London Tonight: Thursday 23rd November

Afternoon all.

Well! That was a very heated debate we've just had in our afternoon meeting - and it's our top story that's causing division in the newsroom.

Here's the deal. You own a property and a mobile phone company offers you a big pile of cash to put one of their masts on your roof.
Now, you don't need planning permission - so it's up to you to say "yes" or "no" - right?

But what if YOU don't live in the property - your tenants do - and they don't want a mobile mast over their heads - I mean, whatever officials say, you can't deny a lot of people are still worried about potential health risks of the masts.

Well that's exactly the situation a group of people in Wimbledon find themselves in - and they're not happy with the landlord's proposed solution: "I'll say no to the mast - but YOU have to match the money I WOULD have got from the phone company."

Who do YOU have sympathy with? Chris Rogers has been speaking to all sides.
And our email and text question tonight will be: "What's the worst thing a landlord's ever done to you or asked you to do?" Get thinking..... And keep it clean!

News-wise there's sensational footage of Britain's biggest ever counterfeiting operation - the gang got phenomenal sentences in court today; We speak to a woman injured in the July 7th bombings who was sacked by her bosses for under-performing - she says they didn't take into consideration what she'd been through and is suing.

With warnings of gales on the way, we want your help - Chrissie will have all the details - as well as the numbers you need to send us your mobile phone footage if you see anything dramatic - she's happy to give some of the best a mention on air.

And saving the most tantalising 'til last..... If you screamed for Jason Orange, or pined for Mark Owen... let them RELIGHT YOUR FIRE - in person - next week.
We have a totally money can't buy prize to give away - but you need to tune in at 6 if you want a piece of the action. And with some of the female staff in this newsroom, we're keeping the prize under lock and key just to be on the safe side.....

You really won't want to miss us tonight, so we'll see you same time (6pm) same place (ITV1).

Til then.. Yours
A&T

London Tonight: Wednesday 22nd November

Afternoon!

If you're an uninsured driver ... Beware! More than 1000 cars have been confiscated in the last few weeks in a major blitz to try to beat this crime... And many of those have ended up in the crusher. You have been warned... Marcus has all the info.

As the financial gloom seems to be gathering over the Olympics, and as you seem to be getting crosser and crosser at the prospect of having to stump up for the Games, today the organisers of the Olympics have hit back, telling us how much good the event will do the city. Tune in to Simon Harris, and see if you are convinced.

We've an extraordinary story of a mother so desperate to solve her son's death, she's turned private detective herself, to try to find his killer; the inspiring tale of a primary school in Edmonton that's turned itself round in just 6 years from dreadful to top of the league; the millionth ticket sold for Billy Elliott, Esther Rantzen live in the studio ... Oh, and Her Majesty righting the wrongs of 200 years ago in a moving ceremony with a Native American indian. In Southwark. You'd better watch at 6!

Katie and Alastair.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 21st Nov

Afternoon to you,

Time to take a look at what we're serving up in this evening's programme. Brace yourselves: there's a lot to fit in.

First up. Who cheered and cheered when London won the 2012 Olympics? Well, with the Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell, being grilled by some MPs today, it's emerged... guess what... the preparations are already over budget - to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds. And take another guess at who's stumping up at least SOME of that cash. Londoners. So, who's cheering now? Simon Harris has the full story.

Willsy, meanwhile, will have the latest on the Hammers going under the, er... hammer. A consortium from Iceland has bought the club for 85 million complete with its debts of over 22 million. What does it mean for the team and those who follow it...? Willsy will tell us.

And sticking with footy for the moment, we'll have a pitchside report from Robbie Earle ahead of Arsenal's Champions' League game at the Emirates Stadium.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have been along to Great Ormond Street Hospital today to check out a brand new wing. As for the young patients - it made their day. Liz Wickham will have the details.

Now, do you ever wonder what actors do when they're not acting..? Well, some of them, at least, play the part of 'person answering phone'. A call-centre which makes, and takes, calls for various businesses is celebrating its 21st birthday - and the only people with a hope of getting a part there are out-of-work actors. Jon Gilbert has that.

Lemar though does NOT have to worry about work drying up. With a bagful of awards to his name, and his records in rather a lot of people's collections, he'll be in the studio talking about it all.

Plus: Chrissie will be giving us the weather forecast - on ice. We kid you not.

See you at SIX.

Ben & Katie.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 20th Nov

Hello and welcome to another week of London Tonight.

