- Thursday, February 09, 2023
In a shocking case that has dominated headlines in the UK, an Indian-origin judge on Tuesday handed down 36 life sentences to a serial rapist convicted of violent and brutal sexual offences against a dozen women over a 17-year period as a Scotland Yard police officer. Justice Parmjit Kaur "Bobbie"…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (7) urged Londoners to give blood as hundreds of new donors are needed every day to help patients in the capital, a statement said. Khan worked with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to host the first ever blood drive at the Royal Docks on…
Labour leader Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan have reaffirmed the party’s commitment to diversity while highlighting the contribution of south Asians to the UK’s growth. At a fundraising gala dinner hosted by Labour in London on Wednesday (1), they said inclusiveness made Britain a strong country where aspiration…
London mayor Sadiq Khan and MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis CBE have joined forces for a one-off live event to help Londoners tackle the cost-of-living crisis. On Thursday (2), Khan and Martin were set to be joined by an audience at City Hall to discuss everything from managing soaring energy costs…
James Watkins, head of Policy and Public Impact at London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) welcomed the move made by London mayor Sadiq Khan to launch the biggest vehicle-scrappage scheme worth £110 million to help organisations and individuals to replace or retrofit their old, pollution-causing vehicles. He said the…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday (30) launched the biggest scrappage scheme worth £110 million to help charities, sole traders and business with 10 or fewer employees or those city dwellers on lower incomes or disabled, to replace or retrofit their old, polluting vehicles. To accompany the scrappage scheme, Khan and…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (24) announced £75 million funding to deliver up to 800 homes for rough sleepers. The mayor announced the funding during a visit to a Crisis at Christmas service in Newham, where he met Crisis and St Mungo’s staff, people who have recently been sleeping…
A serving London police officer has admitted carrying out 24 counts of rape in a near two decade-long campaign of abuse against women, making him one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. The Metropolitan Police and the country's prosecution service said David Carrick, 48, had used his position of power…
Officers across the Met are conducting proactive and high-visibility patrols to protect young people from robbery after sunset. It has been reported that school-going children are also being targeted by criminals as they return to their studies after the Christmas recess. On Thursday (5) night, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley…
The 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in the UK, which marked a key moment in the country's history of migration, is a "Diamond Jubilee for modern, diverse Britain", according to campaigners. Voices from across British society – from sport and culture to politics, faith and business…
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the renationalisation of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to restore public confidence.He said it was necessary to take the building safety watchdog back into the public hands to drive up industry standards and prevent another Grenfell Tower-like fire tragedy.In the UK’s deadliest residential…
Senior figures in the government are believed to favour a review of devolution for London amid concerns over mayor Sadiq Khan’s handling of the Met Police and the fire service.His recent announcement on the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across the capital next summer has further ruffled the…
Sadiq Khan will seek re-election as the mayor of London as the Labour party has chosen him as its candidate for the 2024 election. If the incumbent succeeds in his bid to win a third term, he will be the first person to achieve the feat in the history of…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed that he was stopped from reading out sexist texts from Metropolitan Police officers at meeting, adding that he was being 'censored' from reading those messages. Khan claimed he was not allowed to read out horrific messages of racism and sexism from the officers in…
The government has granted mayor Sadiq Khan’s request to add £20 to council tax to help the struggling Transport for London (TfL). While Khan says the additional levy for three years is the only way to save the transport network from collapsing, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove called the move…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that police officers will be forced to pay £25 a day to travel to work under the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion plans, according to a report. More than half of Metropolitan Police officers live outside of London, and many drive to…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (7) announced a record £725,000 investment for grassroots community groups with the goal of empowering them to counter extremism; tackle the rise in hate crime offences; and protect Londoners from radicalisation. The investment is part of the mayor’s fund of more than £2 million…
More than 60 people took part in the celebration organised by Asian People's Disability Alliance (APDA) to mark the United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who passed away in September, at its Harlesden Day Care and Development Resource…
The census results offer a once-a-decade statistical snapshot of the society that we all live in. So it should be little surprise that they confirm that this is an ethnically diverse and more secular society. The census has run for two centuries, this 2021 edition is only the fourth to…
London Fire Brigade (LFB) commissioner Andy Roe has vowed to sack racist and sexist workers following an explosive inquiry that revealed 'dangerous levels of prejudice' within the biggest fire service in Britain. Promising a "zero tolerance" approach towards staff members who have been found to have "behaved appallingly", Roe said…
The union representing UK firefighters said Saturday it was "sceptical" London Fire Brigade (LFB) leaders would implement reforms after an independent review concluded the service was institutionally misogynistic and racist. The LFB has promised a "zero tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment and bullying" and accepted around two dozen recommendations from…
The UK capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) targeting the most polluting vehicles with a daily surcharge will be expanded London-wide from August 2023 as part of measures to clamp down on air pollution, the Mayor of London announced on Friday (25). Sadiq Khan claimed the move will mean five…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (24) urged the government to immediately increase benefits and provide free school meals to all primary schoolchildren to help Londoners through the winter. During his visit to London’s Community Kitchen in Harrow, Khan said that the spiralling cost of living is leaving the most…
AN industrialist whose business encompasses textiles, fertilizers and PET resin, a hotelier who advocates for London and an accomplished healthcare entrepreneur were among top winners at the Asian Business Awards in London last night (23). Indorama’s Sri Prakash Lohia; Tony Matharu; and LycaHealth’s Prema Subaskaran were recognised for their high…
In a shocking revelation, it has been found that 50 per cent of the children who are admitted to hospital with asthma in London are from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, as against 27.5 per cent white children and young people. In October last year, an analysis commissioned…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday (14) said 40 per cent of Londoners think that they will struggle to meet their rent payments as he sought to bring together private renters, charities, advocacy groups, and politicians to call on the government to tackle the capital's spiralling rental crisis urgently, a…
WHATEVER your politics, it is undeniably a remarkable moment in history that the UK has appointed Rishi Sunak as the first British Asian prime minister. My younger self would never have imagined seeing a brown man of Indian heritage in the highest political office in this lifetime. Growing up in…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that tackling violence is his top priority as he will continue to lead from the front in the city by being tough on crime and its complex causes. Khan and the Met’s head of Frontline Policing Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe joined local neighbourhood police…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (8) said that a new ‘allyship training’ package will be available to every secondary school in the city to educate and empower youngsters to help prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG), a statement said. Khan is investing £1million to produce and distribute the…
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a rent rebate to support vulnerable people as the cost-of-living outpaced earnings in the UK.While the overall price rise has topped 10 per cent, the rental inflation in the British capital shot up by almost 18 per cent by July.Khan said an effective…
As soon as it was confirmed that Indian-origin Rishi Sunak was set to take charge as the 57th Prime Minister of Britain, a host of Bollywood celebrities, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan, took to social media to congratulate the politician. However, veteran actress Neetu Kapoor reacted to the news in a…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that Rishi Sunak became the first British Asian prime minister in the country is a 'source of pride' for many in UK. British Pakistani mayor Sadiq Khan added that Sunak's ascend to the top post demonstrated that hard workers can achieve almost everything. While…
In a momentous day, Britain’s first south Asian prime minister, who became the Conservative Party leader on Diwali day [24], has vowed to unite the country and his riven party. Speaking on the steps of Number 10, Rishi Sunak, a practising Hindu, told the country that he would be a…
Businesses in London have been urged to join a new scheme which was launched on Tuesday (25) to protect them from the growing threat of cybercrime. The new measure was facilitated by funding from mayor Sadiq Khan who wants to make London the world's safest city to do business online.…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, speaking at a climate summit in Argentina, slammed global policymakers on Thursday for "dragging their feet" on environmental policy, amid fears that momentum to tackle climate change has stalled in the face of economic turmoil. A report this week said the latest pledges by countries to…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (11) urged eligible Londoners to get their Covid booster and flu vaccine to reduce the threat of a ‘twindemic’ this winter. He received both vaccines at a pharmacy in Tooting on Tuesday morning after being invited due to his severe asthma, a statement said.…
Thousands gathered at Trafalgar Square in London on Sunday (9) to celebrate Diwali and to enjoy dance, music, activities and food. The celebrations started with 200 dancers in the main square followed by artistic performances from London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities. As part of the event, Neasden Temple’s Diwali…
The Metropolitan police commissioner has promised that he 'will be ruthless in rooting out' racists from the force following the emergence of a WhatsApp group chat scandal involving serving and retired officers, according to reports. Former Met officer Rob Lewis, who created the group, was suspended this week for posting…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has publicly accepted the recommendations made by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (LCCI) report on removal of ethnicity-based obstacles hurting success in business. His endorsement of 'Ethnic Diversity in Business: Removing barriers impeding business success' is the first-ever instance of a public authority recognising…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has become the subject of online abuse after media reports suggested he was blocking the installation of Queen Elizabeth's statue at Trafalgar Square.A sculpture depicting Malawi’s resistance icon John Chilembwe was unveiled on the Fourth Plinth of the famous square last month and Khan’s office had…
London mayor Sadiq Khan said Rupa Huq MP’s recent comment on the chancellor of exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng was “racist” and “wrong”. But he asserted that the lawmaker was not “not racist”. Huq earlier this week described Kwarteng as “superficially black” and said the way he spoke did not give an…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been summonsed to face London Assembly on his role in the resignation of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick earlier this year. Khan will be the first sitting mayor to be summonsed in this way through by the Assembly’s police and crime committee, reports said.…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office has said no statue of Queen Elizabeth II will be erected on the Fourth Plinth of Trafalgar Square in the foreseeable future.A statue of Malawi’s resistance icon John Chilembwe has been unveiled on the platform, although there were calls for installing a monument in memory…
MPs, peers, religious and civic leaders are urging Hindus and Muslims to stand together after disturbances and protests in Leicester and the West Midlands. They are also calling on the police to communicate and better engage with south Asian communities to stop religious tensions from rising. Last week [20], hundreds…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that Diwali on the Square will take place on October 9, which is a Sunday, with a host of entertainment on offer suitable for all ages. The capital’s celebration of the festival of lights will see Londoners and people from around the world come…
London mayor Sadiq Khan's plan to legalise cannabis has suffered a set back as the Labour shadow justice secretary said that the party will oppose any such move if it wins the next general election, media reports said. Steve Reed said that the party would not look to decriminalise or…
An independent review will be conducted into the recent unrest in Leicester, the city's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has said. The exercise aims at finding out the reasons for the disorder last weekend and what can be done to prevent confrontations in the future. However, no appointment has yet been…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged to take a stand against all forms of hatred, intolerance and extremism amid reports of 'large-scale unrest' and 'serious disorder' in Leicester following communal clashes over the weekend. In a series of tweets, Khan said that British Muslims and British Hindus should always be…
A man was charged with attempted murder following the stabbings of two police officers in in Leicester Square on Friday (16), the the Metropolitan Police said. Mohammed Rahman, 24, from west London, has been charged with attempted murder of a male constable; and with causing grievous bodily harm with intent…
POLITICIANS, faith and community leaders paid tribute to Parvatiben Solanki, the cofounder of the Asian Media Gr oup (AMG), publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat. Mrs Solanki passed away in London last Thursday (8). She was 86. Along with her husband, the late Ramniklal Solanki CBE, Mrs Solanki played…
The suspension of a firearms officer of the Metropolitan Police following the fatal shooting of rapper Chris Kaba last week is believed to have demoralised their colleagues who are threatening to surrender their weapons. “They were planning to hand in their tickets and step back from armed duties” after the…
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan is coming up with a book on tackling the climate emergency. According to the publisher Hutchinson Heinemann, Breathe, which will be launched next year, is a “seven-step guide to winning support for tough climate action”. Since becoming mayor in 2016, Khan introduced the world's first ultra-low…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (7) announced a new advice service -- Energy Advice London -- to support Londoners struggling to pay soaring energy bills due to the cost of living crisis. This comes as Londoners face the possibility of not being able to heat their homes or put…
Dame Cressida Dick “felt intimidated” into stepping down as the chief of the Metropolitan Police after an ultimatum from London mayor Sadiq Khan, a review into the circumstances leading to her resignation has concluded. Dame Cressida - the first woman to head the Met Police - quit as its commissioner…
An extra 270,000 children in London could receive free school meals, saving families struggling with the cost of living up to £440 a year per child, if provision was extended to all primary school pupils, a research initiative taken by London mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed. The mayor has reiterated…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he has 'been disturbed by the apparent degree of bias' in the draft report over the handling of former Metropolitan police commissioner Cressida Dick, media reports said. Sadiq Khan has written to home secretary Priti Patel regarding the report by Sir Tom Winsor,…
RISHI SUNAK, former chancellor and a candidate to be the next prime minister, received a hero’s welcome with loud cheering and Indian drums at a hustings event in north London on Monday (22). Sunak’s popularity in the community was evident as more than 650 British Asians from across the country…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (17) announced £2 million of new funding to support children and young people at risk of being exploited by criminal gangs. With millions of Londoners being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and low-income families in the capital being hit hardest as food and energy…
The Independence Day of Pakistan was marked by a flag-hoisting ceremony at the Pakistan High Commission London on Sunday (14) as the South Asian nation turned 75. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, was also felicitated at the event. Moazzam Ahmad Khan, Pakistani High commissioner to the UK, hoisted the…
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today urged the Government to focus on tackling the spiralling cost of living and stop this from becoming a national disaster. This comes as a new online poll comprising 1,245 adults, reveals that 20 percent of lower-income Londoners have regularly or occasionally gone without…
As the cost of living crisis threatens to reverse reductions in violent crime, closer partnership between the Met Police and communities is key to preventing and tackling violence, London mayor Sadiq Khan said on Thursday (11), a release from his press office said. He visited Engine Room youth centre in…
