Category Archives: London

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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Cabinet Office will not investigate groping allegations against Daniel Korski

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Daisy Goodwin expresses disappointment with government response to formal complaint against Tory ex-mayoral hopeful

The Cabinet Office will not investigate allegations that the former Conservative mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski groped a woman when he worked in Downing Street 10 years ago.

Daisy Goodwin, the novelist and TV producer who made the claim, said she was disappointed, and questioned why there was no dedicated body that investigated serious allegations against MPs and advisers.

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Police launch kidnap investigation after Carmelle Hepi, 13, disappears after London party

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Three men have been arrested after girl, who travelled to London from Barnsley, Yorkshire, was reported missing on Sunday

Police have begun a kidnap investigation after a 13-year-old girl from Yorkshire disappeared following a house party in London.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of kidnap as officers from the Metropolitan Police work “around the clock” to find Carmelle Hepi, from Barnsley. The teenager was reported missing by her family in the early hours of Sunday.

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PMQs: Rishi Sunak faces questions from Keir Starmer over house building targets and mortgage support – UK politics live

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Labour leader presses prime minister to admit his party will not meet promised targets over house building

PMQs is coming up soon.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

We remain seriously concerned about the potential implications of the illegal migration bill on human rights and the safety of individuals.

Careful consideration should continue to be given to the impact of the bill on different groups with protected characteristics – including children, pregnant women, disabled people, torture survivors, and victims of trafficking.

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Met police admit downloading sim of French publisher, lawyer claims

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Ernest Moret had devices seized after arrest by counter-terrorism police on arrival in London in April

The Metropolitan police have admitted downloading the sim card from the phone of a radical French publisher who was arrested by counter-terrorism police at St Pancras station in April, his lawyer has claimed.

Officers returned the iPhone and laptop it had seized from Ernest Moret, 28, to his London lawyer on Tuesday after the Met announced late on Friday that no further action would be taken against him. He had been arrested on his way to the London book fair and held for almost 24 hours under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

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Stephen Lawrence inquiry should have received more from Met, IOPC found

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Watchdog identified further details that ‘could and should’ have been handed over to Macpherson inquiry

An official investigation has concluded that Scotland Yard had information that “could and should” have been handed to the inquiry into Stephen Lawrence’s murder but failed to disclose it, the Guardian has learned.

The unpublished findings from the police watchdog are a potential fresh embarrassment to the Met and emerged after a sixth suspect in the 1993 killing of the black teenager was identified, leading to calls from Lawrence’s father and best friend to reopen the investigation.

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Man guilty of murdering police custody sergeant in south London

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Jury finds Louis De Zoysa shot Matt Ratana in Croydon with revolver he probably hid under armpit

A man has been found guilty of murdering a police custody sergeant with a gun he had smuggled into a cell.

A jury at Northampton crown court convicted Louis De Zoysa, 25, of murdering Sgt Matt Ratana, 54, with a gunshot to the chest at a custody block in Croydon, south London, in September 2020.

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French publisher arrested on suspicion of terror offences ‘to face no further action’

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The man was taken into custody in London after failing to provide the pin to his phone when asked to by officers

No further action will be taken against a French publisher who was arrested after being stopped at St Pancras station on suspicion of terror offences, the Metropolitan police have said.

The 28-year-old man, who was previously named by his employer as Ernest Moret, was stopped by border officers as he arrived at the north London station at about 7.30pm on 17 April.

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London mayor’s office ‘banned’ from flying EU flag on referendum anniversary

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Exclusive: A change in planning rules has stopped the EU flag from being raised, say City Hall sources

Ministers have been accused of criminalising the flying of the European Union flag on government buildings in England after London’s City Hall was told it could be prosecuted for displaying it on the anniversary of the Brexit referendum.

Seven years after the referendum on leaving the EU, the Greater London authority (GLA) had planned to fly the flag on Friday but officials were advised that under the latest regulations they would need to secure permission from the local authority.

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Barbican apologises after asking speaker to avoid topic of ‘free Palestine’

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A co-founder of the Palestinian station Radio Alhara was due to address the arts centre via a livestream

The Barbican has apologised after asking a Palestinian speaker to avoid discussing “free Palestine” at length during an event, calling the intervention “unacceptable and a serious error of judgment”.

