Category Archives: London

Marks & Spencer refused permission to demolish and rebuild Oxford Street store

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M&S says ‘short-sighted act of self-sabotage’ leaves no choice but to review position on UK’s premier shopping street

Marks & Spencer has been refused permission to demolish and rebuild its main store on Oxford Street in the West End of London in a win for campaigners concerned about the carbon footprint of redevelopment.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that Michael Gove, the secretary of state, disagreed with the recommendation from inspectors to approve the plans and had “decided to refuse permission”.

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Heathrow failed to meet minimum accessibility standards, CAA report finds

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Airport only one to be rated as ‘poor’ and ‘needs improvement’ over all four quarters in year to March

Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said.

The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report.

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Byelection polls open with Rishi Sunak forecasting ‘tough’ fight to save seats

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Opposition parties hope to overturn government majorities in three constituencies vacated by Tory MPs amid controversy

Polls have opened in three parliamentary seats where byelections are being held, with Rishi Sunak braced for an electoral test of his premiership.

The Conservative-held constituencies are being targeted by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who hope to overturn large majorities and send Tory MPs off into the summer recess nervous about their own political futures come the general election.

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‘Even hanging on to one would be a win’: Tories brace for byelection results

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Votes in the three very different seats could indicate general election swings and prompt cabinet reshuffle

The Conservatives are braced for painful byelection results in a vote on Thursday that could become a damning verdict on Rishi Sunak’s ability to win a broad enough coalition of voters at the next election to retain his party’s majority.

The party could lose all three of the constituencies that are up for grabs – which each have significantly different demographics that the Tories would need to win – with the prospect of hanging on to just one being touted by senior ministers as a victory.

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Writer of Grenfell play says people must be jailed for what happened

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Gillian Slovo’s play at National Theatre uses words of survivors of 2017 fire at west London tower block

People must be jailed for what happened at Grenfell Tower, the award-winning author Gillian Slovo has said, as her play about the disaster prepares to open at the National Theatre in London.

Slovo, who gained international recognition with her novel Red Dust, set in South Africa’s post-apartheid truth and reconciliation commission, has used dialogue gleaned verbatim from interviews with 10 of the survivors for the play, which has left actors in tears after preview performances. In an interview with the Guardian she said: “Without jail time, how’s it going to stop anybody else doing this in the future?”

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Jeremy Corbyn says Labour MPs are ‘seething with anger’ about Keir Starmer’s stance on the two-child benefit cap – UK politics live

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Former Labour leader says ‘even the Blair government’ helped lift children out of poverty

Labour MPs are “seething with anger” about Keir Starmer’s decision to say the party would not get rid of the two-child benefit cap, Jeremy Corbyn said this morning.

Corbyn, Starmer’s predecessor as leader, told LBC that he had spoken to “quite a lot of Labour MPs” about this issue. He went on:

They are seething with anger, particularly as commitments have been made regularly by the party that we would take children out of poverty. Even the Blair government, which Keir Starmer often quotes, did do a great deal to lift children out of poverty by not having a two-child policy …

Even in areas like mine, there are high levels of child poverty – probably 40% of the children in my constituency. All across the north-east, which Jamie [Driscoll] represents – a third of all children across the whole of the region are living in poverty. That has got to go and got to change.

This is not a shock – it is what I and my team expected.

None of my fellow Bernie Grant leadership programme alumni have been selected.

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Teenager arrested after boy, 17, killed in north-west London

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An 18-year-old man is being held on suspicion of murder after fatal stabbing following birthday party in Granville Road, Brent

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 17-year-old boy, who was stabbed to death after a birthday party in a street fight in north-west London.

The boy died in Granville Road, Brent, at about 11.30pm on Friday during a fight that is believed to have taken place on several roads nearby. Another male, also believed to be 17, was taken to hospital, as was a woman in her early 20s, who suffered a hand injury.

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Environment charity bids to encircle London in ‘M25 for nature’

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CPRE London hopes to surround capital in trees by weaving existing areas of green belt in outer boroughs

An environmental charity is bidding to create an “M25 for nature” that would encircle London in woodland, hedgerows and street trees to boost biodiversity, carbon capture and wellbeing.

The countryside charity CPRE London hopes to weave together existing areas of green belt in the city’s 18 outer boroughs to create an uninterrupted ring of trees around the capital.

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Use of Kingspan insulation on towers near Grenfell angers residents

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Council orders contractor to immediately remove material made by firm implicated in 2017 disaster

Materials made by a company implicated in the Grenfell Tower disaster have been installed on a pair of nearby council tower blocks during fire safety works, in a move met with outrage in the west London community.

