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The Mayor of London is invoking legal powers to demand the Met Police provide an explanation to the public as to why the Prime Minister was not fined for attending a boozy leaving party. Sadiq Khan has written to Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House asking him to provide transparency around the Partygate investigation in order to ensure public trust and confidence in the force. While he has no power to intervene in operational policing matters he has made the request under special legal powers he holds as the Met's Police and Crime Commissioner. Scotland Yard has so far refused to elaborate on why it decided to issue some people with fines for attending illegal events, but let others off. Mr Khan - who as Mayor is the equivalent of the Met's Police and Crime Commissioner - will use part of his powers to demand a public explanation from force bosses. A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Sadiq has today written to the acting Commissioner of the Met to seek a detailed … [Read more...] about Sadiq Khan invokes legal powers to demand Met Police explains why Boris Johnson didn’t receive second partygate fine

Sadiq Khan has conceded to trade union demands by agreeing to a 5.5pc increase in London taxi fares. The mayor sanctioned the increase to halt an exodus of drivers leaving the capital’s roads, despite Londoners facing a cost-of-living crisis as inflation takes off . The rise is considerably more than the 4pc initially proposed by City Hall, and in line with the demands of the London Cab Drivers Club, Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, the RMT, Unite and the United Cabbies Group. It is the first time fares have been increased for two years. The new fares will be in force from Apr 30. The minimum will rise 60p to £3.80 and meters will “tick over” more quickly. Meanwhile, a surcharge for Heathrow passengers will increase by 80p to £3.60 with drivers adding £5.20 for those entering the airport's drop-off zone. The number of black cabs in the capital slumped to its lowest level for almost four decades as drivers struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic. Figures … [Read more...] about Sadiq Khan gives in to unions over taxi fare rises

Workers trudging miles through the rain because of Tuesday's Tube strike in London would have felt that their troubles were as nothing compared with the horrors unfolding in Ukraine. Nor would they have been searching for any connection between the industrial action called by the RMT union and Vladimir Putin’s blood-soaked invasion of a sovereign country. Yet the RMT, and particularly its assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey, have long-standing sympathies for the pro-Putin separatists who have been fighting government forces in the east of the country for almost a decade. Dempsey is one of the most high-profile signatories to a Stop the War Coalition statement last week that criticised Nato for showing “disdain for Russian concerns” in Ukraine. It caused a huge row within the Labour Party because 11 of its MPs had originally signed the statement, all of whom withdrew their support for it on the orders of Sir Keir Starmer. A Labour frontbencher described the Stop the … [Read more...] about How close is the RMT union to Vladimir Putin’s Russia?

Heathrow and Rolls-Royce are working on a plan to supply hydrogen to airports under a Government-backed initiative codenamed "Project Napkin". The companies, alongside fellow aerospace giant GKN, are on a special committee that is considering how hydrogen-powered aircraft will be refuelled in years to come. Airlines and airports have been targeted by so-called "flight-shaming" activists in recent years. Environmental campaigners such as Greta Thunberg have led calls to deter flying, which contributes between 2pc to 3pc of the world’s CO2 emissions. he wants to develop ways for families to fly “guilt-free” . Air Products and Chemicals , one of the world’s largest hydrogen producers, in recent weeks. Expected to be published this summer, it will also outline the commercial considerations for airports and airlines and identify policies that the Government must expedite to ensure the country is ready when zero emissions aircraft become a reality. Rolls-Royce’s all-electric … [Read more...] about ‘Project Napkin’: Rolls-Royce and Heathrow partner to supply hydrogen to airports

Heathrow has duped the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) into inflating costs and underestimating revenue to justify steep increases in landing charges, according to a report by a former Treasury official. The findings also allege that Heathrow’s predominantly overseas shareholders are in line for a £5bn payday at the expense of the British passengers. A long-running row between Heathrow and airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic is set to come to a head in the coming weeks as the CAA decides how much the airport can increase its landing charges over the coming years - fees that are typically passed onto passengers. Heathrow said the findings were “so flawed it is embarrassing” and accused airlines of trying to “protect their own profits”. The analysis, authored by former Treasury official Matthew Oakley and commissioned by airlines, says the regulator has made a series of mistakes when assessing Heathrow’s application. It found that operating costs were … [Read more...] about Heathrow ‘duped regulator to justify charging passengers more’

