0:00:00 > 0:00:01ahead to make sure that we get equality for our daughters and
0:00:01 > 0:00:01granddaughters.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Welcome to BBC London News with me Alpa Patel.
0:00:16 > 0:00:23Six pupils at a secondary school in Wandsworth were taken to hospital
0:00:23 > 0:00:25after taking what's believed to be prescription drugs.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28None of the school girls is said to be in a serious condition
0:00:28 > 0:00:30but counselling is being offered.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It comes amid growing concerns that teenagers are buying
0:00:32 > 0:00:33and using highly addictive anti-anxiety drugs purchased
0:00:33 > 0:00:35from the internet.
0:00:35 > 0:00:41Our Education reporter, Marc Ashdown, has the story.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43A popular, oversubscribed school, rated as good by inspectors,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45but Burntwood Girls School is at the centre of
0:00:45 > 0:00:48a possible drugs scare.
0:00:48 > 0:00:501,700 pupils study here.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51The alarm was raised yesterday lunchtime
0:00:51 > 0:00:53after six girls were taken ill,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56seemingly unable to even stand up.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The head teacher did not want to do an
0:00:59 > 0:01:02interview with us today but has said in a statement that as soon as she
0:01:02 > 0:01:04became aware the girls were unwell, she called
0:01:04 > 0:01:07paramedics and alerted their parents.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10The six girls were taken to a local hospital to be
0:01:10 > 0:01:14treated, accompanied by family members.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17The head said they have now been discharged and as far as she is
0:01:17 > 0:01:21aware, thankfully, they've suffered no long-term ill effects.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23The Metropolitan Police told us they were called to the school
0:01:23 > 0:01:25by the Ambulance Service.
0:01:25 > 0:01:35They explained:
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Some parents and pupils told us today that the drug Xanax had been
0:01:45 > 0:01:47taken by some students.
0:01:47 > 0:01:57It is used to cope with anxiety.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Not available on the NHS, it can only be obtained
0:02:04 > 0:02:06with a private prescription and if abused, it can be
0:02:06 > 0:02:07dangerous.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Although Burntwood is an Academy outside of local authority control,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Wandsworth Council has stepped in on safeguarding grounds to offer
0:02:12 > 0:02:17counselling to those involved.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18The school says it is cooporating with
0:02:18 > 0:02:21the council and police as they investigate how such highly
0:02:21 > 0:02:23addictive drugs could have found their way into the hands of
0:02:23 > 0:02:24children.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Well Marc joins me now.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34While talking to parents and expert it is clear that some feel that
0:02:34 > 0:02:39there is an emerging crisis with young people. The drug Xanax is
0:02:39 > 0:02:44highly addictive and that is why the NHS do not prescribe it for anxiety.
0:02:44 > 0:02:52It is ten times stronger than other anxiety drugs. Late last year one
0:02:52 > 0:03:00person in America died from an overdose last year. So there can be
0:03:00 > 0:03:08nasty side-effects, blurred vision and seizures but taken with other
0:03:08 > 0:03:11drugs and alcohol they could be fatal. And that is the warning for
0:03:11 > 0:03:16parents, that they are being purchased year. Research from Oxford
0:03:16 > 0:03:23University yesterday showed that there are many sales on the dark web
0:03:23 > 0:03:29right here in the UK and kids are feeling stressed, mental health is a
0:03:29 > 0:03:33growing and problem these pills can be bought for £1 from the street
0:03:33 > 0:03:37dealer. MPs and doctors are calling for more action and already feel
0:03:37 > 0:03:43that we have a serious problem. Thank you for that analysis.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45The founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange will continue to live
0:03:45 > 0:03:48in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after a UK
0:03:48 > 0:03:54arrest warrant was upheld.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The 46 year old has claimed political asylum since 2012
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and confined himself to the embassy for five years, to avoid
0:03:59 > 0:04:01extradition to Sweden.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04If you drive in London - you will waste on average three days
0:04:04 > 0:04:08of your life every year - stuck in rush hour traffic.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Today we found out just how much it's costing London motorists.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13New research says the average cost of delays is almost
0:04:13 > 0:04:19£2,500 per driver a year.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21That amounts to an estimated £9.5 billion
0:04:21 > 0:04:27to London's economy.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30It also found that the most congested road in the country is
0:04:30 > 0:04:32a stretch of the A406 near Hangar Lane.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33From there Alice Hutton sent this report.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36This is the busiest road in Britain.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Drivers on the North Circular between Hanger Lane and Chiswick
0:04:39 > 0:04:43spend more time sitting in traffic than anywhere in the country.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Going at speeds of just 13 mph.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48And it's not just wasting their time.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51It costs drivers in the capital thousands in wasted fuel
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and work, including those at this motoring cafe.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58You can do ten miles here and it can take an hour.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01If you go ten miles where I live, in Welwyn Garden, it will take
0:05:01 > 0:05:04you ten minutes, 15 minutes.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09So it's like four times, just to sit and listen to the radio.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Nick Barton has been on the road as a heavy goods
0:05:11 > 0:05:15driver for over 25 years.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The profits could be X amount in the end of nothing
0:05:18 > 0:05:20due to the extra fuel.
