Woman dies after being hit by train at Seven Sisters Tube station

Staff reporter(wp/es):
A woman has died after being hit by a Tube train in front of shocked passengers at Seven Sisters station.
British Transport Police were called to the station at 11.15am today to reports that someone had been struck by a train.
The station, in north London, was closed while emergency services dealt with the incident.
A BTP spokesman said confirmed that the woman died at the scene.
He added: "Officers attended alongside London Ambulance Service paramedics and treated a woman for injuries.
"However, despite their best efforts, the woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
"Officers are now working to identify the person and inform their family.
"This incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner"
Services on the Victoria line are severely delayed and no Underground trains are running between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central.

A statement posted on Transport for London’s website reads: “No service between Walthamstow Central and Seven Sisters due to an earlier customer incident.
“Severe delays on the rest of the line.
“London Underground tickets will be accepted on London Overground, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, South Eastern Trains and local bus services via any reasonable route.”

Furious woman confronts man after 'sex assault' on London bus

Crime reporter(wp/es):
A furious woman has confronted a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her on a London bus.
Police have released a fresh image of a man they want to speak to after the woman was reportedly touched inappropriately from behind while travelling on Wood Green High Road.
The alleged attack happened on a route 144 bus at 3.20pm on June 19.
The victim is said to have walked after the man, grabbed him by the collar and said: “What do you think you’re doing?”
Another passenger then shouted: "Don’t touch her," after which the suspect is believed to have turned around and struck the victim on the left side of her face, hitting her glasses.
The man is described as white and aged between 35 and 45 years old.
He is said to be approximately 6ft tall with short mousey hair which was turning grey and blue/grey eyes.
He was wearing a white collared shirt with a grey jumper or hooded top at the time of the incident.

Armed police on Tube after North Greenwich 'bomb' alert

 
Pic: North Greenwich station was evacuated over a terror scare
Crime reporter(wp/es):
Armed police are to travel on London Underground trains following the bomb alert at North Greenwich station, a senior officer revealed today.
Firearms patrols which are routinely deployed on mainline train stations in London are to use the Tube to travel between jobs for the first time in a move to counter the terror threat and to reassure the public.
British Transport Police chiefs say they are not deploying armed patrols on the Underground but the firearms cops will use the Tube instead of cars to get round the city in future.
BTP’s Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock said the plan would mean the public could see armed officers travelling on the Tube on a daily basis.
He said: “They will stand out and people will see them. We hope they will provide a reassurance that they are there and they are able to respond whatever the threat may be.”

Armed officers were deployed on the Tube and railway in the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings in 2005 but the measure was only temporary.
Today’s announcement will mean that armed officers will now be seen on the Tube network in central London on a daily basis.
However, the move is understood to have raised some concerns at City Hall over how Londoners might react to the sight of armed officers on the Tube.
The Mayor’s spokesperson said: “No decision has been taken on this proposal. It will be discussed between the Mayor, BTP and TfL over the coming weeks‎.”

Armed officers routinely patrol mainline stations such as King’s Cross, Waterloo and Paddington and the new move will mean they will criss-cross the city as they move between jobs.
BTP chiefs are holding final discussions with City Hall and Transport for London before the change is launched.
Police believe the move will raise the profile of officers on the Tube as well as allowing firearms patrols more time on duty at mainline stations.
In a further move BTP dog units will also use Tube trains to travel around the capital rather using vans or cars as they do now.

The new measures were announced today as it emerged that members of the public raised the alarm over the suspected improvised bomb found on a Jubilee Line train last week.
Mr Hanstock praised the public and Tube staff for the way they responded to the alert.
He said: “We are very impressed that the public did everything we have been asking them to do for many years, they acted as our eyes and ears and spotted something that was unusual and out of place.
“They reported it to staff who also made a very careful assessment and, working from a set of principles, also raised the alarm and called in the experts.”

