Dozens of shisha pipes seized from east London café

Pic:The shisha pipes were seized from Byblos Gardens Shisha Lounge in Barking
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Dozens of so-called hubbly bubbly pipes were seized from an east London café after local residents tipped off the police.

Barking and Dagenham Council enforcement officers, alongside the Met Police, discovered customers smoking the pipes in an enclosed space during a raid at Byblos Gardens Shisha Lounge in Barking.

Four customers were given £50 fixed penalty notices as well as the manager, who was also given a £200 fine for allowing customers to smoke and not displaying ‘no smoking’ signs.

Councillor Laila Butt, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said: “It’s been illegal to smoke or allow smoking in an enclosed premises since 2006 so it should come as no surprise to anyone caught smoking at the café.

“I can assure anyone else out there it will be no toil or trouble for us to seize more hubbly bubbly pipes to uphold the smoking ban as part of our drive to protect residents’ health.”

The raid took place on Friday, January 13, and 48 pipes were confiscated.

A council spokeswoman added: "As a result of this action, further investigation is ongoing which could result in legal action against the business owner and any other associate.

"Shisa pipes also pose a serious health risks to users including increasing the chances of chances of contracting TB and hepatitis.

"The average shisha-smoking session lasts an hour and research has shown that in this time you can inhale the same amount of smoke as from more than 100 cigarettes."

Murder investigation launched after body found in Milton Keynes

Crime reporter(wp/es):

 A murder investigation has been launched in Milton Keynes after a man’s body was discovered in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police were called to an address on St Leger Drive, Great Linford, at 4.05am where the body was found.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said that formal identification had not yet taken place and a post mortem examination would be carried out to establish the cause of death.

Detective Chief Inspector Craig Kirby said: "We have launched a murder inquiry following the discovery of this deceased man.

"At this stage we believe this was an isolated incident, there is no danger to the wider public, and arrests have been made in connection with this incident.

"We have a number of scene watches in place in Milton Keynes whilst we continue to investigate."

Superintendent Yvette Hitch said: "I am aware that this will be very worrying and shocking for the local community in Great Linford.

"In light of this we are increasing patrols in the area to provide reassurance to the community, and you may see an increased police presence over the coming days."

Man fighting for life after knife attack

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man was left fighting for life after he was stabbed in Hackney.

The victim, believed to be aged in his early 30s, was knifed in the early hours of Sunday.

Police raced to the scene in Kingsland High Road at about 5.30am.

Scotland Yard said officers gave first aid to the victim before the arrival of paramedics.

London’s Air Ambulance was also scrambled to the scene and the man was rushed to hospital.  

The surrounding roads were cordoned off as police scoured the area.

Detectives from Hackney CID were investigating.

Hackney Officers posted on Twitter: “#ResponseE G1N GD20N call male with life threatening stab wound treated by #policemedic & @Ldn_Ambulance. Road closures in place. N16.”

Rail operator urges RMT union to call off 24-hour strike

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Southern rail has urged union bosses to call off a planned 24-hour strike.

The beleaguered rail operator called on the RMT union to suspend a walkout out by guards scheduled for Monday. 

The strike is in protest over Southern’s changes to the role of conductors and could cause fresh misery for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

It comes as talks aimed at resolving a separate dispute with the Aslef union over driver-only trains were set to resume. 

Drivers called off three days of strikes planned for this week on Wednesday in exchange for further talks chaired by the TUC.

Southern said that despite the strike action on Monday, it will run over 70 per cent of its trains – 10 per cent more than what it has operated on previous strike days.

It said this followed the completion of its programme to put drivers in sole control of the operation of the train, including closing the doors, on nearly 80 per cent of routes, and the transfer of many conductors to the new on-board supervisor role.

Angie Doll, Southern's passenger services director, said: "Whilst, inevitably, there will be disruption on Monday, the good news is that due to the changes we've now fully rolled out, we're now able to run more services on more routes serving more passengers and ultimately we'll have fewer cancellations and delays.

"On Monday, some 200 extra trains will be running and several routes will have their first service on an RMT strike day.

"The RMT should now recognise that their industrial action is wholly futile. They should stop the strikes, get back round the table with us and move forward together with us, delivering a better railway for our passengers."

The RMT has been in dispute with Southern for several months, warning of safety issues because of the changes and also complained of being "excluded" from talks between Southern and Aslef over the drivers' dispute.

The RMT has a small number of driver members at Southern who will strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Southern said it plans to operate a normal full timetable from Tuesday.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said: "Instead of repeating the same old threats and empty rhetoric, Southern should be engaging RMT in the same way that they have engaged with the TUC and the Government in the drivers' dispute.

"That is the way forward and the only way that we can deal with the safety issues that have led to the latest phase of strike action on Monday."

