Category Archives: London

London population set to decline for first time since 1988 – report

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Economic fallout from Covid pandemic and rise of home working likely to spur exodus

London’s population is set to decline for the first time in more than 30 years, driven by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and people reassessing where they live during the crisis, according to a report.

The accountancy firm PwC said the number of people living in the capital could fall by more than 300,000 this year, from a record level of about 9 million in 2020, to as low as 8.7 million. This would end decades of growth with the first annual drop since 1988.

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Battle for Brixton’s soul as billionaire Texan DJ plans 20-storey tower block

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Residents vow to stop Taylor McWilliams’s scheme to develop a site that looms over the famous Electric Avenue street market

The outcome of the fight may help shape London’s future skyline. In one corner is a Texan millionaire DJ and property developer who has put forward plans for a 20-storey office block in Brixton, next to a conservation area and the district’s famous Electric Avenue.

Taylor McWilliams’s property company Hondo, which owns most of Brixton market, claims the proposal will “deliver” 2,000 jobs in the area and generate £2.8m every year for the local economy.

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The government’s U-turns on education in England under Covid

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From exams to free school meals, ministers have made a string of volte-faces

The announcement that all London primary schools will remain closed next week is the latest in a string of government U-turns on education since the pandemic began.

Under the government’s initial plan, schools in the City of London and Kingston were due to reopen but those in 22 other London boroughs would have remained closed.

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Tier 4 Covid rules in England: latest restrictions explained

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People in tier 4 areas must stay at home and not meet up with other households

Millions more people in areas including Greater Manchester and the north-east have now joined nearly 24 million who were already under the strictest tier 4 restrictions in England, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases and alarm about a new strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly.

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Future shock: how will Covid change the course of business?

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The crisis poses a deadly threat to some sectors and creates opportunities for others. We examine how they will fare in 2021

Coronavirus has changed lives and industries across the UK, accelerating fundamental shifts in behaviour and consumption that were already on their way. Debates about home working, preserving local high streets and the ethics of air travel were bubbling away before coronavirus rampaged across the world, but the consequences of the worst pandemic in more than a century have either settled those arguments or boosted the momentum behind certain lifestyle changes. Here we look at how those debates have been changed – or resolved – by Covid-19.

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London’s St Pancras station packed as travellers flee tier 4 restrictions on Saturday – video

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Throngs of travellers congregated at London's St Pancras train station on Saturday 19 December as they sought to flee the city before it was placed in tier 4 at midnight. Swaths of south-east England were placed in the new highest tier as Boris Johnson abandoned attempts to relax Covid restrictions over Christmas to counter a highly infectious new strain of the virus. The announcement prompted a rush on London train stations

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Ministers face fresh legal challenge over Heathrow airport plans

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Critics say plan for third runway runs counter to UK’s legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050

The government faces a legal challenge over its plan to expand Heathrow airport, with lawyers and environmentalists demanding it review its policy in line with its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Good Law Project, a not-for-profit organisation with a focus on public interest cases including environmentalism and tackling poverty, argues that the government must update its plan for a third runway to take into account the emissions pledge it made following the approval for the airport expansion in June 2018.

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Unicef to feed hungry children in UK for first time in 70-year history

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UN agency will help fund food parcels for those affected by coronavirus crisis in Southwark, south London

Unicef has launched a domestic emergency response in the UK for the first time in its more than 70-year history to help feed children hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

The UN agency, which is responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children worldwide, said the coronavirus pandemic was the most urgent crisis affecting children since the second world war.

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Greenwich backs down over plans to close schools in face of legal action

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Move signals government’s determination to keep schools open in run-up to Christmas and beyond

The London borough of Greenwich has reluctantly backed down over plans to close schools and switch to online learning to slow the spread of coronavirus, after the government launched legal action ordering schools to remain fully open until the end of term.

In a letter to parents, the leader of Greenwich council, Danny Thorpe, said he could not agree this was the best choice for schools in the borough, but neither could he justify using public funds to fight a court battle with the government.

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Sadiq Khan: putting London in tier 3 ‘doesn’t make sense’ – video

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The mayor of London has criticised the government's Covid tier system, calling it a 'blunt instrument being retrofitted around solutions that are not as effective as they should be'. The city will be placed in tier 3 from 16 December, meaning bars and restaurants must close.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Khan said the majority of new infections in the capital were among school-age children. 'I see very few children of that age in pubs, bars and restaurants,' Khan said. He urged  the government to close secondary schools so that pupils do not pass on the virus to older relatives over Christmas

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UK coronavirus live: Hancock holds news briefing after revealing new Covid variant and putting more areas into tier 3

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Latest updates: health secretary holds press conference after tougher restrictions announced for London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire

Prof. Whitty reiterates a “minimalist, responsible” Christmas meeting families sticking to the rules, calling it a “limited relaxation”.

