Green party-controlled councils have joined a high court legal challenge led by the Aspire party to stop London mayor Sadiq Khan slashing affordable housing in the city.
Hackney and Lewisham councils, which Zack Polanski’s party took control of following the 7 May elections, have joined the Aspire-run Tower Hamlets council in its bid to stop Khan from cutting the city’s affordable housing quota from 35% to 20%.
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Khan said in 2016 that more than 50% of new homes in London should be affordable, but later the same year allowed private developers to limit affordable housing in new developments to 35%.
His plan to further reduce the quota comes amid an escalating housing crisis in the city, where the cost of rent is a major driver of poverty and child homelessness.
Activists and campaigners protest against the ‘Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’ conference in London, June 23, 2026 [Pic: Fossil Free London / Kristian Buus]
ACTIVISTS gathered outside Kensington Olympia today as delegates arrived for the first day of the far-right Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference.
Organised by Fossil Free London and joined by more than 10 campaign groups, including Greenpeace and Queers for Palestine, protesters dressed in frog costumes and carried signs reading “Fossil Fuels Fund Fascism” and “Oily Fascists Out of London.”
The conference is primarily backed by hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, whose portfolio includes more than £1.8 billion in fossil fuel companies.
More than 4,000 people from 96 countries were expected to attend, with speakers including Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and James Orr, anti-trans and anti-abortion campaigners, as well as about 40 MPs.
The protest came as rare red weather warnings for extreme heat were issued across Britain.
Fossil Free London director Robin Wells said: “Their oily money is fuelling the extreme heat we’re sweating through, and we’re left poorer than ever whilst they profiteer from war and crisis.
“But we refuse to tolerate their hate, and we are building our alternative: strong, connected and resilient communities, a more equal society, and climate action to protect us all.”
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Orcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels.
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Red Ribbons event in London on 19 June 2026
LONDON – Emotional testimonies, legal arguments, and political interventions marked a high-profile solidarity event held at SOAS University of London on Friday evening, as speakers warned that the situation of Palestinian hostages held in Israeli detention has reached what they described as “unprecedented levels of brutality” amid the ongoing war on Gaza.
The event, organised by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) in partnership with the Red Ribbons Campaign, brought together campaign coordinator Adnan Hmidan, ICJP director Tayb Ali, lawyer Khaled Mahajneh, Palestinian activist Saif Abu Keshek, campaigner Katrina Graham, and Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn. The discussion was chaired by journalist and activist Matilda Mallinson.
Speakers repeatedly argued that while global attention remains focused on Gaza, conditions inside Israeli prisons and detention facilities have deteriorated sharply since October 2023, with thousands of Palestinian hostages held outside the reach of international monitors.
Opening the event, Red Ribbons Campaign coordinator Adnan Hmidan said the initiative was created to ensure that Palestinian hostages “are not erased from international consciousness”.
He stressed that those held in Israeli detention include journalists, doctors, students, women and children, many of whom are detained without charge under administrative detention orders.
Palestinian lawyer Khaled Mahajneh delivered one of the most emotionally charged interventions of the evening, describing what he called a “parallel war” being waged inside Israeli prisons alongside the military assault on Gaza.
Mahajneh said conditions for Palestinian hostages have deteriorated significantly, citing widespread reports of starvation, medical neglect, prolonged isolation and systematic humiliation.
He also described a recent visit to imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, noting that Barghouti appeared deeply concerned with the condition of other detainees despite his own long-term isolation. Mahajneh said the repeated message he hears from inside detention facilities is simple: “Save us.”
Dr Mustafa Barghouti argued that new Israeli legislative measures should be understood within what he described as a wider apartheid system. He said the laws establish separate legal frameworks for Palestinians and Israeli Jews living under the same authority, entrenching structural discrimination.
Barghouti warned that the proposals reflect an escalating political culture of revenge following 7 October, and what he described as a widening acceptance of extreme policies within Israeli political discourse.
ICJP director and lawyer Tayb Ali focused on the legal implications of the proposed legislation, describing it as a “structural departure from fundamental principles of justice”.
He said the laws appear designed to target Palestinians as a collective category, removing judicial discretion through mandatory sentencing provisions in certain cases.
Ali criticised the reliance on military courts, noting their high conviction rates and the admissibility of evidence that would not meet standards in ordinary criminal justice systems.
He warned that accelerated procedures risk undermining the right to appeal and meaningful judicial review, effectively eroding basic due process protections.
Palestinian activist Saif Abu Keshek said Israel is not only targeting Palestinians but also attempting to criminalise solidarity movements internationally. He argued that authorities seek to fragment the Palestinian cause into separate issues—prisoners, Gaza, refugees, and settlements—thereby obscuring its historical and political roots.
Campaigner Katrina Graham recounted her experience aboard the Sumud flotilla attempting to challenge the blockade on Gaza, including her detention by Israeli authorities. She referenced encounters with Israeli officials and described mistreatment during her detention, while emphasising that her experience was minor compared with the daily reality faced by Palestinian hostages.
Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn also took part in the event, expressing solidarity with Palestinian hostages and calling for greater international scrutiny of their conditions.
His participation reflected growing concern among sections of British political and civil society over reports of abuses in Israeli detention facilities and the continued denial of basic rights to detainees.
Speakers throughout the evening stressed that while global attention remains focused on Gaza, the situation of Palestinian hostages inside Israeli prisons continues largely out of sight.
They urged international institutions, governments and civil society organisations to take urgent action to address what they described as a deepening humanitarian and legal crisis.
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Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Khan said there had been a breach of procurement rules in the contract and suggested Palantir had been the only contender.
Now the Times has reported that Palantir’s lawyers have written to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime saying they intend to challenge the decision in court. Khan’s office confirmed they had received the letter. Palantir declined to comment for this article.
A spokesperson for Khan’s office said: “The Met did not present its procurement strategy as required and the Met only fully engaged with one potential supplier: Palantir.”
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On Tuesday morning, the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, confirmed the government was conducting a full review of the NHS contract with Palantir, assessing whether to extend the £330m deal or activate a break clause that would allow it to stop using the company’s services in early 2027.
Last week, a parliamentary committee urged the government to trigger a break, calling Palantir’s presence an “unacceptable point of weakness” in a public sector increasingly reliant on a handful of US tech firms.
The south-east of England experienced mains water supply issues last week due to high demand in the hot weather
The UK could see a warmer-than-average summer with the potential for more heatwaves, according to latest forecasts.
The Met Office released its three-month summer outlook on 1 June – the first day of meteorological summer – citing higher-than-normal chances of hotter weather during the month.
And for the whole summer – which runs through to the end of August – the outlook suggests “an increased chance of heatwaves and heat-related impacts”.
It comes after a late spring heatwave saw temperature records shattered across the UK.
A new all-time May record of 35.1C was set in Kew Gardens, London, replacing the previous record of 32.8C from 1944.
Yellow and amber heat health alerts were also issued for the first time this year.
Now, long-range forecasts from the Met Office and MeteoGroup – the latter being providers of BBC Weather data – suggest the summer ahead will bring the risk of additional heatwaves.
A “few notable high temperature spikes” are also possible according to MeteoGroup.
They also go on to say that “above-average temperatures” are expected for each of the months of June, July and August, and “significant bursts” of heat are expected in the UK, and across Europe.
But, according to the Met Office, the higher than average temperatures forecast comes as having a hotter summer is now twice as likely than the reference averaging period of 1991-2020, consistent with our warming climate.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Activists and campaigners protest against the ‘Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’ conference in London, June 23, 2026 [Pic: Fossil Free London / Kristian Buus]
