Updates from London on Wednesday 4 November 2015
News, sport, travel and weather updates resume at 08:00 on Thursday
Sitala Peek
BBC News, London
- Students are marching in Central London in protest at university tuition fees and cuts
- A 24-year-old man has appeared in court and was remanded in custody charged with eight sex attacks in the Clapham and Brixton Hill areas
- Boris Johnson says a Night Tube is not critical for the capital
Rolling Stone magazine
The 27-year-old Londoner told Rolling Stone magazine: "The saddest thing was that I was such a big Blur fan growing up., external
"It was sad, and I regret hanging out with him," she added.
Image source, PAHer comments come after an unfruitful collaboration with the Blur and Gorillaz frontman.
"He said I was insecure, when I'm the least insecure person I know. I was asking his opinion about my fears, about coming back with a child involved - because he has a child - and then he calls me insecure?" she said.
Tom Edwards
Transport Correspondent, BBC London
Previously London Mayor Boris Johnson said the Night Tube could not be at "any cost" and today he told LBC Radio the weekend service was not "absolutely critical".
There doesn't seem to be a sense of uproar from anyone that the plans for the Night Tube now seem to be in disarray; there is no start date and there seems to be political apathy around the whole idea.
A new form of "patient" has been bought by a hospital in west London to help train the next generation of doctors.
Hillingdon Hospital invests in £100k robots to train doctors
The £100,000 robots can speak, cry, sweat and have seizures and are controlled by a human to simulate real emergencies.
BBC London's health correspondent Karl Mercer spoke to Dr Lola Olakunbi, junior doctor Sara Maki and medical trainer Dr Ritu Gupta.
A man has appeared in court accused of carrying out a string of sex attacks in south London.
Nine women, all aged in their 20s and 30s, were attacked in Clapham and Brixton between 9 and 31 October.
Mehdi Midani, 27, of no fixed address, has been charged with six counts of sexual assault and two counts of exposure, between 22 and 31 October.
The Algerian nation appeared via video-link at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court.
London & Partners told the Assembly earlier that it was working to encourage AirB&B-style accommodation as an alternative to hotel rooms.
Image source, AirbnbGordon Innes, chief executive of London & Partners, told the Assembly "Air B&B are working on growing the number of hosts in London. We have lower take up than Paris".
His comments came after a report from the Conservative group on the London Assembly today suggested that Londoners renting out spare rooms in their homes to tourists could generate £576m a year for their own pockets and the wider London economy.
Not all London councils are in favour of that type of rental agreement though.
London's trade and investment agency London & Partners, external says the capital doesn't have enough hotel rooms and should build more.
Image source, Getty ImagesEd Lister, chair of London & Partners and deputy mayor for policy and planning, told the London Assembly that hotels are already running at 90% capacity.
He said "It's getting very hard to attract conventions into the city because prices are high... because there is a shortage of rooms".
It will slowly turn drier and brighter from the west this afternoon with sunny intervals developing, but further heavy showers are likely in western parts by evening.
Max temp: 14C (57F)
Louisa Preston
Reporter & Presenter BBC London News
Neighbours living along the River Thames are lobbying MPs to take action to stop so-called "slumboats" from mooring along the riverbank.
BBC London counted dozens of boats apparently moored for free along one stretch between Sunbury and Hampton Court.
Now residents want them to leave - but those living on board say they have no option but to stay because accommodation in the capital is so expensive.
Gareth Furby has that report on BBC London News from 13:30 on BBC One and soon after on BBC iPlayer.
Residents are getting their first glimpse of the new library at 48 Camberwell Green, external that replaces a smaller former library in Church Street.
Image source, Southwark CouncilIt will open seven days per week and has been replenished with 27,000 items of new stock, of which up to 1,000 books have been chosen by schoolchildren and members of the public.
The library will carry 18,000 titles at any one time, including a dedicated children's library, new IT facilities and meeting rooms that can be used for community activities such as homework clubs or job clubs or creative writing courses.
