Briefsfromshittu

Saturday, August 20, 2016

London Underground's Night Tube Service Starts

London Underground has launched its Night Tube service.

As London Mayor Sadiq Khan boarded the first train, there were cheers down the carriage.

"It's fantastic news. It'll benefit our economy so much. Industry experts think it'll support thousands of jobs and bring millions into our economy," said Mr Khan.

The first night seemed to get going without a hitch. The trains were fairly quiet, and despite cleaners preparing for the worst, passengers were well-behaved.

Those on board the first Night Tube welcomed the new service.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (left) and travellers go down the escalators at Brixton Underground station

Sadiq Khan and other travellers descend into Brixton Station after 12.30am

"It's a great idea, London claims to be a 24-hour city, and this means it really is. You can have a night out and not worry about having to get the last tube," one passenger said.

Another added: "I work in the theatre. The hours are sometimes a bit strange and quite late, so this will really help me."

He's not the only one. There are thought to be over 700,000 night workers in London, from nurses and doctors, to security guards and bar staff.

Transport for London estimates 200,000 people will use the Night Tube every weekend once it's fully under way.

Trains are currently operating on the Central and Victoria lines on Friday and Saturday night.

By the end of the year, the service will also include the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines.

Bitter disputes with the unions mean the Night Tube is nearly a year late.

Business groups say it's long overdue.

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers represents many big bar chains.

Chief executive Kate Nicholls told Sky News: "It's hard in the current economic circumstances post-Brexit.

"And it's hard to estimate the benefits this will bring, not just to our customers, but also to our staff who can now safely get home."

An extra 100 police officers will be deployed on the underground to support the new service both on the trains and at stations.

It's costing millions to implement, but could easily pay off.

London First, a group representing businesses, estimates it could add £77m a year to the city's night-time economy by 2029.

Hate Cleric Anjem Choudary's Followers Still Posting Online Videos

Followers of hate preacher Anjem Choudary are still posting online videos promoting Islamic extremism.

Many clips, still available for the public to search for on Google and view on Youtube, include calls to arms "to fight the non-believers", the glorification of Islamic State atrocities, and demands for a world governed by Sharia law, The Times reported.

Following Choudary's conviction of terror offences, experts told Sky News they feared more people would be influenced by his social media presence.

Counter-terrorism expert Andrew Silke said: "There will be a spike in interest in what he said and material he's produced.

"It will get a lot of viewings. A lot of people will see it for the first time now and obviously the fear is some of those people will be influenced by what they read and what they see."

:: Terror Fears Over Impact Of Hate Cleric Conviction

British-born Choudary encouraged backing for IS in a series of talks posted on YouTube, and recognised a caliphate - a symbolic Islamic state - had been created under an IS leader after it was announced on 29 June, 2014, the Old Bailey heard.

Last month Choudary, 49, and co-defendant Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 33, were found guilty of inviting support for IS between 29 June 2014 and 6 March 2015.

Some of the videos still available online contain speeches from Siddhartha Dhar who travelled to Syria. In one he labelled Jewish people as corrupt and arrogant, while publicising Nazi propaganda.

:: Choudary's Conviction Ends Years Of Police Cat And Mouse

Until reporting of Choudary's conviction was allowed on Tuesday, it appeared that little action was taken by internet companies in relation to his activity, but his official account is no longer visible.

Choudary amassed 32,000 followers and his Old Bailey trial heard how UK authorities tried and failed to get his posts taken down in August last year and the following March.

Private Landlords Pocket £9.3bn In Housing Benefit

Record levels of taxpayers' money are being paid to private landlords, new figures show, with the bill for accommodating social tenants in the private rental sector having doubled in a decade.

New analysis by the National Housing Federation shows that the budget for placing social tenants in private rental accommodation has ballooned, doubling from £4.6bn in 2006, to £9.3bn last year.

The figures raise new concerns about government policy of shifting housing benefit recipients into the private sector, and whether the sector offers value for money.

Sky News visited an area of west London where private companies are converting small family homes into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) consisting of cramped bedsits for vulnerable people.

