The Old Bailey. Photo: Bill Tyne @ flickr

A former taxi driver from Stepney has appeared in court to admit the manslaughter of his 100-year-old mother earlier this year.

Michael Fitzgibbon, 62, admits stabbing elderly Hannah Fitzgibbon in the neck at their East London home in February.

Appearing at the Old Bailey, he plead manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

After committing the crime, the court heard, Mr Fitzgibbon told his brother and police: “I’ve just gone mad.”

Though he was originally charged with murder, prosecutors accepted the plea due to psychiatric evaluations that indicated Fitzgibbon was suffering from moderately severe depression and the early effects of Parkinson’s disease.

Prosecuting, Crispin Aylett QC remarked that although Fitzgibbon had not been formally diagnosed at the time of the incident, symptoms of his mental state had been ‘apparent’ to family and friends.

“This occurred at a time when it seems that in fact the defendant’s own health was deteriorating at a rather more rapid rate than that of his mother,” he said.

“Neither psychiatrists nor anyone else could think of any rational explanation for why the defendant would have killed his mother other than the one the defendant himself offered in the immediate aftermath.”

Pre-sentence reports have been ordered to determine whether Fitzgibbon will be jailed or given a supervision order due to his state of health. Sentencing will take place on 13 September.

Photo: Loz Flowers @ flickr

An assistant caretaker at a school in Tower Hamlets has been found guilty of possessing indecent images of children and perverting the course of justice after planting  child pornography on a colleague’s laptop.

Neil Weiner, 39, framed his boss, Edward Thompson, 61, caretaker at Swanley School in Whitechapel, to get him sacked and win a promotion,  the court heard.

Child pornography was found on the personal computer of  Mr Thompson after the police received a CD and hand-written note, sent from Chelmsford, which purported to be a tip-off.

Mr Thompson told the Old Bailey he got ‘the fright of [his] life’ when he learnt that he had been accused of possessing the materials in 2006. He was immediately suspended from his job.

He  said he was stunned when a “posse of coppers” turned up on his doorstep four months later to arrest him after more than 400 child pornography images were found on his £1,200 laptop.  After the details of the accusations were published by the local press, he told the court that he had faced abuse in public. Mr Thompson said he and his wife, “were constantly abused in the streets by the locals because of my face being in the paper.”

Weiner, who joined the school in 2005, was said to be a ‘computer wizard’ who had previously worked in IT and believed himself to be as capable as the school’s head of department.

The court heard that Weiner had told friends Sandra Godfrey and friend Susan James of his plan to download child porn on to a CD and then place it on Thompson’s computer, before reporting him to the police.

Prosecutor Richard Milne said: ‘”Weiner planted child porn, indecent images, of almost the highest serious nature on his computer for no better reason than to get him sacked so that he, Weiner, could get promotion.”

The  jury at the Old Bailey found Weiner guilty of perverting the course of justice and two counts of possessing child pornography by a majority verdict of ten to two in each case. He will be sentenced in September.

Thompson, who is married with two sons, said that he had immediately suspected that someone among his colleague of the attempt to frame him, because of his poor relationship with them. He described ‘[taking] the Micky’ out of Weiner, who he described as ‘childish,’ adding: “I have a reputation of being exceedingly grumpy, bad tempered and irascible – that’s what I am.”

The Mango restaurant was fined over £16,000 by Tower Hamlets Council

A Brick Lane restaurant has been fined more than £16,000 after food inspectors discovered a kitchen infested with mice and cockroaches.

The case against Mangos, a curry house at 90 Brick Lane, following an inspection by Environmental Health Commercial Officers from Tower Hamlets Council last autumn. (more…)

Photo: Tony Webster

A Tower Hamlets family with three children – one disabled – escaped unhurt after a firebomb attack on their home in the middle of the night. A neighbouring house was also shot at, in what detectives think was a related incident. (more…)

Kevan Collins is the chief executive of Tower Hamlets Council

Chief executive of Tower Hamlets Council, Kevan Collins, faced with the prospect of £50 million worth of cuts over the next three years, spent a week in disguise, working at the front line of public service provision, in order to learn more about how authority money was being spent. The results were shown last night on Channel 4′s ‘Undercover Boss’. (more…)

Cyclists try out the new superhighway on Royal Mint Street. Photo: Steven Hampson.

This week London Mayor Boris Johnson launched what he has labeled the ‘cycling revolution,’ with the unveiling of the first cycle superhighway in East London. The CS3 route links Barking and Tower Gateway via Tower Hamlets.

