Over 850 people with community and charity roles to attend king’s coronation

Guests will include more than 450 British Empire Medal recipients, many of whom helped in Covid lockdowns

More than 850 community and charity representatives have been invited to the coronation of King Charles III, mingling with the royals, heads of state, politicians, peers and diplomats at Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham Palace has announced more than 450 recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM) will attend in recognition of the contributions made by volunteers and community champions across the country.

Continue reading...

Mark Rowley aims to reform the Met on the scale of Robert Mark in the 1970s

The London police commissioner faces a battle to clean up a force where the same cultures tackled by his predecessor ‘are alive and well’

The Britain of today shares some similarities with the country of the 1970s: then the country was debating its relationship with Europe, flares were in and frequent strikes disrupted everyday life. And then, as now, standards in policing in the capital were so dire that a new broom had to be brought in to clean up the Metropolitan police.

Sir Robert Mark, the legendary reforming commissioner of the Met from 1972, said this about the force he battled to reform: “I had served in provincial forces for 30 years, and though I had known wrongdoing, I had never experienced institutionalised wrongdoing, blindness, arrogance and prejudice on anything like the scale accepted as routine in the Met.”

Continue reading...

Commissioner vows to clean up Met as force faces biggest crisis since 1970s

Sir Mark Rowley vows to ‘lift the stone’ – but says rooting out every unfit police officer could take years

Scotland Yard is battling its biggest corruption crisis since the 1970s, its commissioner has warned, as new evidence emerged of the widespread bungling of sexual and domestic abuse claims against officers.

The review of past allegations was triggered by the David Carrick scandal, where the force missed repeated clues that the Metropolitan police firearms officer was a threat to women, while he attacked at least 12 victims over a 20-year period, committing 85 serious crimes.

Checks on 10,000 of the Met’s 50,000 officers and staff against police databases showed 38 cases of possible misconduct and 55 cases of a potential association with a criminal, all of which will be investigated further.

Gross misconduct investigations, which can lead to sackings have risen 62% to 431, with such hearings taking less time to be held.

A total of 144 officers were suspended from duty, double that from September 2022, with 701 on restricted duties.

There has been a 70% increase in those dismissed – or leaving before they could be sacked – in the last six months.

Continue reading...

Critically ill patients ‘will inevitably die’ due to junior doctors’ strike

Exclusive: leading heart surgeons urge BMA to exempt staff working on critical care units in England

Critically ill patients “will inevitably die” because hospitals are having to cancel surgery as a direct result of next week’s junior doctors’ strike in England, leading heart surgeons have warned.

There were bound to be fatalities among people with serious heart problems whose precarious health meant they were “a ticking timebomb” and needed surgery as soon as possible, they said.

Continue reading...

‘Most amusing’: Gilbert and George welcome the public to their own gallery

Artists open centre in area of east London where they have lived and worked for decades

Every creative person yearns for a room of their own. But for the stars of Britain’s contemporary art world, it seems that now only a venue of their own will do. Last weekend it was Tracey Emin in Margate; on Saturday morning it was the turn of the veteran duo Gilbert and George.

“It is very exciting to see so many people,” said George Passmore, 81, after the gates swung wide at 10am to let in an orderly queue of first visitors. “Most amusing,” added his lifelong collaborator – and, since 2008, civil partner – Gilbert Prousch, 79. “They will all keep coming along, we hope.”

Continue reading...

Four climate activists convicted of causing public nuisance, but no jail term

Men staged protest in City of London in October 2021, which included one gluing head to road to block traffic

Four climate protesters, including a man who glued his head to the road in order to block traffic in central London, have escaped jail terms.

Matthew Tulley, 44, Ben Taylor, 38, George Burrow, 68 and Anthony Hill, 72, staged a protest between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street in the City of London on 25 October 2021. They were convicted of causing a public nuisance by a jury at Inner London crown court. All four represented themselves.

Continue reading...

