0:00:00 > 0:00:01windy as we look towards the end of the week.
0:00:01 > 0:00:14That's all from the BBC News at One - so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Welcome to BBC London News.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I'm Katharine Carpenter.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20where there isn't enough money
0:00:20 > 0:00:21to pay the mortgage.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24That's how the finances of Transport for London have been described
0:00:24 > 0:00:27in a leaked internal email obtained by BBC London.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30It lays bare the challenges caused by budget cuts, with staff in one
0:00:30 > 0:00:33division being told they need to look at ways to cut costs.
0:00:33 > 0:00:40Here's our transport correspondent Tom Edwards.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This is where Transport for London is based in Southwark,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and this organisation is wrestling with cuts and trying
0:00:45 > 0:00:48to balance its budget.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We've been given an internal staff e-mail where managers say TfL
0:00:51 > 0:00:58will make a loss next year of £968 million.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01This e-mail spells out in black and white TfL's financial position,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and it's not pretty.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08For example, it says after day-to-day operating costs,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10there's not enough money to pay for renewals.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15That's planned repairs on things like roads to make them last longer.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20And there's not enough money to pay interest on money borrowed.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22It goes on to say if this was a household budget,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25there wouldn't be enough money left over to pay the mortgage
0:01:25 > 0:01:29or get the car serviced.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Already, bus services will see a cut of 7%.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Many senior managers have left.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Extra Tube trains have been cancelled.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Insiders say staff are angry.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45The e-mail blames the cut on the Government grant,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48which at one time was £700 million a year.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51It also blames a decrease in passenger numbers
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and a drop in the income from the congestion charge.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59It doesn't blame the Mayor's partial fares freeze,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02which will also cost £640 million.
0:02:02 > 0:02:10It says that has actually cushioned the fall in passenger numbers.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14In the surface transport division, though, which covers buses,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17the Overground and the DLR, the warnings are, "We are still
0:02:17 > 0:02:18forecasting to miss our budget.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20We need to reduce our costs accordingly".
0:02:20 > 0:02:23The e-mail says that TfL can sustain its position in the short
0:02:23 > 0:02:24term by using its savings.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27However, there is a warning.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30It says "This is clearly not a sustainable position to be
0:02:30 > 0:02:34in as an organisation".
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They've been accustomed to good times at TfL.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Now the taps are being turned off slightly and they will have
0:02:40 > 0:02:41to deal with that.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45They do have options, but many of those choices are difficult.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Today, TfL said its budget is balanced,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53it's investing record sums and it will be able to deliver the cuts.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55It says its efficiency programme has already saved nearly
0:02:55 > 0:02:59£200 million this year.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01But commentators warn that TfL is facing a perfect storm financially,
0:03:02 > 0:03:09with many challenges ahead.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12A man's been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a police
0:03:12 > 0:03:15officer following a high speed chase on the M25 in Surrey.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Officers pursued the car from Caterham at around
0:03:17 > 0:03:20three this morning.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It left the motorway at junction 9, where it was brought to a stop.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26During the chase, the car drove towards a Metropolitan Police
0:03:26 > 0:03:28officer deploying a stinger device, running over their foot.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33A number of police vehicles were also damaged during the incident.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Every police officer in Tower Hamlets is to get training
0:03:37 > 0:03:40on election law to try and prevent a repeat of the scandal
0:03:40 > 0:03:44that dogged polling in the borough four years ago.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47That election had to be re-run after the mayor Lutfur Rahman
0:03:47 > 0:03:51was ruled to have acted illegally and corruptly.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Our political correspondent Karl Mercer is with me.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55It seems there's a determined effort to avoid a repeat
0:03:55 > 0:04:00for the 2014 election.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Yes, there is a sorry history of electoral malpractice in Tower
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Hamlets, exemplified last time when Lutfur Rahman won the election but
0:04:08 > 0:04:13then an election court ruled later that he had won it illegally. So
0:04:13 > 0:04:17police officers have put in a lot of effort this time. We heard from the
0:04:17 > 0:04:20London Assembly this morning, the borough commander in Tower Hamlets,
0:04:20 > 0:04:25saying what police are doing. From now until March, 620 police officers
0:04:25 > 0:04:29are going to be trained. They will have two hour sessions on the
0:04:29 > 0:04:34history of elections in the borough, but also of community tensions and a
0:04:34 > 0:04:38special bit on election law. Police staff and detectives will be
0:04:38 > 0:04:41trained, and on polling day itself, there will be at least one police
0:04:41 > 0:04:46officer on every polling station. We were told police leave has been
0:04:46 > 0:04:52cancelled for that day as well.Plus challenges for the local authority?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Yeah. They say they have learned lessons from what happened before
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and have put in new things. If there are more than five voters registered
0:04:59 > 0:05:03at one house, for example, they are visiting them specially and making
0:05:03 > 0:05:07sure it checked out. There are also extra checks being done on postal
0:05:07 > 0:05:12voting, which was one of the significant issues identified by the
0:05:12 > 0:05:15election court. So a lot of work is being done, but there are no
0:05:15 > 0:05:17promises that it will be trouble-free.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have opened
0:05:21 > 0:05:22a new electricity superhighway supplying power
0:05:22 > 0:05:24to the capital today.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Prince Charles went underground to learn more about the seven year
0:05:26 > 0:05:30project to rewire the capital via 20 miles of tunnels to
0:05:30 > 0:05:33meet growing demand.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35To mark the centenary of women getting the right
0:05:36 > 0:05:38to vote, we've been
0:05:38 > 0:05:40speaking to some of the pioneers who have lived through
0:05:40 > 0:05:42the changes that followed.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44At 101 years old, Mary Ellis is the last surviving female pilot
0:05:44 > 0:05:46from the Second World War.