Johnson said cycling accounted for 2% of journeys in the capital and he wanted to improve this figure to 5% – ‘a huge leap.’

“You have got to have a powerful and visible sign on the roads that asserts to every Londoner, whether on two wheels or four, that the capital is a cycling city,” he added.

According to Transport for London, by Summer 2015 there will be six cycle superhighways across East London, providing cyclists with a comprehensive and effective system of routes. But there is some concern that, with a £23 million price tag for just two superhighways, they will siphon money from the recognised and established London cycling network.

The Mayor’s transport adviser Kulveer Ranger says that schemes like the London cycling network – a series of routes spanning the city – were good, but they didn’t look strategically at where people needed to go.

The aim of the CS3 is to attract those put off by accident statistics and direct them towards a continuous, well-marked and maintained commuting route. ”Boris wants to see the culture around cycling evolving – we have to look at the infrastructure, securing bikes, cyclists’ safety and embed cycling in transport policy,” said Ranger.

The cycle superhighways will be accompanied by a city-wide bike hire scheme, a new cycling police unit, 66,000 extra bike parking spaces by 2012 and improved strategic planning, in the hope that more Londoners will switch to the bicycle.

The cycle hire scheme has been delayed and, by its start next week, only pre-registered cyclists will be able to use the reduced number of bikes available. The full scheme is expected to be running by the start of September.

Another cyclist on the new blue-painted route. Photo: Steven Hampson.

But is the cycle superhighway a revolution, a useful service to London’s cyclists, or is it part of a PR war by Transport For London? Many cyclists have already branded the superhighways dangerous.

While it is possible that these routes will encourage beginners, it is unlikely to be the safest or the easiest path for them to take. The lanes appear wide, but they are advisory, and often shared with lorries, buses, and more experienced cyclists – which can be scary for newcomers.

Irem Hughes, 25, a veterinary student, lives in Mile End. “I’ve found the signs useful today as I’m not used to this area. But as a casual cyclist, I think it may be best to stick to the pavements in future. It’s very fast on the blue roads!”

Oliver Schick, chair of London Cycling Campaign policy committee,  said: “We welcome the increased cycle parking, clear marking of routes, provision of cycle training, and workplace initiatives associated with the programme.

“However, we’re disappointed at the lack of progress on large junctions and one-way systems such as Stockwell, Kennington and Tower Gateway.

It has been suggested that rather than attempting to unite the flow of cars and bicycles, we should look to the Northern European cities which have segregated cycle routes from main roads and achieved cycling rates sometimes as high as 30% – compared to London’s 3%.

Yet despite the predictably negative responses coming from a city driven by petrol, there are many plus points associated with the new scheme.

Andrew Webb, 37, an IT Consultant, lives in Limehouse. “I don’t know if it’ll make my journey much quicker, but I reckon it might be a bit safer with these clear markings. So I’m pro it.”

As TFL explains on their website, the routes are clearly marked and easy to follow. The addition of new signs, road markings and information about journey time and links to other routes makes traveling across London on a bike as simple as currently possible. Improved road surfaces and minimised obstructions along the routes mean a smoother ride.

TFL believe the new superhighways to be the safer option for cyclists, with lanes at least 1.5m wide which continue through junctions. There are advanced stop boxes at traffic lights to help cyclists get ahead of traffic, and changed junction layouts create more space for bicycles.

The criticism that the new cycle lanes will hinder traffic is seen as an advantage by some. If the lanes did eat further into car users’ space then perhaps the rush hour standstill would be enough to encourage motorists to switch to a bike, as they watch even the slowest cyclist pass them by.

And furthermore, if the superhighways manage to deliver the promised improvements of increased road comfort, roomier routes, and priority over traffic, then they may raise the profile of the humble cycling lane, possibly leading to improvements across the network of cycle routes.

Regardless of the negatives, East Londoners now have access to an – admittedly glorified – cycle lane, of considerable length, in a purposeful direction, stripped of street furniture and not finishing abruptly without explanation – and this is surely a step in the right direction.

And even one London taxi driver has a good word for it: Rich Greene, 51, of Finchley was driving through the East End. He said: “If it keeps cyclists out my way, I’m happy. In my experience it’s best to keep cars and bikes separate.”

Photo: Tim Crook

Police are calling for witnesses to come forward after an attack last week in Bow left a popular local teacher with serious injuries.