UK 'must relax immigration for Australians in exchange for free trade deal'

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Britain will have to relax immigration rules for Australians if it wants to strike a free trade deal post-Brexit, the country’s high commissioner to London has said.

Alexander Downer said Australia would seek better access for business people before reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK.

Theresa May has made clear that she wants to reform the UK's relationship with the EU customs union so it can agree trade deals with countries from around the world after Brexit.

Australia is ready to reach a deal with Britain and it may take on more urgency given United States president Donald Trump's wish to pursue an "America first" strategy, raising doubts about a potential UK-US agreement.

Mr Downer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We would want to see greater access for Australian businesspeople working in the UK and that's often been a part of free trade negotiations - it hasn't always been by the way, but it's often been part of our free trade negotiations."

He went on: "It might just make it a bit simpler actually, for example an Australian company that invests in the UK might want to bring some of its executives to the UK.

"That can be done with what are called Tier 2 visas but maybe that could be made a little bit easier, I suspect they would be the only sort of changes you'd be looking at."

Any negotiation over visa arrangements could be conducted separately but at the same time as a deal for the free movement of goods and services between the two nations, he suggested.

An Australia-UK agreement could be reached very quickly after Brexit, given that Canberra struck a deal with the US in eight months during George W Bush's presidency, he said.

Mr Downer said a similar timeframe could be realistic if Britain does not want to protect certain industries and revealed exploratory discussions had already taken place at many levels.

He said: "Obviously once the UK leaves the EU it can negotiate free trade agreements but not before then.

"But we can scope it out and we've provided a scoping paper to the British Government to explain what we think the scope of a free trade agreement should look like."

Mayor Sadiq Khan in stinging attack on Theresa May's Brexit plans

Political reporter(wp/es):

Sadiq Khan today launched a blistering attack on Theresa May’s plans for Brexit, warning that her tough stance could “rip Britain apart”.

The Mayor claimed the Prime Minister’s ‘hard Brexit’ strategy was to paper over splits in the Conservative party and not in the best interests of the country.

He said Britons risked being left to explain to future generations why they had put the country’s economy and prosperity at threat.  

It came after Mrs May warned Brussels in a major speech she would walk away from talks if offered a bad deal, as she set out her Brexit vision for the first time.

She confirmed Britain would leave the single market, hinted at a cap on European Union migrants and said the final Brexit deal would be put to a vote in Parliament.

But writing in the Standard, Mr Khan said: “A hard-line approach to Brexit may hold the Conservative Party together, but it could rip Britain apart.

“And if we continue on this path - towards a ‘hard Brexit’ – we risk having to explain to future generations why we knowingly put their economy, their prosperity and their place on the world stage in such peril.”

The Mayor accused the PM of “brushing away” the importance of securing privileged access to the single market which would be “critical” for London to flourish. 

In a speech at the global economic summit in Davos, he warned that without access to the EU trading bloc many businesses in the capital could struggle to survive.

“Securing privileged access to the single market must be the top priority for the negotiations. It’s critical for London. Nothing else will do. It can’t be brushed aside – as it was yesterday,” he was expected to say.

“The benefits of Britain retaining privileged access are real and tangible. Having access to the single market would mean the difference between businesses thriving and growing, or struggling to survive.”

The Mayor urged European businesses leaders to press their governments for a workable Brexit deal during his 24-hour visit to Davos - warning that a hard Brexit would be a “lose-lose” for the whole of the EU.

He was expected to meet heads of government including Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway, which is a member of the single market but not the EU, as well as the chief executives of Siemens, Hitachi and Mastercard.

In a keynote speech hosted by Morgan Stanley, he said: “A ‘hard Brexit’ would cut Europe off from its only truly global financial centre. This would be bad news for Europe as well as Britain. So a hard Brexit really would be a lose-lose situation.

“Tell your political leaders that a ‘hard Brexit’ deal is not in the best interests of your company. This won’t be easy. But I’m confident that despite the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, there is still a sensible deal to be done.”

Student, 19, stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A university student stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium has been named by police.

Djodjo Nsaka, 19, a business studies student from Streatham, was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning.

A post mortem has found that Mr Nsaka, who studied at Middlesex University, died from a single stab wound to the chest, Scotland Yard said.

He is believed to be the first teenager murdered on the streets of London this year.

Police were called to Fulton Road at around 1.15am on Friday following reports that a man had been assaulted.

Officers and London Ambulance Service fought to save Mr Nsaka but he died at the scene shortly afterwards.

An inquest into his death was yet to be set. A 20-year-old man was also treated for minor injuries.

The road, which is a few hundred yards from the stadium, was closed while forensic officers scoured the scene.

Scotland Yard said that a man in his 20s, who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, has been released with no further action.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation.