Transcription
Welcome to BBC London with me, Assad Armad. Coming up on the program, residents near Heathrow Airport say their village could become uninhabitable if changes are made to runways.
"It's the intention to start using the northern runway for takeoff. That that that would just make this village uninhabitable."
Well, Heathrow says it will mean a fair distribution of noise. Also on the program, calls for Thames Water to improve their service after families were forced from their homes after a huge water main burst in West London.
"I like it because it you can have fun and make friends."
"I feel like when I'm going really fast, I feel quite happy."
How cycling is saving the NHS money and keeping these children, well, very happy. Ahead of the Traitors final tonight, I'm at one of the many venues in and around the capital where people are coming along for a Traitors watch party. Join me later, whether you're a faithful or a traitor. Good evening.
I'm Assad Armed. As plans come together to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, residents in a nearby village which will be destroyed by the expansion say it'll become uninhabitable even before then. They fear noise and pollution will make it impossible to live there. And they've already seen people and local businesses setting up and leaving the area. Here's our transport correspondent, Tom Edwards.
Longford is the closest village to Heathrow's Northern Runway. Now they're going to get more planes taking off next to them and it's a real concern.
"Yes. The intention to start using the Northern Runway for takeoff that that that would just make this village uninhabitable."
"Really?"
"I think so. Yeah. The noise and pollution. How can you live with aircraft with what 2 250 m if that?"
"Ridiculous."
"I think it's still uncertainty. It leaves um in people's minds, you know, you're you're not uh sure what to expect um because there's there's we're not being given u sufficient information."
The village had been protected from planes taking off into easterly winds by something called the Cranford agreement. That though has been scrapped. It means both runways will be used for takeoffs to the east. The airport says it will build a noise barrier and the changes will make noise distribution fairer.
"The pollution in those towns. The noise in those towns will be devastating."
Christian Hughes is from the residents association. He says it's not just Longford that will be affected. Some areas like Windsor will get fewer planes. Others like Hounslow will get many more.
"We're not at the at the end of it. We're at the side of it. So we're impacted whether you're taking off or landing, but more so we will be impacted by takeoffs because they will start here. They will put on thrust and the fumes that that will be uh uh you know as a result of of takeoffs will make our village particularly un unlivable."
Heathrow says easterly alternation will provide predictable noise respite to more of the local community and it will mean noise is shared more equally. This is also one day where the third runway could be. The whole village would then be demolished. Living in the shadow of a changing Heathrow can be very difficult. Tom Edwards, BBC London.
Yeah, concerns over the Heathrow expansion is our top story this evening. But still to come on the program, in less than two hours, the Traitors final. Find out why the show has boosted business in London venues. A man with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a grandmother to death at a bus stop in North London is to be detained indefinitely. 24-year-old Jala Debella attacked Anita Mui at random before it was said he casually walked away while people rushed to help the victim. Debella was found to be too mentally unwell to stand trial. Anna O'Neal has this report.
This is Jala Debella captured on CCTV the morning he stabbed a 66-year-old grandmother to death at a bus stop in Colindale. The 24-year-old paranoid schizophrenic attacked the victim in front of horrified passers-by in May 2024. He'd ordered a hunting knife online that had been delivered to where he lived an hour before, despite the fact that where he lived was a staffed and registered mental health rehabilitation home. Jala Debella had been deemed unfit to stand trial for murder, but this week a jury determined he was responsible for the killing of Anita Mui at a bus stop in Colindale in May 2024 by stabbing her. Today a judge at the Old Bailey agreed he would remain indefinitely in Ashworth High-security Hospital in Maghull, adding that should Debella ever become well enough to be released he should be referred immediately into the criminal justice system to stand trial for murder.
In a statement from Mrs. Mui's family outside court, read by a Met police detective, they questioned how Debella was deemed not to be a risk to the community. The court has heard a man with severe mental illness was known to services and assessed by consultant psychiatrists as psychologically stable and safe for the community. At the same time, he was engaging in escalating behaviour outside those assessments, including acquiring weapons and researching extreme violence. He was doing so at a mental health facility that was previously registered by the Care Quality Commission. In a statement, the CQC told us the services being provided at the time did not fall into CQC's scope of regulation and their registration was made dormant. As the services provided did not come under CQC's regulatory powers, we would not be able to formally pursue this matter or comment on the details of this tragic case.