Louise Casey: Met police chief accepting term ‘institutional’ would mean so much

Mark Rowley says he accepts the report but will not use the term because it has become politicised

Louise Casey has told the Metropolitan police commissioner it would “mean so much” if he accepted the term “institutional” regarding the failings in the force, as the war of words over the use of the word showed no signs of slowing down.

It came as the mother of two sisters whose dead bodies were photographed and shared on a WhatsApp group by two officers said she was “gobsmacked” he refused to use the term.

Continue reading...

London theatres may lock up audiences’ phones after illicit James Norton photos

Outrage over naked images of actor published in MailOnline could prompt move to curb cameraphones

Theatre audiences in London’s West End could be made to lock up their phones to prevent illicit images of actors being taken during performances.

The suggestion comes after naked photos of James Norton on stage in A Little Life were published in MailOnline.

Continue reading...

‘We are refugees now, even our cat’: a Kherson mother’s UK diary

Olha fled the Ukrainian city a year ago this week and has faced many challenges, including enrolling her children in school

I’m just an ordinary mother. My children went to school and enjoyed after-school clubs. Last February, I was preparing to shoot a short film about Kherson’s streets. A rehearsal was scheduled – but it never took place.

That was the day they bombed airports simultaneously across the country. Public transport stopped running from our city. The frontline ran straight to our city and a week later we found ourselves under occupation. One morning changed our lives, and that of every Ukrainian family, for ever.

Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan switches on London’s first Ramadan lights in Piccadilly Circus

Mayor turns on display made up of 30,000 sustainable lights on eve of Muslim month of fasting

Sadiq Khan has switched on the London’s first ever celebratory Ramadan lights, in Piccadilly Circus.

It is the first time a European city has seen such a grand display for the festival, with the installation featuring 30,000 sustainable lights.

Continue reading...

Khan criticises Rowley’s refusal to describe Met as institutionally biased

Metropolitan police commissioner says ‘institutional’ label is confusing and political as fallout from Casey report continues

Sadiq Khan has publicly clashed with the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, saying he disagrees with Sir Mark Rowley’s refusal to describe his force as institutionally misogynistic, racist and homophobic.

The mayor of London, one of two people who appointed Rowley, spoke as the fallout from Louise Casey’s bombshell report into Scotland Yard continued.

Continue reading...

Tuesday briefing: Breaking down the damning new 300-page report into the Met Police’s failures

In today’s newsletter: The Casey report gives an in-depth look at the issues at the core of the capital’s police force

Good morning.

The crisis faced by the Metropolitan police has only become more acute after publication of a damning report by Lady Louise Casey, released today, that finds the force has institutional problems with racism, misogyny and homophobia. The review was commissioned after the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by serving firearms officer Wayne Couzens. The 300-page report leaves no stone unturned, addressing the culture of bullying and harassment, and senior leadership’s inability to adequately address the mounting number of scandals. It has also said that the Met should accept the finding of an inquiry from 2021 that deemed the force “institutionally corrupt”.

Climate crisis | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has delivered its “final warning” on the climate emergency. The report took eight years, hundreds of scientists, runs thousands of pages long and has one clear message: act now or face irrevocable damage to the planet. There is still hope though, as the authors of the report stress that it is still possible to avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown.

Brexit | According to party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP will be voting against the government in this week’s first parliamentary vote on the new Windsor framework for Northern Ireland. Donaldson said: “There remain key areas of concern which require further clarification, reworking and change as well as seeing further legal text.”

Strikes | Members of the RMT have voted to accept a 9% pay increase over two years, in a referendum that closed yesterday. The turnout of the vote was nearly 90%, with 74% voting for the offer, thereby ending their dispute with Network Rail.

Labour | Keir Starmer has been criticised for pledging to put in place a “zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and racism” without having transparent systems in place to tackle them. Martin Forde KC, the senior lawyer who carried out an inquiry into the party’s culture, said “you can’t implement zero tolerance unless you’re policing things fairly rigorously”.

