London Living Wage to rise by 35p to £9.75 an hour: Sadiq Khan

Pic:Sadiq Khan has announced an increase in the London Living Wage of 35p 
Staff reporter(wp/es):

The London Living Wage is to rise to £9.75 an hour from next year, Sadiq Khan announced today. 

The Mayor said the voluntary rate in the capital would increase by 35p - well above the national living wage rate brought in by the Government this year.

More than 1,000 businesses in the capital will now pay the new rate after 300 new firms including Ikea, Lloyds TSB and EDF Energy signed up. 

Outside London, which accounts for a third of businesses paying the rate, the rate is increasing by 20p an hour to £8.45.

The living wage is different from the new compulsory National Living Wage of £7.20 for adults, rising to £9 per hour by 2020, introduced by George Osborne in April. 

Sadiq Khan, announcing the new rate at the British Library, said it was not just the “right and moral” thing for employers to do, but also made “good business sense”.

The Mayor said: “It’s great news that London is leading the way in paying the Living Wage. I’m glad to say we’re well on track to see it rise to over £10 an hour during my mayoralty, but we need to go further.

“Our economy continues to grow and for the first time in London’s history we now have over one million businesses based here.  

“It’s essential that hard-working Londoners, who keep this city going, are rewarded for their integral role in this success.

“As many employers already accredited know, the benefits are clear - including increased productivity and reduced staff turnover. I’ll be working to encourage more businesses across our great city to get involved.”

Since the voluntary rate was introduced in 2011 more than 60,000 low-paid workers have benefited. 

Other organisations to sign up in the last year include the British Library, Borough Market, National Express and Majestic Wine.

Earlier this month, Mr Khan tasked his deputy mayors to make sure all staff working across the City Hall empire were paid the LLW after discovering that a handful of Transport for London subcontractors were not.

The boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Greenwich have increased accreditation in their areas by offering discounts in business rates to Living Wage employers.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “The high costs of living in London are widely known and today’s increase will be welcome news to thousands of hard working Londoners. 

“Over 1000 employers in London ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small independent coffee shops are now leading the way on tackling low pay in the capital, making sure their employees earn a wage that they and their families can live on.” 

Having armed police on Tube will make Londoners feel 'less secure',

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Having armed police on the Tube will make Londoners feel "less secure", according to the Met Police commander who headed up security for London 2012.

Following a bomb alert at North Greenwich station earlier this month, it was revealed that armed police are to travel on London Underground trains.

For the first time they will move between jobs on the Tube instead of in cars, in the hope that their presence in carriages will reassure the public.

However, Bob Broadhurst, who has served in the Met Police for 36 years, told MailOnline while improving security is important in the short-term, in the long-run it could unnerve the public.

Mr Broadhurst said: "Police have to react to things like we saw last week [in North Greenwich].

"I have no doubt, in the short time, that having more patrols and firearms officers is the right thing to do.

"But in my opinion it only works in the short-term before it becomes counter productive and actually makes the public feel less secure unless there is a here and now threat.

"It would have to be reviewed regularly to see if it were working."

Mr Broadhurst, who is now a Special Advisor to the Security & Counter Terror Expo, added: "We had a similar thing after the 7/7 bombings. 

"We had thousands of officers around the underground for a few days, but in less than a week people were asking why there were so many officers if there was no imminent threat."

North Greenwich station was closed off while a bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion on a device on October 20.

Damon Smith, a student at London Metropolitan University, has been charged in connection with the incident.

Border Force officials seize £120,000 worth of cocaine at Heathrow Airport

Crime reporter(wp/es):

An alleged attempt to smuggle £120,000 worth of cocaine into London in a backpack was thwarted by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport.

Officers discovered 3kg of the class A drug last Tuesday after stopping a passenger who had arrived on a flight from Bogota, Colombia.

The 22-year-old, who has dual British and Colombian nationality, was arrested and charged with importing a Class A drug.

Brayan Aristizabal Ruiz pleaded not guilty at Uxbridge Magistrate’s Court a day later where he was remanded in custody. He will next appear at Isleworth Crown Court on 24 November 2016.

Phil Douglas, Border ForceHeathrow Director, said: “The skill and expertise of Border Force officers is vital in preventing dangerous drugs entering the UK and ending up on our streets.

“This is an excellent example of a seizure of Class A drugs which have been stopped from ending up in our communities where they can do so much damage.

"We continue to work with our colleagues from the National Crime Agency to do all we can to prevent drug smuggling and bring those responsible to justice.”

Up to 80 children 'suffer sickness and diarrhoea after swimming pool party' in Kent

Health reporter(wp/es):

Up to 80 children have become "violently sick" following a pool party at a sports centre in Kent.