Climate activists have urged London mayor Sadiq Khan to halt the Silvertown tunnel project under the River Thames as it will 'increase pollution and exacerbate the climate crisis', according to a media report. Work on the £2 billion Silvertown tunnel, which links Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula in east London,…
A privacy campaign group and a politician have mounted a legal challenge to London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to provide the Met Police with larger access to number plate recognition cameras in the British capital. Police previously had access only to ‘reads’ (number plate identifications) from Automated Number-Plate Recognition (ANPR)…
No new homes will be permitted in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow in west London until 2035 as the electricity network serving these areas runs out of capacity, according to reports. This week, the Greater London Authority (GLA) informed developers regarding this development. Interestingly, 11 per cent of London’s housing supply…
HUNDREDS of young Londoners have been diverted away from the dangers of County Lines gangs by an intervention scheme set up by mayor Sadiq Khan, according to a report published on Wednesday (27). The Rescue and Response report, by Brent Council on the impact of the £5.6 million scheme, revealed that…
LIZ TRUSS or Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister in September. A fierce ‘blue on blue’ contest is underway, though the two candidates actually have much in common. As Boris Johnson’s foreign secretary and chancellor, respectively, they were the more experienced leadership candidates against insurgent rivals. Both are…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to take urgent steps to support victims of rape and sexual offences, saying the crisis in the justice system is straining the support services.In an open letter, Khan sought measures to tackle the persistent problem of “severe court backlogs” which…
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Friday that his office was working on getting the Olympics back to the city and making them the "greenest Games ever". London last hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012 and the earliest bid would be for 2036 - since the next three Games…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (21) announced an extension to his pioneering GPS tagging pilot programme which tags knife crime and domestic abuse offenders released from prison. The GPS tagging crime scheme recently surpassed 1,000 tagged offenders and is working to quickly identify those who break their license conditions,…
Firefighters worked through the night to damp down wildfires and engineers raced on Wednesday to fix train tracks that buckled in the heat as Britain woke up to the aftermath of its hottest ever day. The London Fire Brigade endured its busiest day since World War Two on Tuesday when…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged the government to act “rapidly” to check the spread of monkeypox in the British capital.He said he had written to health secretary Steve Barclay, calling for “early and coordinated” actions to protect London which accounted for 71 per cent of the recent monkeypox cases…
NEW figures have revealed that more than 100 hate crimes were reported in London football stadiums between 1 June 2021 and 31 May this year, the BBC reported. During the period, the Metropolitan Police handled 18 violent hate crimes, including one where the victim was injured, the report added. According…
BRITISH Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, best known as Tan Dhesi, has met US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in London. Last week, Tan Dhesi shared a picture of their meeting on Twitter. "When first hijab wearing woman elected to US Congress @IlhanMN meets first ever turbaned Sikh elected to any European…
Olympic great Mo Farah won praise from across Britain's political spectrum Tuesday after the shock revelation that he was illegally trafficked as a child to the country and forced to work in domestic servitude.The 39-year-old distance runner, one of Britain's best-loved and most successful athletes, told a BBC documentary that…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (12) announced his Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is to invest a further £9 million in its flagship community-led programme to tackle violence and deliver positive opportunities for young people. The VRU’s MyEnds programme provides support and funding for communities to lead and deliver interventions…
BRITISH home secretary Priti Patel on Friday (8) announced the appointment of Sir Mark Rowley as the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Rowley was formally appointed by Her Majesty the Queen following a recommendation from the home secretary, after a highly competitive recruitment process. Sir Rowley QPM…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday (8) announced that he will be investing £2.3 million in vital advice services across the capital to help Londoners cope with the spiralling cost of living. He also launched a partnership with London Citizens Advice and London Legal Support Trust (LLST) to help reach…
The relocation of the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) headquarters will save only £37m over five years, contrary to London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s claim of saving £61m, according to an investigation.The offices of the GLA - the devolved regional governance body of Greater London comprising the mayor, London Assembly members and…
London on Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Pride parade, marking half a century of progress in the fight for equality and tolerance but with warnings that more still needs to be done.Several hundred people took part in the first march on July 1, 1972, walking from Hyde…
A NEW anonymous survey was launched on Tuesday (28) that will help improve the service that crime victims receive from the police. The survey, which has been set up by London’s Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Met, will capture the views and experiences of victims of…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (22) urged the government to provide free NHS care for everyone living in the UK to prevent another potential Windrush scandal. On Windrush Day (June 22), Khan called for an end to the NHS charging regulations for migrants which impacts undocumented Londoners as they…
AS a new national monument was unveiled on Wednesday (22) marking the anniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving in Britain, actor Lenny Henry, poet Benjamin Zephaniah, broadcaster Trevor Phillips, London mayor Sadiq Khan and cross-party parliamentarians including Steve Baker, Diane Abbott and Baroness Doreen Lawrence have joined a public call…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (14) visited Waltham Forest where he unveiled a new plan that emphasises on a public health approach to end violence against women and girls. There, he met a beautician and a dry cleaner and visited a library to see the training and education being…
Last night Disney+ and Marvel Studios held a special screening of Ms Marvel to celebrate stories and storytellers who reflect the rich diversity of our world. The screening was attended and introduced by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and hosted by Deana Hassanein ahead of its debut on Disney+ from…
ROADS in the British capital were 85 per cent congested just after 9 am on Tuesday (7) due to the 24-hour Tube strike called by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, media reports said. Traffic congestion happened when commuters used their cars or splashed out on taxis to go to…
Despite the recent successes of seeing better representation on the honours list with 15.1% BAME award winners in the 2022 New Year’s Honour List, this special Platinum Jubilee year has sadly seen a significant drop with only 13.3% successful candidates coming from an ethnic minority background. This decline however comes…
British-Asian political and business leaders have paid tribute to “their inspirational Queen” for her “selfless service” ahead of her platinum jubilee. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, told Eastern Eye that he remembered being a child celebrating her majesty’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, and he was “so excited to get a…
A Pakistani woman separated from her family during the 1947 India Partition met her brothers after 75 years in April, according to a media report. Mumtaz Bibi met her brothers Gurmukh Singh and Baldev Singh at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, the BBC reported. The Partition of India was…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said that the Metropolitan Police must “explain” why prime minister Boris Johnson was not fined for attending a party during the Covid lockdown, according to a report. Khan's comments came after Britain's ITV news channel on Monday (23) published new photographs of Johnson drinking at…
BRITAIN’S home office has commissioned an independent review of the London mayor’s police powers, according to a media report.Sir Tom Winsor, who recently retired as Her Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary, will examine whether the mayor should have less influence on the appointment and removal of the capital’s top police…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he would not allow threats from “terrorists” to change the way he leads his life, according to a report. He was responding to the threats by the alleged Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron, 18, at a supermarket in the US. Khan was reportedly described…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan was on the hit list of a teenager who gunned down 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo in the US state of New York on Saturday (14), according to media reports.A 180-page “manifesto” of Payton Gendron, who surrendered after the racist rampage, named Khan as…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (12) launched a commission to study the effectiveness of the UK’s drugs laws on cannabis, a move which did not find support from his own Labour party and home secretary Priti Patel.Former justice secretary Lord Charlie Falconer QC will be the chair of the…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said that discussions were held to host the “greenest” Olympics and Paralympics ever in the city, according to a report. Khan said that his team were in discussions with the International Olympic Committee over Britain staging the world’s biggest sporting event for the fourth time,…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan said he endured heightened online racist abuse when Donald Trump was the American president.His comment at Stanford University in California on Tuesday (10) came amid debates over allowing the former president back on Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk struck a deal to take over the social…
Racist, divisive politics which pit Hindus against Muslims and Indians against Pakistanis must stop, say MPs and the mayor of London. The issue is something Eastern Eye has reported several times. But it has reared its head once again after last week’s local elections (5 May). Sources have told this…
THOUSANDS of people attended Eid celebrations in Trafalgar Square on Saturday (7) which featured live music, children's activities and food stalls. It was the first Eid in the Square since 2019, after the 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to Covid. London mayor Sadiq Khan said it was "wonderful"…
EID IN THE SQUARE will return to London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday (7) after two years.The post-Ramadan celebrations, which Mayor Sadiq Khan said signify London’s diversity, feature Islamic inspired art, culture and comedy with contemporary and traditional performances on the main stage alongside food stalls.The event, running from noon until…
British prime minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that skilled workers from India could plug labour shortages in sectors such as information technology in the UK, even as he reiterated that immigration would continue to be controlled. Britain has made getting a trade deal with India one of its post-Brexit…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he is looking forward to sharing the joy of Ramadan with non-Muslims now that the pandemic restrictions are over. Khan will be taking part in a number of iftar gatherings with interfaith leaders and people from different religious backgrounds with the aim of 'building togetherness'.…
THOUSANDS of people rallied in the UK capital in solidarity with Ukraine following Russia's invasion, as London's mayor stepped up criticism of the government's response to the refugee crisis. Following a call from the mayor Sadiq Khan for a demonstration of "solidarity with Ukraine", crowds marched through the city centre…
NEW research published on Thursday (17) revealed that areas of London with black, Asian and minority ethnic populations of more than 50 per cent are more likely to face the highest climate risk including flooding, exposure to toxic air, heat risk and limited access to green space. According to a…
A FRIEND of mine applied for promotion in the judiciary recently to become a senior judge, and he was not successful. It seems that one of the panellists at the interview stage had disagreed with him in the past about institutional, systemic and structural racism in the profession. You see,…
A SURVEY of judges has revealed bullying, harassment and discrimination in the judiciary. The Justice Office has also admitted it is investigating further the “issues relating to” these claims. This about-face comes two years after the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, denied bullying existed when asked by a journalist at…
WOMEN are very much on the move – rising to roles not previously seen before and smashing glass ceilings in the process. The GG2 Power List was unveiled on Tuesday (8) evening at Eastern Eye publisher AMG’s high-profile and glittering GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, where the role of highflying women…
LONDON’S Camden Council in partnership with the Bangladesh High Commission celebrated the 50th year of the south Asian country’s independence.At the event - Bangladesh at 50 - held at the British Museum on Wednesday (2), mayor Sadiq Khan highlighted the contribution Bangladeshi Londoners have been making to the culture and…
THREE London police officers were charged on Thursday (17) with sharing "grossly offensive" messages, prosecutors said, in the latest scandal to hit the UK capital's increasingly tarnished force. The messages were posted in a WhatsApp group chat that also included former officer Wayne Couzens, who was last year jailed for…
There must be a root and branch investigation into the culture of racism, misogyny, and Islamophobia in every police service in England and Wales. That is the demand from south Asian and black MPs, as well as serving and past police officers. They have told Eastern Eye that they do…
A senior officer has admitted that racism is a problem in the Metropolitan Police, however, he denied that Met was a "racist organisation". Deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid, brother of health secretary Sajid Javid, told BBC Two's Newsnight that some officers "have racist views and are racist". His comments came…
THE dramatic resignation of the London Met Police chief has sparked a row between mayor Sadiq Khan and home secretary Priti Patel as Khan did not warn the Home Office or Queen he was going to get rid of the commissioner, according to a media report. The MailOnline reported that…
YOUNG Londoners in need of support will have access to “dedicated mentors” by 2024 to help them reach their potential, the city’s mayor announced on Wednesday (9). A manifesto pledge of Sadiq Khan, the initiative aims to cover children who have been excluded from school or college or impacted by…
CRESSIDA DICK announced her resignation last night (10) after a string of scandals rocked London's Metropolitan Police, including racism, sexism and a serving officer murdering a young woman. Dame Cressida, who became the first woman to head the force in 2017, said she had "no choice but to step aside" after London…
Health secretary, Sajid Javid and London mayor, Sadiq Khan, have led tributes to Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away on Sunday (6). The Bollywood legend and playback singer died after a long illness caused by contracting Covid. She was afforded the sobriquet of the “Nightingale of India”, and the popularity of…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has put Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick "on notice" after "shocking" behaviour by some officers was found, media reports said. A report by the police watchdog on Tuesday (1) found out that London police sent each other "shocking" racist, sexist and homophobic messages, piling pressure on…
A NEW survey has revealed that nearly half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan is doing a bad job as Mayor, reported MailOnline. According to a YouGov poll, 48 per cent of the respondents said Khan is performing badly, while more than a quarter of those surveyed said he was doing…
ENGLAND on Thursday (27) lifted coronavirus restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved. The number of positive Covid-19 cases has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, and although still at high levels, have plateaued in recent days.…
THE threat to British prime minister Boris Johnson's position deepened on Tuesday (25), as police said they were investigating lockdown-breaking parties at his Downing Street office and government departments. Johnson's spokesman promised his full cooperation while the Conservative leader said he welcomed the probe as a chance to move on…
IN order to hit climate targets, the mayor of London wants to charge daily fee as small as £2 from drivers. BBC reports Sadiq Khan wants to push this move under road pricing proposal, which he feels would encourage people to use public transport, walking, cycling and electric vehicles. When…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has been forced to defend plans to impose his biggest hike in council tax bills since assuming office, reported Evening Standard. This includes £20 a year for the next three years to help ease the financial crisis at Transport for London – though the first year’s…
LABOUR PARTY leader Keir Starmer clashed with London mayor Sadiq Khan's drugs policy on Tuesday (4) as he distanced himself from a scheme to decriminalise cannabis use in parts of the capital, reported the MailOnline. Starmer insisted he was against softening the law after it was revealed a proposed pilot…
A MAJOR New Year celebration in London will be cancelled, the British capital's mayor said, as worries mount over a surge in virus cases sparked by the Omicron variant. Sadiq Khan said infections were at record levels in the city and he needed to do everything possible to slow the…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has taken a lead in getting more people to vaccination centres as Omicron cases rise rapidly in the capital and the rest of the UK. As part of the city administration’s drive to tackle vaccine hesitancy, the mayor unveiled a series of virtual events to encourage…
