Author: Henry Caldwell

London Underground drivers belonging to the RMT union will walk out twice next week after talks over a compressed working week broke down, with disruption expected across the network on four consecutive days. The strikes are confirmed for 24-hour periods beginning at midday on Tuesday 21 April and Thursday 23 April, with knock-on disruption likely to stretch into the following mornings. A separate walkout by Stagecoach bus drivers in the capital, starting at 5am on Friday 24 April, will compound the difficulties for commuters towards the end of the week. What the dispute is about The row centres on TfL’s…

A 23-year-old has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for stabbing a man he had never met in the head, leaving the victim with permanent brain damage after mistakenly believing him to be a rival gang member.Richard Sivanda, of Highgate Hill, was found guilty of attempted murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court in January and sentenced on Friday. The attack left his victim, a 20-year-old man, requiring life-saving hospital treatment and eventually forced into an assisted living facility.What happened on Highgate HillThe victim and his girlfriend were walking towards Highgate Tube station on the evening of 15 February 2025 when…

The City of London Corporation has written to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asking him to give up his Freedom of the City, the latest in a series of honours stripped from or withdrawn around the disgraced former prince. Councillors voted to invite him to relinquish the title voluntarily — an approach forced by the fact that, under existing rules, this particular category of Freedom cannot be revoked. Andrew received the honour in 2012 not through nomination but “by virtue of patrimony”, an automatic entitlement arising from his father Prince Philip’s status as a Freeman. Why the Corporation cannot simply remove it Unlike…

Britain’s economy returned to growth in February, exceeding expectations in the final weeks before the outbreak of war in Iran, according to official figures released on Thursday.Data from the Office for National Statistics showed gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — rose by 0.1 per cent compared with January, recovering from a surprise contraction at the start of the year. GDP captures the overall value of what an economy produces.A fragile recoveryWhile ministers have consistently identified economic growth as their central priority, the increases recorded in recent months have been modest. February’s uptick may yet mark…

Three men have been sent to prison for a violent assault on a boy who was deliberately driven into as he rode his bicycle, then stabbed as he lay injured on a residential street in West Sussex. Jack Ancell, 24, Charlie Clark, 24, and Aiden Barber, 22, were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court after admitting causing grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in public. All three played a role in the attack on Sydney Road, Haywards Heath, on the evening of 28 July 2025, Sussex Police confirmed. What the court was told about the attack The boy…

A senior Kent county councillor has admitted the future of a major road that partially collapsed nearly three years ago rests “in the lap of the gods” unless ministers approve a bid for funding to pay for repairs that could cost up to £50m. Kent County Council intends to apply for a share of a £1bn government pot, first unveiled in 2024, to fund the rebuild of the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe. The road has been out of action since giving way in 2023, with no clear route to reopening until now. What is being proposed for Galley…

Five men have been convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering a 21-year-old who was hunted down and stabbed to death in south London last spring, in what detectives described as a sustained group attack born of escalating tensions between rival groups. Giovanny Rendon Bedoya was killed in Walworth on the evening of 14 April 2025. After an 11-week trial, jurors on Tuesday returned guilty verdicts against all five defendants, who will return to court for sentencing on 20 May. What happened on Hillingdon Street The Metropolitan Police were called shortly after 9.16pm on the evening of the killing to…

Detectives have launched an urgent search for two masked men after an attempted firebombing of a synagogue in Finchley, the latest in a run of incidents that has left Jewish community leaders warning of a deepening climate of intimidation. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers were called to Finchley Reform Synagogue shortly after 1am, where two bottles believed to contain petrol, along with a brick, were thrown at the building by suspects wearing balaclavas. The attempt caused no damage and no one was hurt. Counter-terrorism officers have joined the investigation, which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. What…

Commuters across the capital are bracing for fresh disruption on the London Underground next week, as drivers belonging to the RMT union prepare to stage four days of strike action in a dispute over working patterns. What passengers can expect The walkouts will take place in two 24-hour blocks. The first begins at midday on Tuesday 21 April and runs until 11:59am on Wednesday 22 April. A second strike follows from midday on Thursday 23 April until the same time on Friday 24 April. Transport for London has said services are likely to run normally during the mornings of each…

A man who fatally stabbed a woman inside her Croydon flat and then inflicted a wound on himself in an attempt to pass the killing off as self-defence has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 19 years. How the case against Simon Ghebremedhin was built Simon Ghebremedhin, 34, of Streatham High Road, was sentenced on Tuesday for the murder of 26-year-old Marjama Osman. The killing took place on 31 May last year at Ms Osman’s home on Frith Road. Emergency services were alerted after a passer-by came across her lying unconscious on the pavement outside the property.…