We start with chaos on London transport but end with high hopes for a new departure. Metronet are in deep ordour again for falling badly behind with engineering work at the weekend and causing endless strife on the tube this morning. A strike by some bus crews added to the pandemonium - I am amazed any of us got here! Piers has the details, assuming he is able to get to his location.

The upbeat element is the launch of a consultation on a cross-London tram network, and the interesting twist is that the route in North-South. Answers on a postcard to TfL please! Simon Harris is our "clippy" tonight.

Still with the transport theme, Westminster Council are removing many of their parking meters because some people out there have started the process already! Take a chain-saw to them and the bad guys can yield as much as £20k a street: I always thought parking was too expensive! Anyway, they are going to try texting instead which does seem a good idea.

We also have the good idea of some of the big hotel chains talking to some of the homelessness charities about how they might help with one of London's most enduring and unacceptable problems. It isn't just a hand-out: it's brain-storming for some lasting solutions as Damien will explain. We're up for that, too!

Beyonce has been talking to Steve Hargrave and we have a thousand pounds worth of shopping to give away, with a personal shopper to help you blow the lot at Debenhams.

Chrissie's weather and the rest of the days news are also in the mix.

Compelling reasons, we hope, for you to be with us at 6!

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 17th Nov

It is Friday, but you know that.

So, Alastair and Tamzin hereby issue you with their customary invitation to an hour of great news and entertainment on ITV1.

What you might not know is that our fantastic Peoples' Millions feature comes to a glorious end tonight: another winner you voted for and the best runner-up. We've really enjoyed doing this with the Big Lottery Fund people and it has warmed even the hardest hearts to see the faces of the winners when Glen tiptoes in with a cheque that is bigger than he is under his arm. We're going to give you a lovely reminder of the unbridled joy the winners showed when they got the goodies from him. Not a dry eye in the house!

We are also taking a look at the Euro Millions Lottery: 28 of the top 40 busiest ticket sales sites are in London, and most of them are in Canary Wharf or the City! Haven't they got enough already???? Marcus seems to think so. (Truth to tell, we have a little newsroom flutter on it too - but, given top ITV News West Ham fan Ken is in charge, relegation rather than riches seems the most likely outcome...)

We'd like to relegate, from the human race, the people who have been smuggling rare and endangered creatures and letting some of them die. It is a hideous story but one Ronke will tell with compassion if not a little anger.

James will tell us what he thinks of Casino Royale and Willsy has all the sport including a great competition for youngsters who fancy their chances in training with the tennis prodigy Andy Murray.

A round up of the rest of the news and Robin with his surreal weather would seem to bring it to a perfect outcome.

Just need that winning line and we WON'T see you next week: so, see you at 6 ...... AND on Monday, probably!

A & T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 16th Nov 2006

Good afternoon,

We start Thursday's programme with a murder that could have been, in fact SHOULD have been prevented.. Denis Finnegan was killed as he cycled through a London park. Stabbed to death by John Barrett, a mentally ill man who should never have been at liberty to kill. Tonight we've details of what an inquiry has called "serious failures" on the part of Springfield secure hospital in Tooting.

We've also a gruesome tale of a Surrey pig farmer who's today been sentenced to life for murdering his wife, even though her body has never been found. The jury heard testimony from his ex-wife that he'd threatened to kill HER and feed her to his animals. Marcus Powell has more at 6.

Our very own Olympic Athlete (otherwise known as political correspondent Simon Harris) has taken a plane to sunny Barcelona, to catch up with Seb Coe and Tessa Jowell on a fact finding mission. It's been a bad few weeks for the team....as costs seem to spiral out of control. Can they learn anything from our Spanish friends ?

And a showbiz double Whammy...first Sting tells us of his work for the Princes Trust. Then (much to Alastair's over-excitement) Nelly Furtado joins us in the studio for a chat about her win at last night's World Music Awards and Michael Jackson's bizarre appearance there.

All that AND we give away thousands of pounds to a very deserving cause with the latest of our People's Millions cheques.

We'll see you at 6

Tamzin and Alastair

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Weds 15th Nov

Good afternoon.

Bad news, I'm afraid. Many of you are going to say "I told you so" tonight. Because we've done the sums, and it seems that the London Olympics are going to cost TWICE what was thought. Yes, twice. The bill now looks set to be a massive 5 billion pounds, and of course the games are still 6 years away. The Olympic Delivery Authority have admitted that costs will be "substantially more " than expected. And I think we can all agree that double IS "substantially more". We'll be asking for your thoughts on this ... I suspect you'll have lots to say.