BRITAIN'S health secretary on Sunday (19) declined to rule out the chance of further Covid-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast moving situation. Britain has reported a surge in Omicron cases, which government advisers said could be just the tip of the…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a "major incident" in the British capital due to the spread of the Omicron variant. More than 65,000 new Covid cases were confirmed in London over the past seven days, and 26,418 cases reported in the last 24 hours -– the highest number since…
LONDON and Dhaka may be separated by distance and different time zones but the people of the two cities share a common bond over spicy food and cricket. The city of London is home to more than 200,000 Bangladeshi-origin community, settled mainly in the East End, making significant contribution to…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan said he would have to raise council tax in London and reduce free travel for over-60s, with the government yet to offer a deal to fund the pandemic-hit transport system, The Guardian reported. He accused ministers of planning to “unfairly punish Londoners” by refusing to agree…
Revealed: Fewer than one in four has had third vaccination Health experts are urging south Asians to get their booster jab after Eastern Eye revealed that fewer than one in four has taken a third vaccine. Analysis by this newspaper suggests that as of 5 December, only 22.6 per cent…
A former Conservative mayoral candidate who breached Covid regulation by attending a Christmas party, has quit as chair of a police and crime committee. When London was under Tier 2 restrictions banning household mixing, Shaun Bailey's team had organised a gathering at the Conservative Campaign headquarters on 14 December 2020.…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said he prefers to keep the term BAME to represent people of colour in the UK. Khan said the abbreviation - which stands for black, Asian and minority ethnic – is used as a term of "strength rather than weakness". Khan told Eastern Eye on…
As a new variant hits Britain, infections’ expert warns of surge in pandemic deaths A leading infections’ expert has launched a scathing attack on the prime minister for not doing enough to protect lives after the discovery of a new Covid virus variant. The World Health Organization named the variant…
THE mayor of London launched an initiative on Monday (29) to tackle under-representation of young black men in London’s thriving technology sector. The intervention is the latest part of Sadiq Khan's Workforce Integration Network programme which is focussed on increasing the number of young black men in the capital’s key…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said that Labour's wealth tax proposal would hit those who are 'equity rich but cash poor' and cause a 'flight' of rich people out of the UK, according to a report in the MailOnline. In September, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that he would launch a…
Sadiq Khan: Bring back police enforcement on mask wearing More south Asians will catch and die from Covid during the traditional winter health crisis unless the government toughens its stance on vaccinations and mask wearing in public places. That is the warning from the British Medical Association, the London mayor,…
HINDU, Jain and Sikh families across the UK are preparing to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, which falls on November 4 this year. London and Leicester kicked off celebrations last weekend, as people gathered in the capital last Saturday (23) for Diwali on the Square, with a light display,…
LONDON on Monday (25) widened the area motorists with older and more polluting cars will have to pay £12.50 ($17.25) to drive in, as part of efforts to improve air quality. The ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) has already been operational in the city centre and will now apply up…
SADIQ KHAN, mayor of London said that once again Trafalgar Square will be decked up to celebrate Diwali on October 23 (Saturday). The festival of Diwali, celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities across London will see the Square having a light display, arts and crafts, range of food stalls…
AN ASIAN MP has spoken of her safety fears, saying, “we didn’t sign up to have our children burying our bodies”, as police and security authorities review security for parliamentarians following the fatal stabbing of Sir David Amess last week. Eastern Eye spoke to Asian and black MPs who revealed…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (21) unveiled a £1 million ‘Untold Stories’ fund to ensure the city’s diversity is reflected better in its public spaces. Grants of up to £25,000 will be given to successful community-led organisations to create public displays, including murals and street art, to celebrate London’s…
AFTER the murder of Sir David Amess, reality has hit home for many MPs as they no more can't ignore threats from trolls on social media. Tulip Siddiq on an estimate receives an abusive message every day on social media and some violent - threatening that she will be raped,…
Conservative MP David Amess has died this afternoon (15) after being stabbed at an event in his local constituency in southeast England. Police did not name Amess, but said: "A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea" and that the victim "later…
STUDENTS at a school in London are appealing to black and Asian people in the local community to come forward with their family stories of relatives who served in the Second World War. The ‘Remember Together’ project by students at Eden Girls’ School, Waltham Forest, and supported by British Future…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (12) launched a new community programme to address air pollution in the deprived areas of London. The Breathe London community programme, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, is set to empower local action on air quality ahead of the UK hosting COP26 and the Ultra Low Emission…
THE inquiry into police failings over the murder of Sarah Everard must “leave no stone unturned”, mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said. Home secretary Priti Patel announced earlier that a new two-part inquiry would examine police vetting practices, professional standards and wider issues around workplace conduct following the conviction…
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he needed protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week because of the colour of his skin and the god he worships. Khan, a practising Muslim and the son of a Pakistani bus driver, told the Labour party’s conference in Brighton that he…
CAMPAIGNERS have warned that Asian victims of abuse are “being failed” due to a lack of cultural understanding by authorities, which they said can cause police investigations to “fall apart”. In interviews with Eastern Eye this week, charity bosses have said police should do more to recognise the specific barriers…
FRIENDS and neighbours of Sabina Nessa will hold vigil for Sabina Nessa, a primary school teacher who was found dead at the weekend, reports said. The peaceful vigil will be held at 7 pm on Friday (24) evening in Pegler Square, Kidbrooke. The community of Kidbrooke in Greenwich has invited…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan joined more than 8,000 people at the SSE Wembley Arena last Sunday (19) for a performance by Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The acclaimed Pakistani singer kicked off his The Legacy Tour in the UK, with the packed venue swaying to classic hits such as Teri…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan joined more than 8,000 people at the SSE Wembley Arena last Sunday (19) for a performance by Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The acclaimed Pakistani singer kicked off his The Legacy Tour in the UK, with the packed venue swaying to classic hits such as Teri…
THE September 11 terrorist attack in the United States was a “landmark moment that dramatically shifted how the British public saw Muslims”, race activists said ahead of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy on Saturday (11). Nearly 3,000 people died in coordinated attacks in the US on September 11, 2001,…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has backed the plans to build a memorial in London in honour of Muslim soldiers who fought for Britain and laid down their lives for the country in the two World Wars. He said a “prominent national memorial” would help learn more about the sacrifices made…
SADIQ KHAN has said London “stands ready to help Afghan refugees” as the UK prepares to offer sanctuary to 20,000 Afghans fleeing violence. Thousands of people have attempted to leave the country since the Taliban took control of the capital city, Kabul, on August 15. In chaotic scenes following the…
THE London mayor said he is lobbying government to bring in by-law to issue fixed penalties for people failing to wear a face mask on the Tube. Sadiq Khan has been pushing the government to allow Transport for London (TfL) for a by-law requiring face coverings on London's transport network.…
LONDON boroughs with a substantial Asian population have some of the lowest first and second Covid-19 vaccine intake in the country, statistics showed. Tower Hamlets has the lowest percentage of second doses administered at 40.3 per cent. According to the 2011 census, more than two thirds (69 per cent) of…
SAJID JAVID has written his “isolation diary” in the Spectator, expressing satisfaction that after more than a year in the political wilderness, he is back in the cabinet as health secretary. Matt Hancock’s misfortune brought Sajid good luck. He reveals, “my mum was delighted – like many Asian mothers she…
THE daily congestion charge for driving into central London will be made permanent under Transport for London (Tfl) plans. In a temporary move in June 2020, TfL had raised the charges from £11.50 to £15 a day, and now it would retain the higher price but reverse the increase in…
Rishi Sunak tops annual ranking of most influential Asians in the UK PANDEMIC heroes who went above and beyond their call of duty have been honoured in a special edition of the GG2 Power List, which ranks the 101 most influential Asians in Britain. Thirty Asian doctors, nurses and researchers…
Over half south Asians still unprotected The vaccine minister, Nadim Zahawi, is urging south Asians not to waste the chance of getting a Covid vaccination. He also backed family doctors who are demanding patients continue to wear masks in surgeries, even though restrictions were lifted last week (19). In an…
SCIENTISTS have urged the UK government to take adaptive measures to cope with the impacts of extreme weather. They also warned that flash flooding of the type seen in London this weekend will become more common occurrence as the climate crisis worsens, The Guardian reported. Climate policy in the UK…
MAYOR of London Sadiq Khan has urged UK prime minister Boris Johnson to end self-isolation for contacts of Covid cases if they are fully vaccinated to save the country's economy from 'pingdemic', stated media reports. The mayor reportedly has written to Johnson on Friday (23) asking for a change…
MAYOR of London Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (20) has launched a multi-million package of measures aimed at engaging young Londoners in various activities this summer, especially for the wards at higher risk of violence and with higher levels of poverty and deprivation. Set up by Khan, England’s one-of-its-kind Violence…
LONDON has the lowest uptake of Covid-19 vaccine in England, with more than one third of people in the capital city have not had their first dose of a jab, recent data shows. The data from NHS England show 55 per cent have not had a second dose. Across England,…
SELFLESSNESS and helping others through service, which is an integral part of Sikhism, is important for individual and societal health, says writer Jasreen Mayal Khanna whose new book explores science-based studies, interviews with Sikhs and history to understand why Sikhs are “habitual do-gooders.” About 500 years ago, Guru Nanak,…
FORMER Chief Crown Prosecutor for North-West England Nazir Afzal OBE has said that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick should leave office when her current term expires in April next year. His comments came after reports claimed that she intends next month to attempt to extend her five-year fixed contract. "Her…
TWO-THIRDS of UK adults have now been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the government said on Wednesday (14), arguing that the breakthrough justified its contentious move to drop most pandemic curbs next week. A total of 35,155,767 second doses have now been administered since the Western world's first mass vaccination…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (14) called for use of face coverings to remain compulsory on public transport in the British capital after government plans to relax Covid curbs begin on July 19. Under the plans passengers on Transport for London (TfL) services - which include the city's tube,…
POLITICAL leaders and footballing chiefs in Britain on Monday (12) came down strongly at social media racial abuse targetted at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after England lost in EURO 2020 finals on Sunday (11). Prime minister Boris Johnson- who himself came under criticism earlier for refusing…
TO pay tribute to Kamal Chunchie, the race relations campaigner, road leading to the new home of the Greater London Authority (GLA) has been renamed as Kamal Chunchie Way. Chunchie, a pastor from Sri Lanka, founded the Coloured Men's Institute in the Royal Docks in 1926 for sailors, dock workers,…
TOTAL cost of completing the Crossrail project will exceed the given funding, a report by the government spending watchdog revealed. According to the National Audit Office (NAO) estimates the cost of the new rail link will be between £30 million and £218m above the current funding of £18.8 billion. The…
“BATLEY and Spen” were the words on the rosette of a pumped-up Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and “Battered and Spent” on a frazzled prime minister Boris Johnson’s. The Times cartoonist had clearly prepared his material so it could be flipped, either way, depending on the actual result. And by 323…
PEOPLE who have been fully vaccinated and children will no longer have to self-isolate after close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19 from August 16, health secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday (6). His comments follow prime minister Boris Johnson’s plans on Monday (5) to end social and…
AHEAD of England's Euro 2020 semifinal clash against Denmark on Wednesday (7), a new campaign, #EnglandTogether, is calling on fans to show their support for the team and also back the idea for an inclusive England that is shared by people of all backgrounds. Supporters from faith, diversity and cohesion…
LONDONERS have a chance to watch Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium as mayor Sadiq Khan offers a golden ticket for two in an online draw who have signed up for their first dose of Covid vaccine by Thursday (8). People of the capital city can enter the contest by…
FACE masks, social distancing, QR codes for entry in public places and ordering only at a table in pubs will no longer be a legal requirement in England from July 19 under prime minister Boris Johnson’s final road map out of lockdown announced on Monday (5) at a Downing Street…
FOR months those against taking the Covid vaccines have been spreading fake news about the vaccine. They include false claims that the Covid vaccine contains pork, and so they cannot be taken by Muslims. In WhatsApp messages, south Asians have been told the vaccine will make women infertile. Others simply…
AT LEAST one in three south Asians, aged 18 or over, is still not fully protected from the Covid virus, Eastern Eye can reveal. Despite the government spearheading a “concerted community-led effort” to persuade minority communities to get vaccinated, the latest figures reveal that about 67 per cent of “Asians…
The Labour Party has dragged India’s prime minister Narendra Modi into Thursday’s (1) Batley and Spen by-election by issuing a leaflet which says prime minister Boris Johnson has failed to condemn the Indian leader for his policies in Kashmir. The literature has been widely condemned by many of Labour’s Indian…
SADIQ KHAN is working together with vaccines minister, the NHS and local leaders - and has convened London Vaccine Summit on Friday (25) afternoon to discuss ways to drive up Covid-19 vaccine uptake over the next three weeks in the city. City leaders including the mayor of London wants to…
IN an effort to boost the Covid-19 vaccine uptake in the city, a London Vaccine Summit will be held on Friday (25). In order to speed up the vaccination drive in London ahead of the July 19 when Covid restrictions would be eased - senior officials, the NHS in London,…
STADIUMS and football grounds in London got transformed into mass vaccination centres over the weekend to administer thousands of Covid-19 jabs after Britain opened up it's vaccine drive for over-18s on Friday (18). Mass vaccination centres have been set up at the Olympic Stadium Stamford Bridge, Tottenham Hotspur FC…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has called on British fans to make a statement at this year’s UEFA EURO that “there is no room for racism anywhere – not in the stands, not on social media, not on the football pitch and not on our streets”. “Sadly, we’ve seen far too…
FORMER chancellor Sajid Javid has urged the Conservatives to get their “house in order” on Islamophobia as he reveals that he was blocked from standing in a safe Tory seat on the basis that its constituents wouldn’t vote for a Muslim MP. In a piece for The Times, he called…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson has said sorry for his past remarks comparing women in full-face veils to “letterboxes.” In a report commissioned by the Conservative party into alleged discrimination, the prime minister, who previously refused to apologise for his comments published in the Daily Telegraph in 2018, said, "I do…
LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer said the next Labour government would work to eradicate structural racism as Tuesday (25) marked the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd beneath a white Minneapolis police officer's knee, sparking worldwide protests over racial inequalities. “On the 25th of May 2020, not only…
THE UK needs to remain vigilant against the Covid-19 virus, an influential doctor has warned, following concerns that the Indian variant could overwhelm the NHS and delay the easing of national restrictions next month. Ministers have voiced concerns in recent days that the B.1.617.2 variant, first seen in India, could…
SADIQ KHAN has urged health secretary and vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi to offer Covid-19 vaccines to younger population in areas where the Indian variant has been detected. “I’ve asked ministers to give us the flexibility to give younger people the vaccine in parts of London where we’re concerned about this…
MAYOR Sadiq Khan said more police will be deployed in the streets of Jewish dominated areas in London, after four people were arrested for allegedly shouting anti-Semitic abuse and threats during a pro-Palestinian protest. "There are a number of things we are doing to reassure Londoners, particularly those from Jewish…
