London to have cycle superhighways

London mayor Boris Johnson has announced his plans to turn London into a cycle city. Two cycle superhighways are to be launched in summer 2010, running from Merton to the city and from Barking to Tower Gateway and a bike...

Racism in London’s Metropolitan police force

London’s Metropolitan police force suffers from “covert racism”, reports the London Evening Standard. A study carried out in 2008 among ethnic minority officers in Lambeth reported “a negative organisational culture”, says the Standard. The report’s author, Superintendent Paul Wilson, has...

London school discipline failing

London’s schools are failing to maintain class discipline, and disruption is twice as bad in inner London as the rest of England, reports the London Evening Standard. According to latest figures from the Department of Children, Schools and Families, one...

Few British workers on Olympic site

Olympic chiefs have revealed that British workers make up one eighth of the workforce on the London Olympic site, says the London Evening Standard, despite a guarantee by the government that the £9.3 billion Olympic project was “British jobs for...

London’s children face multiple health problems

London’s children have rates of child obesity, tooth decay and infant deaths far above the national average according to a recent report issued by the London Health Observatory, says the London Evening Standard. The report also highlighted that London has...

London’s black cabs to offer fixed fares

London’s licensed black taxis will begin offering a fixed fare, pay-before-you-ride scheme from this autumn, reports the London Evening Standard. Under the new scheme the minimum fixed fare rate will be £15, increasing to £30, £40 and £50 for trips...

Under-age rapes rise in London

The number of rapes reported in the capital last year by those under the age of 16 rose by 23 per cent. Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson described the jump in the number of reported rapes in the capital as...

Department store Liberty building sold

World famous London department store, Liberty, has sold its iconic building in the West End’s Great Marlborough Street for £41.5 million to European investors Sirosa Liberty Ltd. Under the new deal, Liberty will pay £2.1 million per year to lease...

Bomber Command may get Hyde Park monument

The famed World War II fighters of Bomber Command could soon have their own memorial in London’s Green Park, if plans submitted to Westminster council are given the go-ahead. The proposed monument, estimated to cost £3 million, has been designed...

Albert and Hammersmith Bridges close

Drivers in London face up to 18 months of disruption with the closure of key Thames crossings, in particular Albert and Hammersmith bridges, as part of a £7 million project funded by Kensington and Chelsea Council and Transport for London....