17/01/2018 London News

That's all from me,

here on BBC One it's time

Good evening.

I'm Asad Ahmad.

Over 40 years after

being wrongly convicted

for a crime he didn't commit,

a businessman from Dorking

has been cleared.

Stephen Simmons has always

protested his innocence of stealing

mail bags from Clapham in the 1970s,

but it wasn't until he got

onto Google that he started

to uncover the truth

about the arresting police officer.

Mr Simmons feelings

towards him today?

Hatred.

Here's Charlotte Franks.

The face of a man who's

just had his conviction

quashed after 40 years.

Stephen Simmons has spent decades

wondering how and why he was found

guilty of stealing mail bags

from a train at Clapham Junction.

It was a crime he never committed,

but it led to eight

months in a borstal.

Hard to describe.

Best feelings I've

ever had in my life.

I'm not a criminal any more.

I'll try to cry, I've got

the biggest smile ever.

So, yeah, what could go wrong?

Stephen was arrested in 1976

by an officers from the BTP

named DS Derek Ridgewell.

Years later Stephen searched

the officers name on the internet

and discovered DS Ridgewell himself

had also been jailed for mail bag

theft and eventually died in prison.

After contacting the Criminal

Cases Review Commission,

Stephen's case was referred

to the Appeal Court citing

unreliable police evidence.

Research also revealed

there were fabricated confessions

in other cases where DC Ridgewell

was the lead officer.

I just feel hatred for that police

officer for what he done.

You know, he's ruined three lives.

Ones dead, one's ill and I've

survived, but you can't go

round ruining people's lives.

Winston Trew was one

of those forced to confess.

He was part of a group of young men

who became known as the Oval Four.

They were arrested for a string

of robberies on the Underground

in the 1970s, but have always

maintained their innocence.

It's now thought that today's

overturned conviction

could help others like Winston

to have their cases quashed too.

I'm absolutely elated,

over the moon.

It's a great day.

Stephen's won his case.

I'm very pleased for him.

It now opens the gate for me

to bring my case back to the Court

of Appeal because we lost the first

appeal in 1973.

In summing up Lord Chief

Justice Burnett said,

"we quash the convictions.

We would wish only to note our

regret that it's taken so long

for this injustice to be remedied."

Now Stephen Simmons has promised

to do all he can to help

Winston Trew with his case.

After all, both men are now friends

despite it being a friendship formed

out of unfortunate circumstances.

Charlotte Franks, BBC London News.

Bus drivers in London

who move from one company

to another are to remain on the same

pay rather than having it lowered.

That's how it's worked until today,

when the Mayor of London

announced the change,

a change that's been described

by unions as a win-win.

Our Transport Correspondent Tom

Edwards has the details.

The son of a bus driver today

meeting workers at Merton bus depot.

The Mayor hailed this deal a win-

win. Now, bus drivers in the capital

moving to another company will

remain on the same pay grade.

Previously, their pay would have

dropped.

This deal means if you are

an experienced driver and you leave

one company and moved to another,

they will recognise the experience

you have, which will lead to more

professional drivers and a better

quality service for commuters.

There

are over 6 million bus journeys a

day, more than the tube and the

trains. At the Capitol's bus drivers

have been fighting for better

conditions for years. They have

already seen a minimum wage of

£23,000, now this.

What we have got

here is a Mayor of London saying he

will treat people with respect, and

we will get a quality service at a

good price, and everybody will

benefit, so it is a win- win

situation.

TEFL says the new scheme

won't cost any more and bus

companies will save on training. For

these bus drivers, it is welcome. --

TfL.

It is important to carry your

experience with you when you

transfer.

It is important, and I

believe it is challenging out there,

so having that same, equal level for

all drivers is going to be very

important and appealing.

Not all

driver concerns have been addressed,

but for these key transport workers

today, some good news. It could now

be copied elsewhere. Tom Edwards,

BBC London News.

Two victims of the serial sex

attacker, John Worboys,

have launched a legal challenge

against the Parole Board's

decision to release him.

They're demanding to know

the reasons behind it.