By Sunder Katwala ‘CARRY on governing’ seemed to be the key message of the ‘Super Thursday’ elections across the UK last week. That this did not seem a ‘time for a change’ was the common thread linking the renewed mandate to govern of Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP)…
By Seema Malhotra MP THIS week saw a very mixed set of results in the elections, with positive news in different areas for the main parties. There was a strong draw towards the incumbent, whoever that may be. In London, we saw Labour’s Sadiq Khan elected with a historic…
SADIQ KHAN after being elected mayor of London for a second term, has picked his new key team by promoting three young women in top roles. Khan's four mayoral directors at City Hall - Paddy Hennessy, Leah Kreitzman, Nick Bowes and Jack Stenner, exited at the end of his first…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (11) reappointed Rajesh Agrawal as his deputy mayor for business. Born and raised in Indore, India, Agrawal moved to London in 2001 with £200 in his pocket. As an entrepreneur he founded two global businesses from scratch - RationalFX in 2005, and Xendpay in…
AFTER being elected as the new London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Krupesh Hirani said London's recovery from Covid-19 has to be fair for all. "I’m thankful to the people of Brent and Harrow for electing and trusting me to represent them at City Hall. I'm immensely proud to…
By Pooja Shrivastava Shabana Mahmood MP (Birmingham- Ladywood)- National Campaign Coordinator Labour MP Shabana Mahmood has represented Birmingham-Ladywood since 2010. She was appointed as the party’s National Campaign Coordinator in the Shadow Cabinet. [caption id="attachment_139470" align="aligncenter" width="551"] Shabana_Mahmood (Pic from Wikimedia Ccommons)[/caption] Born and brought up in Birmingham, Mahmood traces…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who won re-election on Saturday, has risen from humble roots to spar with prime ministers and presidents since taking charge of the British capital five years ago. The 50-year-old Labour party politician, a former human rights lawyer brought up on a London public housing complex, won…
Sadiq Khan was re-elected London Mayor on Saturday as had been widely expected, providing some joy to the opposition Labour Party which has suffered a series of disappointing results in other local elections. Khan, who became the first Muslim to head a major Western capital after his victory in 2016,…
By Joe Talora SADIQ KHAN has extended his lead over Conservative rival Shaun Bailey as the Mayor of London election count enters its second day. Despite being an initially tight race for most of yesterday, the Labour candidate now has a five per cent lead over Bailey. Of the seven…
THE Scottish National Party hoped a second day of vote-counting Saturday (8) would bring it a slim majority in the devolved parliament while prime minister Boris Johnson decried its plan for an independence referendum. The UK voted in a series of local and regional polls on "Super Thursday" in its…
Mayor reveals why he was forced to put up congestion charges in the capital by Barnie Choudhury London mayor, Sadiq Khan, promised to fight to make sure his city recovers from the pandemic, if he were re-elected on Thursday (6). Europe’s first south Asian and Muslim mayor of a capital…
IF re-elected the mayor for a second term this week, Sadiq Khan said he will bid to bring the Olympics and Paralympics to London. London has already hosted the Games thrice in 1908, 1948 and 2012 - a record that Paris will match when it hosts the Olympics in 2024.…
London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said his past year had been filled with “anger, frustration and pride” as he fought to tackle the global pandemic and keep Londoners safe. He was speaking at an “In Conversation” event organised by the Asian Media Group and Eastern Eye. Over one hour the Labour…
https://youtu.be/g72K8miMlIY London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said his past year had been filled with "anger, frustration and pride" as he fought to tackle the global pandemic and keep Londoners safe. He was speaking at an "In Conversation" event organised by the Asian Media Group and Eastern Eye. Over one hour the…
Sadiq Khan, London mayor, seeking re-election said he felt angry, betrayed about the episode that happened around the European Super League. Being a Liverpool fan himself and London being home to three Premier League clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. He said the unity last week was uplifting but desperately…
SADIQ KHAN was elected as the first Asian Mayor of a major European city with the largest personal mandate for any politician in 2016. In the run-up to the mayoral elections next month, he has pledged his support to British Asians in London, claiming his policies “address the needs and…
by LAUREN CODLING LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged his support to British Asians in the capital in the run-up to the mayoral elections next month, claiming his policies “address the needs and aspirations of the community”. The Labour candidate is currently contesting his second term in the mayoral election,…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to bring the glitzy Indian Premier League to the British capital as he seeks to establish the city as the "undisputed sporting capital" of the world. The 14th edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament starts behind closed doors on Friday, with champions Mumbai Indians facing…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to Prince Philip, who died on Friday (9), saying the country would mourn with the royal family and Queen Elizabeth, who had lost her 'strength and stay of more than 70 years'. "We remember the duke ... above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty…
COUNTY cricket club, Surrey wants to host Indian Premier League (IPL) in London and other parts of England, which could be a big boost to the cash-strapped domestic games. Surrey hopes to bring the lucrative franchise based cricket league to its home ground, Kia Oval, and also to other Test…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson said a race inequality review commissioned by his government was stimulating but more needed to be done to tackle the issue, as some campaigners accused the report of “gaslighting” the experiences of minorities. The report on Wednesday (31) by the Commission on Race and Ethnic…
By Sadiq Khan Mayor of London IT HAS been a truly terrible year. The pandemic has affected us all – the grief of losing loved ones, the devastating impact on businesses and jobs, and the emotional strain of being unable to meet our close friends and family. The thing…
By Sadiq Khan IT has been a truly terrible year. The pandemic has affected us all – the grief of losing loved ones, the devastating impact on businesses and jobs, and the emotional strain of being unable to meet up with our close friends and family. The thing I’ve missed…
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan has extended greetings on the occasion of Holi festival. "As we see light at the end of the tunnel and plan for a brighter and more colourful future, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holi," Khan said in a special video message released on…
By Amit Roy THE actor Laurence Fox has made Sir Winston Churchill’s views on race and empire an important issue in the London mayoral election on May 6 by taking out a full page advertisement in a national newspaper depicting the wartime leader with a gag across his mouth.…
By Barnie Choudhury THE Asian Media Group (AMG) and the University of Southampton have teamed up to recognise south Asians who have transformed the UK. Named after the founder of AMG, the Ramniklal Solanki Pioneers Project will tell the life stories of 100 people whose work has left an…
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (4) launched his re-election campaign with a call for 1945-style programme to rebuild the city's economy. Khan said that his ‘top priority’ for his second term will be protecting Londoners' jobs and helping to create new jobs to replace the more than 300,000 lost…
NHS doctors, nurses and other frontline staff have come forward in a new video to reassure South Asian communities in London that Covid-19 vaccines are safe, effective and have been independently tested to the highest standards. They have recorded messages in some of the most commonly spoken non-English languages in…
HIGH achievers from Britain’s medical and scientific communities were among top winners at the annual GG2 Leadership awards, held virtually for the first time on Thursday (25). Dr Chaand Nagpaul CBE, chairman of the British Medical Association, won the coveted GG2 Hammer Award, presented to a BAME person who has…
THE BBC drama, A Suitable Boy, was the big winner at last week’s Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (ACTA), which celebrate the best of Asian talent in the creative industries. The primetime TV series, based on Vikram Seth’s novel of the same name, won three awards –…
By Amit Roy PRINCE CHARLES has expressed concern that some members of the ethnic minorities are not taking the vaccine. He told a webinar organised by the British Asian Trust (BAT), of which he is the founder patron: “In view of my concern about the health and welfare of…
By Nadeem Badshah ROGUE landlords are charging migrants from south Asia for how many hours they rest in bed and forcing them to “sleep in shifts”, experts have revealed. The issue was raised in a BBC documentary, aired in January, when a group of men from India were found…
THE UK home secretary, Priti Patel, has described the Black Lives Matter(BLM) protests last year as 'dreadful' and said she did not agree with the gesture of taking the knee. The protests took place in more than 260 towns and cities in June and July across the country. Those were…
THE UK government has warned the City of London it risks damaging its “rich history” by removing statues of prominent historical figures associated with the slave trade, reported The Daily Telegraph. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has written to the Lord Mayor William Russell and senior officials urging them to reconsider.…
by LAUREN CODLING LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has reiterated the importance of ethnic minority communities engaging with the coronavirus vaccine programme, as he visited a new NHS immunisation centre at a temple in the city last Thursday (4). Khan hopes the new immunisation hub at Kingsbury Temple in northwest London…
THE Muslim Council of Britain on Sunday(31) elected Zara Mohammed,29, from Glasgow as its first female secretary general. Mohammed, a masters graduate in human rights law and a training and development consultant, takes over the post from Harun Khan. “My vision is to continue to build a truly inclusive, diverse…
THE Information Commissioner in the UK has said that the ruling party in the country has collected data on the ethnic backgrounds of 10 million voters before the 2019 general election and later deleted it 'voluntarily'. Elizabeth Denham told a digital, culture, media and sport select committee meeting on Tuesday(26) that…
IN A new video celebrities team up to encourage the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in the UK to save lives and take the Covid-19 vaccine. The video titled ‘If You Could Save Someone’s Life…’ includes actors Adil Ray, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Boman Irani, Asim Chaudhry, Shobna Gulati,…
by LAUREN CODLING ASIANS have been urged to take the coronavirus vaccine as doctors expressed concerns that “fake news” was causing many from the community to reject it. Rumours claiming that the vaccines contain alcohol and animal products (such as beef and pork) have been circulating on social media and…
THE Metropolitan Police on Monday(18) launched a pilot project to record ethnicity data for vehicle stops by roads policing officers. It will help to better understand proportionality relating to ethnicity, and it was first announced as part of the Mayor’s action plan published in November 2020, a statement said. Roads…
AS 2020 drew to a close last Thursday (31), Eastern Eye asked some prominent people to reflect on the year and reveal their hopes for 2021. We asked them: a. What have you learned about yourself in the past year? b. How would you reflect on 2020 and what…
By Barnie Choudhury SENIOR south Asian doctors have accused the government of failing to protect the most vulnerable frontline health workers. Their comments came during an end-of-year virtual roundtable on the government’s handling of the pandemic. Board members of the British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ union, told Eastern…
AS 2020 drew to a close last Thursday (31), Eastern Eye asked some prominent people to reflect on the year and reveal their hopes for 2021. We asked them: a. What have you learned about yourself in the past year? b. How would you reflect on 2020 and what are…
THE Conservative party’s London mayoral candidate was criticised for sending voters letters using fake City Hall coat of arms for a second time in recent weeks. Shaun Bailey's campaign has sent letters to potential voters saying that Londoners’ taxes would rise in language that echoed financial penalty notices, reported The…
Dr FARZANA HUSSAIN ANSWERS IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE AND HOW IT CAN HELP US GET LIFE BACK ON TRACK FRONTLINE healthcare staff and the elderly were among the first group of people to receive the Covid-19 vaccine as the UK began its immunisation drive on December 8. The…
by LAUREN CODLING COMMUNITY leaders have questioned why ethnic minority groups have not been prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine, as the UK became the first country in the world to roll out the immunisation on Tuesday (8). As Eastern Eye went to press, the shot became available at 50 hospitals…
SENIOR LEADERS from cities across the world have joined London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday(8) as part of a shared commitment to putting the fight against racism at the heart of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Khan also launched a new £190,000 Civil Society Roots Incubator for partnerships working to…
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan on Tuesday(8) said that the Covid-19 immunisation programme provides 'some light' after many 'dark months'. He added that Londoners aged 80 and over, and care home workers, will be first to receive the jab at six hospital hubs across the capital, along with NHS workers. Britain…
A NEW public garden will be created at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to commemorate Londoners who have lost their lives to Covid-19. London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday(27) said that 33 blossoming trees, one for each London borough, will be the centrepiece of a new public garden which will commemorate…
By Sunder Katwala British Future “I’VE placed our rangoli outside No 11, the mithai is set to be delivered and the family Zoom is booked in. I know things will feel a bit different, and it’s hard not to be able to see family, but we will get through…
ARTIST FUSES NEON LIGHTS, HINDU DEITIES AND BOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR IN COLOURFUL DISPLAY by AMIT ROY THE celebrated British Asian artist, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, has spoken to Eastern Eye about how she has decorated Tate Britain in London for Diwali with a swirl of neon lights, Hindu deities, intrepid royalty…
BRITAIN’s biggest police force must hire 40 per cent of new recruits from ethnic minority backgrounds, while officers will have to justify stop and search to community panels as part of a major race action plan unveiled on Friday(13). The plan will set the Met a target for new recruits,…
By Shaun Bailey Conservative candidate for London Mayor WHATEVER our religion and whatever our background, we’re all learning to deal with lockdown and coronavirus restrictions. So it goes without saying that the new normal will affect the celebration of light and new beginnings. But that doesn’t mean Diwali and Bandi…
UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer have supported the ‘Remember Together’ initiative ahead of Remembrance Sunday. The campaign, a joint initiative by thinktank British Future and the Royal British Legion, urges greater efforts to commemorate the service and sacrifice of black and Asian servicemen and women…
By Sunder Katwala British Future IT WILL be a very different Remembrance Sunday this weekend, with local parades and services cancelled and the annual service at the Cenotaph closed to the public for the first time in its history. Many people will mark a two-minute silence from their doorsteps at…
London's transport system has secured a bailout from the government worth nearly £2 billion, following weeks of politically-charged wrangling as the coronavirus continues to decimate revenues. Transport for London (TfL), which runs the British capital's public transport network, said the deal worth £1.8 billion would enable it to keep operating…
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan on Wednesday(28) said that he would not accept the damaging government proposal to widen the congestion charge zone as would have a 'devastating effect' on London’s diverse communities who are already 'disproportionately' affected by the pandemic. The government wants to extend a £15 charge to the…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson said the mayor of London Sadiq Khan had bankrupted the capital's transport system, as the government looked to force Khan to sell off land and cut running costs as part of a fractious financial Covid-19 bailout. Khan, from the opposition Labour Party, has called for…
A builder who was arrested in connection with the killing of three men following a deadly knife fight on the streets of east London will not face any murder or manslaughter charges as the incident was deemed to be an act self-defence. Gurjeet Singh, 29, had been arrested by the…
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday(15) said that some nine million people in the British capital are facing more stringent coronavirus restrictions because of a rising number of cases. "It is my expectation that the government will announce today that London will shortly be moving into tier two, or the…
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan declared City Hall a committedly anti-racist organisation on Tuesday(13), and urged employers and businesses to do more to embed anti-racist practices in their operations and culture. He also unveiled a toolkit which offers practical guidance to businesses to help diversify their workforce and foster a truly…
by LAUREN CODLING ISLAMOPHOBIA is “deeply embedded” in the Conservative party, a Muslim MP has said, following a new poll that revealed almost 50 per cent of members believe Islam is a threat to the British way of life. Data compiled by anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate found that 57…
TOUGHER lockdown measures may be on the way for London as the Sadiq Khan issued a stark warning on Tuesday (6) about rapid spread of the coronavirus, with hospitalisations tripling in the last month. The London mayor urged people to continue following norms and adhering anti-virus measures such as regular…
