Inquests and inquiries: The role of the family and equality of arms December 14, 2018 Inquests and public inquiries play a vital role in uncovering the truth when things go wrong. This is obvious when we look at recent high profile inquests and inquiries: the Hillsborough inquest, the Grenfell Inquiry, the Westminster Bridge inquest and the upcoming inquest into the Manchester terrorist attack. The public rightly expect proper scrutiny of [...]
Getting the wheels in motion to make London a safer city for cyclists November 19, 2018 The UK’s biggest road safety event is a timely reminder of the progress made in this life-saving area of work, particularly when it comes to the Square Mile’s streets. During Road Safety Week, the City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee will debate a five-year plan designed to build on recent progress. The plan has [...]
Azerbaijani woman who spent £16m in Harrods granted bail by High Court November 8, 2018 A woman who spent £16m at Harrods and is fighting extradition to Azerbaijan has been released on bail following her arrest last week on embezzlement charges. Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of an Azerbaijan banker who is serving a 15-year prison sentence in their home country, is the subject of the UK's first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO), a new [...]
Central line revealed as worst Tube line for pickpocketing as London Underground thefts rise by a third October 26, 2018 Theft on London's Underground has increased by more than a third over the past two years, according to new data, with the Central Line emerging as the worst Tube line for pickpocketing. The figures reveal that there were 5,153 thefts on the Tube between August 2017 and July this year. The Central and Piccadilly lines [...]
HMRC boss received death threats after revealing £20bn cost of Brexiters’ customs plan October 11, 2018 The UK's chief taxman received death threats after revealing it would cost £20bn to put in place the hard-Brexiters' customs plan, he revealed today. Jon Thompson, chief executive of HMRC, told MPs the figure in May as he gave evidence on a range of post-Brexit systems. The system, dubbed maximum facilitation, or 'max fac', would see [...]
Novichok culprit charged in Skripal poisoning case named as Russian colonel September 26, 2018 One of the two suspects in the case regarding the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March has been revealed as a Russian colonel, according to reports. Ruslan Boshirov, who was charged alongside Alexander Petrov with the attempted murder of the Skripal pair by British police, was named [...]
Uber launches 24-hour hotline for passengers and drivers following pressure from TfL September 25, 2018 Ride-hailing app Uber has launched a 24-hour hotline for drivers and customers following pressure from Transport for London (TfL) which revoked its licence last year. TfL took away Uber's licence on the grounds it was not a "fit and proper person" to hold a licence in the capital. The transport body took issue with Uber's approach to [...]
Man jailed for life over terror plan to murder Theresa May September 1, 2018 A man who plotted to murder the Prime Minister and bomb Downing Street has been jailed for life. Naa'imur Rahman, 20, of North London will serve a minimum term of 30 years in prison after he was found guilty of planning to detonate a homemade device in Westminster and use the chaos to assassinate Theresa May. Rahman's [...]
UBS hires Freshfields to help with misconduct procedure investigation after rape allegation August 29, 2018 UBS has hired magic circle law firm Freshfields to carry out a review of its misconduct procedures after a young female trainee alleged a senior colleague raped her. In a statement, UBS said it “has decided to conduct a review, as we regularly do after significant cases”. UBS had not instigated a disciplinary procedure against [...]
Police boat pursues jet skis down Thames in Bond style high-speed chase | City A.M. August 4, 2018 Police were seen pursuing a group of people on jet skis down the Thames yesterday in a James Bond-esque chase. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)’s water division confirmed yesterday evening that it had been called to the scene following reports of the jet ski riders speeding down the river. “Marine Policing Unit officers pursued four [...]