A shop has been fined after a bread knife was sold to teenage girls during a joint operation between Tower Hamlets Council and the police. Razzak Miah, 39, of Chipka Street, Isle of Dogs, pleaded guilty to selling a knife to a person under the age of 18 when he appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on 18 July. John ...

  New analysis of official government projections shows that the total interest being racked up by graduates on their student loan debt is set to rise to £8.6 billion in 2024, an increase of £4.2 billion. Figures published by the Department for Education on student loan repayments show that almost all the rise in accrued interest will come from the ...

John Bercow says he will stand down as Commons Speaker and MP at the next election or on 31 October, whichever comes first. Speaking in Parliament, Mr Bercow said his 10-year “tenure” was nearing its end and it had been the “greatest honour and privilege” to serve. If there was no early election, he said 31 October would be the ...

British Airways pilots have begun a two-day strike in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions. Tens of thousands of passengers have been told not to go to airports, with the airline cancelling some 1,700 flights due to the disruption. The pilots’ union Balpa said BA management’s cost-cuts and “dumbing down” of the brand had eroded confidence in the airline. ...

  Applications for Chevening Scholarships to study in the UK are open until 5 November 2019, with applications to be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply. Chevening Scholarships are awarded to individuals with demonstrable leadership potential who also have strong academic backgrounds. The scholarship offers full financial support for future leaders to study for any eligible master’s degree at any UK university whilst ...

A chief constable was “disappointed” his officers were used as a backdrop to a speech by Boris Johnson about Brexit. Thirty-five officers stood behind the prime minister during the speech which was scheduled to mark a recruitment campaign for an extra 20,000 officers. Mr Johnson was accused of politicising the police by having them present during Thursday’s speech in Wakefield. ...

UK opposition parties have agreed not to back Boris Johnson’s demand for a general election before the EU summit in mid-October. Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP and Plaid Cymru say they will vote against the government or abstain in Monday’s vote on whether to hold a snap poll. The SNP’s Ian Blackford said they wanted to make sure the ...

  Get your litter pickers ready – the Big Clean Up is back in town. Throughout September, residents and businesses from across Tower Hamlets will be mucking in to take part in clean-ups in Whitechapel, Victoria Park, Poplar and Bethnal Green. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets said: “Our Big Clean Up events are a great way to engage local residents ...

Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is resigning as an MP and minister, saying he is “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. The business minister and Tory MP for Orpington, south-east London, cited an “unresolvable tension” in his role. Mr Johnson voted Remain in the 2016 EU membership referendum, while his brother co-led the ...

is an investment manager and philanthropist Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament is an unlawful abuse of power, lawyers representing businesswoman Gina Miller have said. Outlining her case against prorogation at the High Court in London, Lord Pannick QC said it breached the legal principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. He added that a five-week suspension was of “exceptional length”, saying in ...