Thieves go Wireless: Pickpockets eye headliner British festivals Business As UK festival season rolls around, new data reveals a less-celebrated chart-topper: phone theft. London’s biggest music events – including Wireless, BST Hyde Park, and Summertime Ball – have been ranked the worst in the country for festival pickpocketing, with theft rates more than five times the national average. The research, conducted by QR Code [...]
Spending Review: Khan slams lack of Met and infrastructure cash London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has launched a scathing assessment of the Chancellor’s long-awaited Spending Review, warning it will strangle his ability to deliver new affordable homes and create jobs, and mean fewer police officers on the capital’s streets. In a statement released soon after Rachel Reeves concluded her speech, London’s newly-knighted mayor said he was “concerned” [...]
AI watchdog slams government over facial recognition rollout Tech An artificial intelligence (AI) search body has criticised the UK government for accelerating the deployment of facial recognition technology without first establishing a comprehensive legal framework. The Ada Lovelace Institute has warned the increasing use of live facial recognition (LFR) by police and retailers across the UK is happening in a “legislative void”, raising urgent [...]
Three Iranian men charged with spying offences under National Security Act May 17, 2025 Three Iranian nationals living in London have been charged under the National Security Act with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, after an investigation led by counter-terrorism officers, the Metropolitan Police said. Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St John’s Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, of Kensal Rise, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, [...]
UK police arrest seven Iranians in counter-terrorism probes May 4, 2025 Counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men, seven of whom are Iranian nationals, in two separate investigations, the Metropolitan Police said on Sunday. On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals between the ages of 29 and 40, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offences over a plot to target a specific premises. The [...]
M&S: Police investigate cyber attack as FTSE 100 shares stall April 30, 2025 The ongoing cyber attack on Marks & Spencer (M&S) is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police as the FTSE 100 retailer and its customers continue to face major disruption. Officers from the force’s cyber crime unit are looking into reports a hacking group known as Scattered Spider may have carried out the attack. When it [...]
Police appeal for information after statues targeted during trans rights rally April 20, 2025 The metropolitan police has renewed an appeal for information after seven statues were daubed with graffiti during a trans rights protest in central London on Saturday. Parliament square was densely populated with thousands of supporters who gathered for what was billed as an “emergency demonstration” days after a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of [...]
Heathrow ‘open and fully operational’ after disruption caused by power outage March 22, 2025 Heathrow Airport said it is “open and fully operational” on Saturday after the airport was shut over a loss of power caused by a substation fire. Flights resumed at the west London airport on Friday evening and restrictions on overnight flights were temporarily lifted following hours of closure, after a blaze knocked out an electricity [...]
Elon Musk: Protesters outside London Tesla dealership call for boycott March 15, 2025 Protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership in London have called for people to boycott the Elon Musk owned electric car maker. Organisers are encouraging Tesla owners to sell their cars and for people to dump stock. The electric car giant has already seen shares plunge since the start of the year as the firm comes [...]
Starmer needs to “smash the gangs” behind shoplifting and phone theft March 12, 2025 The clip shared on social media yesterday by the BBC’s Nicky Campbell was unremarkable only because variations of it can be seen every day. Two men frantically empty shop shelves of cosmetics, pouring them into large bags while onlookers film the outrageous scene. They make no effort to hide their faces and when their bags are [...]