Good news though for another worthy winner of the People's Millions tonight.. Didn't you love those excited kids who'd won last night? And 2 more hopefuls for you to vote for too.

Chris has been talking to Sting about all sorts of stuff ... including the environment and playing the lute..

Tamzin's at the World Music Awards at Earl's Court. And no, it's not a celebration of Peruvian nose flute music. We're talking HUGE stars .. Beyonce and the like. It's the first time they've been held here, but the really big news is that Michael Jackson is going to perform. Yes, Wacko himself, on stage for the first time in this country in 9 years, and for the first time anywhere since he was cleared of the child molestation charges. History indeed...

And of course, the papers, Chrissie with the weather... Hope to see you at 6.

Katie and Al.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues Nov 14th

Good afternoon !

We are safely back on terra firma after our Lusty lurch into the land of the tar: hope you enjoyed it even if it was a bit cold!

Now, in the spirit of warmth and pre-Christmas kindness, tonight's programme is most generous in its offering to you: we will take you, live, to the premiere of the new James Bond movie: Tamzin will be there and she's got Daniel Craig in her sights...

We will have a competition for those Oasis fans among you: tickets to a screening of the new documentary film about the boys and the chance to quiz Noel on one of the greatest bands of the 90s.
As if that wasn't enough, we reveal who has won the first tranche of the People's Millions and offer you another couple of candidates to choose between: Up to £50k on offer! Glen is in command but it's your call.

So, where is our less loving side? Where does our brutal journalism cozy up to our loving side?

Ken and Caracas - we still think there are questions to answer and Simon is still asking them. Why the Venezuala trip and then why was it cancelled? And a London Embassy in the Venezualan capital? Our report and your thoughts at 6.

Chrissie with the weather and the rest of the news, including the latest on Eurostar: Zut Alors! Anywhere else to be than ITV1 at 6.

See you there.

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 13th Nov

Hello from the London Tonight team.

It was a very different journey to work for Alastair today. Forget South West Trains, leaves on the line in Woking, iced up points around Norbiton and a broken down train at Earlsfield (before SWT complain, I should point out there were none of those problems this morning. That I know of). For Alastair, this morning it was a Chinook ride onto HMS Illustrious on the Thames.

Why? Well, we've a very special programme tonight, live from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.

We'll show you Alastair's flight - we'll see a day in the life of the flagship - and we'll talk live to the Captain.

All that - plus the People's Millions is back - tonight you can vote for the project you want to get a fifty thousand pound "Big Lottery Fund" grant.

And we're on the Cutty Sark to find out how the renovations are going on that unique vessel.

All that - live from Illustrious - at six.

Stuart
Editor, LT.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 10th Nov

Good Afternoon,

It's chilly outside, so stay in with us. There's plenty to keep you informed and entertained on tonight's programme.

We start with a terrifying tale of robbers who snatched people off the street and forced them to hand over their pin numbers - before raiding their bank accounts. Full details at six.

Elsewhere, a tale we think is a bit of a talking point. An animal centre in Kensal Green claims it's under threat .... because of new parking restrictions. The problem, a residents parking zone will mean ambulances, on standby for sick creatures, will no longer be able to park outside for free. The solution, so say its supporters, is to make the Mayhew Animal Centre a special case and exempt it from the new rules. We'll be bringing you the details and asking for your opinions.

It's all aboard The Illustrious for our reporter Phil Bayles. The aircraft carrier's in the Thames ahead of Poppy Day on Sunday and Phil's live in Greenwich for us with a sailor's eye view of the Royal Navy Flagship.

It's Friday so a bumper hamper of entertainment's on offer. We've an interview with dance act Faithless, a trip to the movies with our critic James King AND of course our usual whizz round a whole raft of ideas for things to keep you busy in the capital this weekend.

Chrissie's getting into the nautical spirit too...she's broadcasting her weather report live from the Cutty Sark.

Oh, and a great competition for you.

All waiting for you at 6 o Clock.

T&W

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Weds 8th Nov

Good Afternoon and Welcome to our mid-week message!

Gone but not forgotten, our dear Mayor winged his merry way to Venezuela to finalise the oil-for-public-services-advice deal last week...... but then decided he'd go via Cuba to have a chat about the Olympics..... and pop in to see how Fidel Castro was doing.
Now Ken is a serial election winner in Brent and for London Mayor but, hard to believe, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez suddenly decided Ken might not help HIS election prospects so the visit was cancelled. Odd? It gets odder. Arriving back at Gatwick this morning, not a word passed the normally over-worked lips of our Mayor. Instead he just hummed. And hummed. Simon Harris is trying to get to the bottom of this Latin American-cum-Cuban mystery.