An inquest into Mrs. Mui's death has been opened and adjourned. Anna O'Neal, BBC London.
Well, let's take a look at some other news making the headlines in and around London today. A driver has admitted killing a London teenager who'd only been freed from jail in Dubai a few months earlier. 19-year-old Marcus Viana was imprisoned after having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl in 2024. He was killed in a crash in Tottenham in October. 20-year-old Marwan Husin crashed into a lorry while trying to escape police. Transport for London has admitted extra bus lanes and low traffic neighbourhoods have increased congestion for cars in parts of London. The measures are part of TfL's effort to make 80% of journeys by walking, cycling, or on public transport. And a young man who died after he jumped into the Thames to save a woman has been awarded the King's Commendation for bravery. 20-year-old Fer Jimmy Olubri Adewale jumped into the river to help a woman who was struggling five years ago. She was eventually rescued by the Coast Guard, but Jimmy couldn't be found. And there are more stories and the latest updates on your local BBC News website, also on the BBC News app.
Andrew Rosindell, the Romford MP, who resigned from the Conservatives to join the Reform Party, has told BBC London he'd like Havering to be an independent borough. He says he has Reform Party leader Nigel Farage's backing. The defection took place last Sunday, making Rosindell the third sitting MP to leave the Tories for Reform.
"One of the things that I'm passionate about is Havering, which is my borough, and not being tied to the Mayor of London. And I would like Havering to be more of an independent borough. And Nigel has said to me that Havering could have that choice. We could actually be independent from Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London and the City Hall bureaucracy. So I'm really keen on that."
Yeah, you can hear more of that interview. It's worth listening to uh and other political London stories as well on Politics London, which is this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on BBC 1.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a huge burst water main left thousands of people with either no water or with a low water pressure. Shepherd's Bush, Holland Park, Kensington, and Notting Hill were all affected with flooding also causing problems to some roads. Boats were used to rescue people. Well, Thames Water has apologised, but the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea wants more. As Alice Bandlerly reports.
"Well, it's now day three of this major incident for residents living here. And I say living here, they're not living here anymore. 31 households have had to be evacuated. Uh, and those people are staying in a nearby hotel. But as you can see, work has been underway to try and clear the area and make it safe. And yes, thousands were left with either no water or low water pressure. And that continues as work is underway to fix this massive burst water main. As you can see from these pictures, it caused an unbelievable amount of damage. The water waist-high for people living in some of these homes. Kensington and Chelsea Council has been liaising between residents and the various departments who may be able to help them from the council. They believe that one of the reasons this happened is a lack of investment by Thames Water. They chaired a meeting between residents and Thames Water last night and this is how they described the atmosphere in the room. They say that residents are distressed and frustrated."
"What they want to know is where they're going to be housed over the coming weeks and months. That they don't yet have that certainty and that's, as you can imagine, exacerbating some of the pressure that they're facing right now. Uh, they want to know what will happen with loss adjustments so that their costs can be met, and they want to see that plan for investment in the area."
"Now Thames Water has apologised for what happened here in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They have declined our offer of an interview but they gave us this statement. They said, 'Our teams are making good progress on the ground um and that has been cleared as we prepare to excavate the area and then begin the repair work safely. This will be a complex repair. Thames Water is working with other stakeholders and doing everything it can to help those affected customers to return to their homes as soon as it is safe and practicable.' But the local MP, Jo Powell, says this is a problem that Thames Water need to fix once and for all."
"Well, we want them to be transparent about the cause. Um, you know, I I saw some uh body saying yesterday, well, it's a mains water burst. It's just the way it is. I don't think that's good enough for our residents. We want real accountability and we want a plan to prevent this happening again because it happens far too often across London and unfortunately this neighbourhood has been particularly badly affected."