The victim, who works at a nearby school, was attacked at the junction of St Paul’s Way and Locksley Street, E14, on the morning of Monday 12 July.

Though initially described as assault, the incident, in which the 37-year-old sustained facial cuts and head injuries, is now being treated as attempted murder.

Police and ambulance staff were called to the scene at 08:20 and discovered the victim, whose rucksack and mobile phone are believed to have been stolen. He was taken to hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

According to authorities, a number of Asian males were witnessed running away from the scene. Police are interested in any information available about five individuals aged between 18 and 20, wearing black bandanas over their faces, who were seen fleeing along Locksley Street.

Detective Inspector McHugh of Tower Hamlets police said: “I am appealing to the public for information that will assist police in identifying those responsible.”

“This was a very violent assault on an innocent member of the public in an area not known for this type of crime.”

“Did you see the attack or anyone running away? Have you found any property or weapons discarded in the local area? Have you heard anything about this incident or those involved?”

“Was there an event on the Sunday night that caused the attackers to be in the area on the Monday morning?”

If you have any information about the incident, you can call the Tower Hamlets Robbery Squad on 020 8217 6650, or, for anonymity, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Minaret at the East London Mosque. Photo: diamond geezer @ flickr

Observant Muslims should not stop taking prescribed medication during the fast of Ramadan and should get medical advice before altering drug regimes. That is the urgent message from Muslim community leaders in Tower Hamlets who are working with the local NHS to highlight health issues surrounding fasting, in preparation for Ramadan.

Faith In Health, a project run by the East London Mosque in cooperation with the health service, yesterday delivered a day of training to imams and other spiritual leaders, focusing on the importance of combining health consciousness with religious observance.

During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from consuming food and drink during daylight hours. Children, pregnant women and those in feeble physical condition are traditionally exempt from fasting.

But doctors are concerned that Muslims undergoing treatment for serious conditions may fail to take their medication correctly for fear of breaking the fast, or miss important medical appointments during the month.

Nuala Close, lead cancer nurse at Barts and The London NHS Trust, said: “This is an extremely important and busy time of the year for Muslims and we realised that many were cancelling vital medical appointments for cancer and other serious conditions like diabetes.”

“Others were failing to take their medication altogether in order to avoid breaking their fast, or taking it in a single dose on an empty stomach when their fast ended which is highly dangerous with powerful toxic drugs such as those used in chemotherapy.”

“We realised something urgently needed to be done to prevent people jeopardising their health unnecessarily.”

Yesterday’s event aimed to suggest ways of remaining healthy while adhering to Islamic rules. Topics covered included living with diabetes during Ramadan, as well as advice for sufferers of cancer and cardiovascular conditions.

According to the East London Mosque, “The aim of the training day was for the imams to be able to reassure their followers – based on the sound medical advice offered – that prioritising their health is not going against their religious beliefs.”

Sheikh Abdul Qayum, an imam at the mosque, said: “Islam has great flexibility for those with medical conditions during the month of Ramadan.”

“Every case is unique and I would encourage people to seek advice from their doctors and imams on the best course of action rather than try to adjust their medical plans on their own which may result in a detriment to their health.”

An informational leaflet has also been produced to accompany the effort. It will be available to the local community in several languages during the run-up to Ramadan, which is due to begin on 11 August.

Young people across south and south east london can showcase their creative skills this summer thanks to a new cross-borough project.

Create10 is a summer festival that hosts home-grown talent from south east and east London. It will run every year until the 2012 Olympics and it brings together culture and arts events from across the five host boroughs of the 2012 Olympics: Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

From 19 June  to 28 July, the Create project will invite young people to take the stage and perform their own lyrics at  some of the summer’s biggest  festivals.

Between 16 and 18 July  Create’s  homegrown talent will  perform on the Young London: Into Music  stage at The Lovebox festival. The Lovebox lineup includes local East End boy Dizzie Rascal, as well as Grace Jones, Mark Ronson & The Business, and Hot Chip.

On 18 July Create will host the Young People’s Afro-Caribbean Carnival, at Leyton Cricket Ground, where over a 1000 young people from across Waltham Forest will bring carnival and dance to the streets of Leyton.

For more info on music events and Create’s other cultural projects throughout the summer go to: http://createlondon.org/2010/

eastlondonlines will review Lovebox this weekend.

Photo: sludgegulper @ flickr

Passengers on an east London DLR train were held hostage for over an hour on Saturday morning by a man armed with a knife. (more…)