London (UK) headlines and shorts of the day. 2/Aug/2025
Nine people have been arrested after demonstrations outside a hotel in Islington. A protest was organized by local residents calling for the closure of the Thistle Barbec, which is believed to be housing asylum seekers. A counter demonstration was also organized by Standup to Racism. The Metropolitan Police put conditions in place across the area with both events ordered to conclude by 4 p.m. Meanwhile, a dispersal order remains in place in parts of Surrey after a protest outside a hotel on Friday night. Around 100 people gathered outside the Stanwall Hotel where a packet of lit fireworks was reportedly thrown at police. A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted arson and inquiries are ongoing to trace another suspect. Good afternoon. I’m Thomas McIll. There are fresh calls for tougher legislation to be introduced around illegally modified electric bicycles. They’re now a common site on the capital’s roads and can be ridden by anyone over the age of 14 at speeds of up to 15 m an hour. But Matthew Barber, the Tempame’s Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, says many are being converted to go even faster. I’m not instinctively someone who wants to ban things. Uh but what we do need is to make sure that the regulation actually matches the intent. And at the moment, we have a real concern in many communities about the way these vehicles are being used. They’re definitely linked in many cases to uh criminality and yet the legislation just hasn’t caught up. Hundreds have attended a football festival in Waltham Stow earlier today aimed at helping disabled young Londoners get into the game. It comes just days after the Lioness’s historic second Euro win with organizers hoping that will have inspired many young people to get involved. Hannah Gray reports. Love for the Lioness’s lingers on. Earlier this week, thousands of Londoners gathered to celebrate England’s Euro’s 2025 victory. And today, a football festival took place here at the Arsenal Academy in Walthamto. Many of the youngsters at the Premier League’s disability tournament are still buzzing from last Sunday’s game. The England women won a penalties and bring the trophy home for us and yeah, that made me really happy. It’s an amazing win, isn’t it? And you know those role models, they’re going to come back into their clubs and at community level. They’re going to offer so much to our community programs and inspire so many young people, not just girls, boys as well. It’s really important that we take that message not just to the female audience, but to the male audience as well. And football fever does indeed seem to be contagious among the young kids here. Rudy brought along his 12-year-old son, Kaden, who lives with autism. It’s challenging cuz people can tackle you from anywhere. We do some training and we all make each other happy. We all say, “Come on, we can do this.” Yeah, it’s good to interact and I think that’s the main thing of any special needs needs to interact, get him into mainstream and get him used to things, you know. And um the football’s been good because because he loses and he’s getting to learn, you know, you can’t win all the time and in life you can’t win all the time. Everyone’s welcome here, whether they’re visually impaired, amputees, deaf, or have mental health diagnosis. The Premier League’s community events aim to break down all accessibility barriers. 14-year-old Oi’s mom has seen him totally transform in character. It took a lot of time for Ollie just to step on the pitch and slowly build up his confidence. He was scared of the ball, scared of the other children. But now, as you can see, he’s just run off because all he wants to do is play football. Many people here today hope that the Lioness’s success will continue to inspire a lifelong love of sport for young girls, boys, and those with disabilities, too. Hannah Gray, BBC London, Waltham Stow. Drivers are being warned to expect delays on the A3 this weekend between the Whizzley interchange and the Send Junction. It’s all part of a multi-million pound project to upgrade the M25 junction with the A3. The road will reopen at 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Now, if you ever fancied seeing the capital by bike, now could be the right time. TFL is offering free and unlimited cycle rides every Sunday during August. It’s part of an initiative with Santandere to encourage all of us to get on our bikes.