New Met Police chief 'set to be announced this week'

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The replacement for Britain's most senior police officer is reportedly set to be announced this week. 

The new Metropolitan Police commissioner will be unveiled after a shortlist of candidates have been interviewed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

Current commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has served in the role since 2011.

Scotland Yard's former head of anti-terrorism operations is the favourite for the job, The Sunday Times reported.

The 56-year-old is said to be popular with officers but is known for leading the operation in which an innocent man was shot dead at a Tube station.

 Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian national, was shot in the head by police at Stockwell Tube station in 2005 after they mistook him for a suicide bomber. 

His family have written to Mr Khan urging him to block Dick's appointment. 

Among the other candidates for the job are the Met's current assistant commissioner Mark Rowley and Stephen Kavanagh, who is chief constable of Essex Police.

After the mayor and the home secretary have reached their decision, it will be presented to Theresa May who will ask the Queen to formally confirm the apppointment. 

Sir Bernard has warned of the impact of budget cuts and rising crime on the Met in the coming years.

Brexit could leave millions of UK's EU nationals facing chaos, report warns

Pic:Brexit could cause a bureaucratic nightmare for EU nationals in Britain
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Millions of EU nationals in the UK could be left stranded in limbo after Brexit, according to a European Parliament report.

The document warns more than three million EU nationals could face a bureaucratic nightmare because the Home Office is not equipped to register them.

The fears have surfaced because of the UK's failure to introduce ID cards or keep records of EU nationals as they enter or leave the country.

A document drawn up by MEPs and leaked to The Observer said: "The UK has no population register. In practice it would be difficult to determine which EU27 citizens were residing legally in the UK before the Brexit would have taken effect.

“If all 3.3 million EU citizens were to initiate procedures aimed at proving the ‘exercise of treaty rights’ the administrative system would be overburdened.”

The future of EU nationals remains unclear as Prime Minister Theresa May has declined to assure them until she has secured rights for the more than one million Brits who live in other EU countries.

Am Opinium poll for The Observer found that only five per cent of Britons think EU nationals currently living in the UK should be asked to leave.

Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer told the paper: "For months Labour has called for the PM to show a lead on this and to end unnecessary uncertainty for EU nationals.

"The PM needs to act swiftly to address this – both by unilaterally granting residency rights for EU nationals already in the UK and by ensuring the Home Office has the necessary resources in place."

Network Rail in new rent rise row with businesses after 200 per cent hike

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Businesses at a set of east London railway arches warn they could be forced to close after Network Rail announced a rent hike of more than 200 per cent.

Traders at the arches in London Fields, some of whom have been there for decades, say some people have already been forced to leave by the huge increase.

Derec Hickman, from Chu’s Garage, which has been at the site for 28 years, said businesses had started receiving threatening letters about the changes over the past six months.

He told the Standard: “When we started this was like an abandoned archway with people shooting up in it back when Hackney was the murder mile.

“You used to have drugs and criminals going past everyday and now we have hipsters instead.

“We’ll accept there’s a knock on effect but it’s not feasible for a business to suddenly, without warning, have to increase their overheads by that amount.”

Mr Hickman said Network Rail had originally tried to increase their rent from £18,000 a year to £45,000. Despite negotiating that down by £5,000 the business would still find that unaffordable – and it’s not alone.

Ali Sharif, who has run Sharif Auto Services in two of the arches for seven years, said his rent was sent to rise from £30,000 to £100,000.

He told the Standard: “This will force me out of business. There’s no way I can sustain that rent, I can’t afford it.”

“It’s a huge company, I know they don’t care but we care and the community cares,” he said. “If they start driving the businesses out they will suffer.”

Traders, including the London Fields Brewery and furniture firm Poetstyle, have now come together as a group to fight the increases, which they claim are based on a vastly exaggerated market rate. 

Mr Hickman said: “It’s not feasible. But everybody’s of the same spirit. When I walked around talking to everybody the fighting east end spirit is so strong it really inspired me.”

And Mr Hickman said he had come across other similar businesses in Hackney facing the same problem, with suspicions that Network Rail, under pressure to offload its property portfolio, wants to sell them off.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Network Rail’s commercial estate has 182 arches and units in the London Borough of Hackney. 

“We are obliged by the Government to deliver value for the taxpayer and all of the money generated by our estate is reinvested back into the railway. 

“We aim to deliver value in the local communities in which we operate, supporting a growing economy with businesses and jobs. 

“We currently have six rent reviews ongoing in the London Fields area and negotiations are ongoing between us and our tenants or their representatives. 

“Where rent reviews are due, we negotiate with our tenants on a consistent but individual basis to find an amicable settlement.”