Trains to run but stations may be closed

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Tube stations across the London Underground network may not open if proposed strike action goes ahead this weekend.
Station staff members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are planning to walk out for 48 hours from 9pm on Saturday in a row over station modernisation plans and ticket office closures.
If the strike action goes ahead, London Underground services will disrupted, with some stations expected not to open at all, until at least 9pm on Monday evening.
Tube services across the network will run, Transport for London (TfL) warned customers to prepare for station closures, late openings or earlier closures.Services on the London Overground, bus network, tram, river and TfL rail are not affected by the proposed strike action.

A TfL spokeswoman said extra buses will be provided throughout the strike and as many stations as possible will be opened.
Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “All of our ticket offices closed in December and all this strike will achieve is to lose staff two days’ pay and a £500 bonus.
“We have delivered every commitment we made to our staff over our stations modernisation programme – there have been no compulsory redundancies, work life balance has been protected and there’s a job for anyone who wants to stay with no loss of pay.
“Around 900 station staff will be promoted or will move from fixed-term contracts to permanent roles, so there is clearly absolutely no basis whatsoever for this strike threat.”

Weekend travellers are advised to check their journey before travelling.
A normal service is expected to resume on Tuesday, February 9

Tesco is set to scrap 24-hour openings at one in four of its biggest stores.

business correspondent,London(wp/es):
Shoppers may no longer be able to make late-night shopping runs in their pyjamas as Tesco is set to scrap 24-hour openings at one in four of its biggest stores.
A total of 76 stores — including two in London — will now shut at midnight as bosses admitted not enough shoppers were coming through its doors during the night, meaning to keep them open was financially damaging.
The cutback comes as the supermarket’s boss Dave Lewis attempts to win back customers who have flocked to discounters Aldi and Lidl, while tackling an accounting scandal that remains under investigation by the police.
The move to reduce the number of 24-hour stores comes 20 years after the first Tesco opened through the night.
In London, Tesco’s Lewisham superstore and Woolwich Extra store will end overnight shopping in March or April. Around 300 stores will remain open 24 hours, but could be shut overnight if they too are unsustainable.

Tony Hoggett, retail director for Tesco, said: “We’re always thinking about how to serve our customers better in each of our stores and with the growth of online grocery shopping, these stores saw very few customers during the night. It makes much more sense for colleagues at those stores to focus on replenishing the shelves instead and making sure they’re fully stocked when they open at 6am.”
Shoppers are increasingly heading online for their groceries, with sales up 15% in the first half of last year. By comparison, sales in larger Tesco stores have slumped by as much as 10% in places.
 The decision comes in a week that saw the supermarket watchdog reveal Tesco had seriously breached legally binding rules by deliberately and repeatedly withholding cash from  suppliers.

David Cameron has warned Londoners they would become the “lab rats” for Jeremy Corbyn’s “disastrous political experiment” if Labour’s Sadiq Khan is elected next Mayor of London.

political reporter,London(wp/es):
David Cameron has warned Londoners they would become the “lab rats” for Jeremy Corbyn’s “disastrous political experiment” if Labour’s Sadiq Khan is elected next Mayor of London.
The Prime Minister revealed the central weapon in the Conservative’s armoury as he launched the attack on the Labour candidate at a party rally with Tory hopeful Zac Goldsmith.
Tory campaign insiders have told the Standard they believe Mr Corbyn is Labour’s biggest liability in the race for City Hall.
The Prime Minister’s attack on the Labour candidate as “Corbyn’s man” at the event in Mill Hill last night came as latest opinion polls put Mr Khan ahead by seven points in the tightly fought contest.
Mr Cameron told party supporters: “Just think for a moment about what having the first Corbyn elected mayor in London would be like for our economy, for our education, for our politics, for our city. It would be a disaster.
“You don’t want to be lab rats in the first Corbyn economic
 experiment in public life in our country, so we’ve got to win this.”
Mr Goldsmith joined the attack saying: “If Sadiq Khan wins in May we will see London for four years run as a laboratory, a testing ground for Corbyn’s radical politics. That is a price we cannot pay.”
Mr Khan, who nominated Mr Corbyn for the leadership but did not later vote for him, has gone to great lengths to distance himself from the Labour leader.
Since being selected last summer, he has clashed with his party leadership on issues including high tax rates, airports and the abolition of the City of London Corporation.
He also criticised Mr Corbyn when the Labour leader opted to remain silent at a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
When asked by the Standard if he was concerned at Labour’s lead in the polls despite the ongoing turbulence within Labour, Mr Cameron said: “It’s a very vital contest and it’s definitely a close election. We are taking nothing for granted.

“It is a choice between two candidates. Sadiq Khan backed Corbyn’s crazy economic plans and we don’t want to bring that to London.”
The Prime Minister portrayed Mr Goldsmith as the heir to Boris Johnson, who outperformed his own party in London, saying: “Zac is not a party man, he doesn’t do things that the party tell him. I know that from my own experience. He’s not in it for the prestige or the fame or the photocalls.
“Zac Goldsmith stands for the people he represents, nothing else and that’s what he will do for London. No party posturing, no funny games.. just simply standing up and delivering for London.”
Mr Goldmsith added: “I’ll get a good deal from Government and get a good deal for this city. Dust them up if you have to, that is a prerequisite for the job...
“I’m sure the Prime Minister, in a private room, would say I have been a pain in the backside, but I have delivered for my constituents and I’ll deliver for London.”

