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    Around 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines have been called to a blaze at a five-star hotel in central London. Huge plumes of smoke were seen coming from the Mandarin Oriental building in Knightsbridge. London Fire Brigade said it was called shortly before 4pm and the cause of the flames was not yet known. Twenty fire engines are at the scene including crews from Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith and Battersea. London Ambulance Service said it had sent a number of resources to the incident including its hazardous area response team. Staff from the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which was recently completed the most expensive renovation in its 115-year history were evacuated to Hyde Park where they were being given bottles of water. One worker, who asked not to be name...

    House rent prices in London have soared by more than a quarter since 2011 with the average flat in the capital now £1,500 a month. That's despite wages rising by just 9.1% over the past six years, a report by trade union GMB found. In some boroughs, prices have jumped an incredible 50%, pushing small, cramped flats to well above £2,000 a month. The GMB - which represents more than 631,000 workers in Britain - has now called for employers to revise wages to support those battling poor pay with the rising cost of living. It said bosses who refuse to take action will face staff shortages in the long term, as workers are priced out of the city. It's report found that between 2011 and 2017, rent prices for 2 bedroom flats in London increased by 25.9% whilst over the ...

Twelve young people from Tower Hamlets mingled with members of the royal family at Buckingham Palace during the annual Duke of Edinburgh gold awards ceremony,  last week. The event on 24 May was hosted by Prince Edward, trustee of the DofE awards, and he was joined by the Duke of Cambridge and his cousin, Princess Eugenie, to celebrate the achievements of 3,000 young people from across the country who received their awards during the special day. The young residents, aged between 16 and 25, all achieved their DofE gold award by working in volunteering, physical activity, skills and expeditions. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, said: "This has been a real record-breaking year for the Duke of Edinburgh awards here in the borough with 12 students achieving their Gold Award at Buckingha...

Tower Hamlets Council is running its fourth borough-wide Big Clean Up next week, as part of its 'Love Your Neighbourhood' campaign. With the good weather on its way, the fourth #TheBigCleanUp running from from Monday 4 - Friday 8 June promises to be bigger than ever before, spread across parks, estates and streets while working with a wide variety of partners. A full list of locations is available online and is being publicised through social media. In 2016, the Council collected 7,000 tonnes of litter and debris, and the Big Clean Up raises awareness and encourages everyone in the community to play their part in keeping the borough clean and green, and do their bit by not dropping litter and taking part in short clean-up activities Mayor John Biggs said: "While most people respect ou...

£8000 of illegal tobacco seized in two-day operation 56% of businesses visited in Tower Hamlets were caught selling illegal tobacco  Tower Hamlets Council's Trading Standards Officers and detection dogs found £8,000 worth of illegal tobacco hidden inside cereal boxes, coat pockets and behind display panels during a recent two-day operation. Officers found illegal products in 10 of the 18 premises visited. Overall 12,360 cigarettes, 2,250g of hand-rolling tobacco and 68 pots of chewing tobacco were seized. The raids were part of Operation Stromboli, which aims to stop the sale of counterfeit, incorrectly labelled and non-duty paid tobacco and alcohol in Tower Hamlets. According to the law, cigarettes must be sold in minimum quantities of 20s with plain (olive green) packaging...