Latest news with #SquareMile
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Police seek man after 'deliberate fire' that caused significant damage to City of London building
Police are searching for a man after a suspected arson attack caused significant damage to a building in the City of London. Detectives would like to question Simon Dantes Calancea regarding the incident. City of London Police stated that the offence was a deliberate fire to a building in the City which caused serious damage. Calancea is a familiar face in the Square Mile and has also has links to several areas of north west London. A spokesperson for the City of London Police said: 'We're looking for Simon Dantes Calancea, who we'd like to speak to in relation to a serious offence in the City. 'He is known to frequent the Square Mile and North West London. 'If seen, please do not approach, but call 999 immediately, quoting 25*339905. 'A deliberate fire that caused serious damage to a building in the City.' Police advise the public not approach him if they see him, but instead call 999 immediately, quoting reference 25*339905.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: Mrs Badenoch was perkier than usual. Does she finally glimpse hope?
Does Kemi Badenoch finally glimpse hope? The rotten economic growth figures were published shortly before she made a speech in the City of London. By that time the nation had been subjected to downbeat verdicts on the government's spending splurge and to the sight and sound of Rachel Reeves on the breakfast airwaves. Captain of sinking pedalo urges passengers not to abandon ship. Mrs Badenoch strolled into the low-ceilinged, implausibly-chandeliered function room of one of those modern hotels on the edge of the Square Mile. The event was the FTSE 250+ conference, an assembly of 'key risk-takers' seeking 'sharp perspectives from the front lines of our turbulent, opportunity-rich markets'. A fruit-juice-and-Danish-pastries affair. The session was chaired by an economist, Kallum Pickering, who bluntly told the Tory leader 'we're all a bit grumpy'. Skinny, bearded Kallum explained that the audience – youthful, cologned – felt 'like a stalled engine but with a bit of clear road we could be pumping pistons'. He was resentful of political embuggeration and did not exonerate the last Tory government. Kemi rather agreed with him. She thought Net Zero targets were nuts. She was at ease with these people. It was an easier gig for her, say, than a hall full of public sector workers. She recalled her own City days when she came to 'loathe compliance culture'. The room warmed to that. These were people whose lives are made a misery by human-resources nags. She attacked big corporate outfits that 'profited from bureaucracy'. Did she mean the 'big four' accountancy firms? The audience had not expected her to swipe at their bigger rivals. It gave a purr of approval. Time and again she attacked the 'bloated' state and a Labour cabinet that lacked business experience. A mention of Ms Reeves's fictitious curriculum vitae earned a laugh. Nigel Farage's lot wanted to nationalise industries, keep big benefit bills yet loosen tax bands. 'It's a scam. It's my job to expose this stuff. These are not serious people.' Kallum stroked his beard and pointed out that Reform was ahead in the opinion polls, with the Tories trailing in third place, a distant Austin Allegro with smoke billowing from its bonnet. Kemi: 'We have four years of Labour. From the way people are discussing the opinion polls you'd think there was an election next year. We have to tell people the truth.' Just before Christmas she had spoken to the Canadian Tory leader Pierre Poilievre, who at that point had a 23-point lead in the opinion polls. He has since lost both an election and his parliamentary seat. Things changed fast. Mrs Badenoch can be a dull performer. This time she was perkier. Maybe it was because she could say wonkish things and know that the audience would follow. Maybe it was because of 'events'. In the past fortnight Reform has had internal squabbles and taken a peculiar turn leftwards economically, while taking an anti-liberty step towards a burka ban. Has Mr Farage sacrificed both his authenticity and his cheerfulness? Then came Wednesday's spending review, with its mad billions and the inevitability of tax rises. Dreadful for the country but possibly a reprieve for Mrs Badenoch's Tories. 'It's going to be a revolution,' she said of her plans, breezily. 'We need to unleash animal spirits.' Animal spirits! Helen Whately, shadow welfare secretary, is more mouse than lion. Kemi feared 'the bond vigilantes' were circling over Ms Reeves. The Government's economic policy was 'in a death spiral' and this created a gap for the centre-right. 'That is the space I fill.' Coolly informal, she addressed them conversationally, more a colleague than a would-be political leader. 'I'm on your side,' she cooed, 'but I need you to be on mine, too.' She implored them to 'speak up' and 'tell your customers to speak up, too'. Was that a gurgling 'help, I'm drowning'? Or was it a sense, at last, that her refusal to panic in recent months might finally start to produce buds of a political recovery?
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
London's first public park reopens after upgrades
London's first public park has reopened after a decade largely spent as a building site for the construction of the Elizabeth line. Finsbury Circus Gardens has been the focus of a major transformation project by the City of London Corporation since 2023, with the Grade II listed site's lawn revitalised, seating improved and landscaping added. The largest open green space in the Square Mile has had 12 additional tree species, more than 13,000 plants and 6,000 bulbs added to its site to boost biodiversity. Chris Hayward, from the City of London Corporation, said the "tranquil" park was "revitalised and ready to be rediscovered". The gardens first became a public park known as "Moor Fields" in the 1600s. A formal layout was introduced by George Dance the Younger in 1815. For most of the past 10 years, Finsbury Circus Gardens has been closed to the public while it was used by Crossrail to build the nearby Liverpool Street Elizabeth line station. It was partially reopened on 6 May, with the official reopening due to take place on 4 June. Hayward said: "Our green spaces play a vital role in making the Square Mile a welcoming and attractive place to live, work, and visit – delivering on our vision for a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable City." The corporation's natural environment board chairperson, James St John Davis, said the Square Mile's parks and gardens, which attract over 21 million visits a year "truly punch above their weight". He added: "They offer a vital escape from the bustle of daily life." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Deer spring back into London park after four years City of London Corporation
BBC News
01-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
London's first public park Finsbury Circus Gardens reopens
London's first public park has reopened after a decade largely spent as a building site for the construction of the Elizabeth Circus Gardens has been the focus of a major transformation project by the City of London Corporation since 2023, with the Grade II listed site's lawn revitalised, seating improved and landscaping largest open green space in the Square Mile has had 12 additional tree species, more than 13,000 plants and 6,000 bulbs added to its site to boost Hayward, from the City of London Corporation, said the "tranquil" park was "revitalised and ready to be rediscovered". The gardens first became a public park known as "Moor Fields" in the 1600s. A formal layout was introduced by George Dance the Younger in most of the past 10 years, Finsbury Circus Gardens has been closed to the public while it was used by Crossrail to build the nearby Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line was partially reopened on 6 May, with the official reopening due to take place on 4 June. Hayward said: "Our green spaces play a vital role in making the Square Mile a welcoming and attractive place to live, work, and visit – delivering on our vision for a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable City."The corporation's natural environment board chairperson, James St John Davis, said the Square Mile's parks and gardens, which attract over 21 million visits a year "truly punch above their weight". He added: "They offer a vital escape from the bustle of daily life."
Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Uncertain times for big US law firms
Rumours are rife among expatriate US lawyers and their British brethren who work for American firms in the Square Mile — or just those who do business stateside — over whether Donald Trump will train his guns on them. His administration has hit several large US players with a barrage of executive orders, preventing some from accepting federal government work and from gaining crucial security clearance. Some are fighting, but others have come to an arrangement with the leader of the free world, who, of course, loves a deal. One US lawyer tells The Times that there is wide confusion over why some firms have agreed to the Trump arrangements, which, it is said, broadly involve doing free work for the administration or the
