This week 10, 20, 30 years ago

10 Years Ago

Police officers who pressurise sex assault victims to drop their claims should be sacked.

That was the demand made by South London MPs in the wake of the Southwark Police Sapphire Unit scandal.

Southwark MPs Dame Tessa Jowell, Harriet Harman and Simon Hughes all called on the Met to make sure sexual assault and rape allegations were properly investigated.

The demands followed a damning report published that week by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into failings at the unit between July 2008 and September 2009.

An 85-year-old woman who sang with 1960s soul diva Dusty Springfield was being left in the cold after her heating broke down.

Eileen Savage, of Walworth, said the radiators stopped working in her flat on January 28.

She said she had called Southwark council several times but was told the earliest an engineer could come out and fix the problem was on March 5.

She said: “I’m freezing. It’s been so cold recently and so I’ve been wearing as many clothes as possible just to try and keep warm.

“Every time I phone the council, they tell me there’s no one available until next month. It takes so long for them to do anything but it’s horrible as I’m so cold.

Tributes were paid to the “Queen of Peckham” Kathleen Hubbard – known for her fierce loyalty to her family.

Mother of 10 Kathleen died in the home of her daughter Susan on February 1, aged 85, surrounded by her loving family.

Born to Irish stock from County Cork, Kathleen’s family were travellers in her homeland until she moved to Liverpool during the Second World War, where she worked in a munitions factory.

---

20 Years Ago

Number plates were stolen in a spate of thefts from vehicles in South-east London just weeks after the introduction of the Congestion Zone.

Number plates became criminal currency for drivers wanting to avoid paying the charge, which was brought in by London Mayor Ken Livingstone in February 2003.

The stolen plates were fixed to cars of the same model as the car from which they had been taken, in an attempt to fool cameras at zone entry points, so fines would be sent to innocent owners. But hundreds of angry owners reported the cloning crime to a helpline.

Hundreds of students skipped school to take part in street protests about the war in Iraq.

Some 250 girls from Sydenham School headed through the streets to Forest Hill Boys School in protest at the UK’s involvement in the Middle East.

The gates at Forest Hill Boys were locked, but not before many pupils had joined the girls. The march also picked up youths from Sedgehill School.

Stop the War Coalition, a campaign group, said thousands of schoolchildren had staged similar marches in the UK, but parents expressed concerns for the youngsters.

A Five-tonne MRI scanner had to be winched in through the roof of Lewisham Hospital.

The scanner used a form of less harmful X-ray and was expected to improve the treatment of patients with brain tumours.

Staff said the machine would mean patients could be seen more quickly and tumours detected earlier.

---

30 Years Ago

An MP launched a campaign to topple the Queen from her role as head of the Church of England.

Southwark and Bermondsey MP Simon Hughes, a member of St James church in Thurland Road, Bermondsey tried to introduce a bill to sever ties between the Church and Westminster and the monarch.

The bill was also designed to end the church’s role as the nation’s official state religion, but it was criticised by monarchists and members of the Church of England.

Mr Hughes said that it was no longer right for Anglicans to have more sway in Government than other religions, which had a strong presence in the UK. He denied that it was an attack on Anglicans or the monarch.

Derelict Battersea Power Station was sold to a Hong Kong businessman, prompting fears over its future.

The 31-acre site was bought by George Wong and links with tycoon John Broome were severed. Delays in restoring the building had angered residents.

The Battersea Power Station Community Group welcomed the deal, but thought restoration work would be stalled because of the economy.

One of London’s landmarks was denied listed building status, meaning it would not be protected from developers.

The Oxo Tower in Upper Ground, Waterloo had been a feature of the London skyline since the 1930s but the application was tabled by Twentieth Century Society and backed by site owners Coin Street Community Builders.

The group wanted to renovate and add a roof-top restaurant.

Listed status could have saved the firm millions in VAT exemptions, but the tower was not significant enough to merit the status.