Fighting gun crime is an absolute priority for the Met because it is an absolute priority for most Londoners. Rock stars, fashion icons, youth leaders - all have spoken out against gun-crime in an effort to dissuade young Londoners from carrying and using guns.
So why are Puma producing a new trainer with an image of a machine gun on them, with the slogan 'I Steal For A Living'? And why are they launching the new fashion-shoe in London? We are concerned and think you might be, too. So Phil is on the case and we want to know what you think.

Different sort of fashion: you'll need a dinner suit or long-frock if you win tonight's spectacular competition: tickets for the premiere of latest Bond blockbuster Casino Royale. Strut your stuff on the red-carpet but you must be dressed to the nines. Details at 6.

Is your hospital on the hit-list of possible closures in the latest round of health service reforms? The Department of Health didn't want you to know nor did they want us to know. But we do and so you will... if you tune in.

Southend 1 Man U 0! Say no more! Well, actually, we will be saying quite a bit more: Glen is in giant killer mode from the home of the country's longest pier and shortening odds for Cup glory.

And, a dream come true: Chrissie, not only on the weather, not only on a white Christmas but really, truly, honestly.... on ice-skates!
StratoCumulous and a dollop of double salkos, just for you.

Toe-loop your way in our direction at 6.

Don't forget the Black tie and evening gown!!!!

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 7th Nov

Hi there.

Its a dreadful question but what do you think is the biggest killer of young people in London. Cancer? Drugs? Alcohol? Or what about violence....knives or guns?

Well its none of the above. Watch at 6 to find out...you'll be shocked and surprised as London Tonight highlights the campaign to tackle it.

Now Mayor Ken Livingstone might be a long way from the capital but he's never far away from the headlines. This time Ken is in hot water...or perhaps that should be oil over a visit to Venezuela where he was supposed to be discussing a supply of the black stuff for London. All sorts of excuses have been given but the long and the short of it is Mayor Ken didn't meet with President Chavez and now he's got to justify the cost of the trip. We've more on this tonight.

On the lighter side of life we've got an amazing James Bond competition with a trip to Nice and loads of goodies for the winner, we'll be taking a look at a massive night in the history of Southend United as they entertain Premiership leaders Manchester United in the Carling Cup and then there's the latest band to re-unite, Genesis are getting back together, Phil Collins and all, for a World tour.

Oh yes and Chrissie Reidy's been up in a flying boat as well!

See you at six!

W&K

PETER PAN COMPETITION WINNERS

Well done to Jan Walters, Rosemary Rose, Maureen Aylen, Emma Holmes, Sharon Payne, Kate Wyatt, Ross Powell, Jack King, Neil Francis and Simon Morosoli. You'll be hearing about the family tickets to Peter Pan very soon.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 9th Nov 2006

Hi there.. could cracks be appearing in London's plans for the 2012 Olympics?

Two weeks ago Olympic Delivery Authority chairman Jack Lemley resigned after less than a year in the job. Today one of the country's most famous Architects says he's thinking about boycotting the Games.

Find out why Lord Rogers is angry at six.

And where do you stand in the red and white debate? Wearers of the traditional poppy are being accused of glorifying war and are being urged to consider going for the white version as more Christian sign of peace and remembrance.

Then there's the changing of the guard. Forget sombre think secret service. For a change the soldiers did their thing to the tune of 007 movie's today....find out if they were shaken or stirred by the experience.

Another major switch on is taking place at Oxford Street...once again the best place to watch the turning on of the Christmas lights is live on London
Tonight - and we've also got another fantastic competition - tickets to see the fabulous Peter Pan on Ice.

Look forward to telling you all about those stories at six.

W&T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 6th Nov

Afternoon everyone.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend with lots of very loud fireworks. Shame they went on until 5 in the morning...

And it looks like there'll be fireworks at City Hall for some time to come. Remember last week's surprise when the Mayor of London rocked up in Cuba? "We weren't expecting that", we said. "Well", says Ken, "that's because we wanted the media to concentrate on my trip to Venezuela"...
Fair enough. So we did. Only now he's not going. We're TOLD the trip's been cancelled at the 11th hour because elections in Venezuela mean President Chavez won't have enough time to chat with our Mayor. Seems a bit strange to us... AND to Simon Harris who was waiting in Caracas with open microphone. He'll have the full story nonetheless.

