Tag: Featured

    Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of terror offences. An man has Wednesday been arrested in east London on suspicion of dissemination of terrorist publications. Police made the arrest of the 36-year-old under section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006. They took him to a central London police station where he remains in custody. Officers are carrying out a search at the address and enquiries continue.

Teenagers leaving care homes and going into the adult world are to be excempt from Tower Hamlets council tax until they are 25, the local authority decided last night. Cllr Amy Whitelock Gibbs... Those leaving our care struggle with finances moving to independence. It follows a plea by the Children’s Society that those leaving care often struggle to make ends meet because they don’t have family support. The council has responsibility as corporate parents to improve their life chances, cabinet members heard. We want them have the best transition into adult life, Cllr Amy Whitelock Gibbs agreed. Those leaving our care struggle with finances while moving to independence. A relatively small cost to the council can prevent them falling into debt and financial hardship. Cllr David Edgar said: ...

Small business start-ups, budding creatives and ambitious local entrepreneurs have received a big boost with the opening of the Whitechapel Enterprise Hub, in the home of the former post office building on Whitechapel Road. The new centre for enterprise offers attractive and flexible working and meeting space, alongside practical support and specialist start-up courses to help local residents and businesses to thrive. A team of architects and contractors have transformed the 280sqm Royal Mail site with a grant of almost £230,000 following a successful bid made by the Council to the Mayor of London's High Street Fund. It marks a key next step in the wider Whitechapel Vision, which is regenerating the area by delivering a new Crossrail station in 2018 transformation of the former Old Royal L...

GPs in Tower Hamlets will now be offering Hepatitis C testing to help increase diagnosis and treatment for this life threatening disease. In the run up to World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, the council and its partners across health services are drawing attention to Hepatitis C – a virus that affects the liver, doesn't have any symptoms and is a major cause of liver cancer. The borough-wide screening is thought to be the first in the country and was launched by Mayor John Biggs, Jubilee Street practice GP Dr Salma Ahmed, Professor Graham Foster, Consultant Hepatologist from NHS Barts Health and Queen Mary University of London and Dr Stuart Flanagan from Queen Mary University of London. Jubilee Street Practice was one of four practices in Tower Hamlets that participated in the HepFree study, w...

The council has developed a new strategy to encourage local communities to play a bigger and more active role in shaping their neighbourhoods and council services. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets said: "I want our council to draw on all the talent and experience of our community and to include more local people in our decision making. "With government continuing to cut council funding each year its more important than ever that residents are at the heart of everything we do. Working together to identify local priorities and develop solutions to the challenges we face is vital." A wide programme of consultation was done with key stakeholders to develop the current priorities in the strategy, and to help define the council's vision for involving the community. As part of the final phase o...

    Research under way for Thames air quality strategy by Port of London Authority. An operation to clean up the Thames is underway with new research by the Port of London Authority. Its clean air strategy is being worked out where ships berthed along the waterfront will have to switch off their engines and plug into an electrical grid, while vessels on the river will have to reduce their emissions. Our research is to get a detailed picture of emissions on the Thames to develop the first river air quality strategy, PLA chief executive Robin Mortimer explained. We anticipate more trade, passenger journeys, recreation and people on the Thames in the next 20 years. The project is part of a long-term study by Transport for London on river usage rising dramatically by 2037, with th...

    Dramatic pictures of the aftermath of a suspected acid attack on two teenagers show the victims being doused in water by paramedics after a noxious substance was thrown in their faces. According to witnesses, the victims were screaming in agony as their skin peeled off when emergency services arrived at the scene in East London at around 7pm this evening. Photos show firemen use hoses to pour water over the teens' heads on the side of a newsagent in the Bethnal Green area. The victims reportedly raced into the shop crying 'we've got acid on us' before they flagged down police. In one image, medics tip two bottles of water over one of the victim's head in a bid to minimise the damage to the eyes and skin. Police forensic officers were also pictured gathering evidence at the...