Summary

  • Updates on Friday 21 September

  1. Council to go sugar-free after signing healthy food pledgepublished at 16:56 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Hackney Council is now signed up to a declaration to reduce sugar and promote healthier eating, in one of the first pledges of its kind by a local authority in the country.

    The declaration, drafted by Sustain, an alliance of over 100 public sector organisations, will tackle advertising and sponsorship of unhealthy food which can contribute to obesity, particularly in children.

    The Town Hall will also be removing sugar from Hackney Council’s office kitchens, in what could come as unsettling news for employees with a sweet tooth.

    With the declaration, sponsorship from fizzy drinks companies will not be accepted by the Town Hall for events targeting children, and the council is to start exploring opportunities to restrict commercial advertising of sugar-sweetened beverages within the borough.

    Deputy Mayor Cllr Feryal Demirci, said: “The report recommends that Hackney signs up to the local authority declaration on sugar reduction and healthier food.

    “The declaration supports the council’s strategic objectives relating to obesity and health inequalities as outlined in Hackney’s joint health and wellbeing strategy, and the sustainable community strategy.

    “The majority of the work set out in this declaration is already being delivered within Hackney, but by signing this declaration, it brings deserved visibility, so that everyone is aware we are doing this work.”

    Hackney Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to sign up.

    Just over a quarter of 10 to 11-year-olds in the borough are obese, compared to a 23.2% London average.

    Over 40% have “excess weight”, compared to 38.1% in London.

    Nearly 90,000 adults in Hackney are either overweight or obese.

  2. 'Wizard's wand' installation set to light up Londonpublished at 16:53 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    WandsImage source, Warner Bros

    Nine giant wands will illuminate the walkway between Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to help raise awareness for J.K. Rowling’s charity Lumos, whose mission is to end the institutionalisation of children around the world.

    It comes just before the release of Warner Bros Pictures’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, premiers.

    The 15ft tall wands will light up Peter’s Hill every night at 18:45 from 18 October to 12 November.

    Josh Berger, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Lumos onthis landmark installation, which is sure to delight fans and the tens of thousands of commuters and tourists passing through Peter’s Hill each day.

    “London has played a huge role in the on-screen legacy of the Wizarding World, from King’s Cross Station to Millennium Bridge."

  3. Drivers and cyclists in London have 'worst relationship'published at 16:44 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Drivers and cyclists in London have the worst relationship of anywhere in the UK.

    A study by Cars on Demand asked 2,000 drivers and cyclists in every region in the UK to rate each other’s performance on the roads.

    The ratings ran from one to 10 with one being the highest and 10 the lowest.

    Drivers in the capital gave cyclists a 4.9 whilst cyclists scored drivers 4.1 – scoring each other lower than any other region.

    This was also well below the UK average, with British drivers rating cyclists 6.1 and cyclists rating drivers 4.8.

    Paul Brown, managing director at Cars on Demand said: “It appears driver-cyclist relations aren’t at their best, which is a great shame.

    “However, drivers are trying to be empathetic about the issues surrounding cycling and the rules of the road so hopefully if both cyclists and drivers pay more attention to each other, things can progress more smoothly on the UK’s streets.”

    The survey also found that three quarters of drivers in the UK empathise with cyclists and the frustrations they fell on the road such as driving in traffic whilst a total of 39% of drivers also confessed to having road rage and getting angry at cyclists.

  4. Evening weather: Outbreaks of rainpublished at 16:43 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    BBC Weather

    Becoming very windy overnight with squally outbreaks of rain spreading from the west after a dry start.

    Becoming clearer again towards morning.

    Minimum Temperature: 11C to 14C (52F to 57°F).

  5. One in five care homes 'not good enough'published at 16:38 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Care providers complain they are under pressure due to "inconsistent" ratings from inspectors.

    Read More
  6. Feline mutilation 'linked to cat killer'published at 16:38 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    The cats remains were found in the Itchen area of Southampton but it has not been identified.