Next, a horrific story about bullying - not just name-calling or pushing and shoving in the playground. Last November, Natashia Jackman was stabbed in the eye with a pair of scissors at school in Surrey - and she talks about her experience for the first time today, even claiming the school tried to make her feel responsible.

Marcus Powell reports on the tragic tale of Charlotte Adams - hit and killed by a car as she walked home from a Christmas party. At the wheel, one Emmanuel Amoah, wasn't qualified to drive and he ran from the scene. But there was no running from justice today as he was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.

In a very different vein, anyone who saw 'X-Factor' on Saturday will have seen a very cross Simon Cowell indeed - the 'King of the Caustic Comment' not a little put out that one of his acts got the old 'heave-ho'. He's rather optimistic about the prospects of a new signing of his though - a choir of kids called 'Angelis'. Jasmine Lowson's been to meet them.

Now - question: What do you want from a home? Well, it seems ladies want one thing - and men want something completely different. Cue lots of jokes. Architects designing flats though take it all very seriously indeed, actually tailoring blocks of flats to boys'... or girls' needs. Damien Steward has the low-down on that.

And what's more - Phil Bayles will have news to put a smile on green-campaigners living in the Heathrow flightpath... one of London's biggest stores puts a smile on the faces of those who lost thousands when a Christmas savings company collapsed... and let's hope Chrissie can put a smile on all our faces with her look at the weather.

We'd better get cracking. See you at SIX.

Ben and Katie.

DATELINE CARACAS by Simon Harris

Well, it makes a change from City Hall. We have been here 24 hours now awaiting the arrival of Ken Livingstone, so what are my first impressions of this extraordinary city? It is very chaotic and certainly dangerous. Consider this: the local off licence next to the hotel does not have grills and bars as protection but a very powerful man with a bullet proof vest, a sawn off shotgun and a belt full of cartridges!

Most of us when we travel rely on a checklist of essential items to ensure nothing vital is left at home. Passport, currency, suntan lotion etc. For this trip I added one extra item. A poppy. After all we are just days away from November 11th. It turned out to be a big mistake. Caracas is a violent place (see above) and never more so than during an election campaign. Venezuela goes to the polls on December 3rd and the campaign is in full swing. It is almost certainly one reason why Ken Livingstone is here. The current president, Hugo Chavez is a left-winger with some explosisve anti-American opinions. Our mayor is his new best amigo. There are almost two dozen candidates but the front runners are Chavez (champion of the poor) and Manuel Rosales (favourite of the middle classes). Rosales' supporters wear blue, the Chavistas dress in red. They haven't heard of the British Legion here, let alone Poppy Day. So if someone walks through arrivals at Caracas airport with a red flower in their lapel it can only mean one thing. He must be a Chavista. That almost certainly accounts for the chilly reception I got from the front desk at the hotel. But it could have been worse. A colleague from another news organisation was lucky to escape a severe beating from a Chavez supporter. His crime? He was wearing a Nike baseball cap. Blue.

I am afraid to say the poppy will not be making another appearance in Caracas.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri Nov 3rd

Hello!

Friday November 3rd - and just forty eight hours from Bonfire Night. Lots of us have been chatting about Sunday night - some are going to school events, a few are off to the Battersea bash and others are planning something in their own back gardens.

It's fireworks, bonfires, warm wine, hot chocolate and marshmallows time again.
Unless you live in Tower Hamlets.

The Council have funded a firework event for sometime but this year the organisers don't want a Guy... nor do they even want a fire. That's because it would bring back memories of the 17th century Catholic plot, led by Guy Fawkes, to blow up the Houses of Parliament as King James 1st ( 6th of Scotland, and a Stuart points out Alastair ) performed the State Opening of Parliament, and the cruel and unusual punishments meted out to poor old Guido and his incendiary buddies.
So, instead, there will be the reading of a Bengali folk tale.

The temperature of the "politically correct Vs politically incorrect" debate in our office was enough to mull a gallon or eight of wine and roast a million marshmallows.
Marcus will report and Tamzin and Alastair will ask you for your views

Old Man River should pull his weight a bit more when it comes to global warming, some say. And London's network of Canals. Well he and they will, Estelle tells us. Think less Eddie Stobbart and more Ancient Mariner and you'll be on the right track.

Its enough to make you cry.... Tracks of My Tears and.... Tears of a Clown: it must be a case of smoke getting in your eyes..... sorry, I'm off on one: Tamzin has been talking to vocal legend Smokey Robinson. Ah - what a combination.

