Two further London coronavirus deaths taking total to 10 March 12, 2020 Two further coronavirus patients have died in London hospitals taking the total of UK coronavirus deaths to 10, the Department of Health said today. An 89-year-old with underlying health conditions died at Charing Cross Hospital, while a woman in her 60s died at Queen’s Hospital in Romford. The London deaths mean 10 UK coronavirus patients [...]
Lloyd’s of London announces coronavirus shutdown simulation March 12, 2020 Insurance market Lloyd’s of London said it will close its underwriting room at its London headquarters tomorrow to simulate a coronavirus shutdown. Lloyd’s said it will “test the resilience of the market” by closing the underwriting room at One Lime Street for 24 hours to test “alternative trading protocols”. The room will be closed from [...]
Coronavirus: Sadiq Khan says closing Tube could make spread worse March 12, 2020 Sadiq Khan has said that closing schools and shutting down the Tube could make the spread of coronavirus worse. Independent mayoral candidate Rory Stewart has been leading calls for the government and Khan to be more aggressive in their response against Covid-19. In particular, he has called for schools to be shut down, public gatherings [...]
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 [...]
Coronavirus: Rory Stewart says authorities should look at shutting down the Tube March 9, 2020 The UK’S public transport systems and schools should be shut down early to combat the spread of Coronavirus, according to independent mayoral candidate Rory Stewart. Stewart said the “short-term economic damage” of shutting down Transport for London, for instance, would be worth it to “stave off a bigger spread”. It comes after London mayor Sadiq [...]