0:00:00 > 0:00:00Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
0:00:36 > 0:00:43Welcome to BBC London News, with me, Victoria Hollins.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45The Metropolitan Police has asked the Government to pay almost
0:00:45 > 0:00:47£40 million for its investigation into the fire at Grenfell
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Tower in West London.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Scotland Yard says it's one of the biggest and most complex
0:00:51 > 0:00:53inquiries in the history of the force.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Around 200 officers are working on the inquiry into the blaze,
0:00:56 > 0:00:57which claimed the lives of 71 people.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Our political correspondent Karl Mercer reports.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01They're starting to cover the remains of Grenfell tower,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03sheeting now up around half of the first eight
0:01:03 > 0:01:04floors of the building.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07The rest stands as a stark reminder of what happened here nearly seven
0:01:07 > 0:01:10months ago and the political fall out from the fire continues.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Grenfell led to one of the biggest police investigations ever
0:01:12 > 0:01:14mounted by Scotland Yard, with around 250 officers involved.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Now Scotland yard has said it needs help to pay.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19It's put in a big bill to the Home Office, asking
0:01:19 > 0:01:22for £11.1 million to cover the cost of the investigation
0:01:22 > 0:01:24this year, and a further £27 million for next year.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27It says it expects to have more than 200 officers still on the case
0:01:28 > 0:01:29over the coming 12 months.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31We don't that think it's reasonable for us to pick up
0:01:31 > 0:01:33those sort of full costs.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34As we know, that sort of investigation will
0:01:34 > 0:01:36go on for some time.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38There are worries, too, that the Met simply can't
0:01:38 > 0:01:40afford extra spending, as it's already having to make cuts.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42We are still absolutely facing savings and cuts
0:01:42 > 0:01:44for London that we are very, very worried about.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47We are really worried that police officer numbers are going to dip
0:01:47 > 0:01:49significantly below 30,000 if this continues.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51The police, though, aren't the only emergency service facing
0:01:51 > 0:01:53a big bill in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56London's Fire Brigade has also seen costs rise.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58It's in the process of buying new equipment.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02And in the wake of the fire, its inspectors last summer made 520
0:02:02 > 0:02:06visits to check the safety of other buildings.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09What we also learned today at the London Assembly meeting
0:02:09 > 0:02:12was that 188 cases in the capital, those buildings failed the
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Government's cladding safety test.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19That's more than the rest of the country put together.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21No wonder, then, that London Assembly Members
0:02:21 > 0:02:24were asking for government help for the Fire Brigade, too.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Can you just update us?
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Have you exhausted all your conversations with government around
0:02:28 > 0:02:32any monies that they wish to allocate to you?
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Particularly mindful of what you heard this
0:02:35 > 0:02:38morning from the police, it feels as if the police are having
0:02:38 > 0:02:41some success then there's no reason why fire should also not have that
0:02:41 > 0:02:43same criteria relaxed.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The Home Office told us today that given the unique and tragic
0:02:46 > 0:02:49circumstances of the Grenfell fire, it would consider any application it
0:02:49 > 0:02:50received for funding from the Metropolitan Police
0:02:50 > 0:02:56as a matter of priority.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00A 95-year-old woman who knocked down and killed a man after mistaking
0:03:00 > 0:03:02the accelerator in her car for the brake has been given
0:03:03 > 0:03:06a suspended prison sentence.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Gertrude Lister, who had been tending her husband's
0:03:08 > 0:03:12grave in Maidenhead, careered into 47-year-old Paul Mills
0:03:12 > 0:03:14on Valentine's Day last year.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Joe Campbell reports.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Gertrude Lister was driven to court today.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22She's not got behind the wheel since she killed cemetery
0:03:22 > 0:03:28worker Paul Mills and returned her licence to the DVLA.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32A man escorting the 95-year-old carried a suitcase.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35She'd been warned there was a very real possibility she would be
0:03:35 > 0:03:38going straight from court to prison.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Mrs Lister's barrister said it was hard to think of more tragic
0:03:41 > 0:03:44circumstances than what happened in this cemetery on Saint
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Valentine's Day last year.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51One moment, his client had been tending her husband's grave.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Just a few seconds later, she was responsible for the death
0:03:54 > 0:03:57of somebody else's loved one.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00It was as she left the cemetery that she hit the accelerator,
0:04:00 > 0:04:01rather than the brake.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04The car, rather than slowing down, sped up, hit a verge
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and became airborne.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08It crashed through a hedge.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Mr Mills was working on the opposite side.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15He died in hospital less than an hour later.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18The court heard so-called unintended acceleration was a recognised factor
0:04:18 > 0:04:22in accidents like this, especially involving automatic cars
0:04:23 > 0:04:25driven by elderly motorists.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28In actual fact, the over-70s are statistically the safest group
0:04:28 > 0:04:32of drivers on our road, done by age,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35in terms of how many collisions they have that cause injury.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39They're frail, so if they do have one, they tend to be
0:04:39 > 0:04:41injured themselves.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Events like this one, that are tragic, as all these things are,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49are actually really unusual.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Judge Paul Dugdale said these were wholly exceptional circumstances.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Gertrude Lister's mistake in pressing the accelerator harder
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and harder, thinking it was the brake, had had
0:04:59 > 0:05:05a devastating effect, he said, on Paul Mills's family.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07As his widow, Tracey, realised Mrs Lister wouldn't be
0:05:07 > 0:05:11going to prison today, but her 16-month sentence
0:05:11 > 0:05:15was going to be suspended, she stormed out of court.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Mrs Lister herself left without commenting.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24Joe Campbell, BBC London News.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Wreckage from a seaplane which crashed near Sydney,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29killing five members of a London family and the pilot,
0:05:29 > 0:05:30has been recovered.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The aircraft had been submerged in more than 40 feet of water
0:05:33 > 0:05:34after coming down on New Year's Eve.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It's emerged that the plane was rebuilt after it was destroyed
0:05:37 > 0:05:41in a fatal incident more than 20 years ago.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43The wreckage of the seaplane should help to explain why
0:05:43 > 0:05:48a routine flight over Sydney, its waterways and rugged
0:05:48 > 0:05:50bushlands ended in disaster for a London family.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51The salvage operation at Jerusalem Bay began
0:05:51 > 0:05:54shortly after dawn.
