Evening Standard - News

Redknapp cleared of dodging tax

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:50:02 GMT

Harry Redknapp has welcomed the final whistle on his bung slur "nightmare" after his acquittal on tax fraud charges cleared the way for him to land football's top job.

Falkland military claims rejected

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:07:25 GMT

Downing Street has rejected Argentine claims that Britain is creating a risk to international security by "militarising" the long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands.

Qatada: Minister to visit Jordan

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:38:52 GMT

A Home Office minister is to fly to Jordan to try to gain assurances that would enable radical cleric Abu Qatada to stand trial in the country.

PM denies NHS Bill 'disaster' claim

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:06:42 GMT

David Cameron has mounted a passionate defence of the coalition's controversial health reforms despite the legislation being branded a "disaster".

Bank set to add �50bn economy boost

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:08:38 GMT

The Bank of England is expected to unleash another multi-billion round of emergency support for the UK economy on Thursday despite signs that the UK's financial health may be starting to improve.

Hague discusses Syria with Russia

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:22:02 GMT

Foreign Secretary William Hague has spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov amid continuing anger at Moscow's decision to block a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria.

Met in gang crime crackdown boost

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:51:49 GMT

Scotland Yard is to nearly double its resources for fighting gang crime in a renewed crackdown on the problem.

Gazza's phone-hacking 'distress'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:09:01 GMT

Ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne suffered "mental harm and distress" after his phone messages were hacked by the News of the World, the High Court has been told.

Hacker 'in terror' over extradition

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:29:55 GMT

Computer hacker Gary McKinnon is "unable to control the terror that consumes his every waking moment" as he fights extradition to the US, his mother said.

Pay to freeze for MPs in 2012/13

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:03:39 GMT

MPs' pay is to be frozen at £65,738 for 2012/13, it has been announced.

Harry Redknapp: 'My case should never have been brought'

Rashid Razaq — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:43:07 GMT

Harry Redknapp was close to tears as he thanked the jury who cleared him and his family and fans who backed him after he was found not guilty of tax evasions were announced

Met police task force declares war on London gang crime

Justin Davenport and Benedict Moore-Bridger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:17 GMT

A new 1,000-strong police task force today declared war on London's street gangs and raided 150 homes across the city

Falklands 'are British out of choice'

Craig Woodhouse, Political Reporter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:00:34 GMT

Britain has "nothing to fear" from an Argentinian complaint to the United Nations over claims of militarisation around the Falkland Islands, senior government sources say

Tributes paid after 'brilliant' cycle courier dies in crash with coach

Ross Lydall — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:11:13 GMT

A cyclist killed in a collision with an airport coach has been named as one of the most experienced bike couriers in London

It's four times more for Moore as sculpture fetches �19.1m

Louise Jury and Godfrey Barker — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:01:54 GMT

A sculpture by Henry Moore smashed all records to make �19.1 million - quadruple the artist's previous top price - last night in an auction that fetched a total of �135 million

Man, 70, hit and killed by stolen car in high-speed police chase

Rob Parsons — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:32:57 GMT

An elderly man was killed by a stolen car that ploughed into him outside his home after a high-speed chase by police in west London

Tory party riddled with gays, says Ken

Nicholas Cecil and Joe Murphy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:59:30 GMT

Ken Livingstone sparked outrage today as he said the Tory Party was "riddled" with gay and lesbian people, called the head of the BBC an "imbecile" and claimed Margaret Thatcher was "clinically insane" when she was prime minister

Medical chiefs back reforms as health Bill goes to Lords

Nicholas Cecil, Deputy Political Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:01:32 GMT

Leading London medical directors today said hospitals should be allowed to carry out more private work as Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms faced a mauling in the Lords

Murdoch pays millions more to the victims of paper's phone hacking

Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:21:49 GMT

Rupert Murdoch faces paying out millions more to victims of phone-hacking after dramatic new settlements were announced in the High Court

'Furious' Cameron telephones King of Jordan in fight to get Qatada deported

Craig Woodhouse, Political Reporter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:06:07 GMT

David Cameron was today urged to take charge of deporting a radical Muslim cleric who is to be released from prison to return to his Acton home within days

Portrait of the Duchess: Kate agrees to sit for first official painting

Simon Freeman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:41:20 GMT

When the Duchess of Cambridge enjoys a private preview tonight of the hotly anticipated Lucian Freud exhibition, one famous face will be notably absent from the many adorning the National Portrait Gallery walls - her own

Milly Dowler's killer Levi Bellfield loses appeal bid

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:14:11 GMT

Serial killer Levi Bellfield today lost a Court of Appeal bid to challenge his conviction for the kidnap and murder of teenager Milly Dowler

I almost quit over bonus, says 'depressed' Hester

Joe Murphy, Political Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:05:20 GMT

Bank boss Stephen Hester today revealed he almost resigned during the "deeply depressing" uproar over his �1 million bonus

Mother of 5-year-old paralysed in Stockwell shooting tells court of horror scene in shop

Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:55:29 GMT

The mother of a five-year-old girl who was gunned down as she played in her uncle's shop has described the horror of the shooting

Boris denies Routemasters with no clippies will aid fare dodgers

Dick Murray, Transport Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:45:34 GMT

When Routemasters return to the streets of London this month they will be missing one traditional feature - old-style clippies with ticket machines

