The Shard’s festive lights return for 2019
London’s tallest landmark has been lit up in the lead up to the end of 2019.
Between 16:00 and 01:00 the next morning until 30 December, the top 20 floors of The Shard will be illuminated as part of three nine-minute sequences.
The designs have been created by the school children.
London Bridge attack victim Saskia Jones ‘was perfect soul’
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A woman who was stabbed to death in the London Bridge attack was a “fearless warrior” determined to do good, friends have said.
Saskia Jones, 23, from Stratford-upon-Avon, was killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan, 28, as she attended a prisoner rehabilitation event .
Her friend Sebastian Lefeuvre described the Cambridge University graduate’s death as senseless.
“She was just the most perfect soul and she’s gone,” he said.
Ms Jones and Jack Merritt, 25, who was also killed at the Cambridge University organised conference, are being remembered at a vigil and service in London.
Mr Lefeuvre, who had been friends with Ms Jones since they were teenagers, said he met her at a gym, adding she was as “relentless” with her workouts as she was in other areas of life.
“She had the drive and determination to become something,” he said.
“At 23 years old she had accomplished things that people hadn’t done in their lifetime.”
Sebastian Lefeuvre said Ms Jones saw the best in people
Ms Jones studied criminology at Anglia Ruskin University before doing a masters at Cambridge University, where she carried out voluntary work with inmates at HMP Grendon.
She was applying to become a police officer.
Colleen Moore, a criminology lecturer at Anglia Ruskin who became her friend, described her as a “lovely woman” who was “fearless and a warrior”.
“She stood out above everyone – partly because she wanted to, she wasn’t afraid to say anything,” she said.
“There was no fooling her. She was really funny, she had a wicked sense of humour, she was cheeky and she was mischievous.”
Colleen Moore said Ms Jones was passionate about criminology
Mr Lefeuvre said the death of his friend “doesn’t make sense”.
“I just feel really, really sad. Usman Khan got a second chance and Saskia didn’t and that’s it,” he said.
“She hadn’t even entered the real world yet. She was a young women ready to just get out there – and she’s dead.”
Jake Partridge, another friend from Stratford, said Ms Jones was quiet until you “got to know her”.
“She was loud then, she was vibrant,” he said.
“She’d have a joke with you and would put you in your place when you were wrong.”
He said he was “heartbroken”, adding: “It’s not fair, this world has changed.”
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Bloxham School
Bloxham School, which released this picture of Ms Jones as a pupil, said she would be remembered for her generosity and kindness
Bloxham School near Banbury, where Ms Jones had attended, said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by her death.
“Saskia was a much loved member of our community and will be remembered fondly for her generosity, kindness of spirit and commitment to serving others,” it said.
Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon held a minute’s silence and has opened a book of condolence.
Rev Patrick Taylor said some of Ms Jones’ friends had visited the church as well as strangers who felt that “something that often feels a long, long way away.. suddenly has an affect on a local community”.
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Flowers were left near the scene of the attack
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Joseph McCann trial: Woman ‘kidnapped outside shop’
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Joseph McCann denies 37 offences against 11 victims
A 71-year-old woman was punched in the face before being sexually assaulted in her car by a serial rapist, a court has heard.
Joseph McCann allegedly kidnapped the woman as she was about to drive out of a supermarket car park on 5 May.
She was then driven to an industrial estate car park where he raped her, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr McCann, 34, from Harrow, north-west London, denies 37 offences against 11 victims.
In a police interview played to a jury on Monday, the 71-year-old woman said she had finished shopping at Morrisons when Mr McCann allegedly approached her car.
“He got into the passenger seat. I shouted, ‘get out, get out’ and that is when he punched me in the face,” she told Greater Manchester Police.
“He said he wanted a lift. He said, ‘I don’t want to hurt you. I have got a knife. I have killed somebody’.”
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The woman said she initially drove on the M66, but said she was made to switch seats with McCann as he wanted to buy cigarettes.
After they stopped at a service station, the woman said she was driven to an industrial estate, where she said the defendant started drinking from a bottle of wine.
In the interview she said: “We got into this car park and he said, ‘we’ll have sex now whilst we are waiting’.”
The woman claimed she was made to partially undress and forced to perform a sex act on Mr McCann.
He later drove to a cash machine where he used her bank card to withdraw money.
A “little girl” then got into the back seat with Mr McCann, the court heard.
The woman said she was ordered to drive to Manchester, but said that because Mr McCann was “messing about” he was not looking where they were going.
She told police she drove in the wrong direction, and eventually pulled up to a service station to get fuel.