Mark Eccelston takes us to the movies and, yes, we will have his take on Borat.....

Chrissie has her weather and, finally, we will give you a special edition of What Not to Miss!!! All the firework displays and parties we could find.... apart from Tower Hamlets.

See you at 6.

A & T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 2nd Nov 2006

Afternoon: sorry we are a little later than usual but we have been rushing around trying to make sense of some complicated stuff....
....not least the shooting of an alleged armed robber - (we have to say 'alleged' for legal reasons which is just a small example of how careful we have to be with stories like this).
Anyway, it seems the team, or some members of the team, who shot Jean Charles de Menezes dead at Stockwell Tube station were in action a few days back at a building society in New Romney, Kent. A man was shot dead and there's to be an investigation - that is par for the course. But there's an almighty row about whether it was a Stockwell Team member who fired the fatal shot: and, if it was, was it a bit early for him or her to be back on the job....? Ben will make sense of it for you.

You may have heard the very moving readings on radio of letters a dad wrote to his daughter, despite the fact that she had been killed in a level crossing accident. Jasmin has been to meet him and I defy you not to be touched by his love and passion.

The Olympics will bring no quick fix to London's tourism industry so says the European Association of Travel Agents. Kill joys or the bringing of wise and sober warnings? Estelle speaks a number of languages and will let you know.

Ken is going to Venezuela: we knew but were told to keep it a secret for security reasons which we did until he blurted it out on the radio (That's two mentions of the radio: Ed.) (That's because I listen to radio in the morning rather than watch TV: Alastair). Marcus wants to know why and so do we and we think you might too. Apparently it is about oil for transport advice. With me now is a Black Cab driver... Or not, perhaps!

Jeremy Clarkson gets very Jeremy Clarkson about fast cars, petrol cans and other utterly riveting things from the MPH show. Divided opinion on this one so you decide but I'll warn you, even the antis think it's funny.....

And Chrissie will, on this freezing November evening, tell us why September and October were the hottest on record and what lies ahead in her magic world of meteorological mystery!

See you at 6 ; gosh, that's getting a bit close......

A & K

London Tonight: Wednesday November 1st

We start with a couple of shockers: Michael Stone the convicted Ulster Loyalist killer tells us, in his first TV interview, why he had Ken Livingstone in his sights: literally.
And American Jack Lemley, the former Head of Delivery for the 2012 Olympics, quit amicably two weeks ago. Now he's told American journalists it was all because of meddling politicians and spiralling costs. Not a word of that was said when he left amid back-slapping and glad-handing. Who was spinning whom and what is the real truth? Simon Harris is on the case.

Also this evening Jon Gilbert looks at a dramatic rescue and recovery exercise on the Thames that just left the survivors and victims' families of the Marchioness disaster asking why so many of the safety promises, made in the wake of the tragedy, remain unfulfilled.

And the premiere of a movie which is a kind of SpinalTap for the 21st century: Steve Hargrave treads the red carpet as Tamzin stays in the warm alongside Alastair.

See you at 6!

A and T

London Tonight; Tuesday 31st October

Afternoon!

Now then. His dad's a notorious rabble rousing Muslim cleric, challenging convictions for incitement to murder and race hate offences. He himself was jailed for a terrorist offence in Yemen, plotting to bomb targets in the US and the UK. And yet he manages to get a job on the London Underground. He doesn't work there anymore... But now Mayor Livingstone has waded in with both size 10's, saying that he doesn't have a problem with this young man working for London Underground, as he doesn't actually have a criminal record in Britain. We speak to one woman who lost her sister on July 7th ... And she is extremely upset by the Mayor's comments. We'd like your views on that one too.

We've day one of the trial of 2 teenagers charged with killing young lawyer Tom ap Rhys Price just yards from his home earlier this year, stabbed at Kensal Rise tube station.

We've reports of a really serious health warning on a new shock horror flick out this week: Saw III .. Not my favourite kind of movie I must confess .. And it seems I'm not alone. The London Ambulence Service have already had so many call-outs from people who've either fainted or felt queasy during the film that they're telling people not to go if they're faint hearted. Is this a case of any publicity is good publicity?

We're at the footy as Chelsea take on Barcelona, and with Angels the costumiers on their busiest night of the year... Pumpkin suit, anyone?!

And then for a touch of showbiz, we're live on the red carpet at TV's oscars, the National TV awards.. Hosted by Sir Trev, attended by a galaxy of your favourite telly stars. Gorgeous.

See you at 6!