0:00:00 > 0:00:11naming the Rohingya Muslims on a visit to the
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Hello and welcome, I'm Alpa Patel.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18BBC London has spoken to au pairs working in London who say they have
0:00:18 > 0:00:24been victims of exploitation.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26A leading expert in the field says the current system
0:00:26 > 0:00:29is putting au pairs at risk and the Government needs
0:00:29 > 0:00:31to put in place tighter regulation to protect them.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Some on this march are strangers.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Almost all are foreign au pairs.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41They have come to support each other and make a stand
0:00:42 > 0:00:44against exploitation and abuse.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48We meet Ellie, not her real name.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We have disguised her face and changed her voice
0:00:51 > 0:00:53for legal reasons.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55She tells us about her previous host family.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The family were very violent.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02They weren't violent with me, but with each other.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05I felt really uncomfortable and unsafe.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09I also did 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It was too much and I left.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16According to Government guidelines, au pairs aren't workers
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and so aren't eligible for minimum wage or paid holiday.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23They are meant to be treated as a member of the family
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and given a room and meals.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28In exchange, they do around 30 hours of light housework
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and baby-sitting a week,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37in return for what is called "pocket money" of £70 or more a week.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41But we found online adverts that went beyond the recommended hours.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Adverts asking for excessive household tasks and
0:01:45 > 0:01:48even proxy parenting.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The title of the advert up here is "au pair/carer".
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Rosie Cox has carried out extensive research.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58She has been trying to raise awareness about au pair
0:01:58 > 0:02:01exploitation for over a decade.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I think the Government needs to be quite firm about what au pair
0:02:04 > 0:02:09is so somebody can say 70 hours a week isn't au pairing,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I ought to be being paid minimum wage.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13At the moment, nobody knows where au pairs are,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16they are not registered in any ways, the agencies that place them do not
0:02:16 > 0:02:19have to be registered so they are this unknown population
0:02:19 > 0:02:21and I think we need to think about how vulnerable,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and this is almost all women we are talking about, young women
0:02:24 > 0:02:30inside people's homes.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35Not every single au pair Lee Mack had a negative story. Anna is
0:02:35 > 0:02:43Spanish and looks after Isabel and Rufus in non-head.For me, from the
0:02:43 > 0:02:48first minute I arrived here, I've felt like a member of the family. I
0:02:48 > 0:02:53always have the weekends of, so I have a lot of time to Noland in and
0:02:53 > 0:03:00for me, it is amazing living here. I feel lucky.Anna's host family work
0:03:00 > 0:03:04long hours. They are one of many families across London who rely on
0:03:04 > 0:03:10au pairs to help with childcare. But experts warn without tighter rules,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14au pairs are left open to exploitation, with few people to
0:03:14 > 0:03:16turn to.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19We did ask the Government about the treatment of au pairs -
0:03:19 > 0:03:22they told us that any au pair that is the victim of modern slavery
0:03:22 > 0:03:25should contact the police for help.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28A judge has ordered new inquests into the deaths of two men
0:03:28 > 0:03:32who were killed by a serial killer they met on dating websites.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Stephen Port was convicted a year ago of murdering
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Daniel Whitworth and Gabriel Kovari, as well as two other men.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43But the coroner called for the original verdicts to be
0:03:43 > 0:03:48quashed after "significant new evidence" emerged.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Hertfordshire Police has been accused of failing victims of crime
0:03:51 > 0:03:55by not properly recording incidents.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57The policing inspector found thousands of crimes
0:03:57 > 0:04:00are going unrecorded - around 13% - including cases
0:04:00 > 0:04:02of domestic violence.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Its report says call handlers need to log full details of conversations
0:04:05 > 0:04:08when crimes are reported, and ensure they're
0:04:08 > 0:04:12passed to officers.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16If, in the first instance, a crime isn't recorded,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18it is very unlikely then that the perpetrator
0:04:18 > 0:04:20is going to be brought to justice.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23There are some technical rules around how forces ought to record
0:04:23 > 0:04:31crime and Hertfordshire has a little bit more to do in order
0:04:31 > 0:04:33to say it is actually adhering to all of those rules.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Thames Water has said that it will reduce increases on household
0:04:36 > 0:04:40bills next year after admitting that it "let down" its customers.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Britain's biggest water company has said it expects
0:04:42 > 0:04:46to miss its targets on leaks, after a string of incidents.
