20/12/2017 London News

More details on the BBC News

Good evening - I'm Alex Bushill.

Welcome to BBC London News.

Police are hunting a man

with a backpack they believe may

know something about the double

murder of a father and

daughter in Deptford.

Noel Brown's body was found next

to his daughter Marie,

at his home in Deptford.

Police believe Mr Brown's daughter,

who worked at a nearby primary

school, was also killed

when she went to check on her father

and may have inadvertently

disturbed the killer.

Tolu Adeoye has been speaking

exclusively to the head teacher

at the school where Marie worked.

Who killed Marie and Noel Brown?

More than two weeks since

the father and daughter

were found strangled

to

death at his flat in Deptford police

have made no arrests.

Today the headteacher

at the primary school

where Marie was a children's centre

creche worker spoke of how her death

has affected the school community.

The school, I think, is still

in shock over what's happened.

It was horrendous news to receive,

completely, completely devastated.

Marie was an incredibly kind

and loving person, very patient.

Obviously she was a very

valued colleague,

a much loved friend,

but we mustn't forget that actually

first and foremost she was a much

loved mum and we have two girls

who have lost their mum

and also their grandfather.

Marie's father was last seen

alive on Thursday 30th

November at a betting shop

he regularly visited.

Police say he had likely been

killed by the following morning.

Marie Brown was believed to have

arrived here at her father's

flat around midday on 2nd December.

She'd been worried

because she'd been unable

to get in touch with him.

She was never seen alive again.

Detectives believe she may have

disturbed the attacker as they

tried to dismember

her father's body.

Today police revealed some

of his body parts still haven't

been found.

They've released CCTV footage

of a man they would like to speak to

who was seen behaving

suspiciously in the area.

The main suspect is seen

on CCTV around about five

o'clock in the morning

on Saturday 2nd December.

He is seen in another

area to here and finally

here where he enters the estate.

Having managed to avoid

members of the public,

waiting near some bushes and then

entering to go towards

Noel's flat.

The CCTV isn't fantastic

at the moment but what you

can see is a clear big rucksack

on his back, distinctive by its

fluorescent stripes it has got

on it over his shoulder.

I want people to really focus

in to the detail, even

though it's the back of him,

that they may know that person to be

their neighbour, somebody they know,

it could be anybody.

And there are still no clear

motives for the murders.

Noel Brown is a convicted sex

offender and a gambler but

Scotland Yard says nothing suggests

those were reasons for the killings.

So, for those who knew the father

and daughter, the questions as to

who and why remain.

And children inevitably have

questions that we've

been answering very

honestly and as best

we can, and indeed one

of the

questions has been, no,

we don't know who yet has done this.

And that's a very tough

question to answer.

Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.

Crowds of supporters have come out

tonight in a protest

outside Downing Street,

calling on the Prime Minister

to give free sanitary

products to all schoolgirls

who receive free school meals.

The government already

spends more than £2 billion a year

on the Pupil Premium for the most

disadvantaged Juden scum which it

says can be spent on sanitary items

if schools want.

Alpa Patel was there

and has sent this report.

They came from all over the country.

Hundreds of women of all ages,

and men too, calling

on the Government to help

schoolgirls who cannot

afford sanitary products.

Amika George is the 18-year-old

who organised the protest from

her bedroom.

I think is really vital

that the government intervenes so

they can provide some kind

of long-term provision.

And why should

the government listen?

They've got lots

of other priorities.

We are in austere times.

Why should the government pay

attention to this one issue?

I think it's really key,

I think it's a key issue.

A lot of people don't really think

of periods as something

that is holding a lot of girls back.

It's an incentive.

I think if girls are missing out

on school that means

they are less likely to get

into a good university

because they are not

fulfilling their education.

On average tampons

and towels cost 13p each.

According to one organisation,

one in ten girls aged between 14 and

21 cannot afford sanitary products.

Politicians, actresses and models

turned up to show their support.

It's an absolute shame and disgrace

that there are girls in the United

Kingdom that regularly don't go

to school because they cannot afford

sanitary products.

It is an absolute disgrace

that we still have sales

tax on sanitary products.

We didn't have very much

money and I remember

me and my younger sister used

to steal sanitary products

when we were in other adults' houses

as a way of

getting around it.

Rather than not going to school

and all this kind of thing.

It's a real thing people

don't want to talk about.

