Tag Archives: London

Sky News reports: Around 30 far-right protesters clashed with similar numbers of counter-protesters outside Tate Britain over a drag queen storytelling event. Nationalist organisation Patriotic Alternative was understood to have led a group of demonstrators against children’s author Aida H Dee reading to families at the central London art gallery on Saturday. They came face to face with counter-protesters, led …

Reuters reports: A former London police officer was jailed on Tuesday for at least 30 years for a “catalogue of violence and brutal sexual offending” in a sustained campaign of abuse against women. David Carrick, who worked in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, used his position of power to intimidate many of his victims, saying no one would believe …

The Guardian reports: A Metropolitan police officer has been revealed as a serial rapist who committed more than 71 serious sexual offences, despite the force being told of repeated allegations over two decades that he was a threat to women. PC David Carrick, an armed officer in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, admitted on Monday to 49 counts – …

The Metro reports: Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport have seized material contaminated with uranium, it has been reported. Counter-terrorism is said to be investigating the incident after a package coming into the UK was found with traces of the radioactive element. It was discovered by officers on December 29, and after being assessed it was said to be ‘posing …

The Times Of London reports: President Biden will have dispensation to take his armoured Beast to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral next week, while lesser world leaders will have to make do with a shared bus. A unprecedented logistical and diplomatic operation is under way to prepare for the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries on British soil since the …

Politico Europe reports: Foreign heads of state and their spouses heading to London for the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II have been asked to arrive in the U.K. on commercial flights and banned from using helicopters to get around. World leaders have also been told they cannot use their own state cars to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey …

Politico Europe reports: The preparations for the funeral represent a colossal logistical, security and diplomatic task, with tens of thousands of people expected to travel to London over the coming days. Foreign embassies are already handling hundreds of calls from private citizens enquiring whether it would be possible to land in the capital on the same day of the funeral, …

Agence France-Presse reports: London mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday (Dec 18) declared a “major incident” in the British capital due to the spread of the Omicron variant. More than 65,000 new cases were confirmed in London over the past seven days, and 26,418 cases reported in the last 24 hours – the highest number since the start of the pandemic. …

Reuters reports: A blimp depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a snarling, nappy-wearing orange baby has found a home in one of London’s most popular museums. The helium-filled balloon, originally paid for through crowdfunding, first took to the skies over London during protests against Trump’s visit in 2018 and has flown in other locations including France, Argentina, Ireland and Denmark. …

The Guardian reports: Police will be asked to block families from driving out of tier 4 areas and extra officers will be deployed at railway stations to clampdown on non-essential journeys, it has been announced, following crowded scenes at transport hubs in the capital. The new tier 4 measures imposed from Sunday in London and the south-east indefinitely prohibit non-essential …

Via press release from London’s Metropolitan Police: Ahead of a planned protest on Saturday, 28 November, the Met is urgently reminding those looking to attend that protest is not currently a permitted exemption to the prohibition on gatherings under the current Coronavirus regulations. Strict regulations have been introduced by the Government nationally to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus. This …

The Independent reports: London is to go into Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions from midnight on Friday evening, barring the capital’s 9 million residents from meeting other households in their homes or other indoor spaces. The escalation in controls over social and economic life was formally announced by health secretary Matt Hancock in a statement to the House of Commons, when …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. officials are aiming to open travel between New York City and London with shortened traveler quarantine periods as soon as the holidays, according to people familiar with the matter. The growing availability of Covid-19 tests in the U.S. has prompted officials at the Transportation Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to revive …

The Daily Beast reports: London Mayor Sadiq Khan is warning people to stay away from the center of the city because far-right groups are expected to converge there, raising the potential for violent clashes with anti-racism protesters. “We have intelligence that extreme far right groups are coming to London ostensibly, they say, to protect the statues, but we think the …

Newsweek reports: More than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling on event organizers in Britain to cancel an event that would see Trump ally and anti-LGBT+ preacher Franklin Graham appear in London this year as part of a planned tour across Britain.The petition, organized by action group All Out had initially claimed that Graham would be speaking at The …

Reuters reports: British police are to start operational use of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras in London, despite warnings over privacy from rights groups and concerns expressed by the government’s own surveillance watchdog. First used in the capital at the Notting Hill carnival in 2016, the cameras will alert police when they spot anyone on “wanted” lists. “The use of …

NBC News reports: A number of people were injured in a stabbing near London Bridge in the center of the British capital on Friday afternoon, police said. One man has been arrested amid a major police incident that has cordoned off the busy surrounding area and closed local bus, subway stations and train stations. The incident on London Bridge was …

The New York Daily News reports: Three teenage boys pleaded guilty Thursday in connection to a highly publicized attack on a lesbian couple inside a London bus six months ago, according to the city’s Metropolitan Police, which have now released surveillance video of the horrific assault. One of the victims, Melania Geymonat, wrote in a viral Facebook post at the …

The Guardian reports: Uber has lost its licence to operate private hire vehicles in London after authorities found that more than 14,000 trips were taken with more than 40 drivers who had faked their identity on the Uber app. Transport for London announced the decision not to renew the ride-hailing firm’s licence at the end of a two-month probationary extension …

London Mayor Sadiq Khan writes for The Guardian: Vulnerable, often minority, communities are being demonised and scapegoated for all society’s ills. And, in appalling new parallels with the horrors of the past, migrants, refugees, people of colour, LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities are bearing the brunt. This comes as a new wave of extremist far-right movements and political parties are winning …