Boris Johnson said although he supported the idea of a Night Tube in principle, he did not consider it as critical.
In an interview with LBC radio earlier the mayor said: "I've got to tell you this is something that the city of London has done without for 150 years. What I won't do is pay an unreasonable price for it, which Londoners would feel in their fares."
"I want you to know that this is something I think we should have but - I hope my attitude is clear - it is not something that I regard as absolutely critical," he added.
He was broadly repeating what he told BBC News last month when he said: "We've done without it for 150 years and I'm sure we can rub along a little bit longer but we are going to have a Night Tube eventually."
Brixton Blog
“[Brixton] exposes me to such a diverse mix of cultures. I especially find inspiration in its markets…from the more traditional food markets to the more creative art markets and even to the modern concept of Pop Brixton", says costume designer Ray Mahabir, external.
Image source, Google MapsHis work is on display at the British Library as part of a major exhibition of West African culture and literature, external.
Sitala Peek
BBC News, London
- Boris Johnson says he does not think the Night Tube is "critical" for London
- A property in Peckham marketed as a "dilapidated shed" has sold for £950,000 at auction
- Former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux says manager Jose Mourinho's position is almost "irretrievable" - follow other Sportsday live updates here
- A man has been charged in connection with eight sex attacks in the Clapham and Brixton Hill areas
London 24
An Islington-based black cab training school - which teaches drivers to pass the infamous ‘the Knowledge’ test - is set to close after 30 years due to "prohibitive’ rent prices and Uber, external."
Image source, PABrixton Blog
The leaseholders of Brixton’s Club 414 are taking their battle to the High Court , externalto save the nightclub venue from being redeveloped and turned into shops and flats.
Image source, Google MapsThe leaseholders argue Club 414 in Coldharbour Lane has been a fixture of Brixton nightlife for 30 years, hosting weekly techno, hard house and psychedelic trance nights, as well as 24-hour parties.
Lambeth Council approved the change of use planning permission and has declined to comment while court proceedings are taking place.
As we learn that a property in Peckham described as a shed has sold for £950,000 at auction, take a look at how prices have risen in the borough in the past decade:
Here's a reminder of what a £950,000 dilapidated bungalow looks like in Peckham:
Image source, GoogleA 1950s pre-fab bungalow marketed as a dilapidated shed at auction has sold for £950,000 in Peckham.
Image source, GoogleThe former council-owned property in Costa Street comprises three rooms, a kitchen and unfitted bathroom and sits on 0.6 acres of land.
Southwark Council said it would re-invest the profits from the sale into a housing programme to build 11,000 new homes in the borough by 2040.
Rain has petered out to leave a fairly mild and dull grey day in W1A. - If you think you can do better, this may take your fancy?
The BBC is appealing for Weather Watchers, in particular from an older audience, to make their own weather reports as part of a crowd-sourced resource, potentially to be used in broadcasts.
The website BBC Weather Watchers aims to help people develop basic digital skills by teaching them how to upload content and share it on social media.
Liz Howell, head of weather, said: "BBC Weather Watchers is for everyone. Easy to use, it will bring the nation together on a topic they love so that wherever they are in the country, they can be a part of BBC weather."
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested by the Met's Cyber Crime Unit in connection with the TalkTalk hack.
Image source, PAHe was arrested at an address in Norwich on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and has been bailed.
Police have also arrested and bailed a 16-year-old from London, a 15-year-old boy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and a man, 20, from Staffordshire.
BBC Sport
Williams test driver Susie Wolff is to retire from motor racing.
She will make one more appearance as a racing driver - in the Race of Champions in London's Olympic Stadium on 20-21 November, racing for Scotland alongside former F1 driver and BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard.
Image source, Getty ImagesOn leaving the sport she said: "We have two issues - not enough young girls starting in karting at a young age and no clear role model.
Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it."
