Maureen Whale's family say all they can think of is how scared she must have felt.

Lizzie Massey
BBC Live reporter

Image source, Google

The new leader of Surrey County Council has announced plans to leave County Hall in Kingston-Upon-Thames.

Tim Oliver, who is a Conservative councillor for Weybridge, was elected earlier to lead the authority, taking over from David Hodge who stepped down from the role after seven years.

During his acceptance speech Mr Oliver said: “For too long the emotional connection to a community has been taken for granted.

"For 50 years we have not been close enough to the residents we serve, and we all represent. I have therefore asked the officers to start the detailed planning for the relocation of the people in this building back in to the county of Surrey.”

He added he hoped the authority would leave the building in Kingston by 2020.

Natalie Bramhall, the county councillor for Redhill West and Meadvale, has been appointed a deputy cabinet member tasked with finding the council a new home.

Tom Symonds
Home Affairs Correspondent

The second phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will not start until Autumn 2019 at the earliest.

A barrister for one of the residents, Rajiv Menon, told the inquiry this morning the hearings may slip further – to 2020.

The BBC understands the inquiry Chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick will confirm the new timetable tomorrow.

The delay may be due to the need to allow possible criminal proceedings to take place first.

The Metropolitan Police has so far refused to give an update on the progress of its investigation.

Phase 2 of the inquiry will examine the refurbishment of the building, blamed for using materials which helped the flames to spread. Full inquests into the deaths may now come before the second phase.

However the inquiry is under growing pressure to offer a “fearless reckoning” of what went wrong and what must be change.

Victims’ barristers want the inquiry to make early findings to improve the safety of other residential tower blocks.

The Duchess of Sussex presents a British Fashion Award to the woman who made her wedding dress.

After a signal failure at Woking, trains between the south coast and London have been delayed.

Today will be mostly cloudy and dull with the chance of a few spots of rain, mainly during the afternoon.

Slightly chillier than it was yesterday.

Maximum Temperature: 8C (46F)

BBC London Travel
BBC Radio London Travel

On the Underground, there's a good service across all services however on the trains, there are delays on South Western Railway due to a fault with the track near Woking.

On the roads, there are delays northbound at the Blackwell Tunnel.

Keep up-to-date on Twitter with BBC Travel Alert., external

BBC London News

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

If you would like to get in touch, you can tweet, external, emailor leave a message on our Facebook , externalpage.

The Rochdale town hall chimes are being used as a special "festive replacement", says BBC Radio 4.

The £15bn route, Europe's biggest infrastructure project, has been delayed for a second time.

Lydia Taiwo, who was beaten by her parents, is raising awareness of children's rights.

The victims' barrister tells the inquiry London Fire Brigade bosses were not fit to run the service.

Primary school league tables show pupils with special needs are dropping further behind their classmates.

BBC London News

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

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

BBC Weather

Dry, clear and chilly at first this evening.

As the night progresses, thicker cloud will encroach on western districts, but places to the east will likely remain clear and cold.

Mainly dry again.

Minimum Temperature: 2C to 5C (36F to 41F).

Image source, Met Police

Police have released an image of a man who died in the River Thames to try to find his next of kin.

The Met said it had been alerted to a male seen entering the water at Luralda Wharf on 13 October but despite a search, nobody could be found.

The next day a body was recovered at Wapping who has since by identified as 27-year-old Moustafa Ragouni.

Mr Ragouni was a Moroccan national who entered the UK in August 2017, but had no family in the country.

His death is not being treated as suspicious and the Met are trying to find his next of kin.

Det Con Gavin Markey said: “Issuing his image to the media and public is the last resort in our enquiries as all other avenues have been exhausted. Any next of kin he has deserve to know what has happened to him.”

Image source, Getty Images

The countdown to Christmas is upon us but this time of wonder can leave some of us, well, wondering.

How are you going to get all your shopping done before the big day?

What's thefour gift rulesome people are talking about? What goes in a Christmas Eve box?

When it comes to your tree is it best to buy real or fake? And how is Brexit going to affect our festive German markets?

These are just some of the questions our news elves have answered from readers in Christmases gone by.

What would you like to know? Use the form on this page and we could be in touch.

A woman believed to be in her 30s becomes the second person to die after a fire in north London.

South London rapper Flohio and the French-born, London-based artist Octavian are among the rising stars who have made it onto the BBC's Sound of 2019 longlist.

Now in its 17th year, the list showcases 2019's hottest new artists. Past winners includes Adele, Sam Smith, Years & Years and Sigrid.

This year's selection focuses on solo acts, with only one band in the top 10.

It was voted for by 136 critics, broadcasters and DJs, including former nominees Ellie Goulding and Stormzy.

Find out who else has been nominated here.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Increased scrutiny after the Grenfell Tower disaster left Kensington and Chelsea Council struggling to comply with Freedom of Information (FOI) deadlines with more than 200 requests breaching the legal time limits.

The council’s work came under the spotlight and it saw “a surge” of requests following the fatal fire in June 2017.

In 2016, it dealt with 1,598 requests which rose to 1,999 last year. It provided information in full to 55% of requests.

So far this year, the council has received 1,623 enquiries, according to a report for Monday’s executive and corporate services committee.

The council struggled to comply with the law which means it has to complete an inquiry within 20 working days. At one point it said it managed to respond to 32% of inquiries in time.

Across the country councils manage 85%, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

“At its height, there were over 350 FOIs, with 212 of them being outside of the statutory timescales,” according to a council report.

Amongst other challenges was a lack of resources, with just one person dealing with FOIs with the manager helping out “where possible”. There was also a lack of oversight on outstanding FOIs.

The council has now appointed a new head of service and a case management structure and is trying to help people use technology, including “smart searching” to access available information about the council rather than submit FOIs, as part of its campaign to prevent backlogs.

So far it has cut the delays so 82% of FOIs were responded to on time in September, with 80% in October, up from 32%.

“We believe that this will provide a better experience to requesters, and also improve the reputation of the council as an organisation that is more transparent,” the report said.