Arsenal's executive team will waive more than a third of their salaries over the next 12 months in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

All border force staff need to be equipped with PPE as matter of urgency the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said, following a second Covid-19 death at Heathrow airport.

PCS which represents border force staff in customs and passport control, has demanded management take action to protect members describing its attitude to safety as "lax".

General secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It is a disgrace that management are refusing to provide PPE equipment to all Border Force staff who take risks every day dealing with the travelling public and keeping airports and planes safe.

"Worse still, bosses have refused to even allow PCS members to wear face masks at passport control because it gives the 'wrong impression' and have minimised the obvious risks staff take every day at work," he added.

A border force officer, in his 50s, died last week after feeling unwell at work. It is the second reported death due to Covid-19 at the airport.

The union is calling for the Home Secretary to intervene and fully protect staff.

The Home Office has told the BBC border force staff do not wear protective clothing for day-to-day use, but that equipment was “available, including masks and disposable gloves, for when they are in close contact with anyone displaying symptoms”.

Image source, PA Media

The government statement comes after news emerged of the death of a second officer working at Heathrow.

Border force director Nick Jariwalla says the officer, who died last week, was a “dedicated and professional officer known for his kindness and generosity. He will be greatly missed.”

Last month, Heathrow border force worker Sudhir Sharma, who had underlying health problems, also died from Covid-19.

Danny Shaw
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

News is just emerging of a Covid-19 related death at Heathrow airport.

More to follow.

Image source, North Middlesex NHS Trust

A housekeeper who died after contracting Covid-19 has been remembered as a "much-loved colleague" by her hospital.

Cheryl Williams, who worked on an elderly patient ward at North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton, north London, died on Sunday.

The NHS trust said in tribute on Facebook her contribution to patient care at the hospital was "irreplaceable".

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust said: "With greatest sadness, we can confirm the death of our much-loved colleague Cheryl Williams.

"As a ward housekeeper on one of our care of the elderly wards, Cheryl was a lynchpin of the care, comfort, and compassion that our patients and local people value so highly, and her personal contribution to patient care is irreplaceable.

"Her family, friends and colleagues at North Middlesex University Hospital will miss her more than words can describe."

Sam Francis
BBC News, London

Image source, Getty Images

The leader of London Councils has called on central government to write off local government debt.

Coronavrius has hit council budgets which have already taken on large amounts of debt to build houses and maintain local services, Councillor Peter John told BBC Radio London.

Central government appeared to be rowing back on a pledge made last month to support councils with the added costs they would face during this time, Cllr John who runs Southwark Council, said.

Cllr John said: “We were told at the start of this crisis, councils right across England, spend now and the government will see you right later - but we had a pretty dispiriting call with the Secretary of State yesterday when he talked about burden sharing and no promises being made, so I think we’re gonna have some really tough financial times.

“The government’s intervened with the NHS at this time to write off all of its debt. Fantastic. But for councils we also carry debt, from house building over decades in the past.

"And it wouldn’t be a bad idea if government decided they’d write off council debt as well. It would certainly make our finances easier going forward. But they haven’t and we therefore have to balance our budgets."

A 20m phone mast has been destroyed in a fire, according to London Fire Brigade.

Image source, Getty Images

Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to a telecommunications phone mast alight on Becontree Avenue in Dagenham in the early hours of yesterday.

Nearby properties were evacuated as a precaution but there were no reports of any injuries.

The brigade was called at 01:34 with the fire brought under control by 02:54.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.

The UK's mobile networks reported a further 20 cases of phone masts being targeted in suspected arson attacks over the Easter weekend, following baseless reports that 5G masts were spreading Covid-19.

Members of the London Fire Brigade have undergone training at Wembley Stadium to help their blue light colleagues during the Covid-19 crisis

The new plan follows a national agreement last week between the National Employers, National Fire Chiefs Council and the Fire Brigades Union to support local authorities and the NHS, including ambulance services.

Chief executive of LAS, Garrett Emmerson said: “We have a fantastic ongoing relationship with London Fire Brigade and regularly collaborate closely in a number of ways.

