21/03/2018 London News

A quick reminder that Newsnight is

getting

Good evening, I'm Asad Ahmad.

The wife of an academic

who was stabbed to death

in Islington two years ago,

says she's having to 'crowdfund'

in order to get legal

representation at the inquest.

Dr Jeroen Ensink had just

become a father and had

gone to the post box

to send cards to mark

his daughter's birth.

Metres from his home

he was attacked,

by a man with mental health problems

who, just days earlier,

had charges against him dropped

connected to knife crime.

The widow has been

speaking of her loss.

Caroline Davies reports.

There were three police officers

standing in front of our door

and I just opened the door

and you just know, your entire

world collapses.

They hadn't even said said a word.

They hadn't even said,

"Is this your husband?"

You just know.

This was the last photo taken

of Nadja's husband, Jeroen Ensink.

His little daughter, Fleur,

had been born just 11 days before.

He left the house to

post cards announcing

her birth, when he was

attacked and killed.

Jeroen was killed by a man he'd

never met, Femi Nandap

was suffering from a cannabis

induced psychotic

rage when he stabbed the academic.

Today he's serving an indefinite

sentence at Broadmoor Hospital for

manslaughter.

Nandap had a history of severe

mental health problems.

In May 2015, he was

arrested and charged

for wielding a knife in public

and attacking a police officer.

He was released on bail.

In December, the charges

against him were dropped

because of insufficient evidence.

Six days later, he killed Jeroen.

Nadja hopes the inquest into his

death will give her some answers

about what happened,

but while the CPS and the police

will have legal representation

at that inquest, paid

for by the public purse,

she's been denied legal aid.

And without legal representation,

I won't be able to

get the answers we need.

As if it's not important enough.

As if we don't count.

The Met told us that while there had

been no misconduct, there

had been areas of learning.

The CPS said that

the case against the

previous knife offence should never

have been discontinued.

The Ministry of Justice

have said they're

committed to reviewing the situation

on legal aid for bereaved families,

but that review is delayed.

In the meantime, Nadja

is crowdfunding for

her lawyer.

All this is going on,

I still believe in the goodness of

people, because it's out there.

But I don't believe in the system.

Caroline Davies, BBC London News.

BBC London has learnt

that an increasing

number of care homes appear

to be 'cherry-picking'

the patients they take-in

to keep costs down.

A lack of funding and

increasing demand for places

means those who need the most care

are sometimes overlooked.

The Government accepts the system

is under huge pressure.

Here's Helen Mulroy.

Back to work for Alex Turner.

It's been a long time coming

for the graphic designer,

after he was forced to take a career

break, at just 26, when his mum,

Sue, was diagnosed with

early-onset dementia.

I'd get five or six phone calls

a day, members of the public

would find her or the police

would pick her up, or she'd be

in hospital, in different hospitals

around our area and I'd have to go

and collect her a lot of the time.

When she was living at home, there'd

be different carers every day.

She wouldn't want to let them in.

They hadn't been trained

as to how to do that.

So, full-time jobs were impossible.

Alex became his mum's main carer,

even living with her for a period

of time, but her condition worsened

and she went into hospital.

By then, it was clear the only

option was a care home.

For the next year, Alex

looked at over 20 homes

and applied for a place at more

than ten of them.

But at each one, after assessing

Sue, who was still relatively young,

physically fit and mobile,

none could offer her a place.

It was really depressing

and demoralising and I felt really

unsure about where she was going

to be going.

It wasn't a nice time.

Sadly, Alex and Sue's

story is far from unique.

The Alzheimer's Society helpline

increasingly gets calls

of this exact nature.

We're finding that care homes

are picking and choosing the people

that they accept into their homes,

largely because they don't

have the funding to be able

to provide the specialist support

that is needed to help

somebody with dementia.

The national living

wage is going up soon.

The property, and the upkeep of that

property, particularly in London,

that can be extremely expensive.

In contacting the Government,

we asked the Department of Health

and Social Care what they're doing

about the lack of appropriate

care home places.

They told us that they've invested

an extra £2 billion in social care

and that over the summer they're

publishing planned reforms to make

the social care system more

sustainable for the future.

But for Sue and Alex,

any such reform is too late.

I've missed a chunk of my career,

I just couldn't get a job.

My mum wouldn't have

been happy about that.

It would have been incredibly

upsetting for my mum to know

what I've gone through.