"And as I say, day three for those worst affected, their priority is finding out when they'll be able to go home."
Yeah, Alice Bandlerly reporting there. Well, the time now is 6:43. Let's have a look at what's still to come on the program. I've been in Burgess Park in southeast London today surveying the birds. And across London, we're all encouraged to do the same this weekend. I'll be telling you how. The governing body, British Cycling, is urging the government to use the buzz around the Tour de France coming here next year to invest tens of millions of pounds into community cycling facilities. It's claimed a previous wave of funding saved the NHS millions of pounds by keeping sections of the population, in their words, fit and healthy. Chris Leigh has more.
A typically busy afternoon at the Sutton BMX track. Coach Paulus Graham has seen up close the benefits the sport can bring.
"Cycling is a massive boost in terms of physical and mental health. Some of these kids learn stuff about resilience when they actually fall, how to get back up. Some of these kids are about mental discipline, actually getting out of bed, turning up at 9:00 a.m. or even coming in the evening and saying, 'This is what I'm going to be doing.'"
When the opening stages of the Tour de France come to the UK next year, a renewed surge in popularity of all forms of cycling is expected. So now is the time to fund the sport at grassroots level, says governing body British Cycling, which today called on the government to invest £30 million. British Cycling says this track in Sutton is the perfect example of what such funding can do. It says a £9,000 government investment here in 2022 has effectively led to £172,000 in social value through health, well-being, and other benefits. And it says further help from the government can help it create other places like this throughout London and beyond. Ed Clancy won three Olympic gold medals on the track. Today, he echoed British Cycling's pleas to the government.
"Just like what happened in the 2012 Olympics. Like, you know, there was just a real strong sense of um community and uh pride and yeah, I think that this Tour de France might remind us what that felt like. And wouldn't it be great to capitalize off the back of that, you know, with uh providing some safe, accessible places to ride for the next generation to get out there, you know, and enjoy the benefits of the great outdoors."
"What does it feel like when you're out there going really fast?"
"It feels cool. I feel like when I'm going really fast, I feel quite happy."
"I like it because it you can have fun and make friends."
"It's just been brilliant for her focus. Like um she can be quite a busy kid. Uh thinking about all kinds of things at the same..."
"She's off. She's busy."
"Exactly."
The government said today it recognises the importance of cycling in the UK and is providing £32 million to support the staging of next year's Tour de France. Chris Leigh, BBC London.
Well, staying with sport and it's another big weekend for football. Mr. Nicholas Godwin can tell us in a nutshell what's happening. We have some absolutely fascinating live football matches on BBC Radio London this weekend. We start at 12:00 tomorrow with West Ham who'd won their last two games against Sunderland. That's on DAB Digital Radio. We'll find out if the Hammers have actually turned a corner. Then at 3:00 on 94.9 FM on BBC Sounds and on DAB, we've got Tottenham's trip to Burnley. And then on Sunday at half 1 on DAB and on the BBC Sport website, Crystal Palace, who've had quite the fortnight, they're at home to Chelsea. Lots of unpredictable action. Make sure you join us for midday tomorrow.
There are just over 100 minutes to go before the start of this. The final of The Traitors is being eagerly awaited by millions of us. That was the real Traitors cloak, by the way. And it's been an outstanding series. And fear not, there is no way I can spoil the outcome of what happens tonight because I don't know. Some of the banished and murdered faithfuls over the last few weeks have actually told me that they didn't find out about some of the twists in the castle until the episodes were broadcast.
Well, like the old days of TV, the series has brought people together as many watch at the same time. And tonight is no exception. Luxotal is at one of the places that's gearing up for The Traitors final. Uh with apologies to Claudia Winkleman, this is the closest I had to a cloak. I hope she forgives me. Of course, it is the final of The Traitors. And I'm at the Regent in Balham, which is one of many places in and around the capital that's holding a watch party. So people can come along and watch together. In fact, it's also showing in cinemas around the capital as well. And for the watch party here, the 250 spaces sold out or were booked up so fast that when people inquired about more spaces because there was such demand for it, they had to direct Traitors fans to other places to go and have a watch party. It's incredible.
