Sian Davies
BBC News Online

Updates for London have now ended for the day but we'll be back at 08:00 on Friday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.

Detectives in Islington borough have issued CCTV footage of two men , externalthey wish to trace after handbags worth £25,000 were stolen.

On Thursday 9 June police were called at about 11:50 to reports of a burglary at Handbag Clinic, Camden Passage, Islington.

CCTV caught the moment a motorcycle pillion passenger walked into the shop with his helmet on.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

When approached by staff, he pulled out a knife and a metal bar from the waistband of his trousers and brandished the bar in front them. The man then went into the rear of the shop and took the handbags.

The driver of the motorbike also walked into the store and took handbags from the display window.

A member of the public who came into the shop was assaulted as he tried to tackle the driver near the store entrance.

A teenager killed in Battersea has been named as, external 18-year-old Matthew Kitandwe.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service on Tuesday to an address on Wayford Street to reports of a man having been stabbed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Image source, Google

A post-mortem examination found that the cause of death was stab injuries.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody at a south London police station.

Fancy going down the world's longest tunnel slide?

The Orbit was originally built for the London 2012 Olympic Games but has now been turned into a huge slide - it takes riders around 40 seconds to reach the bottom, reaching speeds of up to 15mph as the slide loops its way around the sculpture 12 times.

BBC London Facebook

We've had loads of reaction on our story which says that 74% of LGBT people surveyed felt the need to hide their sexuality.

Image source, Getty Images

Jon Jones, external said: "Sadly I can relate very well," while Kathy Lloyd, external said: "These days, there really is no need to say what team you bat for, but on the other hand some people have to hide it too."

Detectives investigating the attempted rape of a 13-year old schoolgirl, external have released an e-fit image of the suspect in the hope that someone will identify him. A man placed his hand over the girl's mouth at about 08:20 BST on Wednesday 8 June in Highbury.

The suspect forced her into Coach House Lane where he assaulted her before a member of the public interrupted and confronted him, causing him to leave the scene.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

The suspect then took a bike from a teenage boy, rode it a short distance along Highbury Hill before abandoning the bike and making off on foot. Despite numerous inquires neither the suspect nor the teenager boy have been identified.The suspect is described as a white man, about 6ft and of muscular build. He had black and grey hair.

Westminster Tube station is now home to a waterfall as heavy rain continues to batter London.

This video was taken by Huffington Post executive editor Paul Waugh:

A man who carried out a string of sex attacks on women in south London has been jailed for eight years.

Algerian national Mehdi Midani, of no fixed address, attacked several women aged in their 20s and 30s in Clapham and Brixton between 22 and 31 October.

 The 28-year-old was found guilty of six assaults and admitted a seventh at Inner London Crown Court.

He was also found guilty on one count of common assault.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

There are severe delays on the Metropolitan Line due to a signal failure at Farringdon. 

There is no service on the Bakerloo Line northbound between Stonebridge Park and Harrow and Wealdstone due to a signal failure at Stonebridge Park. 

There are minor delays on the Victoria Line between Victoria and Brixton due to earlier faulty train at Seven Sisters.

There is no service on the London Overground between Surrey Quays and New Cross

Cannon Street and London Bridge have both reopened following earlier signalling problem, however Southeastern services remain disrupted with some services still diverting to Charing Cross, Blackfriars and Victoria.

Image source, Transport for London

Algerian national Mehdi Midani, 28, who carried out a 10-day campaign of sex attacks on lone women in south London, has been jailed for eight years at Inner London Crown Court.

Commuters in London have been urged to consider leaving work early as disruption to the rail network continues following torrential rain and thunderstorms.

The Environment Agency warned that continued heavy rain could lead to further flooding across England and the South East this evening, affecting homes and businesses and causing delays and cancellations on rail, roads and the Tube.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train operating companies and Network Rail, advised passengers travelling through affected areas that "services will be severely disrupted this evening". 

He went on: "Passengers should check before they travel and consider travelling earlier if they can in order to get home."