0:05:54 > 0:06:02Police divers used inflatable bags to lift parts of the aircraft
0:06:03 > 0:06:06from the river.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10One of the first pieces of the plane to be recovered was a damaged wing,
0:06:10 > 0:06:11followed by the engine, and the tail.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14By the time that the wreckage was boarded on the barge,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16we saw that there was severe damage to the plane.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19And it appeared that there had been quite an impact
0:06:19 > 0:06:20on hitting the water.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Tributes have been paid to the family from Tooting who were killed
0:06:23 > 0:06:31in the crash.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Tycoon Richard Cousins, his two grown-up sons, his fiancee
0:06:36 > 0:06:37and her 11-year-old daughter died.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Crucial to the investigation will be the aircraft's
0:06:39 > 0:06:40past history.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43We now know that the seaplane came down in these waters
0:06:43 > 0:06:4420 years ago.
0:06:44 > 0:06:54It was rebuilt and it was bought by Sydney Seaplanes in 2006.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00We've got a range of factors that we look at to fully
0:07:00 > 0:07:02reconstruct the sequence of events that led up to the accident,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and hopefully find factors that contributed to the accident,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07with the ultimate goal of trying to prevent something
0:07:07 > 0:07:08like this happening again.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Air-crash investigators plan to release their initial
0:07:10 > 0:07:12findings within a month, but a full report could
0:07:12 > 0:07:13take up to a year.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Now strikes affecting three different train operators serving
0:07:15 > 0:07:17London are set to go ahead next week after talks stalled.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20The RMT union has a long-running dispute over the role of train
0:07:20 > 0:07:23guards, which has led to a fresh wave of strikes
0:07:23 > 0:07:24starting from Monday.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Louisa Preston joins me now.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Only a week into the New Year and already more train strikes. The RMT
0:07:34 > 0:07:42union has called these 24 hour strike starting next week. It is
0:07:42 > 0:07:47about the role of guards on trains. Services run by Southwest and
0:07:47 > 0:07:51wilfully RMT members walking out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next
0:07:51 > 0:07:57week. South-western says it will be able to run 70% of its trains. That
0:07:57 > 0:08:02means 450 trains a day will be cancelled. So, as you can imagine,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07commuters are not impressed.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10I see the point for modernisation, I kind of see
0:08:10 > 0:08:11the union's point as well.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I am annoyed at strikes because that says to me someone hasn't
0:08:14 > 0:08:15done their job properly.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16I'm absolutely livid about it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I mean, come into the New Year, 3% rise and we're confronted
0:08:19 > 0:08:22with the same thing all over again, so I just think it's appalling.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I'm not overjoyed about it, if I'm honest, but I'll try to work
0:08:25 > 0:08:28from home to get around it because I've got the
0:08:28 > 0:08:29flexibility to do that.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34So, some unhappy people there. There will be other routes affected, went
0:08:34 > 0:08:38there? Greater Anglia guards will strike also on Monday, Wednesday and
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Friday next week which will affect trains in an out of Liverpool Street
0:08:43 > 0:08:49at the company does hope to run a full service on those lines RMT
0:08:49 > 0:08:54members at Southern will walk out, just for one day, next Monday. That
0:08:54 > 0:08:59will affect London Bridge, Victoria, Chang Cross and Cannon Street.
0:08:59 > 0:09:05Sutton thinks it will run 90% of its services. With increases in fares
0:09:05 > 0:09:10going up, it is not a great start to the New Year for commuters.It does
0:09:10 > 0:09:14not sound like it.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Pregnant women are struggling with their mental health in higher
0:09:17 > 0:09:19numbers than previously thought according to researchers.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The team at Kings College London found that as many as one in four
0:09:22 > 0:09:24pregnant women could have mental health issues including anxiety
0:09:24 > 0:09:25and eating disorders.
0:09:25 > 0:09:35Doctors say early diagnosis is key to help support families.
0:09:46 > 0:09:58It is not yet known what caused the bricks to fall.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03That is it for now.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Time for a look at the weather now, with Tomaz Schaffernaker.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08A very blowy afternoon again in London with winds in excess
0:10:08 > 0:10:09of 50 miles an hour.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Tomorrow, thankfully, the winds will be lighter.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Through the night, a bit of rain, the winds easing out there as well
0:10:14 > 0:10:16by the early hours of the morning.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I think for most of us it's a case of clearing skies and temperatures
0:10:19 > 0:10:22down to 6 in the city, 3 degrees outside of town -
0:10:22 > 0:10:24a little on the nippy side.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Friday itself is looking mixed.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30A fair bit of brightness around, still a bit of a breeze out there,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33but also the chance of catching a spot or two of rain,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and temperatures are starting to drop now, down to 9
0:10:36 > 0:10:37degrees, single figures.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Here's what Saturday looks like - a complete change.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40Watch the wind.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43It starts coming in from the North.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46So we've been having winds out of the South or the West
0:10:46 > 0:10:49for the last few days and now they're coming in from the North
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and north-east, so it's going to feel chilly.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53A really significant wind-chill on the way.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Here's the outlook.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Saturday, Sunday, Monday, a fair bit of dry weather.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02Here's the national outlook now.