London

    A homeowner in a housing complex in London with Grenfell-type cladding has been told the value of her £475,000 home has collapsed and is now just £50,000. Galliard Homes, the developer of the 11-block complex in New Capital Quay in south-east London, is facing a £30m-£40m bill to replace the cladding and is currently locked in a legal dispute over who should pay. The dispute, which could take years to resolve, has left Cecile Langevin, 32, and potentially thousands of others up and down the country, with an unsellable flat. It is like someone has taken away our life choices, our freedom, she said. And nobody is doing anything about it, she added, in tears. She has a two-year-old son and was due to give birth to her second child on Saturday. She had put their flat ...

Dawn raids kick off the third phase of partnership activity between Tower Hamlets Council and Police in Operation Continuum. Raids last week in Bow saw large amounts of money and drugs seized by police officers. These raids were followed up by a weapons sweep in the area. Prior to last week's activity, over the previous 10 days arrests were made in the Bow area for offences including possession of weapons, burglary, possession and supply of Class A drugs and GBH. A knife related operation also resulted in 18 arrests (including five for carrying an offensive weapon), and the seizure of knives, £1,000 cash, two stolen vehicles, approximately 1kg of cannabis and approximately 200 wraps of class A drugs. These results build upon the impressive successes of Operation Continuum since...

The crucial role played by Tower Hamlets' voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations received a welcome boost as the council agreed a range of measures to further develop and support their work across the borough. Tower Hamlets has around 2,000 VCS organisations that work with thousands of residents providing a wide range of services including those relating to health and wellbeing, advice, leisure, employment and housing. The council's Cabinet meeting on March 20 gave the green light to strengthen further the existing partnership with the council, and to take forward new funding agreements that give greater impact and outcomes, and maximise the benefit to local people. Further work will be carried out with the VCS to establish a new Community Commissioning programme to start in...

Tower Hamlets Council and Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group (THCCG) have made their first formal joint appointment, taking on Warwick Tomsett as Joint Director of Integrated Commissioning. The move brings both organisations together, creating a truly integrated approach to commissioning health and social care in Tower Hamlets. Warwick, who is currently Head of Targeted Services & Joint Commissioning for Lewisham Council/CCG, will commence in post on 21 May 2018. He will be responsible for bringing together commissioning across health and social care and creating a fully integrated commissioning function for Tower Hamlets Together, the borough's integrated care partnership. Warwick will report jointly to Denise Radley, Council Corporate Director of Health, Adults and Communi...

The next round of applications for Tower Hamlets,' multi-award winning No Place for Hate Champions training has been announced by the council. The free training is open to anyone who lives or works in the borough. It aims to give participants the skills to identify and tackle hate crime, and to deliver community activities where they can make a difference, share their learning and celebrate diversity. The new champions will add to 84 others who have already used the training to bring thousands of people together in community projects. To find out more, email hatecrime@towerhamlets.gov.uk or contact Benedicta Dikeocha on 020 7364 6105.   The closing date is 5pm Friday 20 April 2018. Comments from residents and workers who completed the last round of training:  Cheryl Jethoo, a local ...

The full list of all election candidates for the council and the Mayor of the borough have been now been published. Visit the council's website to see who's standing to become a councillor in the area where you live on May 3, as well as the official candidates standing to be the elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets. If you have not yet registered to vote you need to ensure you have applied to register by Tuesday 17 April, and are approved to vote at these elections. You can apply to register to vote by visiting the Government's website https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote To check if you are registered, contact electoral services by emailing vote@towerhamlets.gov.uk or call 020 7364 0872. Chief Executive of the council and Returning Officer for the elections, Will Tuckley, said:  "Applying ...

    A fraudster who pretended her husband was killed in the Grenfell Tower fire in order to claim thousands of pounds worth of handouts has been jailed. Joyce Msokeri, 47, posed as a resident of the west London tower and said she had been left a widow after losing her husband in the fire on June 14. In the wake of the tragedy she accepted £19,000 worth of money, accommodation and other donations that was made available to victims. On Friday she was found guilty of fraud at the Old Bailey and jailed for four-and-a-half years. Upon sentencing Msokeri, Judge Michael Grieve QC described her actions as callous and contemptible, indeed disgusting Msokeri claimed she had moved into Grenfell Tower in February 2017 to live with her husband – who she said had died in the fire ...