North Greenwich Tube station was closed while the bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion on the device last Thursday.
A 19-year-old man was Tasered and arrested in the street in Holloway the following day in connection with the alleged plot.
Damon Smith, who had recently started studying at London Metropolitan University, remains in custody.
Mr Hanstock described the device as being in an “innocuous” bag on the floor of an eastbound Jubilee train.
He said: “It was not something with curly wires and sticks of dynamite, it was enough to sit unnoticed.
It was typical of what you would see on the train, but it was enough for the public to say, ‘hang on, no-one has been with that for a while, it seems to have been abandoned, we are going to report it.’”
The bag is thought to have been left on the train somewhere between Westminster and Canary Wharf and travelled on the train for at least a few stops before the alert was raised.
A member of the public who spotted it then walked to the front of the train and alerted the driver at North Greenwich station.
Mr Hanstock said the driver had to decide if it was a routine abandoned bag such as someone “who had just forgotten their laundry” and he quickly decided to call in the experts.

Mr Hanstock said his force had a team of “highly trained, highly equipped” bomb recognition experts who attended the scene and, in turn, called in the Met’s counter terrorism command.
The deputy chief constable admitted there was a risk that the sight of armed police on the Tube network might increase people’s fears of terrorism.
But he said: “It is a risk we are prepared to take. We understand that people don’t want to be confronted with the reality of the threat that the UK faces but it is clear and obvious that we have this severe threat level from terrorism.

“Whether that is targeted, deliberate and calculated or whether it is unsophisticated, we have seen both, the reality of that risk is there.
“Hopefully people will be reassured that we have got the measures in place to counter that threat and we can also be unpredictable.”
Referring to the bomb alert at North Greenwich, Mr Hanstock said his officers investigated thousands of reports of unclaimed bags every year.
He revealed that in recent years there had been just 37 occasions when police had carried out full evacuations of stations.
 The force had become adept at reacting to deaths on the Tube and in reducing the disruption to the Tube and rail network following serious incidents.

Zac Goldsmith to resign over Heathrow expansion plan

 vb
Pic: Zac Goldsmih
Staff reporter(wp/es):
Zac Goldsmith is set to resign his Commons seat within 48 hours after the government backed a third runway at Heathrow, friends said.
The Tory Richmond Park MP, a long-standing opponent of Heathrow’s expansion, immediately branded the decision “catastrophic” and promised to make a statement imminently.
If he steps down as expected, Theresa May faces a dramatic local revolt as local Conservatives backed him to stand as an independent anti-Heathrow candidate in a by-election.
In a tweet posted within minutes of the government announcing its decision, Mr Goldsmith wrote: “Following the Government's catastrophic Heathrow announcement, I will be meeting my constituents later today before making a statement.”
 Theresa May and the Cabinet today announced their backing for Heathrow's expansion, but the decision immediately sparked protests and legal challenges.
 The £16 billion plan will increase the number of flights at Europe’s busiest airport to more than 700,000 a year by 2030. Theresa May told the Evening Standard it was a decision made “for jobs and growth” and showed that post-Brexit Britain will be an “open, global, successful country”.

Speaking to the Standard after the Cabinet met, the Prime Minister said: “After decades of delay we are showing that we will take the big decisions when they’re the right decisions for Britain, and we will ensure they’re right for ordinary working people too.
“Airport expansion is vital for the economic future of the whole of the UK and today also provides certainty to Londoners. Businesses will know that we are building the infrastructure they need to access global markets. Ordinary, working people will know that my Government backs jobs and growth.
 “We want the benefits of a new runway as quickly as possible, but we will also make sure London and taxpayers get a good deal.”

She indicated the third runway plan includes commitments to increase the number of flights to Scotland and regional airports, adding: “By making sure we improve the links between regional airports and our capital city we can use airport expansion as an opportunity to bring the UK closer together.
“This decision demonstrates that as we leave the EU we can make a success of Brexit and Britain can be that open, global, successful country we all want it to be.

Labour hit with £20,000 fine after ‘Ed Stone’ spending probe

Political reporter(wp/es):
The “Ed Stone” — the defining image of Ed Miliband’s disastrous election campaign — has helped land Labour with the largest fine ever handed out by the Electoral Commission.
The then-Labour leader unveiled the 8ft 6in stone plinth carved with election promises in the run up to the 2015 general election, promising it would stand in Downing Street’s garden if the party won.
However, the stunt was ridiculed and became an emblem for Mr Miliband’s failed campaign.
Today the election watchdog issued the Labour party with a £20,000 fine, with a lengthy investigation finding a catalogue of undeclared election payments including two missing returns for the stone tablet.
Bob Posner, director of party and election finance at the Electoral Commission, said it was vital for well-established parties to “comply with the rules” and report their finances correctly.
 Labour’s election spending was first investigated in January this year when it emerged that two payments worth £7,614 for the “Ed Stone” were missing from the party’s campaign spending return.

