London air pollution has triggered 'public health emergency', Sadiq Khan warns

Pic-The mayor declared the problem a 'public health emergency' (PA)
Staff reporter(wp/es):::

London's "filthy, toxic air" has become a "public health emergency" that is killing thousands of people prematurely every year, Sadiq Khan has warned.

Harmful polluted air is even causing the underdevelopment of children's lungs, a situation the capital’s mayor called "shameful".

Mr Khan used a speech at a London government dinner at Mansion House, central London, on Thursday evening, to say he was "pushing ahead with the most ambitious plans to tackle air pollution of any big city in the world".

He highlighted the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone in central London, which is due to take effect in April and replace the current T-charge.

It means most vehicles need to meet tighter exhaust emission standards or pay a daily charge, and the zone will expand to include inner London from October 2021, according to the Mayor's Office.

Addressing an audience including government figures and business representatives at the black-tie event, he said: "The evidence is now incontrovertible: the harmful quality of London's air has become a public health emergency.

"There's no other way of framing it.

"Thousands of Londoners are dying prematurely in our city every single year as a direct consequence of our filthy, toxic air.

"Right now some children living and studying in pollution hotspots, which are often located in the poorest parts of our city, are growing up with underdeveloped and stunted lungs.

"This isn't just unacceptable, it's shameful.

"Unlike the smoky pollution of the past today's pollution is invisible and it's a hidden killer."

Air pollution is linked to the early deaths of about 40,000 people a year in the UK and causes problems such as heart and lung disease and asthma.

Around 9,000 Londoners die prematurely because of polluted air, according to the Mayor's Office.

Other measures introduced by Mr Khan include spending more than £300 million to retro-fit thousands of buses with technology to reduce harmful emissions.

Murder probe launched after woman in 30s dies from head injuries in east London

Crime reporter,London(wp/es):::

A murder probe has been launched after a woman in her 30s died from head injuries in east London.

Police and paramedics were called to a residential address in City Island Way at about 4pm on Friday.

The woman was found with a critical head injury and pronounced dead at the scene at 4.17pm, Scotland Yard said.

Images posted on social media show an air ambulance landing nearby as scores of emergency services vehicles descended on the scene.

A Met Police spokesman said officers were in the process of informing next of kin.

He added: “A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Formal identification awaits.

“The Homicide and Major Crime Command have been informed.”

Police added that no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information concerning this incident at the address is requested to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.

David Beckham's former brother-in-law jailed for £1m fraud

Pic-1::Stephen Todd (left) and Paul Muldoon were also jailed for their part in the fraud/bbc/wp

Pic-2:::There is no suggestion the Beckhams knew anything about the fraud or about any use of their name/bbc/wp
Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

The former brother-in-law of David Beckham has been jailed for his part in a near £1m fraud which used the family name to con victims.

Darren Flood, who was married to Victoria Beckham's sister Louise Adams, was a director in a company that cold-called elderly victims.

The firm, based in London, persuaded people to invest thousands of pounds in practically worthless materials.

Flood, 40, was one of seven people jailed for the fraud on Friday.

He was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between April 2012 and August 2014 and jailed for two and a half years.

Six others were also jailed at Kingston Crown Court for their involvement in the con, which targeted victims including widow in her 80s, a retired policeman and a multiple sclerosis sufferer.

Their firm The Commodities Link, based in Canary Wharf, made "slick marketing videos" but Surrey Police said this was a "facade".

The force said it was aware of 24 victims who invested more than £800,000 but some people took out loans to cover their investments, meaning the true total sum lost is likely to be more than £1m.

Some victims were taken for high-value dinners in London and the Beckham name was mentioned to some potential investors to give the scheme an air of legitimacy.

There is no suggestion the Beckhams knew anything about the fraud or about any use of their name.

Investors in the so-called "boiler room fraud" were persuaded to put their money in a market that effectively did not exist for members of the public.

They were lied to about the value of materials - rare earth metals and oxides - which were sold to investors for up to 200 times more than the original purchase price.

The barrister for Flood argued he had not personally sought to capitalise on the family link.

The seven who were jailed:

• Gennaro Fiorentino, 38, of Wetherell Road, Hackney, who played "the leading role" in the company, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Jailed for five years
• Darren Flood, of Ware Road in Hertford, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between April 2012 and August 2014 - Jailed for two and a half years
• Former finance director Mark Whitehead, 60, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Jailed for three and a half years
• Ex-office manager Vikki King, 39, from Basildon, Essex, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Jailed for two years and three months
• Main company salesman Paul Muldoon, 34, from Basildon, who had "made great play of Darren Flood being David Beckham's brother-in-law" during a pitch to a victim who lost £62,000, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Jailed for four years
• Stephen Todd, 37, of Blackwall Way, Tower Hamlets, who is currently in prison for fraud, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Had an extra year added to sentence
• Jonathan Docker 32, of High Road, Chigwell, Essex, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation - Jailed for two and a half years

Cash-strapped councils look for tourist tax powers

Staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

A tourist tax could be imposed on visitors to some of the UK's leading destinations if cash-strapped councils get their way.

Bath wants the power to impose a £1-per-night charge to allow the authority to "put the icing back on the cake" after years of financial restraints.

