25/01/2018 London News

On BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.

Welcome to BBC London News.

I'm Sara Orchard.

The problem of class A drugs

in Tower Hamlets has become so bad,

the council have funded 14

neighbourhood police officers to

patrol properties in certain areas.

This morning they carried out

a number of raids to tackle

the issue and our reporter

Greg McKenzie was there.

It's eight o'clock at a tower block

in Stepney in east London,

and the Met's Operation Continuum

is in full swing.

Show us your hands!

Show us your hands!

Its aim - restrict and disrupt

the local drug supply.

This morning's raid comes

following a tip-off

from neighbourhood police officers

who were stationed on the estate,

who believe there are a number

of class A drugs hidden

in the property.

Tower Hamlets has the highest

concentration of crack cocaine

and heroin addicts than any

other London borough.

The problem is really bad.

We have schoolchildren coming home

from school finding people

on the stairwells injecting

themselves.

We have residents who are too scared

to go to their cars in the evening

because of drug dealers that have

occupied the area and they

intimidate residents.

Over the last 12 months,

police have executed more than 150

search warrants for drugs,

and they say they're charging

on average two people a week.

We've had more than 30

arrests so far to date,

it's been very successful but we're

using not only the criminal justice

powers but also other powers

of legislation,

working with our partners

at Tower Hamlets local authority

so we are trying to look at a bigger

picture and get

to the heart of the problem.

And also it may

jeopardise their tenancy.

Two suspects - a tenant

at the property and another

man, both in their 20s

- were arrested.

During an extensive search

of the flat, officers discovered

what they came looking for.

A large quantity of class

A drugs and cannabis.

All the evidence gathered

will now be used to build

a case against the men,

who will eventually

have their day in court.

Greg McKenzie, BBC London news.

A former prison-officer

at Belmarsh, who was sent to prison

himself for being the paid source

for a newspaper reporter

is fighting to clear his name.

Bob Norman is going to

the European Court of Human Rights

to claim he was a whistle blower

on subjects like staff

shortages and was acting

in the public interest.

That claim was rejected

by the courts in this country

and he was jailed for 20 months.

Sarah Harris reports.

Maximum security.

Belmarsh is home to some of the most

dangerous prisoners in the country,

but it's been accused

of being a hotbed for extremism

and being badly run.

Bob Norman was a prison officer

here for 23 years before deciding

to become a whistle-blower

to a newspaper reporter.

I didn't actually go to them first.

I tried the MP,

the Houses of Parliament

and the then Home Secretary,

writing to them with the concerns

about HMP Belmarsh

and what was going on there.

I received, "thank you,

we are aware of certain situations"

or "it's all being dealt

with at a higher level than you".

I felt as though it

wasn't the policy of

the committee at Belmarsh.

I felt something had to be done.

I felt that much...

that badly about it that

something had to be done,

and the public had to be made aware

of what was going on inside.

But in the aftermath of the Leveson

inquiry into press ethics,

Bob was sent to prison

for misconduct in public office.

The Daily Mirror named him

and gave details of payments

it gave of around £150

a month for five years

for the information.

Now, the barrister leading

the appeal to the European Court

says the paper should not have

revealed their source

and the payments should not have

been an issue.

There is no law anywhere that says

that someone can't be paid

for speaking to the press.

I think we all know there's adverts,

even now, in the press advertising

the fact that if you've got a story,

we will pay.

Bob was jailed for 20

months in June, 2015,

and is now a free man.

He thinks it's fair he was sacked

for breaking the rules

but believes his punishment did not

match the wrongdoing.

The Daily Mirror did

not want to comment.

Bob believes it's important his name

is cleared to give encouragement

to others to speak out

if they believe

the system is failing.

Sarah Harris, BBC London news.

Police are appealing for witnesses

after a man died last night

following a multi-vehicle collision

on the A12 in Leytonstone.

Emergency services were called

to the A12 between Ruckholt Road

and Whipps Cross, and a 73-year-old

man was pronounced

dead at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed.

Kensington and Chelsea

Council are considering plans

to crackdown on excessive

Airbnb-style short letting,

after a string of complaints.

The council says it has received 91

complaints in the last

two years about homeowners renting

out their property on short lets

for more than the current

maximum of 90 days a year.

Under proposals, offenders

could be given fixed penalty

notices of up to £30,000.

A creative new musical

portraying the violent gang

culture amongst women

in Victorian London opens tonight.

Oranges And Elephants kicks off

an all-female spring

season at Hoxton Hall.

The productions sheds light

on the grim reality of life

for working class women in the 19th

Century.

In London there were these

women that survived

by theiving and they worked

in the

musicals, and that

was their way of life.

by theiving and they worked

in the

They had these gangs and supported

each other in that way.

From the Shard

to the Walkie-talkie,

the capital's skyline has changed

beyond recognition in

the last 20 years.

It's been documented by aerial

photographer, Jason Hawkes,

who takes these pictures of London

from a helicopter -

a job he describes as being one

of the best in the city.

There's only one way to get the best

views of London - go up.

Oh, it's the most beautiful city.

It's definitely one of my

favourite cities to see.

I've kind of shot all around

the world but when the weather

is nice and particularly

when the Thames glows.

For 20 years, Jason Hawkes has

been an eye in the sky,

documenting our changing capital.

Particularly recently,

it's incredible the amount

of changes going on in the city,

of course all round

Nine Elms development.

Even he, like most Londoners,

obsesses over the weather.

A lot of time the

weather is rubbish.

We get about one day every two weeks

that will be perfect

for this kind of flying.

Even though it's horrible

and cold out there, it's not

so bad as being in the rat

race, is it?

It's stunning, isn't it?

The funny thing is when you look

out, you can barely see any people.

It's almost like

everyone has gone home.

But sometimes he does happen

upon the extraordinary,

like this Justin Bieber concert

in Hyde Park, easily

the best view and free too.

Have you got a favourite picture,

anything you've done which really

captured the essence of London?

Well, I like this kind

of view from here actually.

Normally we would be a little

bit higher than this.

Particularly at dusk

when you have got the setting sun

straight down the river.

When all the lights start coming on,

it looks really amazing.

Would you say it's

the best job in London?

It's one of the best jobs.

It's good fun.

On a day like this it's

obviously very cold,

it's a little bit choppy today

so you can feel a little bit sick,

but yes, it's great fun.

Mark Ashdown, BBC London news.

Now let's check on the weather

with Elizabeth Rizzini.

Good afternoon. It was wet and windy

yesterday, but at last the sort of

whether we can get outside and

enjoy. Blue sky and sunshine and it

should stay like that for much of

the rest of the day. Maybe some

light showers up towards western

areas but most should stay dry. A

fresh, south-westerly wind. Through

this evening and overnight, I think

we will see clear spells around at

first, increasing amounts of cloud

for the second part of tonight. If

we get any prolonged clear spells we

could have a locally chilly start

but otherwise lots of cloud and we

will start off the day between four

and six Celsius. That cloud should

thin and break, we should stay dry

throughout the day and there will be

sunny spells to enjoy into the

afternoon, feeling a touch fresher

tomorrow. We have a weather front

coming our way on Saturday, a dry

start, then the cloud will thicken

and we will probably see outbreaks

of patchy light rain and drizzle

with a fairly brisk wind as we head

to the end of the day. Sunday, 13

degrees, but rather grey start with

some brighter spells into the

afternoon.

That's about it from me.

Riz Lateef will be here

with our 6:30pm programme.

But for now, from the lunch team,

have a very good afternoon.