Labour’s own review found that there were also 24 items of expenditure worth £109,777 missing from the return.
The Electoral Commission then found further missing payments, including 49 payments relating to costs associated with the Labour Express battle bus tour which ferried activists to constituencies to campaign, and the Labour Students tour worth £11,357.
Altogether the watchdog found Labour had missed 74 payments totalling £123,748, as well as 33 separate invoices totalling £34,392.

Labour treasurer Iain McNicol was found to have committed two civil offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) and does not face criminal proceedings.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Labour has co-operated fully with the Electoral Commission during its investigation into General Election 2015 campaign spending by political parties.
“The Commission’s investigation found that internal procedural errors led to a relatively small number of items of expenditure not being declared properly. The party regrets these administrative errors. However, these amounted to just over one per cent of our total spending of over £12 million during this election.
“We accept the findings of the report and have already tightened our internal recording procedures to address the Commission’s concerns.”
 The limestone slab was broken up shortly after the general election.

Road submerged under water with 20 homes flooded after water main bursts in south London

Staff reporter(wp/es):
A burst water main caused chaos in south London this morning, with flooding in 20 homes and dozens more at risk.
The flood has closed Camberwell New Road between Camberwell Station Road and Medlar Street.
The road is expected to be closed for some time.
Earlier today, the London Fire Brigade gave out sandbags to protect homes however it is believed water has entered 20 properties.
Drivers have been told to aviod the area.
 Many people took to social media to express amazement at the scenes, with some joking they would need a boat service to get to work.

Tesco boss says prices will rise following Brexit slump in pound

Business reporter(wp/es):
The boss of Tesco today braced customers for price rises in the wake of the pound’s slump after the Brexit vote.
John Allan, the supermarket’s chairman, said it was “very likely” that the cost of some products would go up.
Sterling was trading at about $1.22 this morning, some 17 per cent lower than before the shock June 23 referendum result, and has dropped sharply against the euro.
The decline will almost inevitably push up the cost of imported food and ingredients from overseas for products made in Britain.
“We are trying to defend our customers from unjustified price increases but that it is likely there will be some price increases going forward, I think is very likely,” Mr Allan told BBC radio.

He believes inflation may “nudge up” two or three per cent, with food prices contributing to this — but dismissed suggestions food prices could rise on average by between 10 and 20 per cent, insisting it would be “much less”.
Tesco was seen to have won the “Marmitegate” battle with Unilever after it sought to impose a 10 per cent hike in the cost of products supplied to the supermarket giant.
Mr Allan, also chairman of business group London First, declined to comment on the bust-up but appeared to suggest it had not been such a clear-cut rejection, as portrayed, of any price rises.
He added: “We see our role as retailers not to prevent our suppliers from making legitimate cost increases where they think that’s necessary but certainly scrutinising those cost increases very hard.”

The supermarket chief also warned Theresa May against a draconian clampdown on immigration which could harm the British economy.
He said: “Industries like the agriculture industry, picking and packing fruit and veg and meat, are heavily dependent on migrant workers, not just seasonal migrant workers but people who are here 52 weeks a year.
Our fresh food suppliers are very concerned that is properly taken into account.”

Earlier this month, sterling plunged after the Prime Minister appeared to suggest she was prioritising immigration control over economic concerns.
But yesterday she told MPs the UK can curb immigration and get a good trade deal with the EU. She said: “We are going to be ambitious for what we obtain for the United Kingdom and that means a good trade deal as well as control of immigration.”
Meanwhile, French ambassador Sylvie Bermann said “of course” Britons in France would be allowed to remain after Brexit if the same applied to French nationals here.
She said: “I think it will be dealt with on a reciprocal basis because there [are] 300,000 French citizens in this country, almost the same as UK citizens in France.”