A crowdfunding appeal has also been

launched to support them.

Louisa Preston has more on this.

Louisa.

The campaign is being spearheaded by

a woman who was attacked by Worboys

back in 2007. She was sexually

assaulted by the black cab driver.

There is also another woman who says

she was sexually assaulted by John

Worboys back in 2003, but the case

never came to court. Together, they

are launching this legal challenge

and they are trying to raise £10,000

through a crowdfunding website. They

are trying to force the parole board

to make it public into why they

believe John Worboys is safe to be

back, released into the community.

We know Worboys was convicted of

assaulting 12 women, but the police

believe he assaulted more than 100

women.

The case was discussed in the

Commons today, wasn't it?

Yes, we know that the public is

outrage, but also politicians, and

among those calling for a review is

Zac Goldsmith, the former

Conservative candidate for Mayor of

London.

John Worboys is likely to be

one of the worst sex attackers our

country has ever known. He was

continuing to deny his guilt until

two right years ago, dismissing his

crimes as banter, and only last year

he was deemed too dangerous to be an

open release conditions. This is an

insult to his victims and shows a

contempt for justice.

The Prime

Minister has said she does

appreciate the sensitivity of this

case, and she said that the new

Justice Secretary definitely made

the right decision in getting his

own legal advice on whether he could

challenge the parole board.

Obviously, that would be unusual if

it happened. The Prime Minister said

the parole board is totally

independent, so no minister should

mean on it. The news that we know

tonight is that John Worboys will be

released by the end of this month.

There's been a surprise

vote to block plans

to redevelop the Elephant and Castle

shopping centre and other

landmarks nearby,

including the tube station.

After more than seven

hours discussing the

multi-million pound plan,

councillors decided they weren't

happy with the proposals

because it wasn't in the best

interest of local people.

Tolu Adayoye has been to the area.

It was an unexpected decision.

Even those who were opposed

to plans, which included

redeveloping Elephant

and Castle Shopping Centre,

were surprised when Southwark

Council didn't approve them.

Many, like Sharon, who live

and work in the area,

felt the changes would be bad

for local people.

It's not going to be inclusive,

as far as I'm concerned.

Dare I say it's for the haves

rather than the have-nots.

So I guess that things do have

to move on and things

do have the change.

But, I don't know, I just don't feel

that it's including the people

who've been born and bred

in the area.

The developers had promised

a brand-new shopping centre,

a new building for the London

College of Communication,

as well as 1,000 new homes,

a third of which

would be affordable.

And from the roof of the Elephant

and Castle shopping centre,

all you have to do is look up to see

the changes already in this area.

But it appears this

is a development too far.

In a statement, the council said:

This development plan

would essentially mean the social

cleansing of the area.

UAL are currently

complacent in that.

Despite so much talk

of a commitment to social justice

and widening participation,

its involvement proves the utter

hypocrisy of their statements.

A bingo hall sits

at the top floor of

the shopping centre.

Its owner was another objector.

He says it wasn't factored

into the plans at all, and

shows the developers

are out of touch.

This is vitally important

of the social life of

thousands of people

in the area every week.

Everybody wants the Elephant

and Castle to develop, right?

But they didn't want

this particular one, it

just didn't make any sense.

The developers have said that 90%

of people who they spoke

to were in favour of the plans.

They want their supporters

to make their voices

heard ahead of a meeting at the end

of January, when the next

steps for this part

of London will become

clearer.

That's it for now from me,

but let's find out

what the weather's

up to, with Chris.

Windy weather could cause problems

for the commute tomorrow morning.

Look at how the isobars are squeezed

together across eastern England as

the low works out into the North

Sea. There is where the strongest

winds will be. The Met office have

issued this yellow weather warning

for strong winds which will pick up

through the course of the night. 70

mph in coastal parts of East Anglia.

Strongest of the north of central

London, where we are most likely to

see disruptive weather tomorrow

morning. There will be sunshine, but

in the afternoon, the wind comes

down a bit, still blustery. And

showers moving. Some wintering --

wintry showers over higher ground.

It has milder but