Summary

  • Updates on Friday 30 June

  1. Grenfell Tower: Fire safety risk inspections pointless, says expertpublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 28 June 2017

    The system to assess fire safety of high-rise buildings in the UK is "pointless", a leading expert claims.

    Fire risk assessments (FRAs) carried out by councils do not consider factors such as external cladding, inspections of which are under way.

    It is feared cladding helped spread a blaze that killed at least 79 people at Grenfell Tower, which was not deemed a high-risk during inspections in 2016.

    Prof Arnold Dix said the FRA system was simply a "box ticking exercise".

    Prof Dix, an independent disaster investigator who looked into the Lakanal House fire, in Camberwell, which saw six people killed in 2009, said the fact Grenfell Tower burnt so fast despite being deemed only a medium risk showed FRAs did not work.

    Grenfell TowerImage source, JasonHawkes.com
  2. Weather: Rain slowing spreading north to leave dry afternoonpublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 28 June 2017

    A dull and damp start to the day, but the persistent rain will gradually spread northwards through the day leaving many dry by the afternoon.

    Staying dry with some brighter spells, possibly leading to the odd shower.

    Highs of 18C (64F)

  3. Travel: Part suspension on DLRpublished at 08:15 British Summer Time 28 June 2017

    BBC London Travel
    BBC Radio London Travel

    There's a good service on the Tube this morning apart from a part suspension on the DLR between All Saints and Canary Wharf because of a faulty train which is also causing delays on other parts of that line.

    On the trains Southeastern services are at a standstill between Charlton and Slade Green because of a problem at Plumstead.

    Keep up-to-date, external.

  4. BBC London: Latest updates on Wednesday 28 Junepublished at 08:00

    Claire Timms
    BBC London News

    Good morning, We'll be bringing you updates of all the latest videos, news, sport, travel and weather in London until 18:00.

    If you would like to get in touch, you can tweet, external, email or leave a message on our Facebook page, external.

  5. PM calls for tower cladding investigationpublished at 20:10 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    Cladding from 95 buildings in 32 local authority areas fails fire safety tests after Grenfell blaze.

    Read More
  6. Charlie Gard parents lose final appealpublished at 18:47 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    The European Court rejects a plea from the parents of Charlie Gard to intervene in his case.

    Read More
  7. German flats cleared amid cladding fearspublished at 18:46 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    An 11-storey block is evacuated in Wuppertal because it has panels similar to Grenfell Tower's.

    Read More
  8. Good evening from BBC London Livepublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    BBC London News

    Updates for London have now ended for the day but we'll be back at 08:00 on Wednesday with the latest videos, news, sport, travel and weather.

    Keep checking back here throughout the evening for any breaking news.

  9. Tonight's weather: Heavy rain and possible thunderpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    BBC Weather

    It will be generally wet across London overnight, with areas of often heavy rain, and the chance of a rumble of thunder here and there. However, some limited drier intervals may occur later in the night.

    Minimum temperature: 14C (57F).

  10. Prince Charles meets Grenfell Tower survivors and hails 'fantastic' volunteerspublished at 17:47 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    Prince Charles at the Westway Sports CentreImage source, PA

    The Prince of Wales praised volunteers for their "fantastic" work as he visited a relief centre helping survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire.

    Charles looked at the thousands of tributes laid in memory of the victims of the tower block blaze, before meeting community and charity volunteers.

    Members of the public flocked towards the Prince as he gazed at the hundreds of bouquets, filming him on their phones and asking for selfies.

    One woman shouted "Thank you very much, I'm so impressed" as he shook hands with various onlookers, later posing for photos with some of them.

    As he met separate groups of volunteers outside and within the assistance centre at Westway Sports Centre, near the charred north Kensington tower block, Charles thanked them repeatedly for their "fantastic" and "amazing" work.

    Prince CharlesImage source, PA
  11. Major London arts venues get funding cuts to help regionspublished at 17:38 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    Salome productionImage source, Johan Persson
    Image caption,

    The National Theatre, which is currently staging Salome (pictured), had had a 3% cut

    Four of England's biggest arts venues have had their public funding cut in order to boost culture in the regions.