They also both spelled out the need for more police on the street and to tackle the threat of terrorism.
Mr Cameron said: “We need to recognise the scale of the terrorist threat we face in London. What happened in Paris could have happened here and I will do everything I can to help keep London safe. I know working with Zac I’m going to be able to do just that."
He said they would be "a mayor and a prime minister that know we have got to be tough on the Islamist extremists that want to divide our country.
“We know we have to be tough in terms of providing extra police on the streets and making sure there’s sufficient armed officers to respond if there is an incident and that will be the case with a Conservative mayor.”
Mr Khan tackled Mr Cameron’s attack head on, telling the Standard: “I’m shocked that the Prime Minister described Londoners as ‘rats’. I love this city and the people who live here. Desperate stuff from a desperate campaign.” Labour MP Stephen Pound added: “Sadiq has said time and again that he’s his own man - he’s publicly disagreed with Jeremy on issues like Trident, airports and business.
“The Tories have no positive vision for London and this shows that their campaign is getting rather desperate.”

Woman 'sexually assaulted on Ascot train

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
A woman was sexually assaulted on a train after refusing to go for a drink with her attacker, police say.
The victim, 20, was taking the 4.24pm service from Reading to Ascot on January 3 when two men sat opposite her.
One of them asked her out and, when she refused, he groped her.
She got off the train at Wokingham and the men, thought to be eastern European, stayed on board.

Police have now released a CCTV image of a man they want to trace over the incident.
Detective Constable Mat Harvey from British Transport Police (BTP) said: “We will not tolerate unwanted sexual behaviour on the rail network and we will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.”

Anyone with information about the incident can call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016 quoting reference G/B2 of 26/01.

A conductor was headbutted by one of his passengers on a train from central London to Dover

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
A conductor was headbutted by one of his passengers on a train from central London to Dover, police say.
British Transport Police said the attack happened after a man and woman boarded a train travelling from Blackfriars to Dover Priory.
PC Craig Twyman said the pair had got on the service at Bekesbourne near Canterbury on November 26 last year.
He said: “During the journey, the man became aggressive and, as the train arrived at Dover Priory, he headbutted the conductor, cutting the victim’s lip before leaving the station.”

Police want to trace the man shown in this CCTV picture in connection with the attack.
PC Twyman said: “Members of staff have a right to carry out their work without fear of violence.
“The man in the image is someone who I think can assist with our investigation into this incident. Please tell us who he is.”
 Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016

after poor Christmas Asda 'set to axe hundreds of jobs'

Business correspondent,London(wp/es):
Asda is set to slash hundreds of jobs from head office as it started to look like the biggest loser of the supermarkets over the Christmas period.
Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all outperformed over the holidays, and it is thought Asda, which has struggled in the last 12 months, continued to fall behind.
A spokesman said: "It’s well documented that in recent years, customers have radically changed the way they shop.
"As a result, the industry faces major challenges and the certainty of permanent structural change. In the context of this, we also have to further change the way we do business."
He added that consultations with staff started on Monday: “We have made some difficult but necessary decisions but we must discuss these with our colleagues before we talk publicly.”

The grocer, part of US giant WalMart, declined to provide further details on possible redundancies, but earlier Sky News, citing sources, reported that they would be focused at its Leeds head office and could hit the hundreds.
Asda last week revealed plans to spend another £500 million to lower prices amid the fierce industry price war brought on by the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl.
That sum is in addition to the £1 billion it pledged to spend in November 2013 to slash prices over five years.

Asda is due to provide an update on its latest quarter of trading on February 18, but some analysts are already predicting that it had a poor festive season.
Data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel said its sales were down 3.5% in the 12 weeks to January 3, while its market share dropped from 16.8% to 16.2%.

without required levels of achievement 45 per cent of pupils leave school

educational correspondent(wp/es):

Almost 45 per cent of children are not meeting the required standards of success, a new report has found.
Up to 43 per cent of children leaving primary school have not met the expected levels of achievement in reading, writing and maths - a grade 4b or higher – at the end of Key Stage 2.
The analysis from CentreForum and Education DataLab also found 44 per cent of secondary school students are not obtaining five A* to C grade GCSEs.
The level of attainment has risen over the last decade, the report said, and recommends a new benchmark standard to which pupils can be held.
Changes to the GCSE grading system from 2017 will assess children on a scale ranging from a high of 1 to a low of 9, with a good pass to be considered a grade 5.
A grade 5 is said to be the equivalent of between a current B and C grade.

Within the new system, researchers estimate the percentage of children achieving a good pass will fall to 35 per cent in English and maths -a drop of 23 per cent.
Disadvantaged children are also closing the gap on other pupils in the classroom, the study found, shrinking as much as 30 per cent in Key Stage 2 since 2006.
But at secondary school, the achievement gap is equivalent to an average of one GCSE grade in each subject.
David Laws, executive chairman of CentreForum said: "Our analysis shows that attainment has risen and the disadvantaged gap - notably at the end of primary education - has fallen over the last decade. This is good news, but the report shows that there is no cause for complacency.

"Almost 45 per cent of children continue to fail to reach national benchmark standards, which are already lower than the standards reached in the best performing countries.
"We can also see from this report that while the disadvantaged gap has declined at each Key Stage, the gap still increases during a child's time in education.
"England needs to do much better if it is to become a world leader in giving real opportunity to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We welcome this report, which shows the stark choice we face in education today - either we prepare today's young people to compete with the best in the world or we don't.
"That's why we've taken the decision to set the new GCSE 'good pass' at the same level as other high-performing countries set their passmark.
"Every time we have raised the bar for schools and colleges they have risen to meet the challenge and we are confident that this is no exception." The spokeswoman added over time, more pupils are expected to reach the new higher standard and the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers will continue to narrow.