Let's speak now to Ellie Granger. Uh Ellie Granger is from Live Livelihood, which is uh the company that runs venues like this. And Ellie, what did you think of the demand?
"It was absolutely crazy. We have showed it a few times before. So we showed um last January, but this time we have seen an influx of bookings, three times compared to last year with over a thousand people trying to book. Um, as you mentioned, we really had to try and redirect them to one of our other six venues that were showing it as well."
And uh uh I mentioned uh that you know you've got to have you're going to have a screen up and I mentioned the different places having watch parties. What this behind you is very on theme. What are some of the things that you've done then to make it a Traitors watch party?
"Yeah, so we've got some of our great little props, our lanterns. We've also got our little stickers. I'm team traitor as you can see. So dotted round on tables. We've also managed to do some great cocktails. So we've actually got two just here. So we've also we've got the Taste of Treason and the Faith of Fancy, some fantastic drinks for different guests to have as well to enjoy the night."
"And in January when people are a bit cash-strapped after Christmas and it maybe doing Dry January, how much of a difference do you hope something like this can make to businesses like yours?"
"This is absolutely fantastic to have. Obviously at the end of Jan, we know that we have Blue Monday throughout that month and it's always a bit of a lull period. To have this to set off the year um for us is absolutely fantastic. And I think at a time where pubs are struggling, there's business rates and whatnot. To bring this type of revenue in across the board is absolutely fantastic."
Ellie, thank you. Now, as you can tell, I've been very careful to avoid any spoilers so far, but this is your spoiler alert. Consider this your warning for spoilers ahead. Is that enough time? Spoiler alert. Okay. Because now what we're going to do is take a look at the moment from last night because how dramatic was it? Have a look.
"So players, we still have a draw. Therefore, we will now leave this banishment in the hands of fate."
Yes. So, that was uh the cliffhanger cliffhanger last night. But also, as you know, we uh had to say goodbye to Roxy and she spoke to BBC Radio London. Have a listen.
"I think that people just have their own opinions and in there it's like your thoughts are the truth. So even if someone's shouting and screaming at you like the traitors are standing in front of you, you're just clouded by whatever you think at the time. And I also think the traitors were so great and just managed to, you know, shy things away really quickly and easily."
And as Ellie was mentioning, there are plenty of Traitors things here, including the cocktails she was mentioning. I think you can guess which one's meant to be for the faithful and which one's meant to be for the traitors. And let's have a chat now to some of the people who are here to enjoy some of those drinks. Uh hello guys. Let's start with you Isabelle. First of all, tell me why did you come along to this watch party?
"Oh, well, it is my local pub and I love it here. And I think the fact that it's playing it live, it's basically like a pantomime. Everyone gets involved and it's just going to be good fun."
And Alicia, cuz a lot of the time we we stream films rather than watching in the cinema. We uh watch TV on demand. How much of a difference does it make watching something like this together communally?
"It's so like it's nice to come to the pub, our local pub, and watch something on the screens that's not sports and just like everyone gets involved. It's such good vibes."
And Scott, who do you want to win?
"Steven the traitor."
"Traitors. Traitors. Part two for us."
"Okay, fair enough. Well, there we go. So, this is one of the many places with many people watching. So, last night's episode had eight or something million viewers and tonight you've got to have people like these here watching from different places across the capital."
Assad.
"Yeah, Luxie, thanks very much. And I cannot wait for tonight. Absolutely cannot wait. Very exciting. And we've had all the cast in the building. uh with us uh today as well."
Now, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is asking us to keep our eyes peeled this weekend for their annual Big Garden Bird Watch. It all started nearly 50 years ago to log what birds we see and where. And this year, the RSPB thinks we could be in for a particularly interesting year. Wendy Harurl as we find out more.
In any patch of greenery, and London has a lot, a quiet, patient observer will spot birds. He's going, he's going up the tree.
"We weren't long in Southwark's Burgess Park before we saw a greater spotted woodpecker, though getting it on film was tricky."