Heathrow Airport has been criticised for forcing disabled passengers to wait "long after" other passengers have left the aircraft for help to disembark. Frank Gardner, the BBC's Security Correspondent, who is a wheelchair user, said disabled people seemed to be the airport's "lowest priority" after he was left on an empty plane yesterday and told there were "no staff" to remove his wheelchair. This is not the first time the West London hub has come under fire for its treatment of disabled passengers, as the aviation regulator judged its service for wheelchair users to be poor in 2017. In a survey of almost 1,200 passengers who have used Heathrow's assistance service, the Civil Aviation Authority found that 62 per cent rated it as poor or very poor. Mr Gardner posted his complaint on social media, with the criticism going viral in a matter of hours as others chimed in to condemn the airport for its treatment of wheelchair users. It’s happened again. Stuck on an empty … [Read more...] about BBC’s Frank Gardner left on empty plane as Heathrow have ‘no staff to remove wheelchair’

What is the point of Heathrow? Is it to connect Britain to the world, driving economic prosperity and social opportunities across the UK? Or is it a monopoly cash machine run for the benefit of a small number of shareholders at the expense of hard-pressed passengers and businesses? the choice facing the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as it ponders a request for a huge increase in charges from Heathrow airport’s owners – right in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and just as the travel recovery takes hold. As a regulated monopoly, the CAA sets the level of passenger charges at Heathrow every five years, and it is expected to confirm its final plans next month. already the most expensive European airport and third in the world , asked to increase passenger charges by 117pc. The CAA must decide between accepting Heathrow’s egregious proposal, or fulfilling its duty to protect consumers. By making the right choice it will ensure Heathrow is competitive versus its European … [Read more...] about Heathrow’s charges must be brought back down to earth

What is the point of Heathrow? That was a question recently posed in The Telegraph by some airlines. Airlines are right to say that as the country's only hub airport, Heathrow is a key driver of our country’s prosperity, connecting all of Britain to the growing markets of the world But our job every day is to provide a good service to our passengers, so they choose to travel through Heathrow and support the flights that underpin the trade, tourism and investment that keep Britain’s economy humming. It is disappointing that in the airlines’ appeal to the CAA to reduce airport charges they did not mention passenger service and Heathrow’s finance ability, which are the issues on which the CAA will actually base its decision. Here are the facts. Heathrow is a private business owned by a group of shareholders from across the world and right here in the UK, many of whom rely on stable dividends to pay pensions – including the pensions for Britain’s university lecturers. We believe … [Read more...] about Heathrow landing charges won’t cost passengers a penny

A former Labour MP who sexually assaulted a female staffer in his Westminster office has been ordered to pay almost £450,000 in damages. Mike Hill, who resigned as MP for Hartlepool in March last year, was found by a tribunal to have preyed upon, harassed and victimised the woman over a 16-month period. The 59-year-old politician was said to have begun his “detrimental treatment” of the employee, referred to as Ms A, after she spurned his sexual advances. Mr Hill, who denied the allegations, was alleged to have sexually assaulted Ms A on several occasions, both in his parliamentary office and in the bedroom of a property. On one occasion in December 2017, he was alleged to have got into bed with the woman and rubbed his groin against her while trying to touch her breasts. He was also accused of touching her inappropriately in the Westminster office. Mr Hill was found to have subsequently victimised the claimant, by changing her employment terms and conditions before making … [Read more...] about Ex-Labour MP who groped female staffer told to pay almost £450,000 in damages

A third of female MPs have been threatened with sexual violence, a new poll has found. Of 60 politicians surveyed by Channel 4 Dispatches, nearly all said they had received abuse or threatening messages, and three quarters said they had been threatened with physical harm . Several MPs told Dispatches, which aired on Monday night, about the threats and abuse they had received during their time in office. Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Naz Shah said they have each had two people imprisoned for harassment. Ms Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, said it is now “standard” for politicians “to have a couple of people in prison, for threatening them, harassing them”. Heidi Allen, a former MP for South Cambridgeshire who left the Conservatives in 2019 to become leader of the new political party Change UK, told how a former marine hid outside her house to prepare an attack. “I remember coming home from London one night. There’s two police officers in the lounge, two police … [Read more...] about Third of female MPs have been threatened with sexual violence