Tag Archives: Bus
Riots Will cost Taxpayer £100 Million, Mark Duggan 'Did Not Fire at Police'.
Mark Duggan ‘did not fire at police’
It has emerged that Mark Duggan had a blank-firing gun which had been converted to hold live ammunition
16,000 police on duty in London
England game against Netherlands at Wembley tomorrow called off
Jamie Olivier’s restaurant in Birmingham was targeted by rioters
Police Cells are now full and 44 more police officers have been injured
Three people arrested for attempted murder of police officer
Cost of cleaning up the riots could cost taxpayers £100 million
Prime Minister David Cameron has recalled Parliament for Thursday so he can make a statement
Sloane Square Tube station was among dozens that were closed last night during the rioting
Youths congregating at Piccadilly, riot police are there
People urged to stay indoors
In Clapham youths went on the rampage trashing dozens of shops and walking out stolen goods.
Residents complained that police were very slow to respond as a Debenhams store was ransacked.
This morning Clapham high street was cordoned off as a investigation and the clear-up got underway.
Rioting began in Hackney at about 4pm yesterday when hooded youths began hurling missiles at officers and setting fire to bins and cars. Masked rioters on BMX bicycles armed with batons attacked a crowded London bus during the evening rush-hour, chasing terrified commuters as they tried to escape.
Some of the thugs were as young as eight and they forced the driver to stop the double-decker by pelting it with champagne bottles stolen from a nearby Tesco. About 40 passengers ran away, some carrying their children.
Within hours similar scenes erupted in Lewisham, spreading to Peckham, Deptford and Croydon.
Hundreds of fires were started all over the capital, North London; Camden, Woolwich in the south, in West London; Ealing. People were forced to take the law into their own hands to protect themselves and their family.
In Dalston and Hackney, shopkeepers fought back against looting youths and protected their businesses. Surrounding areas were pillaged as members of the town’s large Turkish community stood up outside their homes and businesses to protect them.
Home Secretary Theresa May said this morning that there had been 450 arrests in the last two nights but she ruled out bringing in the Army and using water cannon. She told BBC Breakfast:
‘British policing has always meant and always depended on the support of local communities and that’s what we need now.’
She told Sky News the capital needed ‘robust policing’ – and claimed that police budget cutting had not had an impact on the violence.
‘Don’t let police budgets be used as an excuse for what is going on on our streets is sheer criminality and nothing else.’
Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and former Army officer, hit out and told the Telegraph that tougher policing should be used.
He said: ‘I find it strange that we are willing to use these sort of measures against the Irish yet when Englishmen step out of line and behave in this atrocious and appalling way, we are happy to mollycoddle them.’
Met Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh seemed to contradict the Home Secretary and said using the military had not been ruled out.
‘All options were discussed last night and that means, not that we’re doing it, the people of London need to know that the Commissioner and his management board team are considering everything and working through those options as we go forward,’ he told BBC Breakfast.
Mr Kavanagh said it was ‘a shocking and appalling morning for London to wake up to’ and he was struck by the ‘sheer scale and speed with which the attacks took place across London last night’. It ‘was truly unprecedented’
He said there was a ‘changing nature’ in the make-up of the rioters, with the profile changing ‘dramatically’ last night from 14 to 17-year-olds to ‘older groups in cars doing organised looting’.
He added: ‘And there was the far more focused attempt at injuring London Ambulance staff, there to help the community, trying to injure Fire Brigade officers and, of course, police officers.’
In Birmingham, West Midlands Police said it had made about 100 arrests and confirmed that a police station in Handsworth, Birmingham, was on fire. Merseyside Police said there were a number of incidents in South Liverpool and that cars had been set on alight.
Somerset Police reported 150 rioters were in Bristol city centre, with main roads closed and a number of shops damaged.
Councilors have said it will cost £227,000 to repair Tottenham
There is a brilliant article here on how the poverty these kids have is moral, not financial.http://www.thecommentator.com/article/359/london_rioters_are_the_pampered_children_of_the_welfare_state
And the Telegraph has a brilliant article with pictures of london before and after the riot
You can help people made homeless by the London riots by donating bedding, clothes, etc to Apex House, 820 Seven Sisters Road, London N15 5PQ
London Unveils a New Bus Design
The final design of the New Bus for London, based on the Routemaster, was today unveiled by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy.
The bus will be 15 per cent more fuel efficient than existing hybrid buses, and 40 per cent more efficient than conventional diesel double decks and much quieter on the streets.
The pioneering design makes use of lightweight materials, with glass used liberally to make it feel less claustrophobic. An impressive glass ‘swoop’ at the rear and offside pick out the two staircases and provide a dramatic visual effect. An asymmetric design for the front-end completes the futuristic look.
The new design features an open platform; similar to the Routemaster of old; and allows the reinstatement of a hop-on, hop-off service. Three doors and two staircases will aid speedier and smoother boarding. There will be two conventional doors and an open rear platform, which has the option to be closed off at quiet times for example during the night.
Boris said: “This iconic new part of our transport system is not only beautiful, but also has a green heart beating beneath its stylish, ‘swooshing’ exterior. It will cut emissions, and give Londoners a bus they can be proud of, complete with cutting edge design, and the freedom of an open platform.
“I expect to eventually have hundreds of these on London’s roads, and for cities around the globe to be beside themselves with envy for our stunning red emblem of 21st century London.”
Wrightbus and Transport for London have been working with Heatherwick Studio as a collaborative design partner taking the lead on the styling of the bus to support Wrightbus in the design and development process.
Wrightbus engineers are working on a static mock up of the bus to be complete later this year with the first prototype to be delivered late next year, the new buses will enter service from early 2012.
See the design of London’s New Bus up-close in pictures and video
by Genevieve Sibayan