“We are already dealing with unprecedented levels of demand as a result of Covid-19 – more than 11,000 people are calling 999 for an ambulance every day – and we know the peak of the pandemic is still to come.

"As part of our preparations we must reach out to all our partners to help boost our response so we can continue to treat every patient who needs us during this difficult time.”

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, Dave Tingle

When Dave Tingle started online classes for free on Zoom and Facebook he didn’t quite expect 240,000 views in a week.

However, the south east London teacher has seen exactly those numbers roll in as he brought his small tuition Learning Cabin to the online realm after coronavirus forced the closure of their three physical centres.

Mr Tingle, a former secondary maths teacher and one-time Labour parliamentary candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup, owns Learning Centre, a tuition-based education business offering tutoring in maths, English, and science for pupils between six to 16.

Coronavirus lockdowns have seen Mr Tingle take lessons fully online, in a bid to make sure his nine members of staff don’t have to be furloughed and will have a job to come back to when precautions are finally rolled back.

The move – which has seen tuition classes move to live-video streaming sites Zoom and Facebook – has snowballed far beyond educating his current students, he said.

“What started as just a small gathering for current students turned first into a larger gathering of siblings and extended family into something that went far bigger than that,” he said.

The successful move is a bright story among the coronavirus crisis, as schools and other educational institutions make moves to adapt to the unprecedented measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.

Bexley Libraries earlier this month reported that downloads of e-books and audio books have almost doubled since the pandemic took hold.

The number of weekly downloads has increased from just over 500 a month ago to more than 900 last week.

Library staff have been busy buying more digital stock, to provide customers with even more choice, Bexley Council said.

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak this evening.

Fraudsters are targeting vulnerable and self-isolating people, the National Crime Agency warns.

Independent sites such as the Charles Dickens and Florence Nightingale museum have lost their income.

Firm offers tool that tracks how many people are walking, driving and using public transport.

BBC Sounds

After a particularly difficult day treating coronavirus patients at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, central London, nurse Natasha decided to play her cello at the end of her shift.

You can hear more on The Self-Isolation Podcast, available on BBC Sounds.

A forecast suggests coronavirus will have "serious implications" for the UK economy, Rishi Sunak says.

Image source, PA Media

Ten former police officers who offered to return to work for the Met after an appeal by Commissioner Cressida Dick have officially began their new roles.

At the end of March, the force's head called for former PCs and sergeants who left the force in the past five years to return for work in a paid or voluntary capacity.

PC Stuart Hepburn, 53, is among those who answered the call. The 53-year-old retired from the Met in 2017 after 30 years of service.

The PC is joining emergency response on the Central West Basic Command Unit (BCU) where he will be responding to emergency calls and said he "had no doubts about returning to help my colleagues and serve London once again.

"I felt I couldn’t sit at home and watch, I wanted to help, so I applied straight away."

Det Sgt Andrew Yeoman previously retired after serving for 27 years and is joining the East BCU.

"I just felt I had to come back and help because that is what I joined to do all those years ago," he said.

Ms Dick said it was "wonderful to see the first of our former colleagues joining us.

"Their valuable skills and experience are helping increase the Met’s resilience and allow us to be even more flexible in providing the best service we can to London during this unprecedented time," she said.

Image source, Remi Rough

A south London street artist has created an "Emergency Art Book" filled with games, puzzles, artwork and safety information to help people during the panademic.

The 72-page book was created "in a matter of days" by Remi Rough, external. It also contains a signed and numbered print, while five that have been picked out at random also have an original painting inside which would normally sell for £500.

The artist said the book had been put together with help from his wife who is a mental health first aid trainer, so that he could include information to help people's well-being.

Image source, Remi Rough

Explaining why he had completed the work, Rough said that when the virus hit the UK he began "to worry about how I would be able to continue as an artist. I’m not a millionaire, I have no patron and I'm not signed to one of the biggest galleries in the world".

"People need art and colour now more than ever. Art is proven to help people’s mental health, it makes us happy and gives us release from the mundane," he added.