London

    The Queen could not attend a New Year’s Day service at Sandringham after coming down the heavy cold. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh were forced to delay their journey from Buckingham Palace to their Norfolk estate in the days before Christmas after she fell ill. The 90-year-old also had to miss the Christmas Day ceremony at St Mary Magdalene Church, which other members of the royal family attended. Buckingham Palace said the Queen was still suffering the effects of the cold and had decided not to attend the service with other members of the royal family. The Queen has had the cold for more than a week, although she is understood to be up and about. Prince Philip is expected to attend the service, led by the Bishop of Norwich, after fully recovering from his cold. It...

    Sadiq Khan has dumped the Boris bus, a key part of the now foreign secretary’s legacy as London mayor, because it is too expensive to produce. The new generation of red double-decker Routemasters, with folding doors that allow passengers to hop on and off, was introduced by Johnson in 2012, to great fanfare. Designer Thomas Heatherwick was credited with giving the new Routemaster a modern London look. After the bus was first introduced, he said it was a compliment that it had so quickly become part of London’s landscape and personality. Heatherwick also designed the cauldron for the opening of the 2012 London Olympics as well as the so-called Garden Bridge, yet to be built across the river Thames. At the time, the London mayor described the new bus, built by Northern Irela...

    Armed police will be deployed on London Underground trains for the first time on New Year's Eve following a review of security. The armed officers and other additional patrols have been brought in to bolster the 3,000 officers who will police the capital's streets. Although armed officers have been visible at Tube stations for some time, they are not routinely seen on Underground trains and platforms. Transport for London told Sky News that armed British Transport Police officers will be seen on Tube trains from New Year's Eve onwards. Plans for the BTP to have its own armed division were announced in 2011 but it was only in October that the force said it wants its uniformed marksmen to travel on the Tube. Concrete barriers have also been erected around the main routes int...

    Buckingham Palace said both she and the Duke of Edinburgh have heavy colds and decided it would be best to postpone their trip. Her Majesty, who is 90, had been due to catch the 10.44 from London King's Cross to King's Lynn to begin her annual Christmas break at her Norfolk home, but failed to turn up, leaving station staff in the dark. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have heavy colds, and so have decided not to travel to Sandringham today. Her Majesty had hosted the annual Christmas lunch at the Palace on Tuesday, when the extended Royal family joined her for the traditional get-together before her winter break in Norfolk. In 2011 the Duke of Edinburgh, 95, spent Christmas in hospital after he needed heart surgery for a blocked arte...

    A young Muslim woman was knocked down and dragged along the pavement by her hijab in a “sickening” attack in a busy shopping precinct. The woman had been visiting a friend at a hair salon when two white men approached her from behind and tried to remove her headscarf. The 27-year-old was forced to the ground and dragged for several metres by her hijab in Hall Lane in Chingford Mount, north London. Witnesses say she was left lying on the floor for almost 20 minutes before managing to dial 999 and limp to a Turkish restaurant. Paramedics attended and treated her for back injuries before taking her to hospital. A waiter at the Fes restaurant said: “The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, we had to sit her down and give her water before she could speak. “She told us two white g...

    A skyscraper almost as tall as the Shard is to be added to the central London skyline after the 73-storey building was given planning approval. Known as 1 Undershaft, the site’s address in London’s financial district, and nicknamed the Trellis, it will be the second-tallest building in western Europe, after the Shard, at more than 300 metres. Designed by the architect Eric Parry for Singaporean developers Aroland Holdings, the building will have a free public viewing gallery and what is claimed to be London’s highest restaurant. The skyscraper is to be built on the site of the Aviva Tower, which will be demolished, and is due to be completed at some point in the 2020s, as tenants remain in the building currently standing on the site. © Provided by Guardian News View of ent...

    Prince Harry's girlfriend Meghan Markle opened up about receiving terrifying death threats earlier this year. The Suits actress has been thrust into the global spotlight after the royal confirmed their budding relationship earlier this week, but during a conversation with Piers Morgan earlier this year, the star revealed that she's dealt with scary times due to her job. Meghan was on a visit to London in June, and spoke to Good Morning Britain's Piers in a London pub after spending a day in the Royal box at Wimbledon. In a recent statement, Harry hit out at the “abuse and harassment” that his girlfriend had suffered since their relationship came to light. In her conversation with Piers, Meghan reportedly revealed other scary times she had faced because of her character Rac...

    Theresa May faces a showdown with the Queen – over scrapping ¬seven of Her Majesty’s royal charters. The PM plans to take them away from the UK’s research councils, which invest £3billion a year so university science teams can make ground-breaking discoveries. The royal charters guarantee that scientists are independent of the Government and can carry out whatever research they choose. They are now concerned they will lose that freedom and might be subjected to political interference. Constitutional expert David Rogers said: “The Queen will hit the roof and it will cause a huge dust-up with the PM. “This could turn into Mrs May’s first row with Her Majesty since she became PM. The Queen is likely to raise it with Mrs May at one of their weekly audiences before she signs it...

    Theresa May has been warned by sacked ministers that she must promote them back into Government within a year or face “trouble” in Parliament. Senior Tories dismissed by the Prime Minister in the summer have privately warned their “loyalty” only stretches so far after being sent to the backbenches. Some are ready to increasingly rebel over Mrs May’s grammar schools ban and Brexit priorities unless they are put back on the Government payroll soon. The ultimatum, made in conversations with The Sunday Telegraph, is designed to make sure Mrs May makes good on indications there is a route back to the Government for those who behave. “We have said we will be unflinchingly loyal for one year. But if they keep us on the back benches for longer we will start causing trouble,” ...

    Dozens of people were injured and five people were left trapped after a tram overturned in a major incident in Croydon. The London Fire Brigade confirmed 40 people were injured after the tram came off the tracks in a tunnel near Sandlilands tram station. Emergency services were called at 6.10am as torrential rain battered London.