The woman then ran out of the car and the girl in the back seat also ran. She said Mr McCann grabbed the car keys and drove off.
The trial continues.
Eddie Jones wary England’s Saracens stars may focus on club relegation fight
England head coach Eddie Jones fears some Saracens players could skip the Six Nations campaign to help their club avoid relegation after a 35-point deduction for salary cap breaches.
The deduction leaves the Premiership champions bottom of the table. They have also been fined £5.36m.
Sarries supplied six of the team who started for England in the 32-12 defeat by South Africa in the World Cup final.
“It could have a significant impact,” Jones told BBC Sport.
“It’s something we need to weigh up and look at very carefully.”
Saracens have decided not to appeal against the punishments imposed upon them for infringements over the past three seasons so go from third place to bottom of the Premiership on -22 points, 26 behind second-bottom Leicester.
Jones selected six of their players for the final in Yokohama, led by captain Owen Farrell. The others were Mako and Billy Vunipola, hooker Jamie George, second row Maro Itoje and full-back Elliott Daly, who is yet to play for the club after his summer move from Wasps.
“Obviously there may be some dislocation between Saracens players and the rest of the clubs,” said Jones, who was Saracens’ director of rugby in 2008-09. “That’s a reality.
“So we may have to work to mend those relationships a bit harder, and there might be some Saracens players who feel like they’ve got to play for their club instead of their country, to make sure they don’t go down. So we’ll weigh all those up as they come about.”
Former Sarries and England scrum-half Kyran Bracken believed Jones was correct to be concerned.
“Country comes first traditionally, but the players will feel a sense of loyalty to the club having won so much with them,” the 47-year-old told the BBC News Channel.
“The thought of potentially leaving comrades in the lurch and leaving young guys to it… some will decide to concentrate on Saracens.”
‘I didn’t realise how strong the class structure was’
Ensuring any issues between Saracens players and the rest of the squad do not do any damage is the latest challenge Jones must face as England coach.
Earlier he told BBC Radio 5 Live that the biggest hurdle he faced when he first took the job in January 2016 was getting to grips with the cultural differences within the group.
“I didn’t realise the how strong the class structure was in England, and how that affects the relationships between the players,” the Australian said.
“When you look at the England team from the outside it looks like a very homogeneous group but in fact it’s very diverse and there probably hasn’t been enough understanding of the diversity of the group.
“We spent a lot of time in our World Cup prep making sure we understood the value of diversity.”
A report this year revealed that 37% of male British rugby union internationals came from fee-paying schools.
Jones, who hails from a working class suburb of Sydney, was asked whether the difference came down to the stereotypical rugby divide of “posh public schoolboys and state school kids”.
“Something like that, yeah,” he said.
“If you’ve got a group of people in here now and you’ve got five Japanese people, five Australians and five South Africans, they’ll tend to congregate together and that’s OK if they’re not playing as a team.
“But if those 15 are playing as a team then you want that to be completely mixed, and they’re the subtle things I was reasonably slow to pick up on.”
General election 2019: Greens supporting Labour in Chingford
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Iain Duncan Smith has been MP for the area since 1992, when the constituency was known as Chingford
The Green Party has stood down its candidate to help Labour try to unseat former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.
Mr Duncan Smith has been MP for Chingford and Woodford Green since 1997, and has a majority of 2,348.
The Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru formed an electoral pact earlier this month. Supporting Labour in Chingford does not form part of that pact, the Greens said.
The Conservatives have been contacted for comment.
In a statement the local Green Party said the decision for John Tyne not to contest the election was made with the “ultimate hope of favouring the campaign of the Labour candidate” Faiza Shaheen.
A Green Party spokesperson it “was a decision taken by the local party”.
However, they added: “If Labour were serious in their concern for the environment they should reconsider their isolationist position on arrangements.”
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Faiza Shaheen will contest the constituency for Labour
Ms Shaheen, head of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies, said she was “so grateful” for the decision.
She said: “I will continue to fight hard for climate policy and democratic reform.”
The Liberal Democrats have selected Dr Geoffrey Seeff as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency.
Mr Duncan Smith has been MP for the area since 1992, representing Chingford until 1997 when the boundaries were re-drawn to include Woodford Green.
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N’Golo Kante in Chelsea squad to face Ajax in Champions League
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is back in the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League Group H game with Ajax.
Kante, 28, has made just five starts in an injury-hit season, most recently suffering a groin problem.
“We’ve been able to get some work into him, he’s in the squad and he’s available,” said manager Frank Lampard.