Banking | As the banking crisis continued to spread, shares in the regional First Republic bank based in San Francisco crashed more than 46% yesterday after reports that it may need to raise even more funds despite a $30bn bailout last week.

Continue reading...

Met has ‘nowhere to hide’ after damning Casey report, say campaigners

Sadiq Khan promises to hold police force to account after report highlights institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia

Women’s rights campaigners have warned the damning Casey report into culture at the Met has left the force with “nowhere to hide”.

Dame Louise Casey’s 300-page report found institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia persists within Britain’s biggest police force.

Continue reading...

ICC to plead for extra money to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine

International court’s prosecutor to make case at conference in London after Putin warrant issued

Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the international criminal court, will plead on Monday for extra cash to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including the potential prosecution of Vladimir Putin for overseeing the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Khan made his dramatic move against the Russian president last week ahead of a conference in London co-hosted by the UK and the Dutch government aimed at raising cash to fund the ICC’s war crimes investigatory work inside Ukraine. The ICC’s budget has not been increased even though it has 40 investigators working inside Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Croydon and Thurrock councils put into special measures

Government-appointed managers will take over day-to-day running after authorities fell into effective bankruptcy

Two local authorities have been put into special measures after struggling to recover from the bad investments and governance failings that pushed them into effective bankruptcy.

The London borough of Croydon and Thurrock borough council in Essex have been told that government-appointed managers will take over the day-to-day running of operations, including overseeing all major financial and senior staffing decisions.

Continue reading...

Met police on ‘last chance’ as Casey report to condemn failure to change

Exclusive: findings of official review due out on Tuesday described as ‘horrible’ and ‘atrocious’ for force

The Metropolitan police service is riddled with deep-seated racism, sexism and homophobia and has failed to change despite numerous official reviews urging it to do so, an official report will say.

The report from Louise Casey, which is due to be published on Tuesday, will excoriate Britain’s biggest police force, the Guardian has been told. Senior government and policing figures are aware of its contents, with one describing it as “horrible” and another as “atrocious”. One source with knowledge of the findings said the report would make clear that the Met was in the “last-chance saloon”.

Continue reading...

Internal government briefing admits HS2 delays will increase costs

DfT document appears to undermine ministers’ claims, saying jobs are likely to go and construction firms could be at risk

An internal Department for Transport briefing on the HS2 project has admitted delays to the high-speed railway will increase costs, appearing to undermine ministers’ claims.

The document seen by the Guardian says the decision to delay the project is also likely to cost jobs, put construction firms at risk of going into administration and that the department could face compensation claims.

Continue reading...

Architect Rafael Viñoly, designer of Walkie Talkie building, dies aged 78

Uruguayan-born Viñoly’s sometimes controversial work included more than 600 structures around world

Rafael Viñoly, the Uruguayan-born and New York-based architect known for designing landmark buildings around the world, has died aged 78.

Viñoly’s death on Thursday was announced by his son, Roman, on the website of the family firm, Rafael Viñoly Architects.

Continue reading...

UK chip designer Arm chooses US-only listing in blow to Rishi Sunak

PM had held talks with firm’s owner SoftBank in effort to make London first choice for tech flotations

The Cambridge-based chip designer Arm is to pursue a US-only listing this year, dealing a major blow to Rishi Sunak’s ambitions to make London the first choice for tech company flotations.

The company, which is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, confirmed its preferred plan of seeking a US-only main listing later this year, spurning the UK despite heavy lobbying by successive prime ministers.

Continue reading...

Misplaced tube may have contributed to London boy’s Covid death, inquest hears

Doctor who treated Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab in March 2020 says breathing tube was in wrong position

An incorrectly placed breathing tube could have contributed to the death of a 13-year-old boy who became the UK’s first known child victim of Covid-19, a doctor has told the inquest into his death.

Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, of Brixton, south London, died of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by coronavirus pneumonia in the early hours of 30 March 2020, three days after testing positive for the virus.

Continue reading...