Silvertown Tunnel contract costs increase by £200m March 11, 2020 The cost outlay for the controversial Silvertown Tunnel appears to have risen by £200m to £1.2bn. Transport for London (TfL) last night publicly released the contract it had finalised with the Riverlinx Consortium in November. The twin bore road tunnel, which is opposed by many environmental groups and local councils, will connect Greenwich with the Docklands [...]
Police watchdog probe into Johnson and Arcuri not expected before May March 10, 2020 A police watchdog report into Boris Johnson’s relationship with US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri is now not expected until May at the earliest. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is probing Johnson’s relationship with Arcuri to see if the Prime Minister could have engaged in criminal misconduct when he was mayor of London. The police [...]
Coronavirus: Rory Stewart cancels London mayoral campaign launch March 10, 2020 Rory Stewart has cancelled his London mayoral campaign launch due to fears over coronavirus. Stewart yesterday criticised the government for not acting “much more aggressively” to stop the spread of Covid-19 and called for all schools to to be closed and all large public gatherings cancelled immediately. Last night, he said it was important for [...]
Sadiq Khan on track for landslide London mayoral election win, says new poll March 10, 2020 Sadiq Khan has extended his lead in the mayoral election race and is on track to score an easy victory, according to new polling. The YouGov/Queen Mary University polling, released today, has Khan in first place with 49 per cent of first preference votes for the upcoming 7 May London mayor election. That is four [...]
SME group calls for next London mayor to lobby for business rates reform March 10, 2020 The next mayor of London should focus their energies on improving renting conditions for businesses and lobbying the Treasury for rates reform, according to a leading business advocacy group. The Federation of Small Business’ (FSB) mayoral manifesto, released today, calls on the next mayor to pressure “major landowners” to sign on to a “supportive small [...]
TfL releases designs for temporary Hammersmith Bridge March 9, 2020 Plans to build for a temporary cyclist and pedestrian bridge alongside the partially closed Hammersmith Bridge have been unveiled by Transport for London (TfL). The temporary bridge would allow the Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to traffic since April, to completely shut in order to prepare for restoration works. The temporary structure would provide [...]
Lord Ashcroft’s Devonshire Club at risk of closure as coronavirus stalls takeover March 9, 2020 An exclusive private members’ club co-owned by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is fighting for survival after a planned takeover deal collapsed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Devonshire Club, close to Liverpool Street station in the City, had agreed terms with an unnamed buyer, with the deal set to complete this week. However, the firm [...]
Downing Street defends coronavirus strategy after Italy lockdown March 9, 2020 Downing Street said today the coronavirus will spread in a “significant way” across the UK, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a Cobra meeting on the outbreak. A Number 10 spokesman said Britain is still officially trying to contain the virus as part of its four-step coronavirus strategy. But the government said experts now believe [...]
Coronavirus: TfL worker tests positive for Covid-19 March 9, 2020 A Transport for London (TfL) worker has tested positive for coronavirus, it was reported, as the outbreak continues to spread across the UK. The employee in question works at the body’s control centre at Palestra House in Blackfriars, rather than on a part of the underground network, TfL confirmed. TfL said that it had ordered [...]
Coronavirus: UK case total hits 280 as Wales counts two new infections March 9, 2020 A further two patients in Wales have tested positive for coronavirus it was confirmed this morning, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 280. The new diagnoses brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to six, Public Health Wales said. The Prime Minister will hold an emergency Cobra meeting [...]