London

An inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah lists several government departments as interested parties.

Racecourses will welcome spectators for the first time in more than eight months on Wednesday as the coronavirus lockdown in England is lifted.

Live coverage of Tuesday's National League game between Wealdstone and Torquay United.

Live coverage of Tuesday's Championship game between Rotherham United and Brentford.

Live coverage of Tuesday's Championship game between Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City.

After being barred from most matches since March, some supporters in England will return to stadiums on Wednesday.

Taylor Williams, 18, died after being stabbed in Basingstoke last August.

Samuel Odupitan spotted his victim on the tram, then stabbed him.

The officer was pursuing Lewis Johnson who was killed when his scooter hit a van in Hackney.

The TV presenter and his wife "live in fear of what Michelle Ranicar may do to their baby".

Family members of soldiers killed in a 1982 IRA attack brought the civil action against John Downey.

The child's family update well-wishers, saying he is in less pain and is trying to sing

This World AIDS Day, Hackney Council is urging everyone in the borough to unite together in support of the fight against HIV and HIV-related stigma.

The landscape for people living with HIV in England is dramatically different now to what it has been in the past. In both Hackney and the City, the rate of those with diagnosed HIV has been steadily declining since 2014. 

Recent data from Public Health England has shown that cases of HIV in the UK are decreasing each year; in 2019 there was a 10% drop in new diagnoses from 2018 and a 34% drop compared to 2014. But there are still over 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK and of these, around 6,600 are undiagnosed so do not know they are HIV positive. 42% of those diagnosed in 2019 were diagnosed late. 

Advances in the detection and treatment of HIV over the decades mean that individuals living with HIV taking the proper treatment to suppress the viral load in their blood, are unable to pass on the virus to others, including sexual partners. This is known as “Undetectable Equals Untransmittable”, “U=U” a campaign. Despite this, misinformation and stigma surrounding HIV, and what it means to be living with HIV, persists.

The stigma that affects people living with HIV stops others from getting tested. The more people who test and get access to effective treatment in a timely manner, the fewer HIV transmissions will happen.

There are a wide range of support services available to local residents around HIV prevention, testing and treatment. For example, residents with mild or no symptoms can access free home kits to test for HIV and other STIs through the Sexual Health London portal or by contacting Positive East. 

Positive East also provides holistic health and wellbeing support to people with a positive HIV diagnosis.

PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) - a treatment taken by people without HIV to prevent the risk of them contracting HIV - is now fully available across England and can be accessed through local sexual health clinics.

A full list of support services available around HIV and sexual and reproductive health more generally can be found on the Hackney website. These services are still available and are being delivered with the safety of service users and staff as a priority during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Hackney residents can access online HIV and STI self-testing, as well as advice, peer support and counselling for people living HIV, through Positive East by telephone 020 7791 2855 or email talktome@positiveeast.org.uk (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm).

For children, young people and families affected by HIV, Body & Soul offers an array of free support, including peer support groups, one-to-one counselling, information and advocacy on a range of issues, including welfare, human rights and immigration. To find out more, please call 020 7923 6880 or email the team.

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), as well as other sexual health services, can be accessed through local sexual health clinics across the City and Hackney: Clifden Centre, Ivy Centre and 80 Leadenhall. Find out more on the Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust website.

More information about HIV prevention can be found at the Do It London website.

Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville and Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, respond to the Mayor of London’s Action Plan, which aims to rebuild trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police and tackle the use of disproportionate policing affecting Black Londoners.

Hackney is a proud, diverse and inclusive borough with a long-history of fighting racism in all its forms, but we are not complacent - the systemic injustices that Black people and other communities continue to face show us that much more needs to be done to eradicate the scourge of systemic racism in our institutions. 

We are pleased that the Metropolitan Police have agreed to implement recommendations made in the Mayor of London’s Action Plan to tackle disproportionate policing. However, we must recognise the importance of tackling systemic racism and scrutinising the Police at a local level by closely working with local communities, who must be at the heart of shaping policies that affect them.

We recently heard from local young people at the launch of Hackney Young Futures Commission’s “Valuing the Future Through Young Voices” report - which consulted with over 2,500 young people from across the borough - who told us about their experiences of growing up in Hackney. Understanding these lived experiences is central to shaping and driving work to improve the lives and opportunities of young people in our borough. We have committed to working with Hackney Young Futures Commission and other local partners to implement the report’s recommendations in full. 