We have a female Prime

Minister of this country,

could that not be

good for something?

We don't want more rights,

we want equal rights and we

need slightly different things

to men in our school system.

This protest was held

near Downing Street.

The demonstrators hope the Prime

Minister is listening, but if

she isn't they say they will come

back as many times as they need

to in order to be heard.

Alpa Patel, BBC London News.

Christmas comes but once a year -

and sure enough, it's guaranteed

to bring with it engineering works

on the railways.

This year is no different

and Network Rail is drafting

in thousands of engineers to carry

out the work.

It's of little consolation for those

who will be caught up in one

of the most disrupted

Christmas getaways ever.

Our transport correspondent,

Tom Edwards can tell us more.

If you're going to try and get

around the capital over

the Christmas period,

it might not be

as easy as you think.

Beware Christmas disruption

and the annual engineering works

are just around the corner.

London Bridge station much quieter

than normal this morning.

And next week, along with some major

rail stations in the capital,

it will be shut completely for ten

days, while new

signalling is fitted.

Traditionally, the railway has

always carried out this sort of work

during the bank holidays

for these blockades.

We have to shut down

during these periods

because it is the quietest periods.

They are the times that

are traditionally less

busy on the railway,

so it is the most appropriate time.

There is no public transport

at all on Christmas Day,

and over the break, most train

timetables will be amended.

There's also engineering work

on the tube and industrial

action on Greater Anglia,

South-Western Railways and the DLR.

South-Eastern services

at London Bridge will be

closed for ten days,

as will Cannon Street Station

and Charing Cross.

Paddington will also

be shut for four days.

In the Thames Valley tracks

are being replaced and new power

lines will mean these electric

trains will be able to run

on the Great Western.

It's taking out the 1970s track

and installing it with faster,

more reliable equipment.

Network Rail says it is confident

it will finish on time

and the work is essential.

So as ever, check before you travel.

There is a lot of detail.

If you want to find out more,

you can go to our website

or our Twitter page.

Fans of George Michael say

they should be allowed to continue

to leave messages and mementos

at the shrine outside the late

singer's house in North London.

Many have looked after the flowers

and other items since they appeared

after his death last Christmas.

There had been some

reports which suggested

it should be removed.

Tarah Welsh explains.

A year ago on Christmas Day,

George Michael passed away

at just 53 years old.

His music is famous around the world

and is still topping charts.

But his fans say they need

somewhere to visit

to celebrate his life,

this

has become it, a garden

outside the star's home.

What's important for fans

is we have somewhere where we

can go and sort of

like pay our respects.

Because without anything official

being done by any body else this is

all we have.

They have been media

reports that some neighbours aren't

happy.

Well, I think the row's

been very talked up.

I haven't had any complaints.

Of course, there

are conservationists

who say they don't want this

to happen, but actually most people

I've spoken to think

it is absolutely fine.

But what of locals in the pub

opposite?

It's just part of the Highgate

furniture now and it's a real

destination spot.

A lot of tourists who come

into the public house may

be families who have

travelled from Australia,

South Africa, but this

is

a destination more so

than Highgate Cemetery.

Both fans and family agree a more

permanent tribute will be

needed eventually.

But for now this seems

to bring some comfort to so

many affected by the loss

of George Michael.

Tarah Welsh, BBC London News.

That's it from me so I'll wish

you goodnight and hand you over

to Chris Fawkes with a look at

the weather leading up to Christmas.

For those of you who have had a

flutter on a white Christmas

potentially bad news because it will

stay miles between now and Christmas

day with temperatures into double

figures. As we go on through the

next 24 hours this is what is going

on at the moment, a lot of cloud

upstream from us and that's coming

our way, these weather fronts will

stay to the north of the capital but

nevertheless there will be a lot of

cloud around, especially through the

night tonight, some mist and for

patches forming over the Chilterns

and the downs but in the centre of

town, low cloud, outbreaks of

drizzle through the night, that's

how we start the day tomorrow

morning, damp, drizzly and dull. The

cloud will get a little bit then,

the drizzle moving around but for

most of us it will stay cloudy day,

11 or 12 Celsius, barely falling

overnight and barely rising during

the day tomorrow. What about the

outlook for the next few days? As I

have hinted it will stay pretty

cloudy up to Christmas day, maybe a

bit brighter but temperatures in

double figures so it will stay on