0:00:00 > 0:00:00That's it.
0:00:00 > 0:00:00You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel,
0:00:03 > 0:00:04news where you are.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05Have a very good night.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Good evening and welcome to BBC London News,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19with me, Louisa Preston.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22A gay man who was left with permanent damage
0:00:22 > 0:00:24after being punched in an attack in east London,
0:00:24 > 0:00:25has spoken about the assault.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Last year, more than 2,000 homophobic hate crimes were reported
0:00:28 > 0:00:29to the Metropolitan Police.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Thomas Magill reports.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37The moment Gordon Maxwell's night out turned nasty -
0:00:37 > 0:00:39attacked, he believes, just for being gay.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'm really certain it was a hate crime because he just saw me.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I was just standing there in a dress, a bit of make-up on,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49dressed up for Christmas at a gay club, hundreds of guys
0:00:49 > 0:00:56who looked like me inside.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57I was just unlucky, really.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Gordon needed reconstructive surgery and may have permanent nerve damage
0:00:59 > 0:01:08after the single punch outside the Troxy nightclub
0:01:08 > 0:01:11on the 3rd of December.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13It's an ordeal that he says has changed his life.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's totally shattered my confidence, really,
0:01:15 > 0:01:16as well as my cheekbones.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Certainly couldn't go to bars or clubs or continue my life
0:01:19 > 0:01:20as it was at the moment.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23It's going to take quite a long time to rebuild that, I think.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26There were barriers along here and he was assaulted just outside here.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Officers are looking for two men following the assault.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31One's described as white and wearing a hood, whilst the other is thought
0:01:31 > 0:01:33to be a black or Asian man.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We're very keen to speak to members of the public that think
0:01:36 > 0:01:39they have any information, anything that they may have that can
0:01:39 > 0:01:42help us identify him, we are very keen to speak to them.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44So homophobic hate crime, which includes the type of attack
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Gordon went through at the Troxy in December, is on
0:01:46 > 0:01:49the rise in London.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Last year there were over 2200 incidents reported to the Met,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55something they say they're keen to do something about.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Gordon says that despite feeling vulnerable now, he will get better
0:01:57 > 0:02:01and has this message for his attacker.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Why are you so threatened by a guy in a dress?
0:02:04 > 0:02:06What's so scary about that?
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Why do you feel that you have to attack that,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and why are you so insecure about your own masculinity
0:02:11 > 0:02:13to have to do that?
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Thomas Magill, BBC London News.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has condemned the Parole Board's
0:02:19 > 0:02:23decision to release the black cab rapist John Worboys.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25On Twitter, the Mayor said:
0:02:25 > 0:02:27"I'm astonished by the decision to release John Worboys.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30The Parole Board must listen to his victims and he should not be
0:02:30 > 0:02:36allowed to set foot in London."
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Residents living near a compost waste site in Hertfordshire have
0:02:39 > 0:02:41taken to the streets to protest over what they call a toxic
0:02:41 > 0:02:50and unhealthy recycling company.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52People living near to the site in Elstree say
0:02:52 > 0:02:54the stench from the site has plagued them for years.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55Tolu Adeoye reports.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57CHANTING:What do we want? Cleaner air!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59When do we want it? Now!
0:02:59 > 0:03:00For years, residents living near Reviva Composting have
0:03:00 > 0:03:03complained about an unbearable smell coming from the site.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04It's sickening, it really is sickening.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05We have to shut our windows.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Really, really suffocating and just makes you feel really
0:03:10 > 0:03:11unwell.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14From above, you can see the scale of the site.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18There's capacity to recycle 78,000 tonnes of organic material.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21The Environment Agency has told us that Reviva hold a bespoke permit,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25which means they can operate within 250 metres of
0:03:25 > 0:03:27residential properties.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Now, as part of that permit, all composting activities must take
0:03:30 > 0:03:32place inside a building, but they can store material that's
0:03:32 > 0:03:39waiting to be composted outside, as well as the finished product.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41In a statement, the Environment Agency also said:
0:03:41 > 0:03:43If you're asking me about the authorities,
0:03:43 > 0:03:44I'm really, really angry, because they haven't shown me
0:03:52 > 0:03:55If you're asking me about the authorities,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57I'm really, really angry, because they haven't shown me
0:03:57 > 0:04:01that they really care.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04We approached Reviva for comment but nobody has yet come back to us.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07The Environment Agency says it's meeting with the area's local
0:04:07 > 0:04:09MP later this month, to discuss the issues
0:04:09 > 0:04:10raised by residents.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Tolu Adeoye, BBC London News.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Let's find out what the weather's got in store for us
0:04:16 > 0:04:18with Sara Thornton.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Good evening.
0:04:19 > 0:04:25A change to our weather across London in the coming days.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28The gloom we've had been replaced by some wet and windy
0:04:28 > 0:04:29weather to start us off.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Behind that, much brighter but it will feel significantly
0:04:31 > 0:04:32colder from Tuesday.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Not a great Monday morning commute, wet and windy.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36The rain itself clearing away in the afternoon
0:04:36 > 0:04:40but followed by some sharp showers.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42These temperatures are earlier on in the day,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44by the end of the day, feeling quite a bit colder,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47a feel that will persist into the middle part of the week,
0:04:47 > 0:04:52although there will be some sunshine.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55That's it - we'll back tomorrow morning, but from all of us
0:04:55 > 0:05:01on the team, goodnight.