Summary

  • Updates for 26 May 2015

  • More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Wednesday

  1. Good eveningpublished at 17:59 BST 26 May 2015

    That's all from BBC Local Live for today.

    You've been tweeting us and commenting on Facebook all day about a Conservative Party report which suggests Transport for London lost £22.3m in fares after giving free travel to people who live with its staff members. Get involved in the discussion on Facebook, external and Twitter., external And, licensed taxi drivers have been protesting in Victoria over illegal minicabs.

    Beth Rose will back tomorrow from 08:00 with more news, sport, travel and weather updates from across London.

  2. Travelling with fleaspublished at 17:57 BST 26 May 2015

    BBC London News

    Would you sit on a train like this?

    Abellio Greater Anglia

    Well, a rail operator has said £30m will be spent on cleaning its trains after claims of "flea infested" seats and filthy travelling conditions. Find out more on BBC London News at 18:30.

  3. Dry night with light windspublished at 17:52 BST 26 May 2015

    BBC Weather

    It will be a dry night with clear spells at times, however winds will remain light so it will feel chilly in rural locations.

    Minimum temperature: 8C (46F)

  4. Thameslink programme bank holiday workspublished at 17:49 BST 26 May 2015

    Network Rail, external has said it "appreciates passengers' patience" following the three-day closure of Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Waterloo East and part of London Bridge as part of engineering works for the £6.5bn Government-sponsored Thameslink Programme.

    Signal engineers at workImage source, Network Rail

    A spokesman said: "Regular commuters will see that the former platforms 5 and 6 have been demolished, leaving room for the station construction team to move in and crack on, and the track has been dug up and repositioned, giving Charing Cross trains a different path through the station."

  5. Toddler 'crushed between cars'published at 17:43 BST 26 May 2015

    A three-year-old London boy is fighting for his life after being crushed between two cars while on a family holiday. The toddler was seriously injured when one of the cars rolled and trapped him between the vehicles in a private car park in Cornwall on Friday.

    Devon and Cornwall Police, external said: "At around 18:00 police received a report from ambulance crew that they were treating the boy on the outskirts of Bodmin. The child is thought to have been crushed between two parked cars, one of which rolled, in a private car park in the Glynn area of Bodmin."

  6. Squatters win first legal hurdlepublished at 17:39 BST 26 May 2015

    Homeless people squatting in an empty historic building in Mayfair have won the first round of a legal battle with a landlord.

    16 Grosvenor StreetImage source, Google

    A judge today agreed to adjourn a hearing at the High Court, external giving the group occupying offices at 16 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, time to take legal advice. Property firm Quintain, external, which owns the lease to the building, had asked Mr Justice Henderson to grant them possession and order the squatters to leave.

  7. Would-be martyr jailedpublished at 17:34 BST 26 May 2015

    A young Muslim accused of trying to join Islamic State in Syria to fulfil his ambition of becoming a martyr has been found guilty.

    The Old Bailey, external heard Zakariya Ashiq, 20, left the UK in November on a bus from Victoria Bus Station and made his way via Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Bulgaria to Jordan. However, he failed to cross the border to reach his intended destination of Syria and flew back to Heathrow, where he was arrested.

  8. Royal Parks gardeners down toolspublished at 17:29 BST 26 May 2015

    Gardeners in central London Royal Parks have been on strike over changes to their pay system.

    GMB union members protesting outside Downing StreetImage source, EPA

    GMB members, external employed by OCS to maintain Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James's Park, The Green Park, Grosvenor Square, Downing Street and Brompton Cemetery in London downed their tools today.

  9. Latest travel newspublished at 17:22 BST 26 May 2015

    The A211 Main Road in Sidcup is closed and there is slow traffic in both directions around the Northcote Road junction, because of an accident.

    TfL Traffic News also tweets, external: A105 Green Lanes near Turnpike Lane Tube Station, southbound - the carriageway remains flooded.

    A105 Green LanesImage source, Transport for London

    For the latest travel news follow @BBCTravelNews, external of visit the BBC travel news website.

  10. Latest updatespublished at 17:18 BST 26 May 2015

    Elaine Okyere
    BBC London News

    Our top stories on BBC London Live:

    • A former City trader is accused of acting in a "thoroughly dishonest and manipulative manner" in his alleged attempts to rig the Libor rates, a court hears

    • A teenager who had been missing for more than a week is found after walking into a police station

    • Streets around Victoria have been jammed by a taxi drivers' protesting over the illegal activity of some minicabs and taxis. Listen to Sir Peter Hendy from TfL on BBC London 94.9 from 18:00.

  11. Five arrested after Croydon post office robberypublished at 17:09 BST 26 May 2015

    Five men have been arrested and cash and a firearm have been found after a robbery at a post office in south London, the Met Police, external has said.

