London

    A white Christian girl was reportedly put into the care of a non English speaking Muslim foster family where the mother wears a niqab. The child, aged five, who speaks English as her first language, has been looked after by two different Muslim households in the past six months. She was allegedly encouraged to learn Arabic in one household and was begging not to go back there because they don't speak English, according to a confidential report from the local authority seen by the Times newspaper. She is said to have told her mother since the placement in Tower Hamlets, London, that Christmas is stupid and European women are alcoholic. The girl was reportedly told to remove her Christian cross necklace and was not allowed to eat carbonara because it contained bacon. In one ...

    A gang of thieves smashed their way into a store in the early hours of the morning and took jewellery worth £1.8 million ($2.3 million), according to the Metropolitan Police. Video footage, released by Scotland Yard, shows a group of men taking an array of gold and diamonds from a shop in London, after police say they knocked a hole in the building's wall with a sledgehammer. The hole which police say three robbers squeezed through during the theft.Metropolitan Police The gang were recorded by CCTV cameras carrying out the heist at Joyalukkas, a Middle Eastern jewelry chain, in the Forest Gate area of east London. Officers for the Metropolitan Police say the robbery took place between 3 a.m. and 6.40 a.m. on July 10, a Monday. They said the men used a sledgehammer and a cr...

    • First consultation and street audit in the Weavers area. • Further events across the borough to come Residents and community groups across the borough are being encouraged to work with the council to love their neighbourhood by suggesting how areas can be made more attractive. A £3 million scheme to invest in local infrastructureto brighten and uplift neighbourhoods will start this September. The Mayor's Neighbourhood Refresh programme will be rolled out across the borough over the next three years. Beginning with the Weavers area of Bethnal Green, neighbourhoods are invited to suggest what should be done to make communities look more attractive. Improvements could include more trees and green spaces, installation of cycle parking, better lighting, street art, pleasant r...

    Jemma Beale has been described as a very convincing liar who injured herself with barbed wire to back up one of her claims. A manipulative woman who made a series of false rape and sexual assault claims has been jailed for 10 years. Jemma Beale was branded a very convincing liar as she was sentenced for four counts of perjury and four counts of perverting the course of justice. The 25-year-old from Bedfont in west London had claimed she was gang raped by nine male strangers and sexually assaulted by six men in four different encounters over a three-year period. But Beale invented the chilling claims often drunkenly to make her girlfriend jealous, Southwark Crown Court heard. In July 2012, she even injured herself to back up a claim that she had been assaulted with barbed w...

Sirajul Islam, deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets today met pupils from Central Foundation School for Girls to congratulate them on their GCSEs results and extended his best wishes to all students in Tower Hamlets receiving their results. Sirajul Islam said: "Today is about all about our young people who have worked so hard for the last few years to achieve their grades and I congratulate all of them. "As before, there are some outstanding results at individual schools across the borough with students who are a real credit to their school and their families. "Many of students are achieving these excellent results despite their families facing difficult circumstances and tough living standards. It's a real testament to the determination and resolve of parents to ensure that their children receiv...

    Police are treating the blaze as suspicious and say three people were seen leaving the area when it began to erupt. A huge fire has broken out at a Poundland in east London, with 97 firefighters battling to get the blaze under control. Witnesses posted video on social media of the discount shop in Chingford being engulfed by flames and the building's roof has been partially destroyed. Half of the ground floor and parts of the first floor were also alight, as nearby homes were evacuated and shocked residents looked on. One person wrote on Twitter: Shop burning down at Chingford Mount! Pray there's no one in there. Horrific!! Police are treating the fire as suspicious and say three suspects were seen leaving the area shortly after it began. No injuries have been reported, an...

    East London based biggest Charity organisation Muslim Aid has broken the record for the world’s biggest samosa and then fed it to homeless people. The enormous snack, weighing in at 153kg, was made by a team of Muslim Aid volunteers at the East London Mosque on Tuesday. After claiming their official Guinness World Record, the team distributed the gigantic samosa to homeless people around Whitechapel. Residents from the nearby Booth House - the largest men’s hostel in London – were invited to enjoy a piece of the treat. Members of the mosque said they decided to make the samosa to highlight the “generosity of Muslim people during religious festivals like Eid”. Muslim Aid’s Zac Hussain, explained: “We wanted to make a larger-than-ever version of this popular food to demonstr...

    A manhunt is underway after a 10-year-old girl fought off a sex attacker who assaulted her as she walked in woodland. The youngster managed to kick the man after he grabbed her in Claygate, Surrey, causing him to run off, police said. Detectives have released an e-fit of the attacker after the incident, which happened at about 6pm last Thursday. A Surrey Police spokesman said: "The girl managed to kick the man and he ran off. He was seen by witnesses running along Stevens Lane in Claygate in the direction of Woodstock Lane towards Chessington. The attacker is described as an Asian male of 40 to 45 years old, 6ft 1in tall with a stocky build. He had collar-length black hair, a full black beard and was wearing blue jogging bottoms, possibly with a Chelsea football club logo ...

    Big Ben should be allowed to bong once a week for tourists, a minister has said ahead of the bell falling silent for the next four years later today. Later today renovation work begins on the bell, amid a backlash from Theresa May and MPs after it was announced it would have to fall silent for four years for health and safety reasons. At noon today, Big Ben will sound its final bong for four years. The bongs are being stopped to avoid the risk of workers' hearing being damaged by the loud noise. MPs are expected to gather outside the Palace of Westminster to witness the event. John Glen, a minister at the Department for Culture, told the Telegraph: It's a shame for visitors. We need a practical solution. I would hope we could find a way of ringing the bells at least once a...

    The service, which operates on five lines on Friday and Saturday nights, launched on August 19 last year almost a year after originally intended. A year after it launched, the Night Tube is set to welcome its eight millionth passenger. During that time, the number of people using the service has exceeded predictions by around 15 per cent. The enthusiasm of Londoners has stayed strong ever since. While central London stations such as Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road have been predictably popular, so have east London interchanges Liverpool Street and Stratford. It is estimated that late night journeys are now 20 minutes quicker on average than before the Night Tube was introduced.