One in five Londoners will not go back to pre-Covid levels of Tube usage September 10, 2020 A little more than one in five Londoners do not believe they will use the Tube at the same frequency as they did prior to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey. A newly released YouGov survey, seen exclusively by City A.M., showed that 22 per cent of Londoners expect their decreased use of [...]
Hammersmith Bridge: Government thinks TfL inflated £140m repair estimate September 9, 2020 The government is refusing to fund repairs for the closed Hammersmith Bridge because it believes the £140m price tag has been inflated by the local council and Transport for London (TfL), City A.M. can reveal. A source close to transport secretary Grant Shapps said the government wants to fund the restoration of the 133-year-old West [...]
Boris Johnson unveils new England coronavirus restrictions September 9, 2020 Boris Johnson has unveiled a string of new coronavirus restrictions on social gatherings in England as a response to rising rates of infection across the country. Gatherings of more than six people in public or in private will be banned from Monday, with several exemptions such as schools. Venues like places of worship, gyms, restaurants [...]
Hammersmith Bridge: Sadiq Khan in fierce row with government over closure September 9, 2020 City Hall and the government have today locked horns over who is responsible for the closed Hammersmith Bridge in what is becoming a heated row. The government announced today it was creating a Hammersmith Bridge taskforce that will be responsible for getting the West London river crossing open again. The group, which will be led [...]
English businesses affected by local lockdowns to get extra government funding September 9, 2020 English businesses that have been forced to close in local lockdowns will receive grants worth up to £1,500 per per property they operate every three weeks. The emergency funding will provide support for businesses in cities such as Leicester, Bolton and other parts of Greater Manchester that have been hit by local lockdowns. The grants [...]
Brexit: EU threatened to block Great Britain exports to Northern Ireland September 9, 2020 EU negotiators reportedly threatened to block the transport of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland during Brexit trade negotiations. The threat from Brussels infuriated Downing Street, leading to its decision to breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement by adding “clarifications” to the deal in a bill to be put before parliament today. Northern Ireland secretary [...]
Nearly 100 UK MPs condemn the ethnic cleansing of China’s Uighur Muslims September 9, 2020 More than 100 British parliamentarians have written to China’s UK ambassador to condemn the ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims in the country’s north. The letter, written by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh and signed by 76 MPs and 57 Lords, tells ambassador Liu Xiaoming that “chilling” footage of Uighur Muslims being sent to internment camps in [...]
Coronavirus: England to ban meetings of more than six people September 8, 2020 Boris Johnson will tomorrow ban social gatherings of more than six people in a tightening of England’s coronavirus restrictions. The Prime Minister will announce at a press conference that the new limit, which will be cut down from 30, will apply indoors and outdoors and for people of all ages from Monday. The change is [...]
Furlough scheme: UK looking at 27,000 potential fraud cases September 8, 2020 The UK’s tax authority is looking into 27,000 potential cases of fraud relating to the government’s furlough scheme. HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) probes have already led to an arrest of one person who has been suspected of fraud and there are a “number of active investigations”, according to the Prime Minister’s spokesman. HMRC’s top [...]
Brexit: Top UK civil service lawyer quits over Downing Street row September 8, 2020 The chief of the government’s legal department has resigned over Boris Johnson’s plans to alter some of the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. Jonathan Jones, the Treasury’s solicitor and permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department, reportedly resigned his position after a row with Downing Street over suggestions that Johnson was preparing to breach [...]