Midfielder Ross Barkley (ankle) and defender Andreas Christensen (thigh) are also in training after injury lay-offs last month.
Victory at Stamford Bridge would see Chelsea go three points clear of Ajax in Group H and put them in a strong position to progress to the quarter-finals, with games against Valencia and Lille remaining.
“I said at the start that this group would be tight because all the teams could take points off each other. That has been proved to be correct,” said Lampard.
“After losing the opening game against Valencia, which was disappointing, we have shown a great reaction from that.
“I have to accept it’s expected of Chelsea to go through and that is no disrespect to any other teams. I have said already how hard the group is but it is more about our own expectations.
“That is maybe why we had that reaction. We wanted to prove ourselves, we wanted to go to Ajax and Lille and get results, and we did.
“But we won’t get carried away with ourselves in this group.”
Can Chelsea maintain 100% record against Dutch sides? – the stats
- Ajax have never lost an away Champions League match in England (W1 D3 L0), winning most recently away at Spurs in April 2019. Their last away European Cup defeat on English soil was in April 1980, a 2-0 semi-final defeat against Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest side.
- Chelsea have a 100%-win record in Champions League matches against Dutch opponents, beating Feyenoord twice in the 1999-2000 season and Ajax this season.
- Ajax have won their last five away Champions League matches – prior to this run, the Dutch side had won just four of their previous 38 away games in the competition (W4 D13 L21).
- Ajax manager Erik ten Hag has managed more away UEFA Champions League games without losing than any other manager (seven games), winning five and drawing two. Only two managers have lost none of their first eight away games in the competition – Louis van Gaal (first 14 games) and Pep Guardiola (first 11 games).
- Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi has scored one goal every 47 minutes for the Blues in the Champions League (3 goals in 141 minutes) – the best minutes per goal ratio of any Chelsea player in the competition.
- Dusan Tadic has been directly involved in eight of Ajax’s last 14 goals scored in the group stage of the Champions League (five goals, three assists), including six of their last seven away from home (three goals, three assists).
The last ever Argyle pink diamonds come to London
The last ever Argyle pink diamonds have arrived in London.
With the Argyle mine in Western Australia closing, the last 64 gemstones are said to be extremely rare.
Jewellers from across the world will be competing for them at an expected price of £100m.
The most famous pink diamond in the world belongs to the Queen.
The Williamson Pink was given to Her Majesty for her wedding in 1947 – the cut, 23.6-carat round stone was later set in a brooch.
Ambedkar House: India’s £3m property row with two London residents
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Ambedkar House
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Ambedkar House in 2015, during a visit to the UK
In a quiet corner of London, one of India’s most venerated “founding fathers” continues to leave his mark.
The city’s affluent Primrose Hill neighbourhood has been home to generations of celebrities, from model Kate Moss to actor Daniel Craig.
But hundreds of visitors – including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – have flocked from around the world to one particular townhouse.
“Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Crusader of Social Justice, lived here 1921-22,” proclaims a blue plaque outside the house.
Step through its doors, past a bust of Dr Ambedkar draped in garlands, and guests can see rooms reconstructed in his memory, with legal documents strewn across a dining room table. His glasses lie next to dog-eared books on the bedside table.
But there’s a problem: two neighbouring residents are opposed to the museum which, according to the local council, should not exist.
Next month, the fate of the museum will be decided at a council hearing. Its owners could be forced to convert it back into a residential property and close its doors to visitors, diluting the legacy of a man whose influence still reverberates in India to this day.
A view of Ambedkar House from outside the property in Primrose Hill, north-west London
Known as Ambedkar House, the building was bought by the government of Maharashtra, a state in western India, for more than £3m ($3.65m) in 2015.
Since its inauguration by Prime Minister Modi in 2015, it has operated as a free-to-visit attraction, dedicated to Dr Ambedkar, who is known as the architect of India’s constitution.
The home has attracted hundreds of guests, and three neighbours told the BBC that during this time, visitors have come and gone without any disturbance. One resident, who lived across the road, said they did not even know it existed.
But in January 2018, Ambedkar House was reported to Camden Council for a planning breach, and the council found that the building did not have permission to operate as a museum.
A large bust of Dr Ambedkar has been placed on a table inside the house
In February 2018, the property’s owners retrospectively applied for permission to use the building as a museum. But in October 2018, the council rejected the claim, arguing that it would amount to an “unacceptable loss” of residential space.
Two residents have also complained to the council, in north-west London, about alleged disturbances caused by “coach loads” of visitors making “noise day and night”.