    Read More
  7. Puppy found in Greenford dumped in handbag with legs tied uppublished at 16:09 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Little RadleyImage source, RSPCA

    An eight-week-old puppy found dumped in Greenford with its legs tied together and left in a handbag dangling from a charity shop door "could easily have died", the RSPCA has said.

    Radley, thought to be a border terrier cross, had his circulation cut off by a hairband tied around his legs, but is recovering after being spotted by a passer-by, the charity said.

    The puppy was taken to the RSPCA's Putney Animal Hospital in south-west London after being found in a red handbag hanging from the door of a shop on The Broadway, at 14:00 BST on Monday.

    Radley - who was abandoned with an unopened tin of dog food and a note stuck to the outside of the bag which read 'Found this puppy' - is in a fairly good condition except for some digestive problems, according to the charity.

    Veterinary director Caroline Allen said: "He's doing really well and is such a cutie. He's not available for rehoming yet and we're still running tests and checks on him, so he'll be with us a little longer yet."

    CCTV footage from the area is being checked and the charity is seeking witnesses in a bid to trace whoever is responsible.

    Radley will be rehomed through one of the charity's animal centres once he has received all necessary treatment.

  8. Kyall Parnell: First 2018 murder investigation haltedpublished at 16:07 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Kyall ParnellImage source, Met Police

    A case into the first murder investigation to be launched in London this year has been discontinued, the Met Police has confirmed.

    Kyall Parnell, 17, from Croydon, was one of four people to be fatally stabbed on New Year's Eve.

    Although he died on 31 December, the investigation into his death didn't begin until the following morning.

    One teenage boy, 16, was arrested on suspicion of murder but detectives are "satisfied" he acted in "self-defence".

    The Met say Mr Parnell's family have been made aware of this and are being supported.

    An inquest has been opened at Southwark Coroner's Court and adjourned until December.

    Tulse HillImage source, JOSEPH PAYNE
  9. More strike action on South Western Railwaypublished at 15:20 British Summer Time 20 September 2018
    Breaking

    Union strikeImage source, RMT

    The RMT Union has announced workers on South Western Railway will carry out a fresh 48-hour strike from 5 October.

  10. Rail report 'an exercise in stating the obvious'published at 14:58 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Tom Edwards
    Transport Correspondent, BBC London

    ThameslinkImage source, PA

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) blamed a lack of "responsibility and accountability" for the travel chaos during the move to a new timetable system that caused severe disruption on Britain's railways in May.

    Commuters will be bemused by this report which some will see as an exercise in stating the bleeding obvious.

    Anyone stuck in the debacle of the new timetable was well aware of the lack of leadership and multiple failures by nearly every organisation.

    That said this forensic report does set out in black and white what went wrong and is its most revealing in highlighting the systemic failures of a confusing, fragmented part-private part-public railway. And it gives impression there is a gap in the oversight since the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority.

    The solutions though to that are for another day and another report.

    I regularly blog about my transport coverage for BBC London. You can read my work here

  11. 'Croydon cat killer' mystery solvedpublished at 14:43 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    The Met Police says 25 post-mortem examinations were conducted during a three-year investigation.

    Read More
  12. 'Voodoo' nurse has jail term increasedpublished at 14:39 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Josephine Iyamu, who was jailed for sex trafficking, used juju ceremonies to control victims.

    Read More
  13. Afternoon weather: Sunny spellspublished at 13:10 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    BBC Weather

    It should be dry for the rest of the day and although rather cloudy at times, spells of warm sunshine should develop this afternoon.

    Winds picking up later.

    Maximum Temperature: 18C to 21C (64F to 70F).

  14. Episode 6: Blood Linespublished at 12:00 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Life on the streets is hard and precarious but every soul who sleeps on a pavement has a story. Tara and George is a six-part series exploring the lives of two people in their late forties who sleep rough in London's Spitalfields. It asks the simple questions - what led them there and why do they remain?

