Gatwick Airport train station to get £150m revamp July 8, 2019 Gatwick Airport train station is to receive a £150m upgrade after the government agreed to the cash injection to reduce delays and congestion. The revamp, which will double the size of the station concourse, widen two platforms and increase the number of lifts, is designed to reduce congestion and overcrowding as the UK’s second largest [...]
Campaigner Heather Mills wins payout over phone hacking claims July 8, 2019 Former model Heather Mills has said she feels “joy and vindication” after reaching a settlement against the now-defunct News of the World over long-standing phone hacking claims. Mills, the former wife of Beatles star Paul McCartney, claimed she had won the “highest media libel settlement in British history” and a “complete and unmitigated apology for [...]
Londoners brace for summer Tube strike chaos June 24, 2019 Londoners are braced for misery as the RMT rail union prepares to ballot its members on a summer Tube strike on Wednesday. The RMT claims it is being hurt by staff job cuts and privatisation under Transport for London’s (TfL) cost-cutting programme, which has seen it slash back office costs by about 30 per cent [...]
Activist investor Coast Capital rails against First franchise bid June 23, 2019 An activist investor vying to shake up First Group has warned that it will pull out of a contract to run one of the UK’s leading rail franchises if it succeeds in toppling the firm’s management at a showdown on Tuesday. Coast Capital, which owns a near 10 per cent stake in transport giant First, [...]
Domestic row takes toll on Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign June 23, 2019 Boris Johnson came under fire yesterday for refusing to answer questions over why the police were called to his home following an argument with his partner in the early hours of Friday morning. The Tory leadership favourite, who took part in hustings in Birmingham alongside rival Jeremy Hunt, refused to answer questions regarding the incident, [...]
Virgin boss urges ‘level playing field’ for airlines at expanded Heathrow June 20, 2019 MPs must launch an inquiry into the allocation of take-off and landing slots at an expanded Heathrow to ensure a “level playing field”, the boss of a leading airline has said. Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, has said the current rules around slot allocation allow IAG, the owner of British Airways, to [...]
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson backs Michael Gove’s leadership bid June 20, 2019 Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Tories, has confirmed she is backing Michael Gove to be the next Prime Minister after her preferred candidate Sajid Javid was knocked out of the Tory leadership race. Davidson, who as a member of the Scottish parliament does not have a vote in the contest, originally supported Javid, [...]
Hammersmith Bridge repair costs will not be known until August, says Sadiq Khan June 20, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan has said it will take until August for the costs of repairing the closed Hammersmith Bridge to be revealed. London Assembly member Tony Devenish, who represents West Central, asked the mayor whether the four-month time period could be brought forward. Read more: Council blasted for ‘incompetence’ over Hammersmith Bridge closure Khan [...]
RMT rail union accuses Sadiq Khan of Tory cuts ‘stitch up’ June 20, 2019 The RMT rail union has accused Sadiq Khan of carrying out “Tory cuts to the Tube” as it protests outside City Hall this morning. The union claims that Transport for London (TfL), which Khan chairs, has “given up” on restoring central government funding to the transport body. Read more: Tube strike action on the cards [...]
Tory leadership race: Who will face down frontrunner Boris Johnson? June 20, 2019 Tory MPs will today decide who will face down Boris Johnson as the contest to be the next Prime Minister enters its final round. Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid will attempt to persuade MPs that they should be the one to go head-to-head with Johnson, the former foreign secretary who is the frontrunner [...]