The Scottish Highlands and Aberdeen are among others considering a levy.

But industry figures have warned the proposals could hit the wider tourism industry hard.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has asked central government for the power to "introduce a levy on local tourism and short-term holiday lettings".

The law does not currently allow councils to impose a tax on hotels or restaurants.

Council leader Tim Warren said that while a levy wouldn't make a "big difference" to visitors' hotel bills, it would have an impact on the council's budget for services such as street improvements.

He added: "We are not asking for more money, we are asking for the opportunity to make our own money."

Aberdeen city leaders have said a levy is just one of the "levers" to boost the economy and offset funding cuts.

The city council's co-leader, Jenny Laing, said: "We have been considering the potential of a tourism levy since 2015, a demonstration of our determination to innovate in the face of the funding challenges we face, but no decision can be made unless the council has the devolved power to do so.

"Any decision would be based on consultation with key local stakeholders in the tourism sector to ensure their views continue to help shape future plans."

Voluntary tax

Liverpool city councillors could be about to push for a voluntary tourist tax.

Tourism has boomed in the decade since the city was the 2008 European Capital of Culture year and on Wednesday the city council will debate the idea of a tax for "cultural events".

Two members taking the idea to the city council said that while the industry is creating many jobs, they need to be sure everyone in the city can get the right training.

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Proposals for a £2 a night hotel tax in Edinburgh also received strong public support this week, while Highland Council is on the brink of launching its own consultation to find out if locals back plans for a tax.

Increasing numbers of visitors to places such as the Isle of Skye have placed more pressure on public services and attractions. A council report said a levy could generate £5m-£10m to invest in improvements.

The Scottish government was against allowing councils to set a tourist tax, but Nicola Sturgeon signalled a change in direction last year when she said there should be further consultation.

Elsewhere, plans were also floated for a central London levy to fund facilities such as public toilets, parks and open spaces before being put 'on hold', partly because of uncertainty over Brexit.

Negative impact

Tony Sophoclides, from trade body UK Hospitality, said he can understand why a tourism levy would be attractive to councils looking for new ways to bring in cash, but warned the result could be a falling incomes across all tourism businesses - far outweighing the income a levy might bring.

He said the model may work in European cities and other comparable tourist destinations, but the UK has higher rates of VAT on accommodation and already scores badly in terms of tourism-price competiveness.

He added: "It's not as simple as saying it works elsewhere, so why not here."

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More about this story

This story was developed alongside the work of the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS], a public service news agency.

The LDRS is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector and used by qualifying partners as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association.

Ministers consider ending jail terms of six months or less

Political reporter(wp/bbc):

The Ministry of Justice is considering banning prison sentences of less than six months in England and Wales.

Ministers argue that short jail terms are less effective at cutting reoffending than community penalties.

Prisons minister Rory Stewart told the Daily Telegraph that such sentences were "long enough to damage you and not long enough to heal you".

If such jail sentences were to be scrapped it is thought it could free up thousands of prison places.

Some burglars and most shoplifters are among those who could be spared jail terms under the proposals.

'They lose their reputation'

The Ministry of Justice is considering preventing courts from imposing prison terms of less than six months unless the sentence is for a violent crime or a sexual offence.

The measure could reduce the prison population by around 3,500, although it would require legislation.

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In Scotland, a presumption against prison sentences of less than three months is already in place and is due to be extended to 12 months.

Arguing for the need for reform, Mr Stewart told the Daily Telegraph Magazine: "You bring somebody in for three or four weeks, they lose their house, their job, their family, their reputation.

"They come (into prison), they meet a lot of interesting characters (to put it politely) and then you whap them on to the streets again.

"The public are safer if we have a good community sentence... and it will relieve a lot of pressure on prisons."

Since they took up their posts last year, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Mr Stewart have both made it clear they want to reduce the use of short prison sentences.

The prison population has doubled in England and Wales since the early 1990s, rising from around 40,000 to more than 80,000 in 2018, official figures show.

Almost two-thirds of prisoners released after sentences of less than 12 months reoffend within a year.

More than half of the 86,275 offenders sentenced to immediate custody in England and Wales in 2017 were handed sentences of six months or less, according to a Parliamentary response from Mr Stewart to shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon last month.

Mr Stewart said he realised that the proposals could provoke a backlash against "soft justice" by people in his own party and the public, but said it was "a debate I have to win".

In August last year he vowed to resign in a year if he was unable to reduce drug use and violence in 10 target jails in England.

The Prison Reform Trust, which has previously called for a presumption against short prison sentences, welcomed the new proposals.

Peter Dawson, the charity's director, told the Telegraph: "Ministers should be congratulated for having the political courage to start the debate."

An MoJ spokesperson said: "As we have said previously, short sentences are too often ineffective, provide little opportunity to rehabilitate offenders and lead to unacceptably high rates of reoffending.

"That's why we are exploring potential alternatives, but this work is ongoing and we have reached no conclusions at this time."

Ministers urge May to seek help from Corbyn if Brexit deal voted down - Bloomberg

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

Senior British ministers have urged Prime Minister Theresa May to invite opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn for talks with a view to agreeing a joint Brexit plan if parliament votes down her deal next week, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

It quoted people familiar with the matter.