    Journalist Audrey Gillan has come to know them as neighbours in this diverse and fashionable area of the capital, and has been recording her conversations with Tara and George for nearly two years.

    In this final episode, Audrey tries to find Tara's children who she hasn't seen since they were babies. She goes back up to County Durham to talk to the brother who has long believed George to be dead and visits George's estranged - and ailing - father in Derby.

    Written and presented by Audrey Gillan Produced by Audrey Gillan and Johnny Miller Original music by Francis Macdonald Series Producer: Alan Hall

    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

  15. Bringing Shakespeare's neglected women out of the shadowspublished at 11:51 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Ian Youngs
    Entertainment and Arts Reporter, BBC News

    Jade Anouka as as Queen MargaretImage source, Johan Persson

    Shakespeare gave Queen Margaret more lines than any other female character, and more lines than King Lear.

    Now, she's finally been given her own play - one of two productions putting the Bard's women centre stage.

    A marketing email from the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester recently proclaimed that it is staging the "world premiere of a new Shakespeare play".

    That may be stretching it a bit.

    What it is doing is putting on a single new production using all the lines spoken by Queen Margaret over four existing Shakespeare plays, making the 15th Century queen of England the central character in her own story for the first time.

    Read more here.

  16. Arrests over Rochester bridge deathpublished at 10:52 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Two more men have been arrested after a body was found on the Rochester side of the High Street bridge.

    The 39-year-old man from Sittingbourne was found at 07:35 BST on Tuesday and pronounced dead at the scene.

    A man in his 40s from Chattenden and another man, in his 20s from Belvedere, were arrested on Wednesday afternoon, Kent Police said.

    A man in his 30s from Rainham was arrested on Tuesday night in connection with the death, a police spokesman said.

    All three men remain in police custody.

  17. Minorities 'three in four London students'published at 10:39 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Students from London will become a 'hyper-diverse' population in the next decade.

    Read More
  18. Who's to blame for rail meltdown?published at 10:33 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Northern RailImage source, Reuters

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) blamed a lack of "responsibility and accountability" for the severe disruption on Britain's railways in May.

    However, Northern Railway has taken a slightly different view of the report.

    "The ORR Report has confirmed that the root cause of the timetable disruption was delays to engineering projects to improve the railway. Normally, train operators are given 40 weeks to plan the twice-yearly introduction of a new timetable. However, due to delayed engineering projects in North-West England, Northern had to entirely re-write its May 2018 timetable in just 16 weeks."

  19. 'Everyone at fault'published at 10:32 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Thameslink train serviceImage source, PA

    An inquiry by the rail regulator has exposed a long list of failings with Northern Rail and the new Thameslink train service, which launched six months ago.

    The report has found that everyone involved was at fault for the timetable problems - from the franchises that run the trains, to the Department for Transport.

    Stephen Glaister is chair of the Office of Rail and Road, which wrote the report. He says there was "complacency" when planning the timetables, meaning that deadlines were missed, there wasn't a contingency plan, and late decisions about which services to offer led to a big mess.

    "It was a system failure. Lots of people were making decisions in good faith, but there wasn't any oversight," he told Today.

  20. Rail network 'bursting at the seams'published at 10:31 British Summer Time 20 September 2018

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    A 'Northern Fail' protest sign at Manchester Piccadilly during the rail disruptionsImage source, Stephen Pimlott

    Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, says that the rail industry has grown so much that it is now "bursting at the seams" and is a victim of its own success.

    He said that the government has been trying to fix the rail meltdown problems through the summer by introducing new temporary timetables and offering compensation to customers.

    But when asked to point the finger at who is to blame, he would not.

    "We clearly took at face value the assurances of the industry that it was ready to do this. We were wrong to accept that at face value. But when you have the leaders of the industry sitting in your office saying we are ready for this, it's tough for any politician to overrule the advice of the professionals," he told Today.