Closing almost half of the capital’s remaining police station front counters is a “pragmatic” decision that will improve safety for Londoners, Sir Sadiq Khan has said. The Metropolitan Police plans to permanently cut the number of publicly accessible front counters from 37 to 19, as it tries to cut costs amid a £260m budget shortfall – plans that have been ...

A man has been jailed for 34 years over his role as a getaway driver in a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain. Javon Riley, 33, was convicted last month of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after the girl was hit in the head by the first of six bullets fired ...

Five days of Tube strikes that badly disrupted London have drawn to a close. Business groups say the walkout will have cost the capital £230m. The dispute centred on demands for a reduction in the working week to 32 hours by the RMT union. The industrial action ended at 08:00 BST although Transport for London (TfL) warned of delays as ...

Somerset House is to celebrate 25 years in its current guise this weekend with a programme of free events, installations, performances and workshops. Before it became the cultural event space it is now, the central London building previously housed government offices, had been a Royal Navy headquarters and was one time home to Queen Elizabeth I. Over the last quarter ...

The UK economy failed to grow in July, following the biggest contraction in manufacturing output for a year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy saw zero growth in the month, which was in line with expectations, following a 0.4% expansion in June. However, monthly figures are volatile, and the ONS has said it will now focus on ...

Labour MPs are publicly and privately expressing their anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US and the handling of his subsequent sacking. Mandelson was dismissed over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The men’s friendship had been known about at the time of his appointment but No 10 said new information about ...

Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin on Friday expressed optimism that the 2nd China-Bangladesh Exhibition will further strengthen bilateral collaboration and significantly boost Chinese investment in Bangladesh. Speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of the two-day event at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB), Bashir said that Chinese investment in Bangladesh has surged by nearly 300 percent over the ...

The Consensus Commission and political parties failed to reach an agreement on Thursday on how to implement the July Charter, prompting a follow-up meeting scheduled for Sunday. At a dialogue at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, political parties stuck to their positions. BNP said that constitutional reforms must be implemented by the next parliament, Jamaat-e-Islami called for a special ...

Like a piano player moving up a scale, Igor Mikhaylov runs his gloved hands along his client’s upturned arm, feeling out precisely where he should place his stencil. The 38-year-old tattoo artist, who is legally blind, is in high demand. “This is something that impresses and thrills you,” said a woman who gave her name only as Alexandra. She had ...

A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Eli Lilly’s (LLY.N), opens new tab appeal of an $183.7 million judgment won by a whistleblowing lawyer and pharmacist who accused the drugmaker of defrauding Medicaid. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said a federal jury reasonably found that Lilly knowingly concealed having retroactively increased prices on some drugs, and ...