Greenwich

Reuters

There will be 33,000 police officers in London by April next year, the head of the Met has said today.

Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the force would reach 31,500 by spring, and 32,300 by early autumn this year.

Officer numbers in the capital began falling in 2016, and dipped below 30,000 two years ago – the first time since 2003.

Recruitment has since risen with cash from City Hall, with 31,000 officers now in place.

But the Mayor of London and the Met believe the capital needs an extra 6,000 police to tackle high violent crime.

There were more homicides in London last year than any year since 2008, and over 15,000 knife crimes.

Dame Cressida told the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee today that the Government’s police settlement would help the Met to reach next year’s 33,000 target.

The Commissioner said it was a “huge achievement” that between 350 and 450 officers were going through training at Hendon police college each month.

Getty Images

An exhibition on Florence Nightingale which is being staged 200 years after her birth will shine a spotlight on her as an older woman.

Nightingale is often pictured in her 30s, when she nursed wounded soldiers in the Crimean War.

An exhibition, on the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital in London, aims to also remember the triumphs of the more mature woman.

Nightingale rocketed to fame during the Crimean War, and became known as The Lady With The Lamp because she would check British soldiers throughout the night.

But she shunned the limelight and returned home as Mrs Smith.

The new exhibition will explore the next 50 years of her life, when she revolutionised nursing and transformed healthcare.

Nightingale In 200 Objects, People & Places runs from 8 March 2020 to 7 March 2021 at the Florence Nightingale Museum on London's South Bank.

A pro-EU campaign group has unveiled a banner and lit flares on Westminster Bridge.

The sign - hung on the bridge by Another Europe - reads: "Here to stay, here to fight - migrants in, Tories out."

Most London firefighters have received no face-to-face training on how to respond to a high-rise fire since the Grenfell disaster, senior brigade officers admitted today.

Rank and file firefighters have only received a “basic” online training programme to date – almost three years since the devastating fire destroyed the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington.

A total of 72 people were killed in the June 2017 blaze – but more lives could have been saved if people had been told to evacuate sooner, according to the report from the first phase of the Grenfell Inquiry.

But there was visible shock when newly appointed London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe told London Assembly members that most firefighters have had only “the most basic” training on high-rise fires since the disaster.

And Mr Roe admitted that even this was not delivered until August last year – more than two years after the fire.

Speaking to the Assembly’s fire committee, he said: “We have given what I would consider the most basic provision to our officers which covers the sort of decisions they might have to make, the basic guidance.

“But that needs to be supported and better embedded with changes to operational procedure.”

The new commissioner – who was responsible for scrapping “stay put” advice at Grenfell minutes after he arrived at the fire – said senior officers have received more detailed training.

Gas has been restored to 100 households in Richmond, south-west London, overnight but many more remain without any supply since a water main burst a week ago.

Gas supplies were switched off after the leak on 23 January which led to water getting into 35 km (21.7 miles) of gas pipes.

Distributor Cadent said it had pumped out more than 50,000 litres of water from a "big gas main" north of the railway lines overnight and would now be sending down a robotic camera.

"We expect clearing this huge blockage will be a major breakthrough in restoring gas supplies", they said.

However, the firm has warned customers to be "prepared for this to go into the weekend". Further updates can be found here.

Following the initial leak, about 1,200 homes were without any gas while another 600 have had low gas pressures.