19/02/2018 London News

Now on BBC one it's time

for the news where you are.

Good evening.

I'm Riz Lateef.

First tonight - an insight

into the state of some

of London's worst prisons.

A serving officer has told us -

the shortage of staff

makes her feel vulnerable.

It comes amid concerns

about a recruitment crisis

across the capital's jails,

as Caroline Davies reports.

I want my property!

Violence, drugs, drones, self harm,

suicide and even murders.

This is the state of London's

prisons, and according to some

critics, the lack of staff

is making it worse.

I've been working at prisons more

than 30 years and I have never seen

them in such a terrible state.

It is very bad for prisoners

and the public because it means

the prisoners are locked up all day

and dumped back on the street angry

and bitter and more likely

to commit another crime.

At the end of 2016, the Government

said it would recruit an extra

2,500 prison officers

across England and Wales.

So how many new officers

have been recruited

across London's eight prisons?

There has been a net

gain of only 22.

I really enjoyed it when I first

started,

I loved the buzz and that,

then it rapidly changed.

This woman is an officer

in a London prison.

We have concealed her identity

and dubbed her voice to protect her.

There are no staff any more,

they come in but as quickly

as they do, people are leaving.

There are people who have been

there 15 years and remember

when there were four officers

on a landing and now

there is only one.

What is it like when you're

just the one person?

You get worried because what if

you are the one that

gets attacked that day

and you can't get

a whistle to your mouth?

You better hope those prisoners

like you because they will be

the ones saving your life.

People will be shocked to hear

you rely on the prisoners

to keep you safe?

It is the truth, because there is no

one with you on the landing.

You have

to rely on prisoners.

What did the Ministry

of Justice's figures say

about the picture in London?

There might be 22 more officers

across London overall but some

prisons have even fewer staff

than before the Government started

this recruitment drive.

Belmarsh Prison has 22 fewer

officers, Pentonville 20

and Wormwood Scrubs 15.

The prison service recruited just

over 4,500 new officers

across England and Wales last year

but they also lost nearly 2,000.

And almost 500 of those were

in their first year in a prison.

Rachel used to be a prison officer

in London but after less than

18 months, she quit.

She said there was little

time for rehabilitation.

Quite a lot of them are only

young and they are coming in

and being thrown into prison,

rightfully so, but they are being

put into a cell and locked away

for three days straight.

I was the one giving them the phone

calls and letting them out

to have a phone call and letting

them out to have a shower.

That to me is basic humanity,

and they can't even get that

because of a lack of staff.

So what would make a difference

to those still working

in London's prisons?

Staff, to begin with anyway.

I think I would feel more secure

if there was more staff.

Both sides are clear what's needed

but while staff are leaving

because of staff shortages,

the prison system in London seems

stuck in a vicious circle.

Alpa Patel is here

with more on this.

What is the Ministry

of Justice saying about this?

Well, the Ministry of Justice says

that it is on course to recruit

2,500 prison of this is and the

Justice Secretary told us that

staffing is the golden thread needed

to improve our presence, but as we

saw in Caroline's report, it is

retention that is the real key here,

especially of those experienced

officers who can deal with changing

and dangerous situations in prison

is better than new recruits can.

We've spoken to the Prison Officers

Association, who say the real

problem over retention is pay,

prison officers aren't paid enough

to either keep them in post or

recruit them to the posts that are

needed and until that changes,

retention will continue to be a

problem here in London.

OK, thanks

very much for that.

News that celebrity chef

Jamie Oliver is selling his two

London steakhouses has highlighted

some of the challenges

facing restaurateurs more

widely in the capital.

Others claim that high rents

and business rates are forcing them

to take drastic measures

or face closure.

Here's Chris Rogers.

Business has been good

for the owners of this restaurant

in Hackney but they are closing

the restaurant next week.

Despite all the hard work

and awards, the rising costs of rent

and rates mean they need to start

again, with a new name

and a cheaper location

of Shoreditch but it comes

at the cost of their Michelin star.

Frankly, the rents in Shoreditch

are cheaper for us,

so straightaway that is the reality

of what we are doing.

As much as I love this

neighbourhood, I think it's

a business and we've got

to do what's right.

This is the latest London restaurant

to shut just in the last few days,

yet it has won loads

of awards, look at this.

So what is going on?

One of the main issues is there

are simply too many restaurants.

Dozens are closing and

opening all the time.