Insulation made by Kingspan, the firm that provided some of the combustible foam on the tower, which went up in flames on 14 June 2017 killing 72 people, was discovered last week on the Adair and Hazelwood towers, a few hundred metres from Grenfell.

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HS2 chief executive resigns from delayed and scaled-back rail project

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Mark Thurston to leave government-owned company as construction moves ‘into an exciting new stage’

The chief executive of the HS2 railway has resigned amid severe delays and soaring costs that have seen the project scaled back.

Mark Thurston announced on Wednesday he would be departing the government-owned company at the end of September after six and a half years at the helm – making him the firm’s longest serving chief executive.

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London Underground train drivers to join strikes in late July

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Aslef union announces industrial action on 26 and 28 July to coincide with tube strike by RMT members

London Underground drivers will strike on Wednesday 26 July and Friday 28 July in a dispute over pensions and working conditions, the Aslef union has announced.

The latest industrial action will coincide with previously announced strikes by RMT members who work on the capital’s tube network, causing more disruption for commuters and tourists.

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Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two stabbed in south-west London

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Both victims, one of whom was attacked at a hotel housing Afghan refugees, taken to hospital after incident

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two people were stabbed, including one at a hotel housing Afghan refugees, in south-west London.

One person is believed to have been attacked at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Surbiton, while another man was attacked at a garage next door. The incident occurred at approximately 1.45pm on Sunday. Both victims were taken to hospital and the man was taken into police custody.

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‘It’s like a hostile environment’: London’s creative core at risk as artists in poverty quit

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UK capital as ‘huge generator of wealth’ under threat as a third of visual artists struggle to pay for studios

What makes Britain’s capital city so magnetic? Familiar landmarks? The nightlife? Or its financial, fashion and art trades? Maybe. But behind the glamour and money a network of artists is giving London the crucial appeal of a place where new things happen, while working on the edge of poverty.

A survey released on 13 July is to reveal just how close many of London’s visual artists are to giving up on a career that has pushed them to the bottom of the pile. Close to a third of those asked said lack of funds might force them out within five years. And just under half said they cannot afford to build savings or pay into a pension plan.

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Wimbledon school crash: victim named as Selena Lau

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Eight-year-old described as ‘an intelligent and cheeky girl adored by everyone’

An eight-year-old girl killed when a Land Rover crashed through a school fence in south-west London on Thursday has been named by the Metropolitan police as Selena Lau.

A family statement said: “Selena was an intelligent and cheeky girl adored and loved by everyone. The family wishes their privacy to be respected at this sad time.”

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London Underground staff to take week of industrial action at end of July

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‘Rolling action’ by RMT members between 23 and 28 July likely to cause widespread disruption across capital

London Underground staff will take industrial action over a week at the end of July, spelling widespread transport disruption in the capital.

Members of the RMT union will take “rolling action” between Sunday 23 July and Friday 28 July. The RMT said there would be no strike on Monday 24, with staff in different sections and grades halting work on different shifts on each of the other days.

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David Adjaye steps back from Holocaust memorial after misconduct claims

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Acclaimed architect, whose firm is designing London memorial, accused of sexual assault and harassment by three women

The acclaimed architect Sir David Adjaye has stepped back from working on the planned UK Holocaust memorial in Westminster after being accused of sexual misconduct.

His architectural firm, which won a competition to design the memorial, has told the government that Adjaye will not be involved in the project until the issues raised by the allegations have been addressed.

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Rise in racist abuse against Sadiq Khan linked to London clean air zone expansion

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Study by Greater London authority finds mayor has received over 300,000 pieces of racist abuse since being elected

Sadiq Khan has received more than 300,000 pieces of openly racist or racially-oriented abuse on social media since he was elected London mayor, with a recent surge in such messages connected to his plan to expand the city’s clean air zone, research has found.

The study, carried out by the Greater London authority, found that racist abuse against the Labour mayor, which peaked when he was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump, has started to rise again this year.

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Court hears councils’ legal challenge over London Ulez expansion

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Five Tory-led councils seeking to block mayor’s plans to extend ultra-low emission zone to whole of capital

A legal challenge to plans to expand London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the whole of the capital will be heard in the high court on Tuesday as five Conservative-led councils seek to block the proposals.

The Ulez is due to expand at the end of August from the boundary of the north and south circular roads to throughout Greater London, requiring drivers of the most polluting vehicles to pay a fee when using them in the area.

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Fifteen-year-old boy and man, 23, killed in north London stabbing

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Another man aged 28 has stab wound not thought to be life-threatening after incident in Archway

A 15-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man have been stabbed to death in north London.

The teenager died at the scene in Elthorne Road, Archway, after the stabbing at 11.30pm on Thursday, while the man was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A 28-year-old man was found with a stab wound that was not life-threatening.

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