By S Neeraj Krishna THE National Curriculum should shun “one-dimensional perspectives” and better reflect the diversity of Britain, Sadiq Khan has said in an appeal while announcing plans to give young Londoners a “more complete perspective” in history and race. Coinciding with the start of Black History Month of Thursday…
By S Neeraj Krishna SADIQ KHAN has called for urgent action to tackle “stark inequalities” as a City Hall study warned black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners faced a significantly higher Covid death risk. Commissioned by the London mayor, the report published on Thursday (1) said black people and men…
UBER has won a legal battle in the UK to restore its London operating licence, after a judge ruled on Monday(28) that the company was a fit and proper operator despite "historical failings". Transport for London (TfL) refused to grant the Silicon Valley-based company a new licence last year due…
By S Neeraj Krishna SADIQ KHAN has accused Boris Johnson of displaying “ignorance and arrogance” in handling the pandemic as he urged the government to curb “social mixing of households” in the capital. The mayor said he had been lobbying the prime minister to impose tougher restrictions in London even…
By Jessie Mathewson, Local Democracy Reporting Service SADIQ KHAN has blamed the “near collapse of test and trace” as London was added to the national coronavirus watchlist on Friday(25). There will be no new restrictions in the capital at present, but the city will be monitored as an area of…
ENGLAND striker Marcus Rashford has said he is "more determined than ever" to eradicate child food poverty in the UK as he thanked London mayor Sadiq Khan for his solid backing. The 22-year-old Manchester United star has formed a taskforce along with some of the UK's biggest supermarkets and food…
By S Neeraj Krishna SADIQ KHAN has accused the British education system of offering “one-dimensional, identity kit version of history”, while urging people to “go around” it to tackle racism. The London mayor said in a virtual discussion on Sunday that the anti-racism protests following the custodial death of black…
By S Neeraj Krishna THE UK is deliberating on a second national lockdown amid warnings that there could be up to 50,000 Covid-19 cases per day by mid-October if infections continue to surge at the current rate. Prime Minister Boris Johnson — who will make a statement in Parliament on…
BRITAIN is at a pandemic tipping point, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday (20), warning that a second national lockdown could be imposed if people don't follow government rules designed to stop the spread of the virus. Covid-19 cases have risen sharply in recent weeks, with 3,899 reported over…
By S Neeraj Krishna SADIQ KHAN has urged people to be "as cautious as possible" in the coming days, warning that local lockdown restrictions in London seemed "increasingly likely". The London mayor said he firmly believed the authorities "should not wait" to take action, noting the soaring infection rate in…
By Amit Roy THE Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has earmarked more than 70 statues for removal, among them that of Thomas Guy. Ironically, countless black people have benefited from his generosity in setting up Guy’s Hospital at London Bridge, where last week I noticed his statue in the building’s…
AN ASIAN entrepreneur-activist was on Monday (14) dropped as a prospective London mayoral candidate to contest against Sadiq Khan next year after her past antisemitic comments came to light. Geeta Sidhu Robb is the founder of organic food and juice products firm Nosh Detox. She was shortlisted as the Liberal…
A VIRAL footage of Sadiq Khan being heckled with “mindless Neanderthal abuse” has sparked widespread outrage across the UK. The video was shot as the mayor of London faced an aggressive mob while heading to City Hall amid a protest by black-cab drivers last week. Reports said a crowd gathered…
by LAUREN CODLING THE mayor of Newham has criticised the government’s plan to pay people £13 a day to self-isolate, claiming the money offered is “insufficient”. The comments come after weeks of criticism regarding the NHS Test and Trace programme, a key part of the government’s Covid-19 recovery strategy since…
THE United Kingdom registered almost 3,000 new coronavirus cases over 24 hours, a level not seen since late May, health ministry figures showed on Sunday (6). The government said two more people had died after testing positive over the past 28 days, bringing the overall UK toll to 41,551, Europe's…
By Sunder Katwala Director British Future thinktank THE US political conventions this year have lacked the usual razzmatazz. Social distancing converted the Democrat jamboree into a four-day online marathon, leaving even committed political aficionados feeling Zoomed out. Yet the goal was the same – the best possible springboard in the…
by LAUREN CODLING THE mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has condemned critics for blaming Asian communities for spikes in Covid-19, claiming some were using the virus as “a way to divide communities”. In recent months, local lockdowns have been implemented in areas in Leicester, Greater Manchester and Blackburn – cities…
by LAUREN CODLING LOCAL councils have emphasised efforts to communicate with ethnic minorities about the NHS Test and Trace plan, as some experts raised concerns that many communities may not trust the system and will not engage with it. The NHS Test and Trace plan has been rolled out across…
THE Metropolitan Police has suspended an officer after video emerged showing a man in north London being detained using techniques "not taught in police training". Footage posted on social media showed the man being held on the ground shouting: "Get off me... I haven’t done anything … get off my…
A WOMAN who had her UK citizenship revoked after travelling to Syria to join the Islamic State group should be allowed to return home to challenge the decision, a London court has ruled. Shamima Begum, 20, lost the first stage of her case about the legality of the government's decision…
ACHARYA Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, the global leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, has passed away aged 78. The founder of world's first eco-temple in northwest London, who died on Thursday (16), was a spiritual leader with thousands of disciples across the world. Acharya Swamishree Maharaj was described as…
BRITAIN's police watchdog has announced a review into whether the forces discriminate against ethnic minorities. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Friday (10) that the probe, to begin in the coming months, will initially look into the use of stop and search powers and the use of…
The UK government’s £1.57 billion emergency support package for the arts and culture sector has been described as a lifeline for an industry “brought to its knees” by the coronavirus pandemic. The package covers funding for Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues. It includes a…
THE British government said on Monday (22) it was determined to "right the wrongs" of its treatment of Britons of Caribbean origin who were detained or deported as illegal immigrants. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Bishop Derek Webley, a senior church leader, will chair a cross-government working group to address…
THE stabbing rampage in the southern English town of Reading in which three people were killed and three taken to hospital was an act of terrorism, police said on Sunday (21), terming the attack in a sunny park an "atrocity". Detectives said a man had run into a park in…
THE mayor of Leicester has given “absolute assurance” that statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the heart of the central England city will be protected, as an online petition created to save the under-threat monument attracted over 6,000 signatures. Peter Soulsby committed his support in response to a letter from former…
SADIQ KHAN announced on Wednesday (17) that he will take a 10 per cent pay cut due to a budget crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak, as he urged the UK government to help stretched local authorities. The London mayor said the capital faces a budget shortfall of nearly £500…
British prime minister Boris Johnson was on Sunday (14) joined by Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, which claimed 72 lives in the west London residential block in June 2017. The tribute event, "Grenfell for Humanity", was held virtually, given…
BORIS JOHNSON on Friday (12) said the wave of anti-racism protests across Britain had been "hijacked by extremists", as fears mounted over vandalism, and clashes between activists and far-right groups. Several statues were boarded up as a precaution, including one of World War II leader Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph…
ALLIES of Shaun Bailey have dismissed murmurs about some Tory insiders machinating to replace him with a stronger candidate – like Sajid Javid – for London's mayoral election. The former youth leader, who emerged as one of the Conservative Party’s prominent black voices, had been picked to take on incumbent…
THE Ealing Council has said it will launch a statutory consultation over renaming a road in Southall -- known as "Little Punjab" -- after the founder of Sikh faith, Guru Nanak. The proposal to rename a section of Havelock Road as "Guru Nanak Road" came to the fore as Sadiq…
SADIQ KHAN has called for an investigation after British rapper Wretch 32 posted a video of police using a taser stun gun against his father, after days of anti-racism protests. The footage from a police body camera shows 62-year-old Millard Scott falling down the stairs after being tasered during a…
by LAUREN CODLING PRIME minister Boris Johnson told his ministers on Tuesday (9) that there was more to be done to eradicate prejudice and create opportunity in Britain, but society was much less racist than it was before, his spokesman said. Johnson’s comments came as further protests were held in…
A STATUE of Robert Milligan, an 18th century slave trader, was removed from its plinth outside a London museum on Tuesday (10) after global anti-racism protests triggered a debate about how Britain commemorates its imperial past. Statues glorifying slave traders and colonialists have come into sharp focus in recent days,…
SADIQ KHAN has ordered a review of the London's statues and street names after the toppling of the statue of an English slave trader by anti-racism protesters triggered a debate about the demons of Britain's imperial past. A statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading…
ANTI-RACISM protests in Britain have been "subverted by thuggery", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday (8), warning those responsible would be held to account. Tens of thousands took to the streets of London on Sunday, rallying for a second day running to condemn police brutality after the killing of…
THE British Medical Association has urged the government to make face covering mandatory in "all areas" where social distancing was not always possible. The demand came as the government announced that all people should cover their faces using non-surgical face masks while using public transport from June 15. BMA chair…
THE Equality and Human Rights Commission has initiated an inquiry into the UK’s “long-standing, entrenched racial inequalities” that have been highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The watchdog said it would conduct a thorough study and propose urgent measures to tackle race inequalities. The EHRC’s chairman, David Isaac, said the current…
A GROUP of protesters chanting "Black Lives Matter" gathered on Thursday (4) outside the London home of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's closest aide, Dominic Cummings. Anti-racism protests have taken place in Britain in recent days, in solidarity with US demonstrations sparked by the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an unarmed…
by LAUREN CODLING A LEADING equalities campaigner has said that the coronavirus crisis is an opportunity to “build an environment of equality of opportunity and justice for everyone”. Lord Simon Woolley, founder of Operation Black Vote (OBV), made the comments on the eve of the publication of the Public Health…
THE British government is following scientific advice in cautiously easing the coronavirus lockdown, Alok Sharma said on Monday (1), after criticism from some prominent epidemiologists. "Of course scientific advice does differ, but I think the key point is what is the overall view from SAGE?" the business secretary told BBC…
THOUSANDS of people defied lockdown restrictions and gathered across London on Sunday (31) in solidarity with the "Black Lives Matter" protest against the police killing of an unarmed black man the US. Protesters held up signs saying "Justice for George Floyd", who died in a police custody while an officer…
SENIOR ADVISERS to Boris Johnson's government have warned it was too early to lift the lockdown, ahead of further relaxing of restrictions. As people revelled in soaring temperatures by flocking to beaches and parks, several members of the government's own Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) told ministers they risked…
SADIQ KHAN has asked retailers to stock supplies of “reusable, non-medical face coverings” for Londoners heading to public spaces as lockdown restrictions are being eased. The London mayor has been a vocal advocate of using face coverings in public places. Based on the government’s updated guidance, he had insisted that…
CARS will be banished from miles of streets in central London to encourage more walking and cycling and help public transport cope with social distancing restrictions, Sadiq Khan said on Friday (15). The London mayor said the plan covering major cross-town routes would transform parts of central London into one…
LONDON's transport operator, which has seen passenger numbers collapse due to coronavirus, has secured £1.6 billion in government funding for cover a shortfall in revenue until October. Sadiq Khan had given the government an ultimatum to release funds on Thursday (14), warning that Transport for London (TfL) would be be…
SADIQ KHAN has warned the government that Transport for London will be forced to cut services if it did not receive a bailout by the end of the day. “Being blunt, today is the last day,” the London mayor told LBC. “Unless the government gives us confirmation of the grant…
SADIQ KHAN is opposed to the idea of the Premier League resuming in the capital next month while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause hundreds of deaths in the UK each day, a spokesperson for the London mayor's office has said. The possibility of a restart next month was given…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan believes that if the UK prematurely lifts the COVID-19 lockdown it could lead to a worse second and third spike of the pandemic in the country. Speaking before prime minster Boris Johnson eased some of the lockdown restrictions on Sunday (10), Khan cautioned that “we need to learn…
BRITAIN is set to trial electric scooters as a possible solution to getting more people back to work without overburdening trains and buses as it eases its coronavirus lockdown. Like many other countries, Britain is keen to reopen for business, but wants to avoid people crowding back onto public transport…
SADIQ KHAN has called for ethnicity to be recorded on all death certificates to “fully expose” the disproportionate deaths due to Covid-19 and other illnesses among England’s black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. The lopsided impact on these communities has become increasingly clear with studies by organisations, such as…
SENIOR doctors have demanded “immediate” government action to tackle the disproportionate number of deaths among ethnic minority communities suffering from the Covid-19 virus. Although the government announced on April 16 that it would launch an inquiry into why people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds appear to be…
SADIQ KHAN has said he would “unilaterally” direct Londoners to cover their faces in public places if the government did not issue an advice to use masks. The London mayor’s warning came hours after Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday (27) urged people to wear face masks if they…
Health secretary Matt Hancock has thanked British Muslims for staying at home over Ramadan. All mosques in the UK will be closed for the month of Ramadan, which begins today, to ensure there is no congregational prayers and social distancing guidelines are maintained. Furthermore, key Muslim figures such as Mayor…
by LAUREN CODLING LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed the disproportionate number of ethnic minorities affected by coronavirus has “highlighted the structural inequalities in our society”. Speaking to Eastern Eye on Tuesday (21), the mayor said it was important to recognise that the Covid-19 virus was “affecting some communities disproportionately…
Leading Muslim figures have united in a video urging all Muslims to stay at home this Ramadan. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has already infected 129,044 people in the UK and claimed 17, 337 lives. Muslims have been urged to protect the NHS by adhering to the lockdown rules which have…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that the ethnicity of COVID-19 patients should be collected and published in real-time. There should be a commitment from the UK government to routinely collect and publish data on the demographics of everyone impacted by the coronavirus so that we can understand and act…
SADIQ KHAN has urged the government to make wearing face masks mandatory during travel in London. The city mayor has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that UK was "lagging behind the international community on this issue". Notably, on Wednesday (15), New York had made face covering compulsory in public…
With the newly opened Nightingale hospital now in full flow, NHS staff can rest-up after their gruelling shifts with free accommodation at the 5-star InterContinental hotel, thanks to the generosity of hotelier Surinder Arora. The InterContinental is located next to the 02 Arena and is easily accessible from the Nightingale…
Boris Johnson's "condition is improving" and he is able to sit up in bed and engage with clinical staff, Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday (8) as the prime minister remained in intensive care battling Covid-19. Earlier, reports had said Johnson was "clinically stable" and responding to treatment. "The latest from…
THE UK's death toll rose by 938 to 7,097, marking the biggest daily spike so far—higher than Italy’s deadliest day with 919 fatalities. England's toll went up by 828 to 6,483, the health service said on Wednesday (8). It added that 46 of the 828 patients, aged between 35 and…
LOCKDOWN measures set out by the British government are rules, not advice, and will be enforced, health minister Matt Hancock said on Tuesday (24). On Monday (23), in a rare TV address to the nation, prime minister Boris Johnson said Britons would only be allowed out to shop for basic…
