13/03/2018 London News

A not-so-special night

for the so-called Special One.

John Watson, BBC News.

Good evening.

I'm Riz Lateef.

It was the news that

leaseholders in two tower blocks

in Croydon were dreading.

Today, they were told they will have

to pay to remove and replace

flammable cladding similar

to Grenfell - a potential bill of up

to £2 million.

They'd argued that it was

the building owner's responsibility.

The tribunal ruling could have

implications for thousands

of people across the capital.

Our Political Editor

Tim Donovan explains.

Somehow we managed to

get legal support...

Anuj is on to his lawyer

because the news isn't good,

a tribunal judgment has gone

against him and other residents.

The cladding was

removed when it failed

tests after Grenfell,

since then fire marshals have been

patrolling 24/7.

Together its cost £500,000 so far

and that is a bill to

be shared between the 95

leaseholders here after the ruling

the landlords were entitled

by the terms of their leases

to recover it in service charge.

We are already paying

£2,000 service charges and

this year it will increase up

to £20,000 for some people.

I have to pay £4,000,

I'm not sure how I will

get that to repay it on one month.

But that's only up until now,

new cladding could take the

bill to £2 million.

We cannot plan our lives,

people's work is

suffering, they are stressed,

it's affecting our lives on a

daily basis.

The Mayor said the Government

should end that anxiety.

The Government should

be stepping in to

make these buildings safe,

then there is a discussion to be had

about the cost and the removal.

Noticeable in this ruling, the judge

says it is foreseeable leaseholders

may have further legal claims

against a number of parties.

The manufacturers of the cladding,

Barratt Homes which installed it,

and the local council, Croydon,

which provided the certification.

Finally the Government itself.

If it's building

regulations are found to

have been not up to scratch.

It's possible many

other leaseholders

could be affected in a similar way.

We think up to 50,000 leaseholders

in London could be liable for paying

costs up to £30,000

per flat or beyond, simply

because they bought a flat in good

faith that the cladding

on the outside of it was safe.

They believed that

because the Government

told them it was safe, we now know

the Government was wrong.

The Government must

take responsibility

for taking the cladding down

and stop abandoning leaseholders to

their fate.

The Government must pay for this

work to be done, nobody else.

The landlords said

today they would work

to minimise the costs

of cladding and they too urged

the Government to offer support.

Marc Ashdown has more on this -

this judgement could have

far reaching consequences?

Well it could. There is no doubt

this feels like a major judgment,

but today all we had was hints at

what could happen next. The judge

hinting people affected and as we

heard it could run to tens of

thousands. People's homes are

blighted. The judge hinted that

possibly the Government could look

at compensation, underwriting cases

to make sure that lease holders who

have bought in good faith are not

stung with huge costs.

What about

the Government.

The Government say

ministers have made it clear they

want private landlords to follow the

social sector and not pass on the

costs of essential cladding. They

drop a hint, saying we will consider

the implication of today's judgment.

How about that for loaded comment?

This could be big, we are just not

sure how yet.

Thank you.

Two victims of the serial sex

attacker John Worboys have begun

a High Court challenge

to the decision to

release him from prison.

The former taxi driver has served

ten years for attacks on 12 women.

Tom Burridge was in court.

John Worboys tricked

and drugged young women.

Just eight years ago,

he was jailed indefinitely for one

rape and several assaults

in the back of his taxi.

When the Parole Board

announced earlier this year

that he was to be released, it

caused outrage, especially among

his victims.

Now, two women he attacked

are hoping to overturn

that decision.

One of them was in the High Court

today - with Worboys

appearing by video link -

as we learned why the

Parole Board thought

he was fit for release.

It believed Worboys had

become open and honest,

that he had taken full

responsibility for his offences and

had, the Parole Board thought,

shown insight into factors that

could cause him to reoffend.

But the case put

forward by the victims'

barrister painted a very

different picture.

Philipa Kaufman QC said John Worboys

had still only admitted

the attacks on 12 women

for which he was convicted.

She presented graphic evidence

to back up the police's

assertion that he actually raped

and assaulted more than 100 women.

And according to these court

documents, as recent as September,

prison officials decided to keep

Worboys in a Category A prison,

because he was deemed

of sufficient risk.

That was just three months before

the Parole Board decided he

should be released.

