London

    A woman is searching for the good Samaritan who carried her off a train, called the emergency services, bought her a coffee and paid for a taxi home when she had a seizure. Ellie Farnfield, 27, was travelling from Redhill in Surrey to London Victoria on Wednesday when she fell unconscious. She came around on the floor to find the coffee, a £10 note and the handwritten letter from a man giving his name only as Tom. “I hope by the time you read this you are feeling better,” the note said. “You had a seizure on the train and I took you off. Ms Farnfield had been travelling into London on a Southern Trains service “You didn't hit your head but I may have hurt your leg as I walked on it before realising you were on the floor having a fit! Sorry! “I'm also sorry I can't stay wit...

    Five years ago, Labour’s National Executive removed Lutfur Rahman as Labour’s candidate for mayor of Tower Hamlets without notice. Several local Labour figures condemned the then Cllr Lutfur Rahman for standing as an independent candidate – because this was breaking Labour Party rules. Now Rushanara Ali, the local Labour MP, has also broken Labour Party rules. The party whip in the House of Commons issued strict instructions that all Labour MPs should vote against Chancellor George Osborne’s Fiscal Charter” Rushanara abstained – helping the Conservatives push through their austerity measures. And now she’s tight-lipped, not giving any explanation for her actions. The row centres on a vote in the House of Commons on 14th October, on a “Charter for Budget Responsibility” put...

    A speed camera in east London has been revealed to be the most prolific in the country - catching almost 50 motorists A DAY. Data released under Freedom of Information Act revealed that the camera, on the westbound carriageway in the Limehouse Link Tunnel, snared a staggering 17,620 motorists in 2014-15. London is also home to the 10th most prolfiic speed camera, on Tower Bridge South. The camera, which is operated by City of London police, snapped on average 14 speeding drivers per day. Roger Lawson, from the Alliance of British Drivers, said the use of the cameras was unjustifiable. He said: Clearly it's unjustified and they should do something about it. The engineering of the road is not appropriate if they're catching that many people a day. I think the cameras in that...

    Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury, a former Supreme Court judge who retired recently, has been attacked in London. His daughter Nadia Choudhury said in a Facebook post that she and her father landed at London's Heathrow airport on Wednesday night. Before heading home, the two drove off to a Durga Puja pavilion in York Hall at Bethnal Green, she said. As the two came out of the pavilion, a person came up to them and asked her father if he was indeed AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury. When he did not reply, the youngman attacked him. Few others joined up and kicked and punched Shamsuddin, his daughter said in the FB post. The attackers snatched his mobile phone as the former judge hit the ground, his daughter said. Despite our screams for help, none came forward, she said. As Choudhur...

Two gay London Muslims are launching a street campaign to change attitudes towards homosexuality within the Islamic community. Ejel Khan and Sohail Ahmed will set up a stall outside Whitechapel station today where they will hand out leaflets and talk to the public. With support from activist Peter Tatchell, they hope to give confidence to gay Muslims and persuade mosques to welcome gay worshippers. Mr Ahmed, 23, said the campaign could change lives and encourage young Muslims to be more open about their sexuality. He said: I always feared that Muslims and non-Muslims alike would view me negatively for being both Muslim and gay. I thought that no one would understand me. I wish I had come across something like this during my darkest moments as a young gay Muslim. No one deserves to be alon...

    Big Ben's bongs may fall silent for months or even years as urgent repairs are carried out. Two of Britain's largest newspapers reported Sunday that Parliament's massive clock and the tower that supports it need as much as 40 million pounds ($61.7 million) in repairs - work that will silence the fa-mous bell, Big Ben. The Sunday Times, citing a Westminster source, says the clock is so dilapidated it may grind to a halt. The Mail on Sunday suggested the clock's hands could fall off without urgent action. The Times says repairs to the Elizabeth Tower must begin as soon as possible and can't wait for the 7 billion pound ($10.8 billion) restoration of the entire Palace of Westminster that is scheduled to begin at the end of the decade. Discover the fascinating history of Big B...

    A woman has been arrested in connection with the racist abuse of two Muslim women on a London bus, after video footage of the incident went viral on social media. The 36-year-old woman, who has not been named, was arrested on Friday at her home in Willesden Green, north-west London, on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence on the No 206 bus. The Metropolitan police said she remained in custody at a north London police station as inquiries continued. The incident came days after the government ordered police forces to increase data-gathering on Islamophobic attacks. Video footage taken by a fellow passenger shows a woman, accompanied by a child in a pushchair, shouting abuse at two Muslim women, and continuing after the bus driver comes out of his cab twice...

    A police officer is in hospital after being shot during an anti-gang operation in east London, Scotland Yard said. Shots were fired as the Met’s specialist firearms unit SCO19 was executing an operation at 12.45pm in Scriven Street, Hackney. A man was arrested at the scene. A male police officer was taken to an east London hospital after suffering a gunshot wound; his family have been informed. The Met has not given details of the condition of the officer. Eyewitnesses tweeted that the Haggerston area of Hackney was “going off”, that shots were fired and that police dogs were at the scene.

    Scotland Yard is to be asked to investigate misconduct allegations involving London mayor Boris Johnson and the Transport for London (TfL) procurement process behind the capital’s proposed garden bridge. Campaigners are to submit a formal complaint to the Metropolitan police over allegations of “malfeasance in public office” regarding the mayor and the decision to award designer Thomas Heatherwick and the engineering firm Arup lucrative contracts for work on the controversial bridge across the Thames. The central allegation is that the procurement process was rigged and that Heatherwick and Arup had been lined up to win the contracts before tenders were issued. It has now emerged that, just days before the invitation to tender was announced by Transport for London, Johnson...

    The former mayor of Tower Hamlets is at the Royal Courts of Justice with his spouse to argue over property ownership. Lutfur Rahman trying to hide under a fishing hat as he arrives at the High Court during the election case. The disgraced former mayor of Tower Hamlets is due to appear back at the Royal Courts of Justice – this time bringing his wife. Lutfur Rahman, whose assets have been frozen after the High Court found him guilty of electoral fraud in April, was scheduled back in the dock on Wednesday, September 30, to argue over property ownership. He and his wife argue that she is the beneficial owner of properties that have been linked to him, as part of an argument over retrieving court costs. The original case, which was brought against Rahman and his election agent...