0:05:46 > 0:05:54Sarah Harris went to meet her.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00She was born before women first got the vote, and became an aviation
0:06:00 > 0:06:05pioneer. Even at 101 years old, Mary likes to visit Biggin Hill to see
0:06:05 > 0:06:10the plane she flew solo during the Second World War, much to the shock
0:06:10 > 0:06:13of the male ground crew who initially refused to take her to
0:06:13 > 0:06:22check in.We can't go, we are waiting for the pilot. And I said, I
0:06:22 > 0:06:27am the pilot! There was little me in my navy blue and gold blazer, you
0:06:27 > 0:06:36know. They wouldn't believe me. They sent two men in to search the
0:06:36 > 0:06:45aeroplane to make sure. NEWSREEL: The third anniversary of
0:06:45 > 0:06:47the Battle of Britain...Female pilots flew the planes from the
0:06:47 > 0:06:51factories where they were made to RAF bases, but that didn't keep them
0:06:51 > 0:06:56out of danger.Along came another aeroplane beside me, with German
0:06:56 > 0:07:04markings on it. And I thought, ooh, my goodness. I hadn't seen one of
0:07:04 > 0:07:08those before. And I waved him away like that, and he waved to me like
0:07:08 > 0:07:20that. I was so frightened. And eventually, he did go. Thank
0:07:20 > 0:07:26goodness.Now Mary encourages other young women to take up flying in a
0:07:26 > 0:07:32world still dominated by men. She says there's nothing quite like it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Up in the air on your own, and you can do whatever you like.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Now let's check on the weather, with Kate Kinsella.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50Still chilly out there.Yes, and it will stay cold, especially tonight.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Today, many of us woke up to a very chilly start. We had a bit of snow,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00mainly towards the east. In parts of Essex, we had a dusting of snow. And
0:08:00 > 0:08:04we had a bit towards the north of London as well. But gradually, the
0:08:04 > 0:08:07snow showers have been clearing away and we have got sunshine. Despite
0:08:07 > 0:08:13the cold weather, we are seeing little glimpses of spring. Let's
0:08:13 > 0:08:18hang onto those as we go through this chilly afternoon. We have got
0:08:18 > 0:08:20some sunshine and it is a nice afternoon if you don't mind the
0:08:20 > 0:08:29cold. The northerly breeze has cleared the cloud away, so it is a
0:08:29 > 0:08:35sunny afternoon, but chilly temperatures. We are looking at a
0:08:35 > 0:08:40maximum of six Celsius inside the M25. If you factor in the wind, it
0:08:40 > 0:08:44will feel colder. Tonight, the temperature is set to drop right
0:08:44 > 0:08:53down, a really cold night. A bitterly cold start to tomorrow
0:08:53 > 0:08:58morning, but a bright and sunny one. Gradually tomorrow, we will start to
0:08:58 > 0:09:03the cloud feeding in from the north-west. So to turn grey, but
0:09:03 > 0:09:06overnight, we pick up a south-westerly wind. So it is not
0:09:06 > 0:09:11going to feel quite so bitter. Then another cold front overnight,
0:09:11 > 0:09:16bringing with it a bit of rain as we head into Friday morning. But the
0:09:16 > 0:09:19less cold air does not stay long, as it starts to feel chilly again by
0:09:19 > 0:09:22the time we get to the weekend.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24That's about it from me.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Riz Lateef will be here with our 6:30 evening programme.
0:09:26 > 0:09:35But for now, from us all, a very good afternoon.