Add to that the rising cost of food,

the higher minimum wage,

a weak pound and Brexit

and you have the perfect storm

according to this restaurant

owner and consultant.

There is a shrinking labour market

because of issues with Brexit

and people not coming to the UK,

it is harder to employ.

A lot of the key positions,

more senior positions,

you're having to pay way over

the odds to get people.

It is just a real struggle.

The bite of rising costs is also

felt by some of the big chains,

among them chef Jamie Oliver.

He is closing some

of his restaurants.

His steakhouse in Piccadilly

was closed today.

While burger chain Byron is to close

up to 20 restaurants.

Announcements like that are bound

to shake the confidence

of the smaller London Independents.

There is only so much business out

there and only so much

money to be had.

I think this will be a bloodbath,

frankly, this year.

And that's always a necessary part

of the cycle of life.

Some analysts say the winners

will be the cheaper home

delivery companies.

A little far-fetched perhaps,

but as rising rents cause

restaurants to raise their menu cost

or close, the likes of

Next - it's proving

to be a hard sell.

Commuters are complaining

about the comfort of seats on some

new trains on Thameslink routes.

The train operator says it meets

strict fire safety regulations.

But is there cause for concern?

Our transport correspondent

Tom Edwards has been finding out.

These new Class 700 trains

are spacious and airy,

but as well as having fewer seats,

some commuters think

the cushioning is like concrete.

On this service this

morning to St Albans,

mainly uncomfortable agreement.

It's really uncomfortable,

it's ridiculous.

I can't believe this is a new train.

There's not much legroom.

Yeah.

And the backs are a bit

narrow for my liking.

If you're sitting next

to a stranger especially.

Then you're practically

on top of them, yeah.

Do you find them hard, the seats?

Very hard.

As you can see.

Soft seats, in my country the seats

is really different,

we don't have like these things,

the blue ones, so for me

it's great, I like it.

Complaints about train

seats aren't new.

The latest trains on Great Western

have also drawn criticism.

These trains on the Thameslink

Bedford to Brighton route

are now being rolled out

on the Great Northern

to Peterborough.

Then I'd like you to lift your

buttocks upwards, just slowly.

At this clinic in Maidenhead,

they're used to treating

commuters' aches and pains.

They say, over time, new harder

seats could make matters worse.

The thing is, people's bodies

don't adapt that easily.

I mean they're actually,

if you think about it,

often sitting in an office,

at an office desk all day.

They may be using

a computer all day.

They may try and take exercise

breaks, but fundamentally,

if their commute is uncomfortable

on a hard seat as well,

it's just adding more insult

to injury, in a sense.

The train companies say these seats

have to meet the strict criteria set

by the Department for Transport,

and that means they have to meet

strict fire regulations

and be graffiti proof.

But others say what this is really

about is cost-cutting.

We will shortly be

arriving at Three Bridges.

Passengers have also complained

about a lack of legroom,

and with no plans to change

the cushioning, commuters will have

to get used to seats that one

compared to an ironing board.

I'll say good night

and it's over to Phil Avery

for this week's weather.

for this week's weather.

My word, hard seeds and a pretty

damp commute this morning, it was

certainly wet when I skipped out the

door to catch the bin men and Dave

in King's Cross also captured the

scene and I'm sure he can send

something similar tomorrow because

there will be rain at times. A lot

of cloud around, two weather fronts

close to the British Isles, one then

the eastern side and a cold front

out towards the west which we will

see eventually but overnight, even

though the breezes from the north, I

think with quite a bit of cloud

around, the temperatures really

won't slip away very far, no

scraping up the cars tomorrow

morning but it will be a lead and

start to Tuesday. Then the cold

front I was talking about will drift

across us. Not much rain to the west

of the capital but over to the east,

it may integrate but behind it, some

of the low-level cloud will

disappear and we will be looking at

temperatures pretty much on a par

with today, nine or 10 degrees. Is

there any end to the dank weather?

Yes, there is, as we go through

Wednesday and Thursday and into the

weekend, at high pressure will keep

the Atlantic runs at bay and there

will be a fair amount of dry weather

around. So that is good. But

sunshine will initially be in short

supply. It may just poke out a wee

bit later on but you will see the

trend here is for temperatures to

really fall away, as far ahead as

the weekend. We're looking at six or

seven or 8 degrees and into the

start-up next week, it will feel

much, much cooler. There could be a

passing wintry shower