Council officers have also been working with the Police and youth-led research group Hackney Account to implement the recommendations from Account’s review into policing in the borough, which was conducted by local young people. As part of this, we’re working together to ensure a shared understanding of the systemic nature of racism, better training for officers, improved engagement with communities, greater transparency and stronger processes for holding the police accountable for their actions - ensuring that those most affected by stop and search have their voices heard. A joint trust and confidence action plan is being developed and a working group is being convened to monitor and drive progress of this work. We’ll be holding an event in March next year to share our plans and progress on this work with community partners.

The urgency of this work is further highlighted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)’s review into the use of stop and search which revealed significant failings, such as the excessive use of handcuffs, inappropriate use of stop and search and failure to properly use body cameras. 

We recently joined colleagues and partners from the Council, IOPC, the Police, Hackney Account and other local organisations at the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission to discuss the IOPC’s findings, and how they can be swiftly implemented to rebuild faith and trust in the police across all of our communities.

However, we recognise that stop and search makes up just one part of a wider, deep-rooted systemic issue at the core of British institutions and societies, and we will do everything in our power to tackle it in the round - as outlined in our ambitious Hackney’s Black Lives Matter motion, which was passed this summer. 

This motion includes implementing a pioneering new Black history curriculum - developed by Hackney teachers and Council staff - to teach local children about the many untold stories that make up our nation’s history, which have been neglected by the national curriculum for far too long. 500 local schools have already signed-up to Hackney’s diverse curriculum, and we look forward to seeing it in action in classrooms across the borough. 

We’re also inviting residents to share ideas for the names of public spaces and landmarks in Hackney to ensure that our diversity and inclusivity is reflected in our buildings, streets, parks and other public spaces in our borough. Any names put forward must have a Hackney connection and represent our values of equality, anti-racism, innovation and community activism. These suggestions could also be used to replace the names of places named after slave traders and plantation owners, as part of our community-led review into landmarks and the naming of public spaces in Hackney. We’d love to hear any ideas you have for this project. 

We have also set up a Community Accountability Board as part of our Improving Outcomes for Young Black Men programme, which will support local Black people to hold institutions to account on their progress in tackling racism and inequality. We look forward to working with the Board to help us better understand and tackle systemic racism in Hackney. 

These are just some of the ways we’re working to tackle systemic racism in Hackney and to improve outcomes for young Black men. However, we recognise that much more work still needs to be done to rebuild faith in institutions in all of our communities. We will continue working with our communities and our partners in the Police, Hackney Account, Hackney Young Futures Commission and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to rebuild a better Hackney for everyone.

14 trainees who successfully graduated from the 2020 Hackney Traineeship Programme were honoured in an online ceremony last week. 

The Traineeship Programme, which builds on the success of the council’s apprenticeship and Hackney 100 programmes, offers residents paid work placements with the council and local businesses alongside English, maths and employability training.

The Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville and Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources, Councillor Carole Williams presented graduates with certificates and awards at the ceremony held on Tuesday 24 November.

Graduates, local employers, council officers, training providers, family and friends also attended the ceremony to celebrate the achievements and commitment of the trainees who completed their training and work placements, all whilst working remotely and facing the challenges presented by the pandemic. 

In total, trainees completed over 1,300 hours of paid work experience, and six have now progressed into jobs or apprenticeships. Eleven trainees completed qualifications in English and Maths.

Cllr Williams, recognised and thanked the commitment of local businesses.

The 2020 programme focused on residents over the age of 25, and in particular those with childcare responsibilities, and learners of English as a second language.

Magdalene Enow, who secured an apprenticeship with the council after completing the course said: “I have learnt so much on this programme and I’m so happy to have passed my maths and English level two qualification. As a mother of three the lockdown has been challenging as it was difficult to balance learning and parenting, but the team was so supportive and helped me through it.

“The training scheme helped me to get the apprenticeship role at Hackney Council. I was able to learn so many new skills which helped in my interview.”

To find out more about placements and how to apply please visit: https://opportunities.hackney.gov.uk/placements/

The closed venue's pay-per-view platform hosts filmed plays starring the likes of Dame Helen Mirren.

The NSPCC said the coronavirus lockdown has created "a perfect storm" for online grooming abusers.

Critics who said Daniel Dubois had no "bottle" after his defeat by Joe Joyce are "twisted", says trainer Martin Bowers.

Philip Heath apologises for dismissing a legitimate fire test query email using strong language.

Adamo Canto, from Scarborough, took medals, signed photographs and other valuables.