Hi everyone,
We have a special programme for you tonight in tribute to a very special person.
Daniel DeGale was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just 6 years old, and we've been following his story here on London Tonight since he was 10. In 1999, he became one of the first black people in the UK to undergo a bone marrow transplant, but his plight highlighted the low number of black and mixed race donors on the register. Today that number has massively increased thanks to Daniel, his Mum and Step-Dad and the creation of their charity, the African Caribbean Leukemia Trust (www.aclt.org). Sadly, Daniel died last night from an unrelated illness. He was 21.
Alastair will be at Great Ormond Street hospital tonight remembering and celebrating the legacy of this extraordinary young man.
Plenty of other news on the programme tonight to tell you about. We are all by now well aware of the credit crunch, but who would have thought the major meltdown problems in Iceland, would have an effect on Londoners? Well, several of our councils have deposits in Icelandic banks... As have Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police. So does this all leave a major hole in our finances? Simon Harris will be assessing what it means for our city and for you.
Stansted Airport is back in the headlines today after the Government decided that a massive expansion there can go ahead. It means over 20,000 extra flights a year and a further 10 million passengers at the Essex airport, but local councillors say the concerns of residents are being ignored. So is this plan a boost to the local economy or a thorn in the side of the environmentalists? We'll bring you the latest live from the airport.
Hopefully you've managed to enjoy some of the sunshine today... hopefully it'll last, perhaps even to the weekend...! Chrissie will be giving us her verdict.
Do join Alastair at Great Ormond Street Hospital to find out all about Daniel DeGale's legacy and me, Faye Barker, in the London Tonight studio with the rest of the news at 6 o'clock.
Hope to see you then,
Faye & Alastair
