0:10:47many, the fog lasts until the afternoon and a bleak December day.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Wednesday, more brightness and help fog around, temperatures up to ten,
0:10:52 > 0:10:5611 degrees. That is where they will stay on Thursday and possibly
0:10:56 > 0:11:02Friday. A couple of degrees lower. For the weekend, mild and a touch
0:11:02 > 0:11:04breezy. And