Author: James Whitmore

A 38-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage and remanded in custody after graffiti was sprayed on the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.Caspar San Giorgio, of no fixed address, was arrested in the early hours of Friday 27 February shortly after 4am. He was charged the following morning and is due to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court later today.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

London’s mayor has given formal approval to pedestrianise Oxford Street, instructing Transport for London to begin implementing changes that would see the road closed to vehicles between Great Portland Street and Orchard Street by September this year.The decision follows a second public consultation in which 2,700 people responded, with City Hall saying the majority supported the proposed traffic diversions. An earlier consultation that closed last summer found 63% of Londoners were in favour of the scheme overall.Under the approved plans, the stretch of Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street will be closed to private cars, buses, taxis,…

British Transport Police are appealing for the public’s help identifying a man captured on camera following an upskirting offence at Victoria Underground station on Tuesday 10 February.The incident was reported by a witness who saw the offence take place on the walkway leading toward the District and Circle line platforms. Officers believe the man shown in the released images may be able to assist their investigation.Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 215 of 10 February. Anonymous information can be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800…

Rail maintenance workers on a section of the London Overground have walked out for 24 hours in a pay dispute, though Transport for London says passengers should see little disruption with a normal timetable expected to operate throughout.Members of the RMT union employed by contractor Cleshar CS Ltd began their strike on Thursday, with two further walkouts already scheduled for 26 March and 23 April if the dispute remains unresolved.Cleshar is responsible for track, signalling and telecoms maintenance on the Windrush line between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate. TfL said contingency plans were in place to cover any faults…

A 35-year-old east London woman has been sentenced to nine months in prison after carrying out a violent and prolonged assault on a lone passenger travelling on the Central line late at night, stealing cash from his wallet and leaving him with a broken phone. Gloria Makanjuola, of Cranbrook Road in Ilford, pleaded guilty to assault and attempted theft ahead of her sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday 19 February. The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday 4 March 2023, as the victim travelled eastbound toward Hainault reading a newspaper. Makanjuola sat beside him and asked…

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has confirmed he passed information about Lord Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police ahead of the peer’s arrest on Monday, telling MPs he acted in “good faith” and described it as “regrettable” that the matter had become public.The BBC understands Sir Lindsay received information during a visit to the British Virgin Islands last week suggesting Lord Mandelson was planning to travel there, and passed that on to police. This is believed to have contributed to the decision to take the peer into custody rather than wait for a previously arranged voluntary interview.Mandelson’s legal team have pushed…

British Transport Police are appealing for the public’s help identifying six men caught on CCTV following a violent assault on a couple at one of London’s busiest Underground stations.The attack took place at King’s Cross station at around 6:30am on Sunday 11 January, on the Victoria line platform. The trouble began when a member of a group directed an insult at the couple as they walked onto the platform. A sustained assault followed, during which the man was punched and kicked repeatedly by multiple attackers. He sustained several cuts to his face and had hair wrenched from his head. When…

A senior Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed and permanently barred from working in policing after a disciplinary panel found he repeatedly lied about his qualifications and drove marked patrol cars at high speed on blue lights without any authorisation to do so. Chief Inspector Andrew Du, based at the Met’s Central North Command Unit, faced three allegations at a misconduct hearing that concluded on Monday. All three were found proven, with the panel determining the conduct amounted to gross misconduct serious enough to warrant immediate dismissal. The hearing established that on more than one occasion Du drove a marked…

An off-duty British Transport Police detective noticed something unusual on a King’s Cross Underground platform on 11 March 2025 — a man sitting with a suitcase that had holes in it and was emitting a green flash. That chance observation brought down a fraud operation that had been sending scam texts to Tube passengers and laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds through gift cards. Four men have now been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after the gang was found to have wheeled homemade SMS blasting devices through London Underground stations inside suitcases, bombarding nearby passengers with fake parcel delivery…

A major burst water main has caused significant flooding across a stretch of north London, prompting a large emergency response and the opening of a rest centre for residents unable to remain in their homes. The London Fire Brigade was called to the scene in Islington at around 2:45pm, with six fire engines and approximately 40 firefighters deployed to deal with floodwater affecting the area between Caledonian Road and Twyford Street, running to the junction of Thornhill Bridge Wharf and Caledonian Road. The burst main measures 30 inches in diameter, and the volume of water released has been significant enough…