    Post Office on High Street, CroydonImage source, Google

    Flying Squad officers were called at 09:00 after a robbery at the Post Office on High Street, Croydon. Two people from the post office were taken hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

    A member of public, a man in his 60s, was also treated nearby for minor injuries by paramedics after an unmarked police car rolled back into a nearby market stall during the operation.

  12. Missing pair foundpublished at 16:58 BST 26 May 2015

    A teenager who had been missing for more than a week has been found after walking into a south-east London police station.

    The 16-year-old climbed out of a window at a property in Sidcup, Bexley, on 16 May. Police started hunting for her after it was believed she was in the company of a 51-year-old man.

  13. London Tree Weekpublished at 16:49 BST 26 May 2015

    Mayor of London Boris Johnson has marked London Tree Week by planting the final tree in the new Mandeville Place Orchard in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, external.

    Boris Johnson and Paralympic swimmer Jessica-Jane ApplegateImage source, PA

    Every year there are millions of visitors to 11,000 acres of green space run by the City of London Corporation, Claire Timms explored how the corporation hoped the week would draw attention to some of the challenges it faces.

  14. TfL Commissioner on airpublished at 16:40 BST 26 May 2015

    BBC London 94.9

    As London streets are jammed by a taxi drivers' protest over illegal minicabs and taxis, the Commissioner of Transport for London Sir Peter Hendy will be joining BBC London 94.9's Eddie Nestor on Drivetime this evening at 18:00.

    Taxi protest in VictoriaImage source, AFP
  15. Met in asbestos probe at former training sitespublished at 16:31 BST 26 May 2015

    Up to 30,000 police officers may have come into contact with toxic asbestos, the Met Police, external has confirmed. Buildings which housed firearms training between 1980 and 2007 are being examined.

    Asbestos was frequently used as a building material until 2000, when it was discovered the fibres released by it could cause serious and potentially-fatal health problems.

    Ch Supt Mike Gallagher said: "Due to the time period in question and number of possible sites, we need to make contact with a large number of officers. This will include those who have left, retired, or transferred, so clearly this is a process which will take some time."

  16. 50 years of LASpublished at 16:25 BST 26 May 2015

    London Ambulance tweets, external: Motorcycle Paramedic Richard is our face of this week to mark 50 years of the London Ambulance Service #LAS50

    Paramedic RichardImage source, London Ambulance Service
  17. Newsnight interviews Chuka Umunnapublished at 16:20 BST 26 May 2015

    Allegra Stratton
    Political editor, Newsnight

    tweets, external: Catch Newsnight tonight for first interview with @ChukaUmunna on why he is backing @leicesterliz for leader, + whether he'll ever run again

  18. 'No justification' for taxi demopublished at 16:09 BST 26 May 2015

    In response to cab drivers' claims Transport for London, external is failing to tackle illegal touts, TfL has launched a campaign to crackdown on illegal activity by minicab and taxis.

    TfL said in its first five evenings of 'Operation Neon' a total of 331 private hire drivers have been reported for failing to comply with regulations, including:

    • Eight drivers reported for plying for hire offences,

    • 30 drivers for parking on taxi ranks,

    • 73 tickets issued for parking offences,

    • About 600 vehicles were moved on from outside clubs and late night venues.

    Taxi demonstration in Victoria street

    TfL's Garrett Emmerson said: "There is absolutely no justification for this protest because we are already doing the very things they are calling for. Just like the previous protest on Oxford Street, it will achieve nothing other than to disrupt life and business in London."

  19. TfL 'failing to tackle' toutingpublished at 15:50 BST 26 May 2015

    Speaking to BBC London 94.9, Len Martin, chairman of the United Cabbies Group which is leading the taxi demonstration outside Transport for London's headquarters in Victoria, explained illegal touting was affecting all taxi and cab drivers.

    He said: "If anybody goes out in the West End at night in London they can see the streets are full of touts. For the public safety touting is by far the biggest problem and it affects the black cabs ability to earn a living, it affects the legitimate private hire trade as well.

    "The legitimate trade which obey the law and behave within the regulations are being severely undermined by the sheer amount of touting activity that's not being tackled by TfL."

  20. Trader accused over Libor 'was greedy'published at 15:39 BST 26 May 2015

    Mukul Chawla QC, acting for the prosecution at the first criminal trial linked to the manipulation of a key interest rate, known as Libor, said: "This case is about the dishonest rigging of bank rates for profit.

    Jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard that Tom Hayes told investigators: "The point is, you are greedy, you want every little bit of money you can possibly get... that's how you are judged, that's your performance metric."

    Mr Hayes denies lying about the rates his bank was borrowing money at, thus affecting the calculation of the Libor rate.