The government of Maharashtra has appealed against the decision and a public inquiry is scheduled for 24 September.
Maharashtra’s government refused to comment on the case. But in a statement to the BBC, India’s High Commission – its embassy in the UK – said the property “holds a special significance for a huge section of Indians”. It said a planning application was submitted to Camden Council to convert the house into a memorial.
Dr Ambedkar, who studied at the London School of Economics, was India’s first law minister
Dr Ambedkar – a Maharashtra native who died in 1956 – was a legal scholar, a passionate civil rights activist and the man tasked with drafting the country’s constitution after its independence in 1947. He was also India’s first law minister.
He was born a Dalit – one of the so-called “untouchables” of India’s caste system – and became the most important and revered political leader for the community, which has faced social and economic discrimination for centuries.
He fought for women’s rights, an end to caste discrimination, and reserving jobs in government and schools for disadvantaged groups. He is widely regarded as one of India’s greatest political leaders.
Before his his political career, Dr Ambedkar briefly lived in Primrose Hill, from 1921-22, while studying for a doctorate degree in economics at the London School of Economics.
A UK charity encouraged the government of Maharashtra to buy the property in 2015
That’s why, at the suggestion of the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations (FABO), the government of Maharashtra bought the property in 2015.
When the house came up for sale, former UK civil servant Santosh Dass, who lives in Hounslow, west London, convinced the state to buy it.
She told the BBC that the property was in a dilapidated state at the time, and said the renovation work had given the home, and the community, a new lease of life.
In one room, photocopies of documents have been strewn across a table
“We’ve done the neighbourhood a favour,” said Ms Dass, president of the FABO.
She said that discussions had been held about getting permission to turn the house into a formal museum, but organisers “underestimated how much time the whole thing would take”.
“We really want it to be a proper memorial so people can come and visit,” said Ms Dass. “Some people see it as a pilgrimage.”
Dr Ambedkar (centre) with his second wife Mai Ambedkar and activist Rao Bahadur CK Bole (left) in Mumbai
About 50 people are estimated to visit Ambedkar House every week, including enthusiasts who travel from far away. Outside the building, one family told the BBC they had travelled from India to visit the home, which was top of their sightseeing agenda in London.
C Gautam, a FABO committee member, was sanguine about the future of the property as a museum because “eminent people support us”.
A letter in support of the museum has been written to the borough council by Lord Richard Harries, a former bishop of Oxford. Some neighbouring residents, however, do not share his enthusiasm.
A statue of Dr Ambedkar has been erected in the back garden of the property
One local resident, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC: “It’s supposed to be residential, not a museum.”
The resident claimed that Ambedkar House “went ahead with the renovations without permission”, adding that “crowds of people come here now”.
During Camden’s public consultation, one resident also complained that visitors “arrive in coach loads, taking photos and making noise”.
Bonnie Dobson, who lives on King Henry’s Road, told the BBC she considered the objections “puzzling and upsetting”. The 78-year-old Canadian folk singer said she had lived in Primrose Hill since 1969 and made a concerted effort to know her neighbours.
Residents have complained of disturbances on King Henry’s Road
“To the best of my knowledge, no-one has ever been disturbed by the fact that the house is now a little museum,” she said.
Ms Dobson said she liked the idea that tourists were coming to see Ambedkar House but disputed ever seeing “coach loads” of visitors. “If there were coaches coming up and down my road I’d know it,” she added.
Ultimately, it is the Planning Inspectorate – an independent agency working for the UK government – that will make a judgement on the planning appeal.
If Ambedkar House lost the appeal, its owners “would be required to return the property to its lawful use as residential”, a council spokeswoman told the BBC.
In a report on the planning application, the council said the conversion of the building into a museum was, in theory, permissible. However, it was the loss of residential space that breached policy and led to the rejection, the council said.
“In terms of balancing the loss of residential floor space against the cultural benefits, there is nothing to suggest that an alternative site could not be found,” the council said.
A quote from Dr Ambedkar, painted on the wall, reads: “Democracy is essentially an attitude of reverence towards our fellow men”
Mr Gautam insisted that most neighbours had been supportive of Ambedkar House.
“They tell us that some of their relatives remember when Ambedkar lived there 100 years ago,” he told the BBC. “So they seem really happy that a unique thing is happening here.”
Inside the building, a quote from Dr Ambedkar is printed on one of the walls. “Democracy is essentially an attitude of reverence towards our fellow men,” the quote reads.
The council’s reverence for Ambedkar House, it seems, remains an open question.
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