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BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sir Sadiq Khan criticises Rachel Reeves over Spending Review
The mayor of London has criticised the chancellor of the exchequer's Spending Review, saying she made "a colossal mistake in pitting London against the rest of the country".Speaking to BBC London, Sir Sadiq Khan said "it is bad that this government is not supporting new infrastructure in London like the extension of the DLR".He said last week's Spending Review, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out the government's spending plans, "had some good, some bad and some ugly".But he praised the home secretary for "record" funding for London's police. The Treasury has been approached for comment. The Spending Review confirmed that Transport for London (TfL) was getting a cash injection of £2.2bn over four years, but no funds were allocated for the new transport infrastructure projects Sir Sadiq had been lobbying had previously said a Labour government working with a Labour mayor could mean London would get what it told BBC London on Tuesday of his mixed feelings about the chancellor's announcement last week. Sir Sadiq said: "The good stuff I welcome – after years of lobbying we have got a record-breaking deal for Transport for London. "We have got on average a more than doubling of the amount of money received from the government compared to the previous government."I welcome at long last a multi-year deal for City Hall and of course the record investment in the NHS."But he added that "I think it is bad that this government is not supporting new infrastructure in London like the extension of the DLR, which would help us not just create new jobs but build record numbers of homes."I think it is ugly this idea of pitting London against the rest of the country - I think our country succeeds when London does." On his plans for DLR and Bakerloo line extensions, the mayor added: "We are still going to try and lobby for these things - I am lobbying for these things - that doesn't take away from the fact I think the chancellor got it wrong last week. I think she has made a colossal mistake in pitting London against the rest of the country."The mayor's transport plans include a DLR extension to Thamesmead, the Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham and the West London Orbital between Hendon and Sadiq also warned there may be fewer police officers in London despite "a record settlement from the Home Office combined with investment from City Hall".He said: "My concern is because of 14 years of austerity we need huge sums to avoid further police officers, PCSOs, police staff and buildings being lost."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Prayers offered at temples for air crash victims
Prayers have been held at Hindu temples across north-west London following the Air India crash in Ahmedabad. The London Gatwick bound flight crashed soon after take-off from the city's airport in the western state of Gujarat, killing 241 people. One person - a British man - survived. Sjro Rajrajeshwar, the spiritual leader of the Palmerston Road Temple in Harrow, said some of the victims had attended his temple for prayer. "Today we are praying for them because it is the only thing we can give to the departed soul," he said. What we know so far after Air India flight to London crashes in Ahmedabad London-bound Air India flight crash - follow live British man is only passenger to survive India plane crash Tarun Patel, a spokesperson for the Neasden Temple, said the tragedy would have a particular impact on the Gujarati communities London, many of whom were concentrated in Harrow, Brent and Hounslow. "When we heard it this morning, it was one of disbelief," he said. "It took time to really understand what's happening, and when it sunk in, it was very sad, devastating. Innocent lives affected." While those who attend his temple does include a high proportion of Gujarati people, he said he was not aware of any in his congregation who were on the flight but that "the situation is very fluid". "That's not to say that members are not affected. I think it's a bit more than just people within this congregation... people at large have lost family and friends, and for that we feel their sorrow." He said his temple, and likely others across London and the UK, would continue holding opportunities to come together and pray for the "innocent lives lost". Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Teens found guilty of killing man as he sat in car
Two teenage drug dealers have been found guilty of fatally attacking a man "in cold blood" while he was sitting in a car in east London. Abdul Jalloh, 23, was stabbed in the neck in a car park on the Isle of Dogs on 5 August last year. At the Old Bailey, Shamiah McKenzie, 18, was found guilty of murder while Codee Godfrey, 19, was convicted of the manslaughter having been acquitted of murder. The court heard that after the attack, the pair changed their clothes and then mingled with the police officers who were searching for the killers. McKenzie and Godfrey had been circling the area on their bicycles for more than an hour and were both armed, the trial heard. They were disguised in dark clothing and their faces were covered by balaclavas, said prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC. Within seconds of approaching Mr Jalloh, he was attacked. "Abdul Jalloh did not stand a chance. He could offer no resistance. He was outnumbered, unarmed and vulnerable behind the wheel of his car," said Ms Carberry. The defendants rapidly cycled away, throwing a knife and its sheath along with McKenzie's bicycle into the River Thames at Caledonia Wharf and made their way to Godfrey's home. There, the pair packed their clothing - some of it bloodstained - into bags and changed into shorts and t-shirts, before disposing of the bags in nearby bushes. "Such was their confidence in their changed appearance that they mingled along the Thames Path with police officers who were searching for Abdul's killers," said Ms Carberry. The killers finally handed themselves into police three days later, the court heard. The defendants were two young men who had "no qualms about settling a score with the blade of a knife", said Ms Carberry. McKenzie and Godfrey were a drug-dealing team who used Godfrey's home on the Isle of Dogs as a base, the trial heard. Inside