London

    Police in London have reportedly been ordered to prepare for as many as 10 terror attacks happening at once across the capital, in a dramatic escalation of the capital’s readiness in the wake of the Paris shootings. Quoting a Government minister with knowledge of the proposals for enhanced security, the Sunday Times reported that police had made cracking down on firearms a top priority. It comes after an alleged gang of gunrunners appeared in court charged with smuggling an “evil” shipment of 22 Czech-made assault rifles and nine sub-machine guns into Britain from Eastern Europe. The National Crime Agency (NCA), which was critical in the operation to arrest the suspects in that case, had reportedly been given new orders amid fears of a Paris-style attack involving terroris...

      Scotland Yard rules out criminal charges over Tower Hamlets electoral fraud allegations. Scotland Yard has ruled out bringing criminal charges over a series of allegations of electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets. The announcement comes nearly 12 months after disgraced former mayor Lutfur Rahman was thrown out of office, after a High Court judge ruled he was fraudulently elected. The Met had launched an investigation into allegations contained in a 200-page report which was published by the High Court after the hearing last April. But police today said that no prosecution will be mounted as a result of the claims in the dossier. In a statement, Scotland Yard said: After full consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service a decision has been made that there is insuffici...

    A bird has struck a passenger jet leaving a large dent in its nose as it was coming in to land at Heathrow. The EgyptAir flight from Cairo was grounded for 21 hours after the incident before a replacement nose could be located. Pictures of the damage show a large exposed dent in the Boeing 737-800 complete with blood and feathers. The aircraft, which had 71 passengers on board, managed to safely land at the airport on Friday, reports the Aviation Herald. Amir Hashim, a Senior Procurement Specialist for Egyptair, posted these images on to Facebook. Mr Hashim wrote alongside the photographs:"SU-GDZ operating yesterday evening's MS779 arrival suffered a bird strike on approach. "The damage caused is clearly evident and SU-GDZ will be grounded until a new radome is fitted. Now...

    Buckingham Palace has insisted the Queen is politically neutral in the EU referendum campaign, following a report that she had expressed strong Eurosceptic views. The Sun said she vented her anger with Brussels at the strongly pro-EU Nick Clegg during a lunch at Windsor Castle when he was deputy prime minister. The former Liberal Democrat leader dismissed the report as nonsense while the Palace said it would not comment on spurious, anonymously sourced claims. The paper quoted a senior source as saying that people who heard their conversation were left in no doubt at all about the Queen's views on European integration. It was really something, and it went on for quite a while. The EU is clearly something Her Majesty feels passionately about, the source was quoted as saying...

    An aide to Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has been suspended after writing dozens of offensive messages on Twitter. Shueb Salar, the MP's parliamentary assistant, allegedly posted sexist and homophobic tweets in the years before he was hired in November 2014. In April 2012, he responded to the hashtag #HowToTreatALady with: Buy her a nice iron and extend the kitchen for her. Mr Salah had also tweeted about the "funniest tube journey ever" - when rowdy chavs were cussing these 2 gay guys for kissing. He added: Maybe they deserved it. A spokeswoman for Mr Khan, who is the bookies' favourite to win the mayoralty and succeed Boris Johnson, said "clearly (these tweets) are serious issues" - and confirmed Mr Salar had been suspended pending an investigation. Despit...

    London Mayor says business leader suspended for supporting Brexit was crushed by the agents of Project Fear. Boris Johnson attacked David Cameron's agents of fear last night for crushing a senior business leader who called for Britain to leave the European Union. The Major of London expressed his horror over the suspension of John Longworth, the highly respected leader of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), for backing Brexit. Downing Street was accused of "bullying" the BCC into temporarily removing Mr Longworth from his post. Number 10 sources denied that they had "forced" the body to suspend Mr Longworth or put "pressure" on board members to take action. However, the sources could not say that no conversations had taken place between Downing Street officials and the...

    Jeremy Corbyn responds to David Cameron at PMQs on 24 February (Picture: [copyright]) Responding to the Prime Minister's remarks, Mr Corbyn said on Thursday: “He is actually jealous of the jacket. “You know what he is really jealous of? That I can go shopping in the greatest shopping centre in the world, Holloway Road, N7, and he has to stick with Bond Street.” The shadow leader of the Commons, Chris Bryant, also offered some motherly advice to the Commons on Thursday. Mr Byrant said: "Talking of mother's advice, my mother told me [...] never trust a man with slip-on shoes. "I merely point out that the Prime Minister was wearing slip-on shoes yesterday." Mr Cameron has been criticised for his remarks with some Labour MP’s condemning the Prime Minster for hitting a “new low...

    In response to the series of Asian sex abuse gangs uncovered in towns across the UK there is likely to be an "acceleration of passport strike-outs and potential deportations" (Picture: [copyright]) Asian-born sex abusers will be stripped of their UK citizenship and deported at the end of their sentences under a new Home Office drive, The Independent can reveal. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is planning to significantly increase her department’s use of legal powers that allow serious criminals with dual nationality to have their British citizenship withdrawn, Whitehall sources say. Until now, the powers have predominately been used to remove the UK passports of terrorists and terrorist sympathisers. But senior department sources told The Independent that – in response to...

    A woman, who was allegedly making eye contact with passers-by in a London street, has been banned from sitting on the ground after police considered the act to be a form of begging. Speaking at a local forum in the London Borough of Redbridge, Ch Insp John Fish said a woman in Ilford “wasn’t holding a sign or holding out her hand, but making eye contact” with members of the public, the Ilford Recorder reports. We filmed her and got a CBO (Criminal Behaviour Order) banning her from sitting on the floor, he added. Ch Insp Fish said police were clamping down on begging in Ilford town centre, issuing CBOs to individuals who appeared to be seeking money from the public after collecting appropriate evidence. However, one beggar told the Recorder that while she had been offered s...

    The new roundel for the Elizabeth Line. Crossrail, the highly anticipated new rail system running from Reading to Shenfield through the heart of London has been named the Elizabeth Line in honour of the Queen. The new name was unveiled at a ceremony at Bond Street Station, attended by the Queen, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. The Queen was presented with commemorative Elizabeth roundel and met with a range of people involved in the Crossrail construction at the site. What is the new Elizabeth Line? The new Elizabeth Line is what developers and Londoners have known as Crossrail, the high-speed rail service intended to bring increased capacity to the capital’s transport system. It has been officially renamed by Mayor of London Boris...