An elderly woman who died following a collision with a motorcycle in Croydon has been named as Shirley Clayton, 81., external

Police were called on Sunday 5 June to St James's Road, near the junction with Tavistock Road, following a report of a crash involving a pedestrian and motorcycle.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

Mrs Clayton was taken to a south London hospital where she died on Wednesday 15 June.

The rider of the motorcycle stopped at the scene and is assisting police with their inquiries. There have been no arrests at this time but police continue to investigate.

BBC London Travel
BBC Radio London Travel

In Barking there are severe delays and Movers Lane Underpass is closed due to flooding. There is congestion on the A13 eastbound to Prince Regent Lane and westbound queues from Wennington Interchange.

In the City, Upper Thames Street eastbound is partially blocked due to a broken down lorry between Blackfriars Underpass and Southwark Bridge

Victoria Embankment is partially blocked and has slow traffic due to flooding at Temple Place (Temple Station).

In Hounslow, London Road is closed in both directions and there is very slow traffic due to and accident at St John's Road. On the M25 anticlockwise, one lane is blocked and there is very slow traffic due to an accident between J26 A121 (Waltham Abbey) and J25 A10 (Enfield). 

For the latest travel updates visit the BBC London travel page or follow @BBCTravelAlert, external

BBC London Travel
BBC Radio London Travel

There are minor delays on the Bakerloo and Circle lines, and severe delays on the Metropolitan line. 

There is currently no service between Baker Street and Aldgate due to a signal failure at Farringdon.

Canning Town Station is exit only on the DLR due to flooding.

Balham underground station is now open.

On the London Overground there is no service on between Surrey Quays and New Cross/Clapham Junction.

There is no service from Highbury & Islington to Dalston Junction, Surrey Quays to New Cross.

There are minor delays from Surrey Quays to Crystal Palace and West Croydon.

For the latest travel updates visit the BBC London travel page or follow @BBCTravelAlert, external

BBC Travel

Cannon Street station is closed due to a signalling problem. It is expected to remain closed until 17:00 - Southeastern services are severely disrupted, and trains will be diverted to Charing Cross, Blackfriars and Victoria

Due to heavy rain flooding the railway at Manor Park, train services between Liverpool Street, Shenfield, Southend Victoria, Southminster, Braintree, Colchester, Manningtree, Ipswich and Norwich are being disrupted. Short notice alterations, delays and cancellations can be expected. There is no service on South West Trains between London Waterloo and Guildford, Woking, Hampton Court and Chessington South due to flooding and signalling problems. There is no service between London Waterloo, Woking and Guildford via Esher. There is no service on Southern between Victoria and Sutton, Epsom and Caterham, and also a limited service to Brighton.

Wandsworth Common and Battersea Park stations will not be served for the remainder of the day.

With two of the four lines open there is an extremely limited Southern and Gatwick Express service to and from London Victoria. Gatwick Express services are running and will stop additionally at Clapham Junction and East Croydon.

Services between Clapham Junction and Milton Keynes are suspended for the rest of the day.

For the latest travel updates visit the BBC London travel page or follow @BBCTravelAlert, external

Islamic State-inspired Nadir Syed, 23, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for life with a minimum of 15 years for plotting to carry out a Lee Rigby-style beheading around Remembrance Sunday.

Syed had targeted a poppy seller before his arrest shortly before Armistice Day in November 2014.

Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court last year, Syed, from Hounslow, west London, was found guilty of planning a terrorist attack. 

Sentencing him at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Saunders said: "I am satisfied like the killers of Fusilier Rigby, Nadir Syed followed the precept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 

"In my judgment if he was released from prison he would go and try to carry out what he failed to achieve in this case - he would set out to kill in furtherance of his beliefs." 

Image source, CPS

Evening Standard

A review of the £10 billion redevelopment, external of “the Canary Wharf of the West” has been ordered amid concerns that it could fall short on delivering affordable housing for the capital. 

Power supplies are being affected across London following the flooding.

A UK Power Networks spokesman said: "Torrential rainfall has caused flooding across various parts of London, submerging some electrical equipment and the floods are impacting our engineers’ ability to travel to sites.

Image source, UK Power Networks

"We apologise to customers affected and are doing all we can to restore power as soon as possible today, and keep people updated about progress."

For the latest updates visit UK Power Networks' website., external