Figures show benefit payments to landlords increased by 99%

A tenant, who lives in one of six bedsits in a property which used to be a two bedroom house, said housing benefit was covering his rent of £983 per month, which was paid directly to the landlord.

"It does seem like a lot of housing benefit for such a small bedsit," said the tenant, who did not wish to be named, fearful that he might lose his home if he criticised the landlord.

One local resident said the developments provided low quality accommodation at an extortionate cost to the taxpayer.

"Councils are are looking to the private sector to solve their housing problems… but in my view it's very short-term," said Jon Knowles, who has formally complained to his local authority about the conversion of small homes into HMOs.

"These landlords are driving up rents and they are taking away valuable housing stock on streets where people might otherwise buy their first home if they could."

The landlords in question did not acknowledge repeated requests from Sky News for a response.

But local authorities are increasingly relying on the private rental sector because of legal changes that compel councils and housing associations to sell off council properties.

Critics say this creates an incentive for private companies to maximise profit by squeezing as many small units as possible into small houses.

"These houses are not appropriate for [social tenants] because they are far too small, they violate safe homes standards, they violate London homes standards," said Mr Knowles. "There is no sense of community being generated in these places."

Evidence shows that housing social tenants in privately rented accommodation costs more, amounting to an estimated £1,000 more per family per year than if they were placed in council or housing association homes.

But landlords say that the higher costs are justified.

"It's more expensive to house people in the private rental sector than the social rented sector, because social rented properties on the whole have been subsidised when they are built. Private rental properties are bought on the open market," said Richard Lambert from the National Landlord Association.

"Unlike housing associations private landlords have to charge the kind of price that covers their costs and that inevitably means that private renting is going to be more expensive than social renting."

The Government said that whilst the bill for private landlords accommodating social tenants had increased between 2006 and 2012, it has since gone down.

"The reality is we have taken action to bring the housing benefit bill under control," said a spokesperson from the Department for Communities and Local Government. "Since 2012 the amount going to private sector landlords has actually been falling."

Friday, August 19, 2016

Night Tube Begins Tonight On Central And Victoria Lines After Delay

London's long-awaited all-night Tube service starts on two lines on Friday night after a year-long delay.

The launch was delayed after transport bosses took months to negotiate new contracts with the unions.

The service will run on the Central and Victoria lines through the night on Fridays and Saturdays, from 12.30am to 5.30am, during which period there will be six trains an hour.

Around 100 British Transport Police (BTP) officers will be on patrol across the network.

It will be expanded to the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines in the autumn.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan in front of a new Night Tube logo at Oxford Circus

Plans for the service were first announced in November 2013 and it was expected to begin in time for the Rugby World Cup in September last year, under former London mayor Boris Johnson's watch.

Current London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has recorded welcome messages which will be played over the public address system at Oxford Circus, said his predecessor "gave up" on the project.

He said: "It's not me making a cheap point, but the previous mayor did announce the Night Tube start date on one occasion and that wasn't met, on a second occasion, that wasn't met, on a third occasion, that wasn't met, and then gave up.

"My point is TfL staff work incredibly hard. It can't be beyond the wit of a full-time mayor and TfL to make this work properly.

"When I see the enthusiasm from employers in London, investors to London, tourists in London, about the Night Tube, it's surprising it's taken us this long to get it."

Ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson announced several start dates that were not met

He said just two of the five lines were being opened initially because "we don't want a big bang (with) errors and mistakes".

He added: "There may well be teething problems when we first begin but the key thing is to learn from that and to improve upon that before we unveil the other lines later on this year."

London Underground (LU) estimates that 200,000 people will use the all-night service each weekend once it is up and running on all five lines.

Around half a million passengers currently use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays combined.

LU's new managing director, Mark Wild, who launched night services in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this year, said: "It's not just for revellers. It's for the night-time economy - people working in hospitality, shift workers, nurses.

"We expect a nice mix of people who enjoy the fantastic night life of the city, but it's also a lot about giving people mobility."

A recent study by London First, a business membership organisation, estimated the Night Tube could be worth £77m each year to the capital's economy by 2029.