    The National Theatre, Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company will lose £2.5m of Arts Council England funding per year between them.

    Arts Council chair Sir Nicholas Serota told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that funding for 2018 to 2022 will "take more money out of London".

    He said it would instead go to a range of "new, mainly smaller organisations".

  12. Khan urges government to reverse cuts to youth servicespublished at 17:30 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    London mayor Sadiq Khan called on the government to reverse cuts to youth services as he launched measures to help tackle rising knife crime in the capital.

    He says the government has cut almost £400m from youth services across the country between 2010 and 2016. He says London has lost £22m in youth funding since 2011.

    The mayor's Knife Crime Strategy is backed by a further investment of £625,000 by the Mayor, taking the total spending by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime on knife and gang crime projects to more than £7million.

    This year 24 young Londoners under the age of 25 have been fatally stabbed on London’s streets.

  13. 'Police death' man had 'packets in throat'published at 17:18 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    A post mortem into Edir Frederico Da Costa death revealed no signs of neck or spinal injuries, the IPCC said.

    Read More
  14. Charlie Gard: European judges reject plea from parents to intervenepublished at 17:12 British Summer Time 27 June 2017
    Breaking

    Judges in the European Court of Human Rights have rejected a plea from the parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard to intervene in the case.

  15. Arsenal in Meadow Park groundshare dealpublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    Boreham Wood agree a 10-year groundshare deal with Women's Super League club Arsenal Ladies and Arsenal's youth teams.

    Read More
  16. Every school offered knife detection kitpublished at 16:51 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    The plan is part of a series of measures introduced by the mayor of London to tackle knife crime.

    Read More
  17. Edir Frederico Da Costa death: Packages removed from dead man's throat, IPCCpublished at 16:42 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    Edir Frederico Da CostaImage source, GoFundMe

    Associate Commissioner of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Tom Milsom has just issued this statement on the progress of the IPCC investigation regarding the death of Edir Frederico Da Costa.

    Campaigners claim Mr Da Costa (known by friends as Edson), 25, broke his neck and suffered head and other injuries after he was stopped in a car by Met officers.

    Six police officers were injured and four people arrested after a protest over his death took place on Sunday night in Newham, east London.

    Quote Message

    "In the light of continuing public interest in the events leading to the sad death of Edir Frederico Da Costa and with conflicting information circulating in the press and online, I would like to provide an update on the investigation steps taken by IPCC investigators so far. "Following house to house enquiries we have identified a number of independent witnesses and have begun interviewing them. We have also recovered some body worn video which covers the medical attention Mr Da Costa received. "We are seeking any additional footage that may have been taken at the incident. "Officers who were involved with the incident have given their accounts. "Following a preliminary post mortem on 22 June, the pathologist stated that there was no fracture of the neck or spinal injury, no broken collarbone and no bleeding on the brain. "The pathologist removed a number of packages from Mr Da Costa's throat. The contents of those packages will undergo further analysis. "I must stress that the pathologist has not yet identified Mr Da Costa's cause of death and has requested further tests be conducted. "We are examining the actions taken by police during the original detention of Mr Da Costa, including the use of force, as well as the subsequent response in administering medical assistance.

    Associate Commissioner Tom Milsom, IPCC

  18. Woman tortured after thug pours boiling kettle over herpublished at 16:10 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

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  19. Arthur Simpson-Kent loses sentence appealpublished at 16:00 British Summer Time 27 June 2017

    The partner of former EastEnders actress Sian Blake has lost a challenge against his "whole-life" jail sentence for killing her and their two children.

    Arthur Simpson-Kent, 49, stabbed Ms Blake to death along with their sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four.

    He killed them when he learnt Ms Blake was planning to leave him and take their sons away, the court heard.

    Judges upheld a decision that he should receive the most "severe punishment for his horrific crimes" on Tuesday.

    KentImage source, Reuters