Teacher at top school sacked over calls, texts and messages to young girls

Pic:Thomas Laessing was sacked and is facing being banned from teaching
Educational reporter(wp/es):

A teacher at one of the country’s top schools was sacked and is facing a classroom ban for sending inappropriate messages to young girls, the Standard can reveal.

Thomas Laessing, a mathematics teacher and head of tennis at St Paul’s School’s junior department - previously known as Colet Court - was also warned by the police to stop harassing one of the youngsters who had asked him to leave her alone.

Laessing, 40, who married his wife Louisa seven years ago, obtained the teenager’s phone number from a ‘crew list’ at a youth sailing organisation where he also worked as a volunteer tutor.

Despite the girl asking him to stop, the teacher continued to ring and message her, resulting in him being issued a police Prevention of Harassment letter.

He even urged the girl to keep his advances secret, knowing it could get him into trouble, and inappropriately pursued two other pupils via Facebook and other social media.

Laessing now faces being struck off as a teacher after being investigated by the government’s schools watchdog.

The professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) met in private last month after Laessing was fired by St Paul’s over the incidents.

Its report, seen by the Standard today, found that he failed to maintain appropriate professional standards or appropriate professional boundaries while working as a teacher.

The panel ruled that he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, relating to “inappropriate telephone, text message and social media contact with pupils”.

A decision on whether he should be allowed to remain a teacher will be made in the coming weeks.

When confronted about the wrongdoing outside a property in Barnes which he rents out on Airbnb, Laessing today simply said: “No comment”.

The allegations came to light when St Paul’s School was contacted by the Richmond Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) which deals with safeguarding issues, the police, and the school which the girl involved attended. 

Laessing was suspended and then sacked by St Paul’s following an investigation. 

A source at the school, where fees cost more than £23,000 a year, said no-one ever had any reason to be concerned about the teacher.

The source said: “He taught our boys maths and tennis for over two years at the school and we never had any complaints from parents, staff or pupils about any inappropriate conduct. 

“St Paul’s has incredibly stringent policies, which includes whistleblowing, to safeguard our boys.”

The NCTL panel found that he had “misused” the crew list from the Ocean Youth Trust South organisation, while also finding that he sent inappropriate messages to two other schoolgirls via social media. 

It said his conduct was “of a serious nature” and fell “significantly short” of the standards expected of the profession.

It was of “particular concern” that his “pre-meditated” conduct was repeated over a roughly three-month period and was “entirely unsolicited”, the panel said, adding: “Mr Laessing was clearly aware that his conduct crossed proper boundaries.

"This is confirmed by his attempt to persuade Pupil A not to share the occurrence of the communications with other people, and by his own statement in a communication with Pupil A that recognised it could get him into difficulty.”   

Laessing, a keen sailor, studied English at Nottingham Trent university before gaining his teaching qualification at St Mary’s University in Twickenham.

He admitted the facts in full in writing earlier this year and was not represented at the hearing.

Mark Todd, chief executive of Ocean Youth Trust South, said it took the safeguarding and welfare of its young people “very seriously”.

He said: “Earlier this year we were made aware of concerns about someone who had volunteered with us and following an investigation, that volunteer was dismissed. 

“We notified the appropriate bodies at the earliest opportunity and have fully co-operated with them.”

He added that they were “greatly saddened that a single individual associated with the charity should fall short of the very high standards that we have established”.

In a statement St Paul’s School said it was “fully committed” to ensuring its standard of safeguarding provision is “of the highest level. 

It said: “Working closely with the police and the LADO, Mr Laessing was dismissed following allegations which related to conduct outside of school. None of the allegations was relating to any pupils at St Paul’s. 

“The School, acting in accordance with employment law and in line with the school’s statutory safeguarding procedures, passed the matter onto the NCTL. 

“This is an excellent example of agencies and schools working together to safeguard children.”

Rush hour Tube commuters face chaos after Brixton signal failure

Pic:Crowds at Brixton
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Commuters on the Victoria line have faced chaos during the morning rush hour after a signal failure at Brixton caused "carnage".

The line was suspended between Victoria and Brixton after the problems broke out, with frustrated passengers being urged to use buses or overground trains.

With no trains on a swathe of the route, severe delays were reported across the entire line.

In a further blow, commuters already hit by a strike on Southern Rail, were also affected by additional delays on the District and Piccadilly lines.

The initial signal problem broke out at around 6.25am, and Transport for London said one platform was put out of action as engineers tried to fix it.

Photos published on social media showed large crowds of passengers struggling to get on packed Tube trains across the network.

Hundreds of commuters were also shown being turned away from Brixton station, with hordes of people swarming at bus stops in a desperate attempt to get to work.

Masses of people were also shown at Finsbury Park station, with reports of a 45 minute wait for trains, as the chaos rumbled on through the morning.

Amol Rajan tweeted: "Avoid Finsbury Park for tube at all costs this morning."