Splashes Leisure Pool in Gillingham has been closed today in order to clean and increase the chlorine levels in the water.

It follows uproar from parents over a kids party on Friday evening which saw scores of youngsters suffer vomiting and diarrhoea.

Samantha Kemsley took her one-year-old to the pool but ended up in Medway hospital with her just hours later after she had been sick 15 times.

Ms Kemsley, from Rainham, told the Standard:  “She was being violently sick over and over again so we drove her to Medway hospital at 1.20 in the morning.

"She was sick again six or seven times so they took her straight into A&E where the doctor said she may have to go on a drip, but luckily she didn't.

"One of the questions we were asked was about any contact she’d had. None of our family or friends are unwell. It wasn’t until we arrived home just after 6.30am that it occurred to us, the only place where she had prolonged contact with people was at Splashes. 

“I posted on a Facebook page of which I am a member and was overwhelmed with responses from people who had been at Splashes on the same day as us and their children had come down with the same illness… I posted on another group too and overall I have found that there are over 80 children affected.”

Many other mothers quickly shared the post and added their own stories of sick children.

Gemma Hutley-Reynolds took her daughter, son and nephew to the pool and all became ill. She told Kent Online: "My daughter Faye, who is nine, was sick 19 times in about four hours.

“We had the norovirus in our house a few years ago but this was far worse. I have never seen anything so bad."

Another mum, Kirstee Klee added this morning: “My son had sickness & diarrhoea sat night after the splashes party on Friday through the night & he's woken up today and been sick twice.

"He'll be off school until at least Wednesday now & trick or treating is cancelled. God knows how many went & got ill & we've not heard about!”

It is believed the sickness was spread by someone swimming in the pool who was already suffering from a contagious bug.

Emma Knight, whose two children are now off school, said: “Me and my husband took my daughters to the pool party. My youngest was sick every 40 mins for eight hours.

“Then my other daughter was sick every hour for six hours Saturday night. I have never known anything like this and to last so long.

“They won't be going back to school today and I have two very drained not wanting to eat poorly girls.”

A Medway Council spokesman told the Standard: “Following reports of sickness among some children who had visited Splashes on Friday, we are thoroughly cleaning the pool and changing areas and have increased chlorine levels in the pool.

"While we cannot determine whether the illness is linked to Splashes, we have taken necessary precautions to stop the potential further spread of germs.

"We urge customers not to visit the pool when they are feeling unwell, especially when suffering with sickness, as this would be the most likely cause of any spread of illness to other customers."

Prince Harry 'planned secret trip to Toronto to see Meghan Markle'

Royal Correspondent(wp/es):

Prince Harry had planned to make a secret trip to visit his actress girlfriend Meghan Markle in Canada yesterday.

Sources say Harry, 32, was booked on Flight BA0093 at 11.30am from Heathrow to Toronto on Sunday when news of his romance broke in the press.

A source said: “The flight was booked last week but he was a no-show.”

Harry, 32, met the American, who plays Rachel Zane in the hit US TV show Suits, in Toronto in May on a promotional visit for his Invictus Games. The legal drama is filmed in the city. 

Reports say he is “besotted” and has introduced her to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.

The source added: “The crew for the British Airways flight knew the Prince was booked to travel with them. It appears he pulled out at the last minute and decided not to travel.” 

Kensington Palace said it did not comment on “private matters”. Markle, 35, visited the UK in the summer and was seen in the royal box at Wimbledon.

The actress, who has one million followers on Instagram, 320,000 on Twitter and a lifestyle blog, TheTig, posted about her trips to London, taken when Harry was in town, including a picture of her visiting Buckingham Palace.

Her representatives also remained silent today.

Markle, whose father is a Hollywood lighting director and mother a yoga instructor, shares Harry’s love for humanitarian causes.

She is an ambassador for World Vision Canada and advocate for United Nations Women.

She is divorced from producer Trevor Engelson. They broke up two years after their wedding in 2011. Before she met Harry in May, she was dating Cory Vitiello, a chef and restaurateur. 

In 2013, she told Esquire: “The best job a man could have would be a chef. They’d understand the long hours I work and the drive and ambition it takes to succeed.”

But she added: “I love how British guys dress for the cold. There’s something so romantic about a man in a scarf and a knitted hat.”

Today, bookmakers suspended all bets on the prince getting married. Previously, they had offered odds of 12-1 that he would announce his engagement this year, and 5-1 that he would wed in 2017.

Earlier this year, Harry said: “Even if I talk to a girl, that person is then suddenly my wife.”