Hancock tells @Kate_M_Proctor he's repeatedly answered the question on whether the Christmas relaxation could be tightened up if cases rise

Narrator: He has not answered the question on whether the Christmas relaxation could be tightened up if cases rise

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Highlighting heroic work of tube cleaners | Letter

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London Underground cleaning staff are on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus, but are among the lowest paid workers, writes Mike Cash, RMT general secretary

Sean Smith has done a great service to your readers by bringing into the daylight the hidden labour of those who have worked every day to keep the London underground clean through the pandemic (‘Unsung heroes’: cleaners keeping London’s transport Covid-safe – photo essay, 10 December).

He is right to spot that they are among the lowest-paid workers. London underground cleaning is outsourced to a company called ABM. The cleaners do not receive the same pension provision as their Transport for London counterparts and they are not entitled to free travel on the network they clean. Their workloads have soared as the company has cut back their numbers every year since the contract began, leaving them desperately overstretched during the pandemic.

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‘Stockwell Six’: two men could have convictions overturned

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Cases of two men accused of trying to rob a police officer in 1972 are being referred to court of appeal

Two men who were jailed nearly 50 years ago on the word of a corrupt detective could finally have their names cleared.

The cases of two members of the so-called “Stockwell Six”, who were accused of attempting to rob that officer on the underground, are now being referred to the court of appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

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Murder investigation begins after boy, 15, stabbed in east London

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Ambulance service unable to save teenager after attack in Newham

A 15-year-old boy has died after being stabbed in east London and a murder inquiry has been launched, the Metropolitan police has said.

Officers were called just before 7pm on Friday following reports of a stabbing in Woodman Street, near to the Royal Docks in Newham. Police and members of the London ambulance service (LAS) attended and found the teenager suffering injuries. Despite the efforts of the emergency services he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Sadiq Khan considering £3.50 daily charge for drivers entering London

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Capital’s mayor asks TfL to begin feasibility study for plan to raise £500m a year

Drivers could face a £3.50 daily charge to enter Greater London under proposals from the mayor of London to address the capital’s funding crisis.

Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London to start feasibility studies for the plan to raise £500m a year.

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Met police to compensate child slavery victim arrested after reporting ordeal

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Police ordered to pay £15,500 to man trafficked to UK from Vietnam as a boy who was detained and threatened with deportation

The Metropolitan police is to pay £15,500 to a victim of slavery who tried to report his traffickers but was instead arrested for immigration offences and sent to a detention centre.

The man, referred to in court as KQT, was 15 when he was taken by traffickers from Vietnam through Russia to the UK in a refrigerated lorry. He was arrested on arrival and placed in foster care, but shortly after was collected by his traffickers and forced to work on a cannabis farm, where he was locked inside a storeroom and only fed one meal a day. In January 2018, he escaped his captors and walked into a police station to report his ordeal.

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Rita Ora apologises for second breach of Covid lockdown restrictions

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Singer should have been self-isolating after trip to Egypt when she celebrated birthday at London venue

British singer Rita Ora has apologised after reports emerged that she should have been self-isolating when she celebrated her birthday at a London restaurant last month.

The 30-year-old flew to Egypt in a private jet on 21 November to perform at the five-star W Hotel in Cairo, an appearance for which she was paid a six-figure sum, the Mail on Sunday reported.

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Met chief defends ‘strong record’ after claims of race crisis

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Cressida Dick says stop and search has helped save young black lives

Britain’s top police officer has denied her force’s leadership were too slow to realise it had race a problem and said its controversial tactics have not oppressed young black men but saved scores from being stabbed.

Hitting back at months of revelations and criticism, Cressida Dick said the Metropolitan police, who police more than half of Britain’s black population, had a “strong record”.

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Rita Ora apologises for breaking England lockdown with party in restaurant

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Singer admits ‘inexcusable error of judgment’ after Met police called to birthday party

The singer Rita Ora has apologised for breaching lockdown rules by holding a “small” gathering with friends for her 30th birthday.

Ora admitted a “serious and inexcusable error of judgment” after celebrating with friends at a restaurant in Notting Hill, west London, on Saturday night.

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