the bags found discarded in bushes, police found £3,000 worth of cannabis bagged up and ready for sale and £2,000 in cash. Also found in the bushes was McKenzie's phone which showed in the two-month period leading up to Mr Jalloh's death, 570 images of knives were saved on the phone, mostly taken during internet browsing. Four days before the killing, a photograph of a row of four Rambo knives and machetes in sheaths was on his phone. A picture of a knife in a sheath with the text "someone's going to get battered today" was uploaded on to the phone two days before the killing. Before the start of the trial, McKenzie pleaded guilty to possessing a knife and both defendants admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply. Giving evidence in his defence, McKenzie admitted stabbing Mr Jalloh, but claimed he had been acting in self-defence. Godfrey did not give evidence. The jury deliberated its verdicts for more than 44 hours. Both men will be sentenced on 20 June. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Isle of Dogs fatal stabbing sees two men charged Man fatally stabbed in Tower Hamlets is named HM Courts Service
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man killed ex's dad in frenzied attack, court told
A man murdered the father of his former partner in a "frenzied" knife attack after an argument with his ex, a court has heard. Kamar Williams, 34, stabbed bus driver Derek Thomas, 55, from Stoke Newington, north-west London, who was on his way home from work, his Old Bailey trial was told. He denies murder. Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC said that on 30 July Mr Williams had been out looking for Mr Thomas's daughter Carron, who was his former girlfriend, but had failed to find her. A WhatsApp discussion to sort out domestic arrangements after their break-up had become abusive and "tempers appeared to become frayed," Mr Orchard said. The same night as the messages were sent, Mr Williams was allegedly driving his van near the Thomas family home when he saw Carron's father carrying a bag of shopping, on his way home from work. Witnesses described seeing a man stop his van in the middle of the road, get out, and attack Mr Thomas before returning to his vehicle and driving away. The bus driver, who worked for Go-Ahead London, had been stabbed five times with a large knife. He was pronounced dead at the scene, in Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, less than half an hour later. Mr Orchard said: "The breakdown of the defendant's relationship with Carron Thomas appears to have been the trigger for [the defendant's] actions." "He went out looking for Ms Thomas but was unsuccessful. He decided on an easier target, her father. "There can be no doubt the attacker was the defendant. Mr Thomas was struck by the knife on five occasions in what was a frenzied attack. "Mr Thomas must have been terrified." The defendant made a "determined attempt to avoid arrest" in the weeks after the attack before being arrested on 26 August at the Notting Hill Carnival, the court heard. Mr Williams, of Cuba Street, Tower Hamlets, east London, also denies a charge of having an article with a blade or point. The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Murder suspect held at carnival appears in court HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
PC thought she would die, sword attack trial hears
The jury at the Old Bailey trial of the man accused of the murder of schoolboy Daniel Anjorin heard a police officer weeping as she described the moment she was attacked by a man with a sword. Marcus Monzo, 37, denies murdering the 14-year-old and attempting to kill four others during a 20-minute series of attacks in Hainault, north-east London, in April last year. In a recorded police interview played in court, PC Yasmin Mechet-Whitfield told a colleague: "Don't let me die here. I thought I was going to die on that street, I thought he was going to come back and finish me off." She described how when she arrived at the scene she ran after Mr Monzo, who had a sword, as he went down an alleyway. Warning: this story contains details some may find distressing She was in front of her colleague PC Cameron King as she was the one armed with a Taser, the court heard. In tears, PC Mechet-Whitfield said: "I was shouting 'police officer with a Taser' and that's when he jumped out in front of me. I don't know where he came from." She was slashed four times with the sword as she stumbled to the ground, the jury heard. "I thought he'd just smashed me over the head and he smashed me again and again and that's when all the blood started coming and Cameron was shouting over the radio: 'Yas has been stabbed.'" She described how she looked at her hand and could see the bones. "I was in a pond of my own blood. Painful, intense pain really, really quickly." PC King shouted "officer stabbed, police officer stabbed", in footage played to the court. He did not have a Taser and his pepper spray had run out but he drew his baton and placed himself between Mr Monzo and PC Mechem-Whitfield as she was on the ground, the jury heard. Earlier on Tuesday, a paramedic who was called to the scene gave evidence. Stephanie Baisden told the court how "extremely terrifying" it was when Mr Monzo started attacking the ambulance with a sword. She said they saw Daniel lying in the road injured and, as she went to get the medical equipment from the back of the ambulance, her colleague started shouting, "drive, drive". She said she looked out of the window and the suspect was "holding a very large sword, a machete-type weapon". "He was trying to force it into our window," she said. "I could hear it hitting the windows and force it into the driver's seat where I was sitting. "It was extremely terrifying, I could hear shouting, it was an extremely stressful situation." In a statement to the court, her London Ambulance Service colleague, Lachlan Allan, said as the defendant tried to smash the window with his sword they managed to drive away to the end of the road. Mr Monzo also denies wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon relating to a kitchen knife. He previously admitted two counts of having an offensive weapon, namely two swords. The trial continues. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Hainault murder trial shown CCTV of fatal attack Hainault murder accused wanted to kill, court told HM Courts & Tribunals Service
