London Bridge attack inquest
Coroner Mark Lucraft QC arrives for the opening day of the inquest
A police officer said she waited for back-up for what ‘felt like forever’ during the London Bridge attack.
PC Mia Kerr told an inquest she drew her baton to guard members of the public as they tried to save victim Sebastien Belanger after he was stabbed on 3 June 2017.
The court heard she repeatedly called the police control room to ask for help from paramedics, but none came.
The 36-year-old French chef was one of eight people killed in the attack.
The other seven people killed in the attack included Chrissy Archibald, 30, Sara Zelenak, 21,Kirsty Boden, 28, James McMullan, 32, Xavier Thomas, 45, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, and Ignacio Echeverria who was 39.
London Bridge floral tribute to victims of terror attach 2017. Image by Matt Brown. CC BY 2.0
The inquest into their deaths continues.
Child poverty is rising in London
A child’s bicycle sits in an overgrown backyard in Gorton area of Manchester
The End Child Poverty Coalition has announced that about two-thirds of children are living in families hit by poverty in the UK.
The study estimated that more than half of children in over 200 wards are living below the poverty line.
The areas include London, Greater Manchester and Birmingham with rankings changing slightly according to housing costs, precarious employment contracts and cuts to support service.
In Tower Hamlets, 3 children out 4 are said to be living in destitute conditions – that’s 56.7% making the highest percentage of children in poverty.
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that statistics show employment and wages are at a join record high with inequality and absolute poverty lower than in 2010.
Westminster abuse accuser in court
Carl Beech, previously known only as ‘Nick’, has appeared at Newcastle crown court.
Beech is accused of spreading the rumours of a so called paedophile ring at the heart of Westminster which sparked a multimillion-pound police investigation.
The 51-year-old is accused of falsely claiming to be a victim of the paedophile group; he has claimed he witnessed the rape and murder of boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
Beech has denied 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.
The trial, which is expected to last up to three months, continues.
Palestinians mark ‘Nakba Day’
Palestinans accross the world are today marking the ‘Nakba Day’ or ‘Day of the Catastrophe’.
The day commemorates the displacement of Palestinians when the Israeli state was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Today also marks a year since the US embassy move to Jerusalem.
Palestinan refugees still hope to return as they mark the 71st anniversary of the ‘catastrophe’.
The National Demonstration for Palestine was organised last Saturday following a week-long exchange of air raids and rockets that killed at least 25 Palestinians and four Israelis.
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