0:00:00 > 0:00:00levels. Still some uncertainty in the detail.
0:00:00 > 0:00:01That's all from the BBC News at One - so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Welcome to BBC London News.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I'm Katharine Carpenter.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20BBC London has learnt that eight councils in and around London have
0:00:20 > 0:00:24entered unfair contracts with water companies to directly
0:00:24 > 0:00:26charge their tenants.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Up to 170,000 council tenants may now be due a pay out.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Last year we revealed how Southwark was ordered to pay out millions
0:00:33 > 0:00:36of pounds in refunds by the High Court for
0:00:36 > 0:00:39illegally reselling water.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Alex Bushill has this exclusive report.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Getting rinsed for your water bills.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Lorraine is a council tenant on a low income,
0:00:46 > 0:00:53but now high on the list of those due a pay-out, running
0:00:53 > 0:00:55perhaps to hundreds of pounds.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It would benefit me in a lot of ways, food, pay the bills.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I would not have been struggling so much to actually live day-to-day.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04So what has gone wrong for Lorraine and thousands
0:01:04 > 0:01:06of other tenants like her?
0:01:06 > 0:01:09This is what you would expect to see, Thames Water selling
0:01:09 > 0:01:11direct to its customers.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Instead some councils got involved as middlemen,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17reselling the water to its tenants.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21In one Southwark case it did not pass on the discount it was given
0:01:21 > 0:01:25by Thames Water for buying in bulk.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28It is also worth stressing that if now tenants fell
0:01:28 > 0:01:30into arrears with the council, effectively their landlord,
0:01:30 > 0:01:31they could now face eviction.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34And that could never have happened if the debt was simply
0:01:34 > 0:01:35with the water company.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Lorraine says that is exactly what happened to her.
0:01:38 > 0:01:46If I was paying my water bill directly to the water company,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49they would not be allowed to cut my water.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51They would have to take me to court themselves
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and I wouldn't face eviction.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58I think it is really disgraceful because they are taking money out
0:01:58 > 0:02:02of people's pockets that a lot of them are on low
0:02:02 > 0:02:12incomes and basically they are benefiting from it.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Lorraine's council, Enfield have confirmed they have a similar deal
0:02:15 > 0:02:18with Thames Water and have now changed its policies to be
0:02:18 > 0:02:19compliant with the ruling.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21They have also banked £2 million for future pay-outs.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23The lawyer investigating the claims say even where payments
0:02:23 > 0:02:26are being made by councils a closer look may be needed.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Some of them are saying they are waiting for a legal challenge.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36Others are trying to make small payments below the radar.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Some tenants are having small payments, £50, that kind of amount
0:02:42 > 0:02:47made into their bank account or credited against arrears. Some
0:02:47 > 0:02:53councils are clearly hoping they can dispose of this problem and a few
0:02:53 > 0:02:56people against the massive discount and a true compensation should be
0:02:56 > 0:03:00paid.Enfield have said they have had no complaint from Lorraine yet
0:03:00 > 0:03:08but are happy to discuss one. What is so unusual about this case is
0:03:08 > 0:03:11that it is local authorities who stand accused of exploiting their
0:03:11 > 0:03:12more vulnerable residents.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14more vulnerable residents.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Homes in West London have been flooded by a second large
0:03:16 > 0:03:20scale leak in the area.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Thames Water has sent tankers and supplies of bottled water
0:03:23 > 0:03:25to Goldhawk Road this morning after the water main
0:03:25 > 0:03:26burst overnight.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Some residents say they were trapped in their homes as levels rose.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Thames Water has apologised and says it's working to return things
0:03:31 > 0:03:33to normal as quickly as possible.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It follows a large flood in King Street over the weekend.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Today the Mayor launched his unlimited hopper fare on the buses
0:03:38 > 0:03:41which means you can take as many journeys as you want
0:03:41 > 0:03:42within one hour.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45It comes as figures show a drop in the number of bus trips taken
0:03:45 > 0:03:47in the capital and today Transport for London confirmed some
0:03:48 > 0:03:49services have been cut.
