London

    A third Heathrow runway has been given the go-ahead, the Government has confirmed. Proposals to expand an existing runway at Heathrow or build a second runway at Gatwick were rejected Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "The step that Government is taking today is truly momentous. "I am proud that after years of discussion and delay this Government is taking decisive action to secure the UK's place in the global aviation market - securing jobs and business opportunities for the next decade and beyond." Mr Grayling said expanding the west London hub will improve connectivity in the UK and with the rest of the world, supporting exports, trade and job opportunities. He went on: " This isn't just a great deal for business, it's a great deal for passengers who will also be...

    More than 20 people were injured after a bus crashed into a railway bridge in north London. Fire crews, paramedics and police were called to St Loy’s Road in Tottenham just after 4am after the double-decker bus became wedged under the bridge. Dramatic pictures taken by London Ambulance Service staff show the roof of the vehicle was cut away after three people were trapped. London Fire Brigade (LFB) said five passengers were taken to hospital with 21 people treated at the scene. But no-one is believed to be seriously injured, police said.

    Media captionAmbulance staff treated 26 patients for breathing difficulties A suspected chemical incident that led to the evacuation of London City Airport may have been caused by a passenger accidentally discharging CS gas before check-in, police have said. A canister, believed to be "a CS gas or spray", was discovered by police during a search on Friday afternoon. About 500 people were evacuated from the east London airport at 16:00 BST after some passengers felt unwell. Two people were taken to hospital and 26 others treated at the scene. A spokesperson said that while "the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge". "At this early stage officers are investigating whether it may have been...

    Tower Hamlets needs a lot more homes. Its population is growing faster than anywhere else in the land, with newcomers and newborns bumping the numbers up by about 11,000 every year. it’s almost doubled in the past 30 to a good 290,000. Executive Mayor John Biggs been particularly busy with housing policy, as he was keen to demonstrate to an audience of fellow politicians, housing professionals and the odd stray journalist in an East End community centre on Monday. There are around 20,000 people on the council’s waiting list and a lot in overcrowded conditions. But the issue isn’t limited to volume. Housing isn’t about big numbers, it’s about people, Biggs said. It was next to the once notorious but now award-winning Ocean estate in Stepney, whose total rebuilding is approa...

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had also banned Sonali Bank UK owned by the Bangladesh government from taking deposits from new customers for 168 days and has fined its former money laundering reporting officer, Steven Smith, £17,900. Mr Smith has also been banned from taking on similar roles within regulated firms in the UK. Sonali is the only UK-based Bangladeshi bank and had 85,625 customers registered to send money overseas in 2014. It has around 2,500 customer accounts in Britain and offices in London, Birmingham and Bradford. The FCA said Sonali failed to have proper anti-money laundering systems in place for nearly four years from August 2010 to July 2014, despite having been warned about weaknesses in its controls. It said: "The FCA found serious and ...

    Special Correspondent: The British-based niece of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is standing as an MP in Britain’s General Election in May. Tulip 33, is standing as a candidate for the main opposition Labour Party in a seat in the capital London called Hampstead and Kilburn. The seat is one of Britain most marginal seats, as its current Labour MP, former actress Glenda Jackson, won the seat in 2010 with a majority of only 42 votes. Tulip is likely to win the seat as Labour appears to be ahead in the polls in the constituency. However, questions are already being raised about Tulip family background, and her apparent attempt to hide her links to her aunt, Sheik Hasina. A British national newspaper has reported that in 2012, Tulip was photograph with President Putin at the Kre...

    The victim, aged in her 20s, was with another woman outside The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, when two men came up behind them last month. One of the men, described as a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, pulled down the woman’s headscarf, leaving her “shocked and distressed”. Both men then fled towards Pelham Road just after 7.30pm on September 28. The first man was believed to have had blond or ginger shaved hair and stubble. He was around 5ft 6 inches tall, wearing a burgundy hoody and carrying a Tesco carrier bag. The second man was described as being of Mediterranean appearace, aged in his late 20s or early 30s, and clean shaven with spiky hair. He was said to be wearing a grey hoody. Detective Constable Ben Cousin of Haringey Community Safe...

    For 122 years Tower Bridge has spanned the Thames in London, but there is concern about the recent announcement that it will close for three months for major repairs to be performed. It is a bridge that's not only functional, but beautiful — functioning as both a river crossing and a tourist attraction. "Well it's kind of unusual isn't it? There's not many bridges that look as impressive as it does, and literally opens up in the middle of an iconic city and lets usually old ships through them," said Garrett Emmerson, Transport for London's chief operating officer for surface transport. In what is a controversial decision, Tower Bridge will be closed for three months for major repairs. "Well obviously it's not something you do lightly or even want to do at all," Mr Emmerson...

    London Mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged to launch an investigation into foreign ownership of London property, amid worries that it is causing rising house prices and falling home ownership among Londoners. Sadiq Khan told the Guardian: “It’s clear we need to better understand the different roles that overseas money plays in London’s housing market, the scale of what’s going on, and what action we can take to support development and help Londoners find a home." Mr Khan campaigned on this issue of foreign ownership during the election campaign for mayor, arguing that developers should give Londoners "first dibs" on homes. He argued that the increase of foreign buyers was pushing up prices for Londoners, and many of these flats were "buy-to-leave" properties, acting as a safety d...

    A police officer allegedly filmed smashing a driver's windscreen with a baton is accused of becoming involved in a second altercation with another black man after a new video surfaced. In the new video, an officer stops Kyle Adair-Whyte as he pushes a damaged moped along the road and accuses him of stealing it. The policeman handcuffs the 24-year-old man and tells him he suspects the moped has been used in "moped-enabled snatches" on the street. Kyle alleges that the officer who stopped him is the same one who screamed at Leon Fontana to "get out of the car" before smashing his windscreen in dramatic footage that has been viewed more than 25m times on the internet. The officer in that video is now subject to an IPCC inquiry and has been put on restricted duties after it em...