Those campaigning

on behalf of Worboys'

victims say vital

evidence was ignored.

We heard in court today that

the Parole Board haven't listened

to the women who had been raped

by John Worboys, they didn't look at

any evidence from the trial,

or from the judge's finding

that he was a risk to people.

It looks like the Parole Board

decision was completely

irrationsal to release John Worboys

and it is good that we're able to

review that decision now.

Tomorrow, the Parole

Board will present it

case over why this convicted rapist

was ready for release.

The reasoning behind

such decisions is

normally kept secret.

This case has already

raised questions over

whether that should change.

While no-one knows

for sure what Brexit

will mean for the capital.

There is though a small group

of Londoners in the heart of Belgium

who know exactly what it will mean

for them - the loss

of their jobs as our MEPs

in the European Parliament.

Katharine Carpenter has been

speaking to two of them about life

in Brussels since the vote to leave.

For 18 years, Labour MEP

Mary Honeyball has made

this journey from

London to the European

Parliament once a week.

She's one of the longest serving

MEPs, still believes Brexit can be

stopped and denies it's having

an impact on her work here, yet.

Obviously, everybody here is aware

of Brexit, but we are still

in the European Union and we're

all still getting on with our jobs.

But for one of the two London MEPs

who voted to leave the EU,

things have been

more tense at times.

I thought perhaps one of the things

that went through my mind is -

actually will I have to resign?

Will I lose my job as group leader,

and I was prepared for that.

I said, I thought I shouldn't put my

own position ahead of my decision.

The UK has 73 MEPs, eight of them

represent London and they earn just

over 100,000 euros a year before

taxes, with generous

pensions and allowances.

Mary Honeyball admits perhaps

they could have done more to counter

the perception by some that they're

living the high life in Brussels.

One of the consequences

of Brexit is that Europe,

the European Parliament,

what the EU does, has suddenly shot

up the political agenda.

So now I think we are getting a lot

of exposure and people do know

who we are and what we do.

For Mary, that involves meetings

like this Brexit briefing

by the Shadow Health Secretary.

She thinks her party's position

is still a work in progress,

even raising the possibility that

MEPs will have a role to play

beyond March next year.

No chance, says her colleague.

My job will come to an end,

end of March 2019.

At that time the UK will leave

and there will be no British MEPs.

Will you feel sad about

it despite your vote?

Of course I'll feel sad.

I mean, I've made many good

friends and it's been

a large part of my life.

As for the future, he hasn't

ruled out another attempt

to become London's Mayor.

If my party decides to select too

early and I'm still involved

in helping in negotiations,

then that won't work for me.

Probably when that role

starts to wind down,

when we get closer to an agreement,

towards the end of the year,

early next year, then I'll have

to start seriously looking

for a new role.

What's next for you

now after Brexit?

I'm not really sure, actually.

I've had a long career in politics,

which has been good.

I should take time

to reflect, I think.

Katherine Carpenter,

BBC London News.

She made recently made global

headlines with a speech

about 'a new day on the horizon

for women and girls'.

Tonight Oprah Winfrey

was in London for the European

premiere of her latest film

and we asked her whether the film

industry was at a watershed moment

in addressing gender and racial

equality.

Well I think it's the beginning,

I think everybody gets all excited

when there is something

new on the horizon,

which is what I talked

about in the Golden Globes speech.

This is the new, but we have

to continue the new.

So you can't do this and then

wait ten years before

you do something else.

And you can see more

of that interview

on our Facebook page.

That's it for now from me, but let's

find out what the weather's

up to with Louise Lear.

Good evening, if you're off to bed,

a promising day in store tomorrow.

But no two days the same this week.

Make the most of tomorrow. This rain

is on the way. But a light southerly

wind will strengthen. But we will

see clear blue skies, a lot of

sunshine and temperatures up to 14

degree. And that will feel quite

spring-like. All change into

Thursday morning. A spell of wet

weather will continue to push north

and east. Clearing by lunchtime.

Into the afternoon some showers,

some could be heavy. Possibly

thundery. Top temperatures 10 to 12.

We keep the showers going on Friday.

But I did say at the start, no two

days the same. I will live you a

summary at just look at what happens

at the weekend. Things will get cold

we are a cold easterly