The UK''s strict three-week lockdown announced by prime minister Boris Johnson to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus remains in question with the country's underground trains seen packed during the rush hour on Tuesday as people continue using the limited services in operation. Johnson on Monday enforced the strictest…
TERMING the situation a 'national emergency', Boris Johnson has enforced tight curbs on movement of people for at least three weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the UK as confirmed cases crossed 6.650, with 335 deaths. In a televised address to the nation on Monday (23) evening, he…
Prime minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday (22) the coronavirus outbreak was "accelerating", as fears grew that the crisis in Britain was following the same path as the one devastating Italy. Johnson said the health service could be "overwhelmed" as health department figures showed that 233 people died from COVID-19 in…
SADIQ KHAN has slammed Donald Trump’s “Chinese virus” terminology for Covid-19, and urged Londoners to not fall in any divisive “trap”. The London mayor on Thursday (19) said the US president’s nomenclature was “disgraceful”, adding that the Wuhan coronavirus was a “global virus”. “Covid-19 is Covid-19,” Khan told the London…
THE first mayoral poll of the year shows that Sadiq Khan is “on course” for a second term at City Hall. The London mayor notched up a two-to-one lead over Conservative challenger Shaun Bailey in a YouGov poll that surveyed 1,002 Londoners. Khan raked in 49 per cent votes, an…
by LAUREN CODLING A CANDIDATE in the race for Labour’s deputy leadership has admitted the party “lost trust with voters” following its crushing defeat in the December general election. Tooting MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan is up against fellow MPs Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler, Ian Murray and Angela Rayner in the…
DESCRIBING himself as a “proud feminist”, Sadiq Khan has backed calls for misogyny to be treated as a hate crime. “It's time for every Londoner to call out sexist and misogynistic attitudes wherever we encounter them—in the workplace, at school, on the streets or public transport,” said the mayor of…
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has led tributes to Ramniklal Solanki, a giant of Gujarati journalism and pioneer of British Asian media, who passed away on Sunday (1), after a brief illness. He was 88. Mr Solanki was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he suffered a stroke last week. He was admitted…
By Rithika Siddhartha WHEN he took to the stage at the Asian Business Awards in March 2018, it was the first and only time that Ramniklal Solanki was the recipient of an accolade at an AMG event – usually it would be him who had the honour of presenting awards…
RAMNIKLAL SOLANKI, a giant of Gujarati journalism and pioneer of British Asian media, passed away this morning , after a brief illness. He was 88. Mr Solanki was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he suffered a stroke last week. He was admitted to hospital and passed away peacefully on Sunday surrounded…
by LAUREN CODLING INDEPENDENT London mayoral candidate Rory Stewart has pledged to make the safety of Londoners a priority. Having spent time speaking to thousands of voters during his campaign trial, ahead of the election in May, Stewart has found a common concern from most is the level of safety…
SADIQ KHAN has backed Sir Keir Starmer’s campaign for Labour leadership. The Mayor of London said the frontrunner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn was the apt person to reinvigorate the party. In a tweet this morning, Khan said he knew Starmer “for decades”, and that the shadow Brexit…
LABOUR MEMBERS have selected Krupesh Hirani as the candidate in Brent and Harrow for the London elections in May. Hirani, an experienced local politician, will contest the seat after the sitting London assembly member Navin Shah announced he would be stepping down the role after 12 years. Currently overseeing Brent’s…
SCOTLAND YARD detectives have initiated a probe into the attempted murder of the London Central Mosque’s muezzin during afternoon prayers today (20). The alleged attacker was wrestled to the ground by worshippers, and later arrested by police officers. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “A 29-year-old man, who is…
Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for London mayorship, has said that London can host the Olympics in 2020. If the outbreak of the coronavirus forced the Games to be moved from Tokyo, London will be ready, he wrote on Twitter. “London can host the #Olympics in 2020. We have the…
SADIQ KHAN wants Londoners to have the choice of availing “associate citizenship” of the European Union. The Mayor, who had written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the idea, was in Brussels today (18) to discuss with European leaders on retaining London-EU links. Associate citizenship would allow Britons to retain…
A man was shot dead by armed Scotland Yard officers in south London on Sunday in a terror-related stabbing incident which injured at least two people. Emergency services, including paramedics and armed police, responded to the incident on Streatham High Road, from where social media images showed plain-clothed policemen pursuing…
British police were searching two homes on Monday (3) after shooting dead an extremist who knifed two people in London in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, as the government vowed a review of the system for the early release of convicted terrorists. Sudesh Amman, 20, who was…
by HARRIS BOKHARI OBE National board member, Prince’s Trust Mosaic Initiative Last month's general election not only saw the most diverse parliament ever elected but also gave the Government the mandate to reform the immigration system for the first time in decades. Despite this New Year’s honours list seeing another…
11:00 GMT, Friday (31). It was a moment of mixed reactions—of ardour and anxiety, of glee and gloom. The UK formally ended its 47-year-old association with the European Union after 1,317 days of uncertainty since the Brexit referendum. Amid all the reactions, Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ‘#LondonIsOpen’ campaign—launched initially in 2016—created…
THE surging crime wave against UK’s Asian people with disabilities and their households has unsettled the community. The recent annual meet of Asian People’s Disability Alliance (APDA) saw members perturbed over robbery of homes with elderly and disabled occupants. Members said many such households were in constant dread and distress.…
Scotland Yard on Friday (24)formally identified the three men killed in a stabbing incident in east London last week as Indian nationals who were living in the area. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Command said the men killed were 29-year-old Narinder Singh Lubhaya, 30-year-old Harinder Kumar and 37-year-old…
A 29-YEAR-OLD Asian-origin man has been charged by Scotland Yard in connection with the killing of three compatriots originally from India’s Punjab in a street fight in east London over the weekend. Gurjeet Singh was charged on Tuesday (21) evening with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place to appear before Redbridge…
A DRUNKEN row over unpaid work has ended in the murder of three Indian-origin builders in east London on Sunday (19). The deceased have been identified as Narinder Singh, 26, Harinder Kumar, 22, and Baljit Singh, 34. The Sikh men were stabbed to death and found covered in blood near Seven Kings…
India attracted tech investments worth £7.1 billion ($9.36 billion) last year, a 95 per cent increase compared with the previous year, according to the data compiled by a global database company. The data collated by Dealroom.co revealed this week show that the Indian investment figures coincided with record investment numbers…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (14) launched a new £800,000 fund alongside Google to fight violent extremism and hate crimes in the British capital. The Shared Endeavour Fund, funded equally by Google UK and the Mayor's City Hall office, will be run by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue for…
By Amit Roy SIR ANWAR PERVEZ, the founder and chairman of the Bestway Group, was described by the Sunday Telegraph last week as “the richest Pakistan-born Briton”. My father would confer on him his highest praise – “one of nature’s own gentlemen”. Anyway, it was good to read the Telegraph’s questions and…
IN A latest suspected hate crime incident, unknown miscreants painted anti-Islamic slogans on a building close to a mosque and cultural centre in the British capital. Metropolitan police rushed to a building near the North Brixton Islamic Cultural Centre on Brixton Road in south London on Wednesday (1), following reports…
By Amit Roy ALTHOUGH David Cameron has been pilloried for calling the EU referendum, leading to a disunited kingdom from which Scotland might break away, I still make him the man of the decade – politically, at least, and very much from the Indian point of view. The decade has…
by MEMBERS OF CAMPAIGN GROUP, ILFORD LIVES MATTER SADIQ KHAN’S new London Plan – the framework for local planning decisions throughout the capital’s boroughs for the next 10 years or longer – has not been widely publicised, and very few people know about how it affects the lives of Londoners.…
By Barnie Choudhury Former BBC journalist FOR the past 20 years, I have been resolute that I would return to karate. I gave up soon after our daughter was born, and the once-toned muscles of a former British champion went to mush. Perhaps writing it down, in black and…
A LONDON mayoral candidate wants the £400 million of unused Oyster card credit to go to the homeless this Christmas. Liberal Democrat Siobhan Benita has urged Londoners to donate dormant cards with small amounts to charities for rough sleepers. Calling on London mayor Sadiq Khan to release the money, Benita…
By Dr Omar Khan Director of Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading independent race equality think tank. From January this year it’s been clear that election was on the cards. Yet throughout this year, or during the election campaign itself, we’ve heard very little about ethnic minority voters. How do ethnic…
by BARNIE CHOUDHURY Former BBC journalist I HAVE been really lucky during my professional career. It is not just the variety of roles I have undertaken, but the people I have been blessed to meet and from whom I have learned. In 1997, I was reporting about the Black Police…
A Good Morning Britain weatherman on Wednesday (4) urged London mayor Sadiq Khan to be more vocal on the issue of knife crime. Alex Beresford revealed on the show that his cousin Nathaniel Armstrong was just 29-years-old when he was brutally killed in South West London in March this year.…
By Howard Robin BUOYED by the weak pound and a projected recovery in the capital’s high-end property sector, Indian investors are snapping up heavily discounted luxury homes in prime locations in central London. They are at the forefront of a new wave of interest from overseas investors in flats…
An accomplice of Usman Khan, the convicted terrorist shot dead on London Bridge during last Friday's terror attack, has been arrested after UK security services launched an urgent review of dangerous prisoners as the scene of the attack was opened to traffic and pedestrians amid heavy police presence on Monday…
THE man who stabbed and killed two people in the London Bridge terrorist attack on Friday (29) has been identified as a convicted terrorist who was jailed seven years ago over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp on land owned by his…
British police on Friday shot dead a man wearing a fake suicide vest who stabbed two people to death in London and wounded three more before being wrestled to the ground by bystanders, in what the authorities called a terrorist attack. The attacker went on the rampage just before 2…
UBER is waiting to find out whether its taxi licence in London, one of its most important markets, will be renewed, just three days before it is due to expire in the latest stage of a long-running battle with the city's transport regulator. Transport for London (TfL) rejected a renewal…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday (8) praised the contribution of Sikhs to the society at an event to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. He also praised Sikhs in the UK for entrepreneurial spirit and their service to the community. “All across the UK and the world…
A 20-year-old has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service after he sent death threats to politicians including New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and London mayor Sadiq Khan. Matthew Burns, of Dundalk Road, Newtownhamilton, has pleaded guilty to sending online threats, reported the BBC. Following the Christchurch attacks,…
Mayor Sadiq Khan joined worshippers at the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury today (28) to celebrate Diwali and the Hindu New Year. Khan tweeted: "Great to join hundreds of Londoners here at the beautiful Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury this morning, to join the #HinduNewYear celebrations. Sal Mubarak!" The Mayor…
MORE than 100 British Indian organisations on Sunday (27) condemned the anti-India demonstration by pro-Pakistani groups, and sent a van through the streets of London with a message to promote peace and social cohesion. Pro-Pakistani groups on Sunday held anti-India protests over Kashmir, and the demonstrations coincided it with Diwali…
by LAUREN CODLING DIWALI celebrations should be an opportunity for communities to unite, the mayor of London said during a special reception at City Hall on Thursday evening (24). Addressing guests, London mayor Sadiq Khan reiterated that the message behind Diwali was for good to overcome evil and light to…
by LAUREN CODLING AND RITHIKA SIDDHARTHA LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan urged demonstrators to act respectfully over the Diwali weekend, ahead of planned anti-India protests due to take place in the city over the weekend. Hindus, Sikhs and Jains all over the world will celebrate the annual festival of lights on…
Police have imposed conditions upon anti-India marches and rallies in London on the Kashmir issue on Diwali this Sunday (27). According to Met Police, an estimated 5,000-10,000 protesters plan to commence their march from Richmond Terrace near Downing Street and converge outside the Indian High Commission in London. DAC Matt…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (23) said "violence and intimidation anywhere is wholly unacceptable", as pro-Pakistani demonstrators plan to stage Kashmir protests outside the Indian High Commission in London on Diwali day. During the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in Parliament, Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman spoke of…
Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary of the treasury, made great strides in his career this year which was reflected in his rise to seventh in this year GG2 Power list. Speaking to the BBC, Sunak reveled his delight at making in on the coveted annual list that showcases the 101…
Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned plans to hold an anti-India march in London on the Kashmir issue on Diwali next Sunday (27), saying it would deepen divisions in the UK capital and called on the organisers and prospective participants to cancel the protest rally. According to Met Police an estimated…
by ZAKI COOPER and DR PETER CHADHA EARLIER this month [on October 2], we marked the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth. One of the interesting things about the Mahatma was the special connection he had with the Jewish community. He had a number of Jewish friends from the two…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has called on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for a second referendum before a general election. Khan has always been pro-remain and he told the Guardian that it was both “the wrong policy and also electorally bad” for Labour to go into a general election without making…
by NADEEM BADSHAH TWITTER has been urged by campaigners to do more to remove racist messages more quickly and report abusive trolls to police. Eastern Eye found a number of offensive tweets about Asians including “P*** bas***d” posted in May 2018 and “P*** PIGs will be PIG”. Other vile abuse…
CHANCELLOR Sajid Javid has been named the most influential Asian in Britain for the second consecutive year, as the annual edition of the GG2 Power List will be unveiled this evening. Britain’s first Asian chancellor of the exchequer tops the ranking, while Priti Patel, Javid’s successor in the Home Office and…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised after it was revealed that just six internet trolls were brought to justice by his £1.7million 'Twitter squad'. The Online Hate Crime Hub was launched more than two years ago and it is staffed by five Scotland Yard officers, including a senior detective.…
London mayor Sadiq Khan was on Monday (23) accused of supporting "Israeli Zionists" after speaking at an event for Jewish Labour members. According to Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland, who was with the mayor, Khan was berated by two middle-aged men after addressing the Jewish Labour Movement event. Describing the incident…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has once again targeted Donald Trump, calling the US president the "poster boy for the far-right around the world." At a fringe event at the Labour Party's annual conference in Brighton on Sunday (22), Khan was asked why he thought Trump tweets about his often. In…
London mayor Sadiq Khan has questioned Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's plan to stay neutral if there was a second referendum. Writing in the Guardian, Corbyn had said that he will stay neutral and let the people decide on Brexit. “A Labour government would secure a sensible deal based on the…
LONDON mayor's former policing adviser has joined the Liberal Democrats saying his children were not safe on the streets because of escalating knife crimes. Leroy Logan, who was an adviser to Sadiq Khan during his 2016 mayoral campaign and drafted his policing manifesto, also said Khan has been a disappointment…
AMID growing protests in Birmingham over LGBT education, the mayor of London has once again reiterated his backing for same-sex education in schools. Writing to headteachers, London mayor Sadiq Khan said young people should be able to learn about "healthy relationships of all kinds." In his letter, Khan wrote: "Our…
Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Sadiq Khan after the London mayor criticised the president for playing golf while a hurricane approached the US. Taking to Twitter, Trump termed Khan as "incompetent" and slammed him for increasing instances of knife crime in London. Trump wrote on Tuesday (3):…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has reignited his feud with US president Donald Trump by mocking him for playing golf as Hurricane Dorian moved close to the US. Khan made the comments after Trump pulled out of a trip to Poland for an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the invasion…