Last week Elias Anastas, a co-founder of the Palestine-based Radio Alhara, was invited to deliver a livestreamed talk remotely on the radical possibilities of radio, exploring how broadcasting could be used as a tool of subversion.

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EU countries accuse TfL debt collectors of breaching data protection laws over London penalty fines

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Belgium and Dutch vehicle licensing agency say citizens’ details obtained unlawfully to issue driving fines

Two EU countries have accused Transport for London’s debt collection agency of breaching data protection laws to obtain the names and addresses of citizens in order to issue fines for driving in the capital.

Motorists from across Europe have been hit with penalties, some totalling thousands of pounds, for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez). Penalty notices are being sent to foreign motorists who enter the capital without pre-registering their vehicle, and the Guardian has revealed hundreds of drivers have been fined despite driving emissions-compliant cars.

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‘Morale is very low’: evicted tenant’s three months and counting in a London Travelodge

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Nicole Bent and her daughter are among dozens of homeless families being put up by council in hotel rooms

A hotel getaway should be a time to escape the stresses of everyday life – but for Nicole Bent, life in a hotel has become her everyday. “It’s been demoralising, to be honest. That’s the word I would use to describe this whole experience,” she said of her ongoing three-month stay in a north London Travelodge.

Bent, 28, and her three-year-old daughter have been living in the hotel since the beginning of March, when she was made homeless after her tenancy came to an end and the landlord wanted to sell the property. She is one of dozens of homeless families being housed there by Enfield council while it tries to find her a permanent home.

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Threatened Saudi dissident told to live like Edward Snowden by Met police

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Col Rabih Alenezi received advice after reporting death threats, of which he says he receives 50 a week

A Saudi Arabian dissident living in London was told to “emulate” the life of the US whistleblower Edward Snowden by a Metropolitan police officer, amid death threats he received after fleeing his country.

Col Rabih Alenezi, 44, had been a senior official in Saudi Arabia’s security service for two decades, but sought asylum in the UK after he claimed to have been ordered to carry out human rights violations. His life was threatened for criticising the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Lewis Capaldi ‘extremely sorry’ for cancelling gigs to rest for Glastonbury

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Singer said recent months had been overwhelming and he needs to spend time with friends and family to recover

The Brit award-winning singer Lewis Capaldi apologised to fans after cancelling all of his upcoming commitments to “rest and recover” ahead of Glastonbury.

Capaldi, 26, said in an Instagram post on Monday that he is “struggling” after a “full on” couple of months in which he released the chart-topping album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent.

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Met police dealing with at least one dangerous dog a day, figures show

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MPs call for new laws as data shows rise in number of dog seizures is not matched by action against owners

The Metropolitan police are dealing with at least one dangerous dog every day, figures show, as MPs call for ministers to introduce new laws to stop vicious dog attacks.

Police data shows the force seized 479 out-of-control dogs last year under the Dangerous Dogs Act – up from 333 in 2021 and 336 in 2019. As of the start of May this year the Met police had already seized 154 dogs.

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Parents say baby’s sepsis death in Portugal ‘has destroyed all of us’

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Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle criticise authorities for delays in transferring Adonis to an ICU

The parents of a 10-month-old baby who died on holiday in Portugal have said their lives have been destroyed.

Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle said they wanted answers from the Portuguese authorities after their son, Adonis, died of sepsis on 19 May, 48 hours after he was first treated in hospital.

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Vogue editor Anna Wintour planning London’s answer to Met Gala

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Stormzy, Naomi Campbell and Sadiq Khan among those expected at ticketed fashion show raising funds for city’s arts scene

In a perfect storm of fashion catwalk and West End theatrics, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, is planning a philanthropic arts extravaganza that she hopes will take over the world “in the way the Met Gala did” – while raising money for London’s struggling arts scene.

Featuring Naomi Campbell, Stormzy and Michaela Coel, alongside the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the actor Sir Ian McKellen, the evening event will take place at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and include a red carpet outside, a catwalk show within, and live performances overseen by director Stephen Daldry.

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