Definitely not linked to Twitter blocking my article…I’ve just joined Mastadon. Feel free to be one of my first followers if you’re on there
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Josiah Mortimer
@josiahmortimer
City Hall Editor covering the Mayor, Met, TfL etc. Sporadic pundit & culture reviewer. I do music and puns. Founder DMs open, views mine
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Buying a cardboard cutout of Lulu for the wedding was one of the best purchases I’ve made
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(Correction - it was a previous piece on voter ID. Just as worrying tbf)
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In a sign that more drastic measures are coming down the line, climate campaigners note that London’s Transport and Environment strategies both commit to a central London “Zero Emission Zone” by 2025 - less than three years away. Yet there's little public info about progress
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Green groups urge the Mayor to toughen up rules on diesel cars, saying: “Diesel has to go. We are disappointed there is no proposal to strengthen the ULEZ emission standards…The exemption for Euro 6 diesel cars is an open invitation to buy new diesel cars"
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A pot of cash to incentivise Londoners to ditch the most polluting cars is seen as central to the potential success of expanding ULEZ. But as yet there have been no proposals from City Hall to fund such a scheme
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Groups including , and have penned a letter saying: “It is more important than ever to ensure that ambitious action to protect people’s health from air pollution continues." They're calling for a properly-funded scrappage scheme
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Assembly Members will vote on Thursday on whether to revise the Mayor’s transport strategy to enshrine expanding the £12.50 a day charge to the whole of Greater London
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NEW: 14 climate groups have written to Sadiq Khan urging him to go further and faster in tackling toxic air pollution in the capital, as the Mayor prepares to roll out the Ultra Low Emissions Zone to cover all of London
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Update: I’m told it’s a new *statutory* offence - it was apparently already in common law but has now been essentially codified
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Thousands of Albanians living in Britain have gathered in central London to protest against Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s accusations of an “invasion” of refugees
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The demonstrators took up large parts of Parliament Square and Westminster Bridge, waving Albanian flags. Met Police officers were also seen in force at Parliament Square to contain the demonstration. No incidents had been reported as of 2pm
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NEW: Thousands of Albanians living in Britain have gathered in central London to protest against Home Sec Suella Braverman’s accusations of an “invasion” of refugees from the European state
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Absolutely baffled why Twitter blocked this piece. Seems to be back up now but we need answers 👋🏼
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Well folks… welcome to the new Democracy!!!
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All three journalists arrested this week covering Just Stop Oil were arrested under “suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance.” It is a new crime introduced as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. It carries prison time of up to ten years in jail
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A documentary photographer, a press photographer and a reporter for LBC were arrested and detained by police for filming the Just Stop Oil protest on the M25.
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All three journalists arrested this week covering Just Stop Oil were arrested under “suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance.” It is a new crime introduced as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. It carries prison time of up to ten years in jail
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Full story on
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RMT member: "What people miss is that a strike is inconvenient for today, but think about a year's time or two years' time when all these changes go through and you cut all of these people, and you’re getting stations closed randomly because there’s not enough staff"
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Brixton's platform announcer told MyLondon: "There's threats to close down [Brixton] station every single day, because there's not enough people. I think that they're aiming to get rid of about four people here...In Victoria, there's 15 people [going]"
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NEW: London could suffer daily closures of Tube stations due to short-staffing if Transport for London's planned 10 per cent reduction in Tube station staff goes ahead, an RMT activist has warned
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🔴‘They Know Who I Am, They Know What I’m Doing’: Arrested Journalists Speak Out over New Policing Act
talks to & , arrested covering an environmental protest, & reports on more repressive legislation to come
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This is a very disturbing attack on independent journalism and there needs to be some proper push back. These abuses of police powers are reminiscent of places like Russia and Turkey. They have no place in a functioning democracy. Put a stop to it now or expect worse in future.
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NEW: Two journalists arrested at a Just Stop Oil protest this week have told Byline Times they believe they were deliberately targeted in an effort to disrupt coverage of the climate campaign group
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‘They Know Who I Am, They Know What I’m Doing’
Arrested Journalists Speak Out over New Policing Act
Read my latest story on
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A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesperson appeared to rebuke Herts Police in a statement: “Journalists have a right to report at any form of protest and the freedom of the press is essential...Journalists shouldn’t be prevented from legitimately doing their jobs"
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Herts Police told : “Officers have been instructed to ensure they conduct full and thorough checks before making an arrest decision, as well as getting a final approval by a supervisor before making any arrests of anyone who is identifying themselves as press"
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The NUJ has also expressed grave concerns over the National Security Bill, saying it conflates journalists “with spies”. “By criminalising journalists for their reporting, the bill poses a significant threat to both public interest journalism and press freedom"
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.: "Hertfordshire police have threatened press freedom and disregarded the right of journalists to cover protests. No reporter or other bonafide news gatherer should fear being placed in a cell for doing their job"
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Liberty says ministers are creating an “increasingly dangerous working environment for journalists” who face intimidation and arrest for simply doing their jobs
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Former Home Secretary Priti Patel’s UK’s National Security Bill - still going through Parliament - threatens to “criminalise” public interest journalism and whistleblowing, as it will water down protections against police accessing journalistic materials, rights groups say
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More draconian legislation is coming down the line. Law reform group Justice has said the arrest of journalists could “become commonplace” if the upcoming Public Order Bill passes into law
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Both journalists are planning to take legal action for wrongful arrest - which could result in hefty compensation. But both are primarily looking for an apology which has not been forthcoming
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Police also allegedly made attempts to access the phones of the journalists. In Rich Feldgate’s case, they asked him repeatedly to tell them his PIN. This would normally be a severe breach of protocol as it would put anonymous journalistic sources at risk
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“They know who I am, they know what I’m doing. Random officers say hello with my name – they do that with protesters. They do that to remind people they’re keeping tabs. To let them know they’re watching" Rich Felgate told me
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It is not the first time he has been targeted. In October, Felgate was filming a climate protest roadblock in Shoreditch. “Loads of press and public were there. But I got ambushed by about five officers, who pinned me up against the wall, and put handcuffs behind my back"
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Felgate: "I’ve been heading towards the conclusion that there’s a pattern emerging – the motivation is to make the protests ineffective by stopping the media coverage. Physically disrupting it, criminalising journalists, intimidating us so we don’t go there"
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What scares both journalists is that it represents a shift in how policing is conducted in the UK. Filmmaker Rich Felgate: “They weren’t interested in seeing press cards…It beggars belief they could think two guys with pro cameras at a protest are somehow undercover protesters"
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Photographer Tom Bowles, detained for around 14 hours - was released at 1:30 am. His home was raised by three male officers, with only his wife and 14-year-old daughter were in
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