Helen Mulroy, BBC London News.

There's been a lot of talk

about driverless cars on our roads

and one of the largest city trials

has been taking place in Greenwich.

Our transport correspondent,

Tom Edwards, has been there to find

out how safe we feel

in the vehicles.

For 18 months these driverless

shuttles have been running around

the Greenwich peninsula,

testing how they react to people,

other vehicles and even dogs.

In that case the onboard

safety pilot intervened,

and here they're also trying to find

out our reactions to the pods.

It felt very safe.

The vehicle itself was very

cautious, it was very aware

of its surroundings.

I didn't feel at any point

that we came up to an obstacle

and it wasn't going to stop.

I've been following the technology

for a while, so it's been quite

exciting to finally get in one.

Although our pod today

was misbehaving initially.

According to those behind

the scheme, the technology has

performed well, even

in the recent poor weather.

Of those people who you use

these pods in Greenwich,

47% had a positive experience.

43% though had concerns,

mainly around cyber

security and road safety.

And driverless technology has been

in the headlines after a pedestrian

died after being hit

by a self-driving car in the US.

Some have called that a wake-up

call for the industry.

Others say the technology shouldn't

yet be on the roads.

So safety is always

going to be a priority.

We've got a lot of work

to do to develop trust.

Some people need to feel

trust in these vehicles

and the technology.

London still wants

to be at the forefront

of this new technology.

There's still some way to go

to convince everyone that this

is the future of transport.

Tom Edwards, BBC

London News, Greenwich.

A memorial has been laid in honour

of two soldiers from Islington

who were awarded the Victoria Cross

in the First World War

for their immense bravery.

Lance Corporal John Sayer

and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Roberts

were remembered at a ceremony

in north London.

Charlotte Franks was there.

EXPLOSION.

It was where some of the bloodiest

battles were fought

during the First World War.

Millions died on the Western front,

amid the lines of mud trenches

and fortifications dug to prevent

the enemy from advancing.

Lieutenant Colonel Frank Roberts

lived in Highbury.

But in 1914, 26 years old, he left

to fight on the front in France.

On one occasion, the enemy

attacked a nearby village,

but Lieutenant Roberts led

a counterattack, driving

them away temporarily

so troops could withdraw.

The fight was basically

round the church.

But you've only got to look

at the commendation,

the number of people he killed

and took prisoner.

For his courage, he received

the Victoria Cross.

John Sayer, also from Islington,

single-handedly seized and defended

a strategic post close

to the Hindenburg Line

in northern France, in 1918.

For this deed, he too

was awarded the VC.

LAST POST

Today, both soldiers were remembered

by their families as memorials

were unveiled in Islington to mark

the sacrifice they made fighting

on the Western front.

The countryside was churned up

by heavy shelling from both sides.

It was covered in barbed wire.

The weather made the ground

impossible in many places.

But despite those difficult

conditions, John Sayer

would never forget his family,

writing to his children

on each of their birthdays.

"Dear Eric, I'm writing this hoping

you will get it on your birthday,

to wish you many happy returns..."

The letter is very quiet

and personal and it makes no

mention, really, of war

and what he must have been

going through at that time.

It's hoped that by laying these

stones, the memory of both soldiers'

achievements will be kept alive,

as well as educating future

generations about the Great War.

Charlotte Franks, BBC London News.

That's it for now from me,

but let's find out what

the weather's up to with Stav.

the weather's up to with Stav.

Beautiful day at times today? That

is right. Temperatures have been

recovering in fact after that very

cold weekend and ha that disruptive

snow. It will be mild as we head

into the weekend. Tomorrow you will

notice that when you step out of the

door. Much milder than it was this

morning. We should get sunny

intervals as well. Overnight there

will be quite a lot of cloud around.

Thicker cloud drifting down from the

north anded it could just squeeze

out a few spots of rain,

particularly towards the eastern

side of the capital. Look at the

temperatures. First thing Thursday,

five or six Celsius. There will be

some cloud around through the

morning. It will clear away,

probably taking its time from the

eastern side of the country.

Bubbling up again. This is over

doing it. We should see sunny

intervals. Temperatures up to 12-13

Celsius given the sunshine. Winds

will be light, coming in from the

south-west. Then really it's looking

dry for the next few days and into

the weekend. Sunday is looking like

being the best day of the weekend.

It will be very mild indeed. Stay

tuned for