One commuter told the Standard her usual 45-minute journey took double the time.

She said: “When I got to Finsbury Park at 6.45am it was rammed with no space for anyone to get on trains and the platforms were full. 

"People were forced to cram in or wait for 15 minutess – it wasn’t safe with that many people pushing."

“There isn’t really an excuse for there to be such disruption that early in the morning – it’s a joke," she said. 

Olivia Heath tweeted: “As if the Southern train strike wasn't bad enough there's now severe delays on the Victoria line. 

“It's going to be a nightmare morning.”

Alice Vincent warned: “If you're planning on using the Victoria Line to get to work today, it's already a horror show.”  

Elsewhere on the network, a signalling problem at West Kensington caused disruption on the District line.

Piccadilly line commuters also continued to suffer delays after trains were taken out of service due to wet weather.

Man fighting for life after being hit by bus

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A young man was left fighting for life in hospital after he was hit by a bus on one of London’s busiest shopping streets.

The 27-year-old man suffered a severe head injury after he was hit by a bus on Regent Street on Saturday evening. 

Police and paramedics raced to the scene of the crash at the junction with Conduit Street shortly after 9pm.

The pedestrian was rushed to a central London hospital where he remained in a life threatening condition on Sunday morning, police said.

David Videcette, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, wrote on Twitter: “Serious road traffic accident – bus vs a pedestrian – very sad. Regent Street is completely blocked northbound and gridlocked southbound.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The bus driver stopped at the scene.

"He was not arrested and is assisting detectives with their enquires.”

Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are investigating the collision and appealing for witnesses.

Schoolboy Nahid Islam, 15, killed

Pic:Nahid Islam, 15 
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A schoolboy was killed as he cycled to the shops to collect a cake for his 16th birthday party, his heartbroken family revealed today.

Nahid Islam, 15, was cycling close to a zebra crossing near his home in Belsize Park, north London, on Saturday afternoon when he was hit by an oncoming motorcycle. 

Paramedics battled to save him at the roadside but the Regent High School pupil was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple injuries at 2.40pm.

Devastated family members told the Standard the “loveable” teenager had been rushing to meet his mother to help bring home the cake for a party the following afternoon.

Dozens of friends and relatives gathered last night for a vigil at the junction on Malden Road and Queen’s  Crescent, half a mile from the family’s home, which has been covered in a sea of floral tributes, candles and birthday balloons.

Nahid’s father, Mohammed Fokrul Islam, 50, said he “would never forget” his cricket-loving son and proudly spoke of how the teenager had already memorised the Koran.

His older brother, Sunny Rahman, a 21-year-old student, said: “He was the best little brother, he was loved by everyone. 

“No one would had a bad word to say about him never once saw him angry in his entire life.”

Relatives said Nahid’s mother, Sultana Begum, was in a state of shock after following a crowd of people to the junction to see her youngest son lying in the middle of the road.

His cousin, Lupa Kazi, 19, said: “She fainted. She’s not eating or anything, she’s in such a state.

“He was a mummy’s boy. He was someone you could rely on – he always put other people before himself.

“All his school friends came down and were crying and saying ‘We can’t imagine history lessons without him.’”

Prayers were said yesterday at the nearby Baitul Amman mosque and also by family members in Bangladesh for the teenager.

Another cousin, Shomon Rahman, said: “He was so jolly all the time. Every time he laughed, you would laugh with him.

“His mum called him up and said, ‘It’s quite a big cake, I need your help to carry it.’ He must have been rushing.”

Witness Hayley Hemingway Hare, who passed the scene soon after the accident happened, said: “People were shaking, saying they felt sick and looking white as sheets.

“It’s bad enough when it’s an adult but when you find out its a teenager it hits you so much harder.”

A Met police spokesman said: “Officers are appealing for anyone who was in the area and witnessed the collision, or the events leading up to the collision, to contact police.

“In particular, officers are keen to trace a white Vauxhall Mokka which stopped at a pedestrian crossing just in front of where the collision occurred. This car was not involved in the collision but the occupants may have seen what happened.”

The motorcyclist stopped at the scene and was not injured in the crash. There have been no arrests.

Southern Rail bosses warn passengers to 'not attempt to travel' during strike

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Hundreds of thousands of commuters suffered massive disruption again today even before a series of strikes by Southern train drivers brings the network to a halt.

Southern passengers have been told they should “not attempt to travel” during three days of industrial action set to take place tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday.

GTR, Southern’s owners, went to the Court of Appeal today in a last ditch attempt to get the strikes called off.

It is the worst industrial dispute across the South since the three-month long signal workers strikes more than 20 years ago.

But many trains were cancelled this morning and some routes left without any service due to an on-going overtime ban by drivers.

Gatwick Express services were halved running every 30 minutes instead of 15 and were only operating between Victoria and Gatwick Airport instead of Brighton.

Southern said it was unable to run services to and from Beckenham Junction or between East Croydon and Milton Keynes Central via Kensington Olympia.