Europe is starting to resemble the situation on the eve of World War Two, with leaders using divisive language to win popularity and spreading hatred against minorities, London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned on Sunday (1). Khan, a Muslim of Pakistani heritage, was speaking at an event in Poland with other…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan intervened after a woman said she was levied a congestion charge penalty fine, despite providing evidence she suffered a miscarriage that day. Cairis Hickey, from south London, slammed the Transport on London (TfL) in a tweet on August 27, saying she was asked to pay the…
LABOUR has accused prime minister Boris Johnson of misleading the public after leaked correspondence between home secretary Priti Patel and London mayor Sadiq Khan showed that new police officers will be allocated "between territorial, regional and national policing functions." Johnson had promised to recruit 20,000 police officers in a bid…
Home secretary Priti Patel on Friday (23) demanded assurances from Sadiq Khan that he was "putting as much resource as you possibly can into the Metropolitan Police Service”. In a letter to Khan, Patel alluded that the London Mayor was spending money on public relations that could go towards fighting…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan's fund will had over £1.4 million to groups working towards tackling knife crimes, it was announced on Tuesday (20). About 40 projects will receive funding from London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which tackles knife crime and its causes. The fund will be used to support various…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has slammed the government's move to instantly end free movement of EU citizens in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In a letter to home secretary Priti Patel on Monday (19), Khan said he was “very concerned” about plans to end free movement on day one…
Lord Jitesh Gadhia and former Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General David Petraeus, have called on India and Pakistan to look beyond Kashmir to focus on internal challenges and resume their bilateral economic ties. Lord Gadhia and General Petraeus have written a joint column for The Daily…
THE UK's data protection watchdog is investigating King's Cross developers for scanning public with facial recognition cameras, it was reported on Thursday (15). The King's Cross estate includes officers, colleges, restaurants and shops and thousands of people pass through the area each day. The Information Commissioner feels scanning these people…
A DAY after it was revealed that UK's privacy regulator was looking into the use of controversial facial recognition technology by property companies, London mayor Sadiq Khan wrote to the owner of the King's Cross development requesting more information on how this technology was being used. Sadiq Khan, in his…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has urged prime minister Boris Johnson to recruit police officers "much quicker" to tackle the city's knife crime rise. Saying the capital's Metropolitan Police is "under-resourced and overstretched", Khan said the city needs more officers than the 20,000 pledged by Johnson over three years. Khan said:…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan's decision to introduce the congestion charges for minicab drivers does not discriminate against ethnic minority and female drivers, the High Court ruled today (24). The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) had said that removing minicabs' exemption from the £11.50 daily fee indirectly discriminates against…
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has reignited his war of words with Sadiq Khan, blaming the London mayor for the hacking of the Metropolitan Police's Twitter account. On Friday night (19), hackers broke into the Twitter account of London's Metropolitan Police and tweeted a series of strange messages. While some messages…
A NUMBER of British politicians have signed a letter of support for the four US congresswomen of colour who were targeted by president Donald Trump last week. In a letter co-ordinated by Labour MP Naz Shah, British MPs and peers condemned the "abhorrent racist and fascist chants" about the four…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has attributed a spike in youth violence to social exclusion and austerity. Deprivation, school exclusions and poverty, exacerbated by the Conservatives' austerity spending cuts have resulted in a 71 per cent increase in violence between 2012-13 and 2017-18, said Khan based on data from a range…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan's decision to introduce the Congestion Charge for minicabs does "serious harm" to ethnic minority drivers, the High Court heard on Wednesday (10). Khan's decision to remove minicabs' exemption from the £11.50 daily fee came into effect in April and the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday (7) paid tributes to the victims of the 7/7 bombings on the 14th anniversary of the attacks in London. Khan stood side-by-side with chiefs of the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and City of London Police and laid flowers at a 7/7 memorial. Fifty-two…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan is urging businesses to use their influence on Conservative Party members to highlight the consequences of taking a no-deal Brexit off the table. The two Tory leadership contenders -- Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt -- have said they were prepared to take UK out of the…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has been called "incompetent" for his failure to tackle knife crime in the city. Broadcaster Nick Ferrari on Monday (1) has called for Khan to be removed as the mayor of London following four violent deaths in the city over the weekend, including that of a…
by BARNIE CHOUDHURY Former BBC journalist LET’S make one thing absolutely crystal clear. I am proud to be British. No ifs, no buts. The UK is the place I call home, and I have withdrawal symptoms if I am away from this green and pleasant land for more than seven…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has taken an apparent dig at Boris Johnson by urging his Twitter followers to call the police if they think their neighbours are at risk of domestic violence. Last Friday, police were called to the house where Johnson is living with girlfriend Carrie Symonds after neighbours…
THE WAR of words between London mayor Sadiq Khan and US president Donald Trump shows no sign of ending. Khan on Saturday (22) fired his latest insult at Trump, calling him a "six-foot-three child in the White House." Trump had earlier called Khan a "stone cold loser" and mocked his…
US president Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on Saturday (15) on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, backing a right-wing British columnist who has been widely accused of Islamophobia and once called migrants "cockroaches." Trump attached his latest denunciation of the mayor to a retweet by Katie Hopkins about crime in…
COMEDIAN Jim Davidson have vowed never to visit London again and slammed mayor Sadiq Khan of having "f***** up" his home town. Taking to Twitter, the 65-year-old comedian wrote: "I am mever coming to London again. Khan. You have f***** my home town up." I am never coming to London…
HOME secretary Sajid Javid, one of the candidates to replace Theresa May as prime minister, said today (13) it was odd that he was blocked from attending a royal banquet with US president Donald Trump earlier this month. In his first comments on being excluded, Javid said he had written…
INDIA is the fourth-ranked destination for London technology firms looking to expand outside the UK over the past 10 years, behind Australia, Germany and the US, according to official data released on Monday (10). London & Partners, the mayor of London's inward investment agency, also found that London was the…
by BARNIE CHOUDHURY, Former BBC journalist BACK in 2002, I was investigating how the Metropolitan Police was dealing with a senior ethnic minority officer they had accused of corruption. In his corner was a relatively unknown human rights lawyer and Labour councillor. Unlike other south Asians who had a taste…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan was left speechless on Monday (10) after a woman who lives at a block of flats that was engulfed by fire on Sunday (9) blasted him for "not facing the residents" sooner. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation after 20 flats were destroyed by a…
By Harris Bokhari It was only last month that we finally had the first black women appointed to lead an Oxbridge college. It has taken over nine hundreds years for these elite institutions to elect Sonita Alleyne as the next master of Jesus College, Cambridge. This has taken far too…
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has publicly denounced everything Donald Trump stands for, saying the US president's views were at odds with London's and Great Britain's. In a video filmed for Elle UK, Khan said the UK considered diversity a strength and believed in gender equality. Khan said: "What we…
A GIANT inflatable blimp depicting Donald Trump as a pouting baby in a diaper will fly outside the British parliament in London on Tuesday (4) ahead of what is expected to be one of the city's largest protests against a foreign leader. The six-meter (20 foot) high blimp will fly…
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump mocked London mayor Sadiq Khan's height moments before jetting off to the UK for a state visit. Asked on Sunday (2) if he would be willing to meet Khan during his state visit, Trump, whose war of words with the London mayor shows no sign of…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump, on Sunday (2) branded the US president as one of the "fascists of the 20th century" and said Britain should not be rolling out a red carpet to a leader like him for a state visit to…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan said Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet next week for Donald Trump's state visit to the UK as he is "somebody whose views we disagree with." Trump will arrive in the UK on Monday for a three-day visit and the baby blimp that…
by NADEEM BADSHAH MORE than a million protesters and the return of the “baby blimp” are set to greet Donald Trump when he makes his controversial state visit to the UK in June. Campaigners have predicted one of the biggest ever demonstrations when the US president arrives on June 3…
London mayor has not been invited to the state banquet for Donald Trump when the president visits the UK in June. Sadiq Khan, who recently reopened his feud with Trump saying the president was "not in same class" as previous presidents, is not on the guest list for the white-tie…
POLICE have launched a manhunt after a "masked gunman" entered the Seven Kings Mosque last night (9). Brave worshippers forced the man out of the building and stopped him from getting back inside. A gunshot was heard after he was ushered out of the building. No injuries or damages were…
by ROSHAN DOUG AN OFFICIAL apology for the Amritsar massacre is something some Indians have been seeking from the British government since 1919. The most recent voices have come in the form of Indian writers Arundhati Roy and Shashi Tharoor, and also the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. On the centenary…
by HARRIS BOKHARI OBE National board member, Prince’s Trust Mosaic Initiative THE welcome race disparity audit published by the government two years ago showed that Britain’s ethnic minorities have come a long way in many areas of public life in recent times, though there is still much to be done…
by LAUREN CODLING JOURNALIST Sathnam Sanghera has revealed he was shocked to discover people “still defend” the man who commanded an army to kill hundreds of innocent people in Amritsar, as his new documentary on the massacre is broadcast this week. Sanghera’s Channel 4 documentary The Massacre that Shook the…
by LAUREN CODLING and NADEEM BADSHAH APOLOGISING for the Amritsar massacre would be a “reflection of the close relationship between the UK and India”, a British-Asian peer said, as Saturday (13) marks 100 years since the tragedy. Hundreds were killed in Jallianwala Bagh, a walled area in the Sikh holy…
by BARNIE CHOUDHURY LAST Thursday (28) I was in parliament on the eve of the meaningful vote two-and-a-half, or whatever it was called. It was for the ‘Parliamentary Review Gala’. What was that? Well, according to the invite it was “to celebrate, in person, the success and hard work of…
Prime minister Theresa May has refused to apologise for the "Islamophobic campaign" her party ran against Sadiq Khan in the last Mayoral election. Labour's Naz Shah asked May for an explanation about the "Islamophobic campaign" that included statements from May, who was then the home secretary, saying Khan was not fit…
by LAUREN CODLING MINICAB drivers have criticised new daily charges implemented by Transport for London (TfL), with some of them predicting that they will be unable to support themselves and will have to look for work elsewhere. The ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) charges are being introduced in London on Monday…
MORE than a dozen Conservative party members who were suspended from the party for posting Islamophobic or racist content online have been reinstated into the party. The Tories on March 18 suspended 25 members over Islamophobic comments made on social media. Some of them had described Saudis as "sand peasants"…
THE Labour party has formally adopted a definition of Islamophobia, arguing it was vital to tackle the rise of far-right racism. The definition reads: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” A spokesperson said the party national executive…
FOUR mosques in the central English city of Birmingham have been attacked overnight, with a man wielding a sledgehammer seen smashing windows at two places of worship, the police said on Thursday (21). Counter-terrorism officers are investigating attacks on the mosques in four different areas in the north of the…
by SARWAR ALAM “I WAKE up on a Friday morning with a different mindset to any other day of the week. It’s a day of peace and reflection spent in the worship of God. “The prophet Muhammad said, ‘the best day in the sight of God is Friday, the day…
AN imam endured Islamophobic abuse as he left an event to promote unity in the wake of the New Zealand attacks. Mohammed Mahmoud said he was at the receiving end of "reckless hate and Islamophobia" after attending the Acting in Solidarity event with home secretary Sajid Javid, London mayor Sadiq Khan…
POLICE in Britain were providing "reassurance patrols" around mosques following the deadly gun rampage in New Zealand earlier today (15). London mayor Sadiq Khan and Britain's top counter-terror officer said the police presence would be stepped up as people went to Friday prayers. "I want to reassure the Muslim…
PRIME MINISTER Theresa May’s Brexit deal has suffered a staggering defeat for the second time in parliament on Tuesday evening (12), as uncertainties rise ahead of the UK leaving the European Union later this month. Parliament voted against the deal by 391 votes to 242. According to reports, 75…
A UNION is considering legal action against London mayor Sadiq Khan after he proposed new rules that would require minicab and Uber drivers to pay the city's congestion charge. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) believes that the new rule discriminates against and breaches the human rights of ethnic…
by NADEEM BADSHAH A FORMER Metropolitan Police sergeant says evidence shows Britain’s biggest force is still “institutionally racist” and needs to improve its record on retaining ethnic minority staff. With the Met Police marking 20 years since the publication of the landmark Macpherson Inquiry into racism within its ranks, Gurpal…
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan launched an advisory group today (14) at City Hall to help realise his vision for a "truly inclusive London". The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group will be chaired by deputy mayor for social integration, social mobility and community engagement, Debbie Weekes-Bernard. Its diversity champions will…
CONSERVATIVE MP Priti Patel on Sunday (3) tweeted in support of a youth pressure group that has been accused of anti-Islam views. Patel wrote in support on Turning Point UK, an organisation headed by a Conservative donor named George Farmer who has in the past used Twitter to question Islam.…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has come under attack after it was revealed that the New Year’s Eve fireworks display celebrating EU nationals cost more than two million pounds. Khan has been accused of “obsessing over Brexit” and these comments came from Conservative London Assembly Member Susan Hall during Mayor’s Question…
by LAUREN CODLING BRITISH ASIAN peers and politicians have spoken of their concerns for the future of the United Kingdom and its economy as parliament defeated the prime minister’s Brexit deal by 230 votes on Tuesday evening (15). Theresa May had lost MPs’ votes on the deal by 432 votes…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised for turning London's New Year's Eve fireworks into a tribute to the European Union. Brexiteers have accused the Remainer mayor of shoving his political views in the faces of the 17.4 million voters who chose to leave EU in the 2016 Referendum. “It’s…
by Amit Roy WHEN the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Tate Britain came together to commission a group of young artists to paint the portraits of 20 iconic women “who have played a crucial role in London’s history but have been largely overlooked”, Jasmin Kaur Sehra’s choice of a…
by LAUREN CODLING POLITICIAL leaders have paid tribute to the Asian community on the occasion of Diwali. Prime minister Theresa May said she was “delighted” to send her best wishes to Hindus across the UK as communities joined to celebrate the festival. She said Diwali reminded people of the significance…
Solving knife crime in London will take a decade, Sadiq Khan admitted. The murder rate in London has risen to 118 this year, and the London Mayor said the involvement of primary children in knife crime meant his strategy to tackle it, modelled on Glasgow, was going to take “some time.”…
by Amit Roy AS THE nation marks the centenary of the end of the First World War, historian Dr Kusoom Vadgama has expressed concern that the Indian soldiers are being split up according to religion – Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. She has a point when she asserts: “They did not…
London Mayor, Sadiq Khan headed to Brussels on Friday (26) for meeting with senior European Union (EU) politicians including the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier with a message that British capital is still open for ideas, investment, talent, and others. In addition to Michel Barnier, today the mayor will…
BRITAIN'S home secretary, Sajid Javid, the first Asian to hold the prestigious post, won the top honour at the GG2 Leadership Awards in London last evening (24). Javid, who is of British-Pakistani heritage and was appointed home secretary in April, was presented the coveted GG2 Hammer Award for shattering through the…