0:03:49 > 0:03:56Here's our Transport Correspondent Tom Edwards.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01If you have noticed it can take a little longer to get a buzz, you are
0:04:01 > 0:04:06not wrong. Services in London are being cut. There are still 6 million
0:04:06 > 0:04:11journeys a day on the capital's buses.The bus service I use is
0:04:11 > 0:04:16pretty regular, but other services are not so good.The only thing I
0:04:16 > 0:04:24can complain about actually is the drivers.Are they regular?Yes, they
0:04:24 > 0:04:35are. In 2016, buses travelled 495 million kilometres. In 2017 it fell
0:04:35 > 0:04:41to 490 million, a drop of 1%. And bus passengers have fallen by 6%
0:04:41 > 0:04:46over the last three years. This morning the Mayor launched his
0:04:46 > 0:04:51hopper affair, meaning unlimited bus trips within an hour. Is the bus
0:04:51 > 0:04:57service in London in decline?No, not at all. I am committed to bus
0:04:57 > 0:05:02services in London. In Outer London you will see more buses. In central
0:05:02 > 0:05:06London there will be fewer buses because of the Elizabeth line coming
0:05:06 > 0:05:10in and the Oxford Street pedestrianisation. But I want to
0:05:10 > 0:05:13make sure buses are where they are needed most. No one wants to see
0:05:13 > 0:05:19empty double-decker buses driving around London. We want to see buses
0:05:19 > 0:05:23in pies of London where people need more buses and with the unlimited
0:05:23 > 0:05:28hopper in makes it far more attractive.The unlimited hopper
0:05:28 > 0:05:34will also cost £35 million a year in lost revenue. TfL's finances are
0:05:34 > 0:05:39already under strain so it will mean more efficiencies.It will increase
0:05:39 > 0:05:44the number of bus journeys, but it will reduce our income a little bit.
0:05:44 > 0:05:51It means more journeys for free. But as the Mayor has said, TfL has been
0:05:51 > 0:05:54on the path of reducing costs aggressively in the past few years
0:05:54 > 0:05:59and that will pay for the hopper. Opponents say much deeper cuts are
0:05:59 > 0:06:05planned for bus services and the Mayor says his unlimited hopper will
0:06:05 > 0:06:06benefit 13,000 travellers every day.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07travellers every day.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10A principal dancer at the Royal Ballet is marking 20 years
0:06:10 > 0:06:13with the company in a special ceremony tomorrow evening.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Marianela Nunez came to London when she was just 15 and made
0:06:16 > 0:06:19the capital her home.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Traditionally ballerinas are honoured in this way
0:06:21 > 0:06:24only when they retire as Wendy Hurrell reports.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27PIANO MUSIC.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30In five-star reviews for her performance in Gisele
0:06:30 > 0:06:34at the Royal Opera house, Marianela Nunez is being described
0:06:34 > 0:06:39as the best ballerina in Britain.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I was three years old when I started, my mum
0:06:43 > 0:06:46was desperate after three boys to go pink everywhere.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Literally that is why I love pink so much.
0:06:51 > 0:06:58And she sent me to ballet lessons and it was literally what I wanted.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00A long way away from that large and loving family,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04speaking no English and at the age of just 15, she arrived in London.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Suddenly I was here, I joined the company and then
0:07:09 > 0:07:15I became a principal and there were other principals,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17like Darcey Bussell, Sylvie Guillem Vivian Adurante,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Leanne Benjamin, and these were all my idols, you know.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And that 20-year career at the Royal Ballet will be
0:07:22 > 0:07:23celebrated tomorrow evening.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Following the performance there will be speeches
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and a shower of flowers, a tradition reserved
0:07:28 > 0:07:30for retiring dancers.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I will definitely get emotional, I know it.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Actually thinking about it now it does make me...
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Yes, it really is going to be very special.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45This is a principal dancer who has to remind herself she is no more
0:07:45 > 0:07:50that little three-year-old dreaming of becoming a ballerina.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54I love this place, it is a very special place.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I say the Opera House is my home and the Royal Ballet
0:07:57 > 0:08:00is my family and I just love it with all my heart.
0:08:00 > 0:08:09I really do.
0:08:09 > 0:08:09Many congratulations to her.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Many congratulations to her.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Now the Weather with Kate Kinsella.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Now the Weather with Kate Kinsella.
0:08:16 > 0:08:26It was not especially pleasant this morning, but gradually it is
0:08:26 > 0:08:29starting to clear away. We have seen breaks in the cloud and sunny
0:08:29 > 0:08:33spells. It will still be quite breezy and the showers will blow
0:08:33 > 0:08:40through on that chilly winter. Despite the arrival of some sunshine
0:08:40 > 0:08:45it will still feel cold. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather
0:08:45 > 0:08:49warning for overnight tonight for ice. Any moisture from the rain
0:08:49 > 0:08:54today could freeze on any untreated roads and services. There is a clear
0:08:54 > 0:08:58spell at the beginning of the evening, great for viewing the super
0:08:58 > 0:09:03moon. And then there will be some showers and they could be a little
0:09:03 > 0:09:08bit wintry as temperatures fall down to two or three. Tomorrow, plenty of
0:09:08 > 0:09:12sunny spells, but it will feel cold in the north-westerly breeze.
0:09:12 > 0:09:20Showers could fall on high ground. They will be a little wintry. Join
0:09:20 > 0:09:24us at 6:30pm this evening and until then you can keep upto date with
0:09:24 > 0:09:27everything online and at the BBC. Goodbye.