Direct services between London and either Portsmouth or Southampton were cancelled.

Disruption affected all Southern’s 10 route divisions with West London and Metro services part closed.

The company warned: “There may be further cancellations, due to day-to-day issues.”

There was also massive disruption during the morning peak on Southeastern services into London.

A major signalling problem between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells blocked the lines in both directions with buses replacing trains.

Disruption lasted until mid-morning with many commuters taking three hours or more to reach London.

GTR tried to get the strikes stopped in the High Court last week, declaring they were illegal under EU law, but lost the case.

It has now appealed against the ruling, with The Court of Appeal expected to give its decision later today.

Charles Horton, GTR chief executive of GTR, parent company of Southern said: “We have a duty to our passengers to do all we can to prevent the wholly unjustified industrial action continuing.”

Businesses will count the cost as staff fail to turn up at what, for many, is the busiest time of the year.

On strike days the only full service operating across a huge swathe of Southern England will be Thameslink and those trains are forecast to be overcrowded.

The nine month long dispute is over Southern’s changes to the role of the guard and the implementation of more driver-only (DOO) trains. 

The company says the changes will improve service, the unions say they are unsafe – claims robustly denied.

Union officials were meeting with the Office of Rail Regulation today to explain their opposition to DOO.

The whole dispute now centres on a single issue; the unions want a deal similar to that agreed with ScotRail, which also introduced staff changes and increased DOO operations.

The company agreed that all future DOO services would carry two qualified members of staff. If two members of staff are not available the train won’t run.

The unions want Southern to give the same commitment. The company, however, insists that while the “vast majority” of trains will continue to carry two members of staff in “exceptional circumstances” a train will still operate with just the driver.

The number of trains that could run with just the driver is thought to be under one per cent; but neither the unions nor the company will back down.

Knifeman 'chases terrified bystanders after attacking man on board a train'

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A knifeman chased and threatened terrified bystanders after stabbing a passenger on a train, witnesses said.

Police swarmed on Forest Hill station after the "horrific" attack at about lunchtime. 

Passengers fled the station screaming with terror after the armed man reportedly shouted threats at people on the scene in south London.

Witnesses said there was a huge presence of emergency services at the station as they warned people to avoid the area as the attacker was "ranting on the streets".

Juliette Cooper, 39, was jogging near the station when she heard screams.

She said: “I spoke to my daughter’s friend who was on the train and she said a man with a knife was going around and stabbing people

“She said everyone literally ran off the train at Forest Hill where he got off as well.

“He had a wild look in his eye."

Another woman said said dozens of passengers fled the station as she arrived at Forest Hill at around 1.30pm.

She told the Standard: “Around 30 people were running out of the station screaming. There was a guy there pacing around and shouting ‘I’ll take everyone on’.

“I asked people what had happened and they said he had stabbed someone with a  knife. I called the police."

A British Transport Police spokeswoman confirmed officers were called at 1.18pm to reports of a serious assault and that a man had been arrested. 

A statement read: "One person has been arrested on suspicion of GBH following the incident and is currently in police custody.

"One man was treated by ambulance staff at the scene and is currently en route to hospital."

Six people injured after Ferrari 'mounts pavement' and crashes in Battersea

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Six people have been rushed to hospital after a Ferrarimounted the pavement and crashed in south-west London.

Police were called to the scene of the crash at 10.29am on Monday after reports a car had hit a group of teenagers on Battersea Park Road.

Pictures from the scene showed a red Ferrari with its windscreen cracked on one side and damage to one of its headlights.

Witnesses described the "horrible" scene after reports a car hit a group of pedestrians, sending one flying over railings and through the back window of a car on a street below.

One resident who was woken up by the crash said: "I heard a boom and then just people screaming and crying.

"I got up to take a look and people were going crazy. 

"There were people everywhere. Somebody I think fell over the wall and people were coming down to help. They all looked young."

Another passerby, who gave her name only as Hannah and who works close to the scene of the crash, told the Standard: "We could tell it was obviously pretty serious by the amount of ambulances - about six - that were on the road, a police truck and a number of police cars.

"I just hope that everyone involved is okay, such a horrible thing to happen right before Christmas."

Metropolitan police officers, including a horse unit, London Air Ambulance and London Ambulance Service rushed to Battersea Park Road just before 10.30am on Monday.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: “We were called to reports of a car in collision with pedestrians in Battersea Park Road.

"Six people have been injured and are being treated at the scene by paramedics. We await an update on their condition but injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

"The driver stopped at the scene. Enquiries continue."

An LAS spokeswoman added: “We were called at 10:28am to reports of a road traffic collision near Kirtling Street at the junction with Battersea Park Road.

“We sent a paramedic on a motorcycle, four ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer to the scene alongside our hazardous area response team. 

"London’s Air Ambulance was also dispatched.

“We treated six patients at the scene and took them to hospital.”