0:04:46 > 0:04:55But the company says it's working hard to improve performance.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58London's economic strength and excellent schools means it's
0:04:58 > 0:05:02outperforming the rest of the country for social mobility.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04The capital provides more opportunities for its residents,
0:05:04 > 0:05:05including the poorest, to progress in life.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Areas like Westminster, Tower Hamlets, and Hackney
0:05:07 > 0:05:09are all reducing the divide between advantaged and
0:05:09 > 0:05:13disadvantaged children.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15But adults are missing out on the opportunity
0:05:15 > 0:05:18to improve their lives due to high housing costs and the prevalence
0:05:18 > 0:05:21of low-paid jobs.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24The Mayor of London will set out new plans later -
0:05:24 > 0:05:27to help try and increase the number of people who cycle in the capital.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30The plan will double cycle parking in new developments,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and require new housing and offices to be built near public
0:05:33 > 0:05:42transport links.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45If you used to the use South West Trains and found
0:05:45 > 0:05:49the carriages to be grubby, you wouldn't have been mistaken.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51When Stagecoach found out it was losing the franchise
0:05:51 > 0:05:52it cut back on maintenance.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55The new owners walked in to find every single train
0:05:55 > 0:06:00needed a deep clean.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Paul Clifton has been finding out more.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05This is called a deep clean.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08The train needs it, badly.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11At Fratton depot in Portsmouth, Darryl Warren has been doing this
0:06:11 > 0:06:15full-time for 100 days.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Bank cards, scarfs, clothing, all sorts.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24People get on the train in the morning and they just think,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28yeah, it is clean but you see it at to the end of the day, pretty messy.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Do you clean your own house this thoroughly?
0:06:30 > 0:06:31No.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Seat covers are threadbare.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37There are all sorts of dirty marks on the carpet.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42Newspapers, drinks, sweets, chewing gum.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47Unfortunately even down to things like needles, condoms.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52You must get a very different view of passengers from the rest of us.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Yes, sometimes you just kind of thing, well,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Yes, sometimes you just kind of think, well,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01I really wish you would pick up your rubbish and people that
0:07:01 > 0:07:02don't quite make it to the toilet...
0:07:02 > 0:07:04What you get out of it?
0:07:04 > 0:07:09I love my job, I thoroughly enjoy my job.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Our trains have not had a deep clean for a substantial amount of time
0:07:12 > 0:07:13now.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15It is about time we started moving the right direction,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18so this is very much the first of towards a long-term cleaner
0:07:18 > 0:07:19future for our trains.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20The deep cleaning a short-term fix.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Over the next two years, every South Western Railway vehicle
0:07:23 > 0:07:27will be refurbished, or replaced.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33Paul Clifton reporting.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It's a new festive trend in the capital - igloos.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39These cosy constructions are popping up on rooftops and along the Thames.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40They're becoming popular venues for socialising
0:07:40 > 0:07:44during the chilly weather - but can cost up to £600
0:07:44 > 0:07:50to rent for an evening.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Kate is in the studio, do we need some igloos over the next few days?
0:07:55 > 0:08:00You might do come Thursday, it is getting much colder. This afternoon,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03we are looking at some sunshine. We started with one or two spots of
0:08:03 > 0:08:08rain but they quickly clear down to the south-east, revealing this, blue
0:08:08 > 0:08:13sky and sunshine and we will hand on -- hang onto this sunshine, some
0:08:13 > 0:08:14patchy cloud around but not
0:08:15 > 0:08:15-- hang onto this sunshine, some patchy cloud around but not getting
0:08:15 > 0:08:18in the way. It is still feeling cold. We have this north-westerly
0:08:18 > 0:08:23breeze so despite the sunshine, it will not feel to warm at all,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27maximum six or seven but factor in the wind and it will feel a few
0:08:27 > 0:08:30degrees colder, so a chilly afternoon and as we head into the
0:08:30 > 0:08:35evening, cloud rolling in from the north. We did, one of two showers
0:08:35 > 0:08:39falling as rain, so a bit of breeze overnight. Further west, you may get
0:08:39 > 0:08:43a clearer spell so might get a sparkle of frost but most places
0:08:43 > 0:08:47staying frost free, minimum temperature between two and three
0:08:47 > 0:08:56Celsius. A chilly start tomorrow morning, a bit more clout tomorrow,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58showers feeding in from the North with sunny spells in between but
0:08:58 > 0:09:00again, that north-westerly breeze, it will still feel pretty cold, very
0:09:00 > 0:09:03similar sort of day, similar temperature of maximum six or seven.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Very cold as we head overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Widespread
0:09:08 > 0:09:11frost for Thursday morning, the breeze still with us from the north
0:09:11 > 0:09:15and the chance showers moving in from the east. The air particularly
0:09:15 > 0:09:19cold, temperatures up at five but more likely to feel like zero.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Well, that is it from me.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Louisa Preston will be here with our 6:30 evening programme.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26But for now, from us all, a very good afternoon.