0:05:20 > 0:05:20The health.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23You know, you don't sleep as much and you're extremely tired
0:05:23 > 0:05:24when you're driving.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26And it's just not good at all for somebody's health.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30The top three most congested roads in the UK are all in London.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32From Hangar Lane to the Chiswick roundabout, drivers lose
0:05:32 > 0:05:36about 56 hours every year.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41It is 50 hours from Kennington Park to Norbury station.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44And 47 hours from Russell Square to New Fetter Lane.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45The study was carried out by the traffic
0:05:45 > 0:05:46monitoring company InRex.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49They say that the gridlocked roads are costing the London economy
0:05:49 > 0:05:51£9.5 billion a year.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It is a global city, truly an economic metropolis.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The population is rising, I think it is 1.7% last year.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The economy grew by 2.3%.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Much higher than the rest of the UK.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07There are more people just wanting to get out
0:06:07 > 0:06:12in the car, doing business, and travelling for leisure.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15We are an old city with an ageing infrastructure.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17The Department for Transport said today it was investing £23 billion
0:06:17 > 0:06:19in road schemes to ease congestion in the UK.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22They call it the biggest investment in a generation.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24They also said the ultimate responsibility for clearing London's
0:06:24 > 0:06:26traffic filled streets lies with the mayor and
0:06:26 > 0:06:34Transport for London.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Turning now to how the capital has been marking a hundred years
0:06:37 > 0:06:44since the first women got the vote.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49East London women played a key role in the campaign. But working-class
0:06:49 > 0:06:54women mobilising to add their voice to the cause.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55The popular image of the suffragette, educated,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57middle-class women campaigning for the vote.
0:06:57 > 0:07:04But for working-class women in the East End slams
0:07:04 > 0:07:06-- slums the idea was unimaginable.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07Except to Sylvia Pankhurst, a leading suffrage campaign
0:07:07 > 0:07:09who thought they needed it the most.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Sylvia was a lifelong socialist.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13And she was concerned that the voices of working women
0:07:13 > 0:07:16were being left out of the struggle for the vote.
0:07:16 > 0:07:26And when the day came that they were going to be awarded
0:07:26 > 0:07:29the vote, that they would not be served by the law
0:07:29 > 0:07:30whenever that came in.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32And so she very deliberately looked for the largest
0:07:32 > 0:07:33working-class community near London, near Westminster.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36In 1912 she moved to Bow and set up her headquarters
0:07:36 > 0:07:37next to a local pub.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Which became a focal point to mobilise local women.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Many of whom campaigned against the harsh conditions.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44That is where we met two of the descendants of Jane Savoy,
0:07:44 > 0:07:50one of the activists at the time.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53The only thing my grandmother told us was she was
0:07:53 > 0:07:55a suffragette and used to chain herself to the railings.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58She was one of six women chosen to see the Prime Minister,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Herbert Asquith, to make their case for the vote.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Jane was a brush maker and she explained what her work
0:08:03 > 0:08:05involved, how hard she had to work.
0:08:05 > 0:08:1143 years she had been working as a brush maker.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13And it was from that deputation that Herbert Asquith had
0:08:13 > 0:08:19some sympathy with them.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23He was not a supporter of women's rights and when they went to meet
0:08:23 > 0:08:26with him he closed the meeting by saying well, if the change must
0:08:26 > 0:08:31come, we must be bold and face it.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34And that was interpreted at the time in the press as a sign that votes
0:08:34 > 0:08:36for women was on the way.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40And they kept the pressure on with their militant tactics.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44She is supposed to have flung a shoe at a policeman at the May Day fair,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46trying to arrest Sylvia!
0:08:46 > 0:08:52She was a militant as well!
0:08:52 > 0:08:54All our family, the women in the family, have always been very
0:08:55 > 0:08:56strong, forthright woman.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And I can only assume that she stood up for what she believed in.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06And she actually took part in history to bring this all about.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Jane Savoy died in 1928, the same year that all women
0:09:09 > 0:09:12were given the vote.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17Her leader and friend, Sylvia Pankhurst, wrote this tribute.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21"Mrs Savoy's eyes have closed now in their last sleep.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The grey streets of Oldfield Road are greyer and colder for her loss."
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Which I think is a lovely tribute to what they thought
0:09:27 > 0:09:33of her in the area.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Some amazing women in that report.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39And if you want to see another inspirational woman,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42go to our Facebook page
0:09:42 > 0:09:44where you can see a piece this young woman.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Selina Begum is 17 and she has just become the first
0:09:47 > 0:09:49state school student - to win the individual prize at Eton
0:09:49 > 0:09:51for a debating competition.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Find her story on the BBC London Facebook page.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58That's it for now from me, but lets find out what the weather's
0:09:58 > 0:10:00up to with Elizabeth Rizzini.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02up to with Elizabeth Rizzini.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07And you have some new graphics for us.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Welcome to our window on the world, this is a Weather Watchers picture
0:10:11 > 0:10:19from earlier showing some sunshine. Certainly it felt cold today and
0:10:19 > 0:10:24will be very cold night tonight with the widespread frost and a warning
0:10:24 > 0:10:36out for snow and ice is valid for eastern areas of the country. So you
0:10:36 > 0:10:42can see these white areas which is the snow. Heading into tomorrow
0:10:42 > 0:10:47morning. Starting off on a very cold note at around minus three degrees.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53But tomorrow quite a decent day, Cloud clearing south-east and we
0:10:53 > 0:10:59have sunny skies behind that. So a lot of sunshine and temperatures
0:10:59 > 0:11:04slightly higher than earlier today. Heading through the rest of the week
0:11:04 > 0:11:04temperatures set