Wing crack checks on all superjumbos

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:24:01 GMT

The world's entire fleet of A380 superjumbos are to be checked for wing cracks

GPs, MPs and peers gang up on Lansley over NHS reform 'chaos'

Nicholas Cecil, Deputy Political Editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:43:03 GMT

Andrew Lansley came under more fire today as the crisis deepened over the Government's NHS reforms

Flagship free school deluged as nine pupils apply for every place

Jack Rivlin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:36:08 GMT

A flagship free school in Hammersmith has been swamped with applications only five months after it opened, with nine children vying for every place

Shock for Romney as Right backs his rival

David Gardner and Paul Thompson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:02:33 GMT

White House hopeful Rick Santorum became the darling of the Republican Right wing with a hat-trick of victories

'Noble' plastic surgery is honoured at Oscars

Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:06:48 GMT

The work of plastic surgeons is usually represented at the Academy Awards by the absence of wrinkles

Virgin Trains staff to receive Olympic pay bonus

Dick Murray, Transport Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:49:39 GMT

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains is to pay staff a �500 Olympic bonus in the latest deal forced through by union barons for working during the Games

'End the capital's east-west divide in pupils applying to Oxbridge'

Nicholas Cecil, Deputy Political Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:58:22 GMT

Schools were today told to be more ambitious for their pupils as figures showed wide variations across London in applications for places at Oxford or Cambridge

My conscience over blogger is clear and I'll explain, says Times lawyer

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:46:27 GMT

The lawyer at the centre of The Times computer-hacking case has a "completely clear conscience" -and wants to explain himself at the press ethics inquiry

Happy ending for actor who rowed Atlantic

Simon Freeman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:28:48 GMT

After 59 days, 2,600 miles, sore bottoms, blisters and snapped oars, two transatlantic rowers have returned to a heroes' welcome

Tasered man dies after airport arrest

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:31:08 GMT

A man died today at Gatwick Airport after apparently trying to kill himself with a broken bottle and then being Tasered by police

See Chilean miners' capsule at museum

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:12:17 GMT

The capsule which rescued 33 Chilean miners trapped underground is to go on display at the Science Museum.

Minister tells schools to raise their sights on reading targets

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:07:33 GMT

Children must be pushed beyond "modest" reading targets to take on more challenging books, the schools minister said

Trust denies hospital closure

Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:13:49 GMT

Health bosses have been accused of misleading the public over a hospital's future

'Dickens can still help the poor'

Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:24:22 GMT

Descendants of Charles Dickens told of their pride today in his radical social campaigning and their hopes that the 200th anniversary of his birth will lead people back to books like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield

Council cash for poorest students

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:16 GMT

More than 1,000 pupils and college students in one London borough can today apply for money to help them stay in education

Stop the gangs getting away with murder... it could happen to you

Kiran Randhawa — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:59:16 GMT

Interview: Negus McClean, 15, was stabbed and beaten to death by a group of youths almost a year ago but no one has been convicted. His mother tells Kiran Randhawa young people need to break the wall of silence around the crime

Diamond Jubilee river pageant 'will rival Notting Hill carnival'

Ross Lydall — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:54:49 GMT

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee pageant will be like the "Notting Hill Carnival on the Thames", according to the boss of one of the river's oldest businesses

Celia goes hell for leather

Jack Rivlin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:03:20 GMT

Celia Imrie put on a motorcycle helmet and leathers for a dash across London from the premiere of her new film to the theatre where she is starring in a play

I've fallen for English sense of humour, says Birdsong heroine

Alistair Foster, Showbusiness Correspondent — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:18:01 GMT

French actress Cl�mence Po�sy - star of Birdsong - says she wants to work more in Britain after being seduced by the English sense of humour

Hugh's River Cottage kitchen hit by blaze

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:30:30 GMT

A serious fire has "severely damaged" celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Park Farm

Daniel Radcliffe to give a personal introduction to The Woman in Black

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:53:29 GMT

Daniel Radcliffe will introduce his new film to members of the public at a Leicester Square cinema

Council paints double helping of yellow lines by restaurateur

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:10:12 GMT

Freshly painted stretches of double yellow lines have appeared close to the West End restaurants of the tycoon behind the legal challenge to Westminster council's "nightlife tax"

54,000 apprenticeships for London

Peter Dominiczak, City Hall Correspondent — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:43:58 GMT

A total of 54,470 apprenticeships have been created in London in the last 18 months, Boris Johnson said

Lib-Dems fight changes to electoral boundaries

Nicholas Cecil, Deputy Political Editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:40:57 GMT

A battle erupted today over the new map of MPs' constituencies with Liberal Democrats demanding changes for nearly half the seats in London

Hospitals lose �22m for failing on quality care

Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:02:26 GMT

Hospital trusts in London missed out on nearly �22 million last year because they failed to deliver quality care

�15,000 grant to help fund caf�

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:13:33 GMT

A community library has been given a �15,000 council grant which will pay for a caf�

Police face 'Wire-style' crime rate showdowns

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:40:31 GMT

Police chiefs in London are being threatened with the sack at tough new performance summits to tackle rising levels of street crime and burglary

'Cheese grater' torch goes on show

Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:20:43 GMT

The London Olympic torch goes on display this week in an exhibition of the best designs in the world

Hyde Park hosts Madonna comeback gig

Alistair Foster, Showbusiness Correspondent — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:22:35 GMT

Madonna today announced she will make her British live comeback with a huge outdoor show in Hyde Park on July 17