"Oh, stop moving."
"Oh, you know, you're pretty."
"You know."
"Little robin bathing in a puddle performed better for the camera. Robins were ranked sixth after last year's RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. House sparrows were number one again, although have declined by 60% in half a century. That's why it's important we keep counting."
"This is actually day one of the world's biggest garden survey. So, this is the Big Garden Bird Watch. And what we'd love for people to do is to go out either today or at some point over the weekend for an hour and just tell us what they can see. All you need to do is to head to the RSPB website and there it's smack bang on the front page. Um, you just hit submit results and it'll take you from there. It means that the more information we have, the more we know about why, where numbers are doing better, what people can do to help them."
"And birds are an indicator of how our environment is changing. Keeping an eye on the birds means that we know more about whether there's enough bugs in the environment or whether there's enough water um, whether things are getting out of sync with the rest of the world. So while it is counting a robin outside, actually, that one robin can tell us a lot."
The RSPB says that because of colder weather in Europe this could be a bumper year here for migratory birds as they seek relatively milder weather, which could explain why I have seen a goldcrest in my garden for the first time this week. Europe's smallest bird with a cute little yellow mohawk. Very exciting. And we should also be on the lookout for fieldfares and redwings. Now, you're not alone if you don't know a sparrow from a starling. The RSPB provides field guides. 600,000 people took part last year, counting more than 9 million birds of over 80 species and we can all join in this weekend. Wendy Hurl, BBC London.
Yeah, and if you're going to do some bird watching uh this weekend, you'll want to know what the weather's like. Uh might affect what you see uh this weekend. Jennifer, how's it looking for the weekend?
"Not too bad, actually. If you are planning to be spending that hour on the Big Garden Bird Watch, there's definitely going to be some dry weather to be found. And we started this morning off with some rain, but the sunshine did eventually come through and many of us saw those glimmers of blue skies and I think there will some be some blue sky to be found certainly through Saturday. Over the course of the weekend, we are expecting it to stay quite blustery. We've had some strong winds today and there will be a little bit of rain. We're not out of the woods yet when it comes to the wet weather, but we're not getting the worst of it. This is Storm Ingrid across parts of the southwest of the UK. It's not really bringing much in the way of severe weather our way, but we are going to get a little bit of a breeze and some outbreaks of rain at times. Now, this is this evening. Uh some clear spells actually through the course of tonight. It is going to be quite a blustery night and temperatures will stay quite mild. Four, 5° C. That's how we will be starting Saturday morning, but actually a fair amount of sunshine. Not too bad at all first thing. It will still feel chilly. It is still going to be quite blustery as we head through the day, but for a good chunk of Saturday, it does stay dry. 9, 10° C. That will feel how it's been uh this afternoon. Not too much different. Now, this is Saturday night into Sunday. You can see we do have an area of showery rain which is going to be moving through. Most of that will be overnight. And again, those overnight temperatures, five or six degrees, really staying quite mild. Now, on Sunday, the winds will be dying down a little bit. We have got more in the way of uh showery rain through Sunday morning. Some of that could be heavy for a time, but into the afternoon once again it's turning a bit drier. There will be a fair amount of cloud around as well. But Sunday, slightly cooler, 8 or 9° C. Let's look ahead though into next week because we do have quite a lot of rain in the forecast to come. You can see the temperatures just start to dip down once again as we head into Monday. 7° C. We'll be feeling quite chilly. We'll see some rain moving in later on in the day. It stays fairly wet and quite windy at times as we head through much of the next of next week, but no big cold snap on the way. That's the good news."
Okay, that is good news, Jennifer. Thanks very much for that. Now, there are just over 90 minutes to go now until The Traitors final. It starts at 8:30 this evening. The Traitors Uncloaked follows at 9:45, also on BBC 1. And it means we get pushed back for our late news. I'll make an exception for tonight. I don't mind. Uh, I'll be here at 5:11 tonight instead of 10:30. Enjoy the final if you're watching. On behalf of the BBC London Early Evening News team, bye-bye.