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday (20) said there was "nothing more British" than allowing another vote on Britain's departure from the European Union. Demanding another Brexit vote, thousands of people marched in London and Khan said there was nothing more democratic than trusting the judgement of British people. Pushing…
Britons dreading life outside Europe will rally from all corners to London on Saturday (20) to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. The march on parliament is set to be a noisy and festive affair uniting tens of thousands in the seemingly hopeless task of convincing…
Under new plans unveiled by British prime minister Theresa May to increase ethnic minority representation in the workplace, employers may soon be asked to release their race pay gap statistics. May said minorities often “feel like they are hitting a brick wall” at work, and she has launched a consultation…
The candidate selected by the Conservative Party to contest against London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the 2020 mayoral elections has come under fire for the views he expressed 13 years ago about Hindus and Muslims. Shaun Bailey had written a pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies back in 2005…
Calls for a second referendum on Brexit are mounting as Britain approaches the last six months before leaving the EU, but the sands of time could be running out for diehard Remainers. London Mayor Sadiq Khan be-came the latest big name to call for a vote, joining former prime ministers…
By Amit Roy Sajid Javid paid an emotional tribute to “our parents and grandparents” at a dinner last Thursday (13) in London hosted jointly by the Conservative Friends of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to celebrate his appointment as Britain’s first Asian home secretary. Addressing the largely British Asian audience, Javid said: “You…
Britain should not offer preferential access to European Union workers over those from outside the bloc after Brexit, a government-commissioned report said on Tuesday (18). The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said decisions on who could work in Britain once it abolishes free movement with the EU should focus on…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday (16) called for a second Brexit referendum as he criticised the Conservative party-led UK government's increasingly "chaotic approach" to the negotiations with the 28-member European Union (EU). The Pakistani-origin Mayor said the fresh vote should offer voters the choice of staying in the EU…
A long summer of violent crimes has resulted in London Mayor Sadiq Khan's popularity plunging to its lowest yet. Khan’s ratings have slipped from +22 in May this year down to +4 on Monday (10), according to the YouGov study commissioned by Queen Mary University of London. “Sadiq Khan has…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday (5) ordered the removal of anti-Israel bus stop advertisements. The bus stop ads were put up by campaign group LDNPalestineAction and it has condemned the state of "Israel is a racist endeavour". “These offensive adverts are not authorised and are acts of vandalism which Transport…
The man behind the plan to fly a giant balloon of London Mayor Sadiq Khan in a bikini has been accused of previously sending a number of anti-semitic tweets. Yanny Bruere blames Khan for the rise in violence and crime in London and he is heading a campaign aimed at making…
A giant bikini-clad balloon of Sadiq Khan is set to fly over London in protest at the 'Trump Baby' blimp that the London Mayor allowed to be flown during US President Donald Trump's London visit last month. Organisers raised more than £50,000 for Khan's balloon, which will be flown on Saturday (1)…
BRITISH police on Wednesday (15) obtained more time to question a man arrested outside the Houses of Parliament for attempted murder and suspected terrorism after a car ploughed into cyclists before crashing into protective barriers. Three people were injured when the 29-year-old, named by media as Salih Khater, careered over…
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan today (16) called on the UK government to add India to the list of low-risk countries offered a more simplified student visa application process, asserting that it is vital the country maintains its reputation for higher education excellence. In a letter to UK home secretary…
A baby-shaped blimp meets a thin-skinned president: cue the renewal of a war of words between Donald Trump and London's first Muslim mayor, encompassing terrorism, crime and good manners. Mayor Sadiq Khan has "done a very bad job on terrorism", Trump declared, linking immigration to a deadly wave of knife crime in London,…
The feud between US president Donald Trump and London's first Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan refuses to die down. Trump kickstarted his four-day trip to Britain by taking a shot at Khan saying he has done a "very bad job on terrorism." Trump linked terrorism to immigration and said increased immigration…
by KEERTHI MOHAN AGA KHAN OPENS ACADEMIC CENTRE IN LONDON AS BRITAIN PAYS TRIBUTE TO ISMAILI LEADER ON HIS DIAMOND JUBILEE AS IMAM OF THE COMMUNITY ISMAILI spiritual leader the Aga Khan met British prime minister Theresa May, international development secretary Penny Mordaunt as well as Prince Charles, as the latter…
by Amit Roy FOCUS WILL BE ON KHAN’S RECORD AS LONDON MAYOR ALMOST without anyone noticing, Sadiq Khan has let it be known that he is to run again for the post of London mayor on May 7, 2020. He should keep in mind the option that if Labour leader…
by Amit Roy US PRESIDENT Donald Trump will be coming to Britain on July 12, but the state visit he was promised when prime minister Theresa May first met him at the White House in January last year has been downgraded to a “working” trip. This means that unlike, say,…
The UK welcomed the Imam (spiritual leader) of Ismaili Muslims, His Highness Prince Karim Agha Khan, for the opening of a new academic centre in London on Tuesday (27). His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales officially opened the new Aga Khan Centre in King’s Cross as part of the…
THE UK will on Tuesday (19) mark the first anniversary of a deadly terror attack against a north London mosque, with Prime Minister Theresa May vowing that "vile extremism" will not divide the nation. Mourners will hold a minute's silence at 9.30am to remember father-of-six Makram Ali, who died when…
LONDON MAYOR INSISTS TECH SECTOR WILL THRIVE POST BREXIT LONDON’S status as Europe’s leading hub for the tech sector will help it weather Brexit despite the best efforts of Paris, Berlin and others to compete, mayor Sadiq Khan said on Monday (11). Britain has for years been the top European…
by NADEEM BADSHAH VOLUNTEERS RECALL EXTENT OF TOWER TRAGEDY A YEAR ON A PhD scholar has told of the “harrowing experience” of helping to bury around 45 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire with a team of volunteers. Omar Salha is part of the Grenfell Muslim Response Unit (GMRU) set…
Britain held a national minute of silence on Sunday (3) after a remembrance ceremony in the heart of its capital, one year on from the London Bridge terror attack that killed eight people and injured dozens more. Flowers were laid, candles lit and a religious service held at Southwark Cathedral…
THE UK's largest Muslim group on Thursday (31) urged Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party to launch an independent inquiry into Islamophobia to make sure "racists and bigots have no place in the party". The Muslim Council of Britain said there are now "more than weekly incidents" of Islamophobia involving…
by HOWARD ROBIN FIRMS AND MOGULS CASH IN ON UK REAL ESTATE RETURNS COMPANIES and private individuals from the Indian subcontinent have been pouring money into prime UK property, targeting some of Britain’s most prestigious and historic tracts of real estate. The transactions range from luxury apartments in London and…
by NADEEM BADSHAH FOOTBALL GROUP’S FAR-RIGHT MESSAGES LEAD TO BAN AT PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES A GROUP of football fans with far-right links is sparking fear among British Asians who attend matches with their children, campaigners said. The Premier League has held meetings with police chiefs and warned clubs about the Football…
by NADEEM BADSHAH GRIEVING PARENTS ADDRESS CAUSES OF RISING CRIME A MUM who lost her daughter to gun crime has appealed to Asians parents to do more to protect their children and speak out against violence. Iffat Rizvi, whose daughter Sabina was shot dead after being caught up in a row…
A MAN stabbed to death in south London last Sunday (20) has been named by police. Arunesh Thangarajah, 28, was found with fatal stab wounds between Upper Green East and Montrose Gardens in Mitcham in the early hours of Sunday. Despite the efforts by paramedics and police, he later died…
Twenty of India's fastest-growing companies have been felicitated with the prestigious London mayor's awards for their innovation and high-growth promise. The Mayor's India Emerging 20 (IE20) business programme covers companies from regions across India and represent some of country's stand-out ventures specialising in technology, life sciences and business services. They…
THE mayor of London urged the British government on Monday (14) to waive more than £1,000 worth of citizenship applications fees to teenagers who do not have immigration status in the UK, despite living in the country for most of their lives. In what Sadiq Khan referred to as a…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is planning to ban advertisements of junk foods on the London Underground network in a bid to tackle childhood obesity. The proposal also extends to the capital's buses and bus shelters. Khan's proposal comes at a time when London is facing a children obesity challenge. London has one…
Technology, education and trade will be the key areas of cooperation that will be discussed between India and the UK when India prime minister Narendra Modi meets his British counterpart Theresa May next week. Modi is scheduled to visit the UK from April 17-20 for the Commonwealth Heads of the…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is yet to meet any of the bereaved families in the London killings, resulting in him being criticised for his slow response. Khan said he was "angered and heartbroken" by the spiraling number of deaths and added that criminals who use knives "will feel the full force of…
A builder was hacked to death by a gang armed with swords, knives and a hammer as part of a feud between two Sikh groups. Twenty eight-year-old Sukhjinder Singh, also known as Gurinder or Guri, was attacked by weapons 48 times by men travelling in two cars. Singh was ambushed…
A 48-year-old man has been killed in a knife attack in the city's Southall suburb, police said today, amidst a rise in street crimes in the British capital . Scotland Yard has identified the victim as Balbir Johal, a logistics planner and a resident of Slough, who was attacked on…
The UK government on Thursday (23) vowed to crackdown on recruiters of terrorism, saying all forms of terror need to be stamped out as Britain marked the first anniversary of an ISIS-inspired terror attack on Westminster Bridge, near Parliament. Last year on March 22, a 52-year-old UK-born Muslim convert Khalid…
Two people were sent to hospital after a package containing a suspicious liquid was sent to Labour MP Mohammad Yasin's office. Police were immediately called and staff members on the first floor of the Norman Shaw North building in Westminster were told to either stay shut in their offices or…
Sadiq Khan has had to deal with death threats and racial abuses since being elected as Mayor of London in 2016. As part of his speech at the South by Southwest Conference in Texas, the Labour politician said he has been called a "gay muzzie terrorist" and even threatened with…
The United Kingdom is losing out to its neighbour France in attracting Indian businesses and visitors, a leading UK-based think tank has said. France received 185,000 more Indian business visitors and tourists in 2016, reported the Royal Commonwealth Society, adding that the overall number of visits to the UK by…
A SENIOR Metropolitan Police officer of Indian origin has been promoted to be the UK’s counter-terrorism chief. Neil Basu, 49, currently a deputy assistant commissioner at the Met Police, will be the new assistant commissioner for specialist operations, according to a statement on Monday (5). He is the first officer…
by LAUREN CODLING A LABOUR MP has spoken of her delight as her Brent constituency won the “London Borough of Culture 2020” on Tuesday (27). Dawn Butler, who represents Brent Central and is the shadow minister for women and equalities, celebrated with other members of the local community as London…
THE UK reacted angrily on Monday (5) to a tweet from US President Donald Trump attacking its public healthcare system in the latest spat to strain US-UK ties, casting further doubt on his possible visit to London. "The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching…
U.S. President Donald Trump has ignited yet another row with Britons after his tweet criticising NHS as "going broke and not working". The comment attracted sharp rebuttal from many, including Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Trump used the march in support of NHS on…
A British man who was "obsessed" with Muslims was found guilty on Thursday (1) of murder and attempted murder after deliberately driving into a group of people outside a London mosque. Jurors found Darren Osborne, 48, from the Welsh capital Cardiff, guilty of murdering 51-year-old Makram Ali and trying to…
A man who drove a van into Muslim worshippers outside a mosque last June was motivated by deadly Islamist attacks in Britain and an obsession with a television account of Muslim men who targeted white girls, a London court heard on Monday (22). Darren Osborne, 48, also lambasted politicians, calling…
US President Donald Trump announced Friday (12) he will no longer attend the opening of the new US embassy in London, a move welcomed by critics in Britain who had planned mass protests. He wrote on Twitter that he was abandoning the trip -- initially scheduled for next month --…
by RITHIKA SIDDHARTHA BRITAIN’S Sikh MPs have supported London mayor Sadiq Khan, who last week called on the UK government to make a formal apology for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which nearly 400 Sikhs were shot dead by British Indian army soldiers. During a visit last Wednesday (6)…
The UK has sidestepped London mayor Sadiq Khan's call for an official apology on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, saying the government has "rightly condemned" the "deeply shameful act" in British history in the past. The UK foreign office statement comes after Khan during his visit to Amritsar yesterday said…
by LAUREN CODLING LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has proposed plans for revised student visas and announced a scheme to monitor pollution in Indian and British cities on his visit to India earlier this week. Khan landed in the country last weekend and will wrap up his six-day visit in Pakistan…
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan said the British government should apologise for a colonial-era massacre in India as he visited the site this morning (6). British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, north India, in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, leaving 1,000…
Continuing his criticism of the government's strict visa rules, London Mayor Sadiq Khan today (5) said his team are preparing a proposal for revising policies like "for post-study work visas". Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Khan said: "We are putting together a proposal to the government, to revise the…
Prime Minister Theresa May repeated Thursday (30) that US President Donald Trump was wrong to retweet anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right group, but stressed that the two nations "special relationship" would continue. May's initial condemnation prompted an extraordinary rebuke from the US leader, who told her on Twitter: "Don't focus…
A TOP banker, a blind judge and the first responders at the scene of the London and Manchester terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire are among winners of this year’s GG2 Leadership Awards in London today (26). Baroness Shriti Vadera, the chair of Santander Bank, won the top honour…
by Lauren Codling In a first, the London Eye was lit up to celebrate Diwali last Sunday evening (15), with all funds raised donated to the Grenfell Tower Appeal. Light Up London marked the first time the popular tourist attraction was illuminated to mark the festival of lights. The famous landmark…
ASIAN and ethnic minority households are more likely to be poor and in “persistent poverty”, a government racial audit has revealed. Women from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds are the least likely to be employed, although the proportion of women from the communities in employment has increased since 2004, according to…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced today that he would visit India and Pakistan this year to promote the British capital as a destination of choice for trade and cultural ties. Khan, whose grandparents were born in India and parents migrated from Pakistan to the UK, said he was "very excited"…
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump sparked fury in London and yet another pointed rebuke from Prime Minster Theresa May Friday after he claimed "loser terrorists" behind a botched London train attack were known to British police. Trump took to Twitter to condemn an attack on a packed London Underground train…
AT LEAST 22 people were injured after a bomb detonated on a packed London Underground train during this morning’s (15) rush hour in what police are treating as a "terrorist incident". Witnesses reported seeing a "wall of fire" and passengers with facial burns and hair coming off at Parsons…
The number of Indians visiting London is set to increase by a huge 90 per cent by 2025, according to official data released today. Last year, 270,000 visitors from India came to London and that figure is set to hit 520,000 in the next eight years. In terms of spend,…
THERE are few benefits of immigration for Britain if we have immigration without integration. Britain has a mixed record on integration: we have made much progress over the decades and it is widely understood that our future is as a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society, but we are also today a…
By Sarwar Alam POLITICIANS and people must get behind the Heathrow expansion plan or risk losing business to European cities after Brexit, the head of the Back Heathrow campaign has said. Parmjit Dhanda, a former Labour MP, said adding a new runway at Britain’s busiest airport will also create 77,000…
A Muslim woman's hijab was pulled off allegedly by a man in a vicious assault in London, amid a spike in hate crime incidents following a series of terror attacks by Islamists in the UK. Aniso Abdulkadir was waiting for a tube at Baker Street station on July 16 when…
LONDONERS must stand up to political and business leaders who exploit the fire at the Grenfell Tower to demand the demolition of high-rise housing for the city's poor, said architects, academics, and residents of the city's towers. Commentators, including former leader of the ruling Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith, have…