The Standard

An online tool set up by the Met Police to help the public report places where they feel unsafe in the capital, has received more than 3,000 since it was set up.

The force launched StreetSafe in September 2021, following the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.

Since then almost three quarters of the reports it has received have been from women.

Most of them related to poor street lighting and CCTV coverage, but the Met said there were also reports of men verbally harassing women, which it had tackled successfully by introducing more police patrols in those areas.

Women’s rights activist Patsy Stevenson, and Anna Birley from Reclaim These Streets discuss the tool, how effective it is, and what more can be done to keep women and girls safe.

In this episode:

• Patsy’s opinion of the StreetSafe tool (1.10)
• Does lighting & CCTV make people feel safer? (1.46)
• Have measures been introduced to tackle culture that lead to abuse? (3.26)
• Anna discusses the StreetSafe tool (4.30)
• Comparison with other resources to report abuse (5.14)
• Education for men and boys to stop abuse (6.52)
• Are things moving in the right direction? (8.23)

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Just under two weeks after the return to the UK of Iran detainees Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, a man who was allegedly supposed to come home with them, is still in detention in Iran.

Morad Tahbaz’s family said they were promised he’d fly back to the UK alongside Nazanin and Anoosheh, but his daughter Roxanne found out on the day he was due to return that he wasn’t on the flight.

Now back on the campaign trail to bring him home, Roxanne tells the Evening Standard how it all happened, the latest from officials, and why he’s now on a hunger strike.

Roxanne discusses:

• Her dad’s hunger strike (1.33)
• Her shock when she found out he wouldn’t return to the UK (2.21)
• Finding out he wasn’t on the flight through the press (3.56)
• Morad’s life growing up in London (5.07)
• How Iran decided he was an American Citizen (6.20)
• Richard Ratcliffe’s support (7.05)
• Plea to the government to bring him back home (8.44)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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The Met Police is issuing 20 fines to individuals who broke lockdown rules at Downing Street parties in 2020.

As part of its investigation into twelve events held across government, the Met has said it will not reveal who the fines have been issued to, or which specific alleged event they relate to.

Downing Street has pledged to reveal if the prime minister is among those fined, but said it wouldn’t release the identity of junior staff.

The Evening Standard’s Home Affairs Editor Martin Bentham discusses:

• What the fines mean for Partygate (1.32)
• Why Boris Johnson might not be fined yet (3.14)
• What might happen if the PM is among those fined (4.36)
• How Conservative MPs might react if the prime minister is fined (6.15)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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Less than a week after making his Spring Statement, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been defending his financial decisions today at a meeting of the Treasury Committee.

He’s been questioned about the support available for people receiving benefits, after announcing a series of measures which will largely benefit those in work.

But, as the energy price cap rises by around 54% from April 1st, inflation continues to rise and fuel remains at an all time high, despite a 5p fuel duty cut, those unable to work are unsure how they will cope with the cost of living crisis.

We spoke with Strategy Director at the Trussell Trust food bank charity, Garry Lemon, about:

• His reaction to the Spring Statement (2.35)
• The ‘devastating’ consequences for people on Universal Credit (3.33)
• How the crisis will ‘inevitably’ lead to homelessness (4.33)
• Food banks becoming oversubscribed (5.26)
• The economics behind the government’s measures (6.21)

We also hear from Jenni from Hampshire who is unable to work, and said she’s struggling to keep up with bills already. 

Remember to follow us on Twitter for the latest news - @EveningStandard

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Is it possible to create a multi-million pound business without losing your ideals; even the ones you’ve held since childhood?

This is An Invitation to Meet... Saasha Celestial-One, co-founder of sharing app Olio. Originally a way for communities to share unwanted food, it’s now expanded to include much more.

Listen to the full episode HERE.

Saasha tells us about the negotiations to raise $43 million dollars in round B funding last year, and how she “stalked” a Tesco boss to secure a deal helping the supermarket distribute surplus food.

And we chat about her early days growing up in Iowa with her “hippy entrepreneur” parents, who instilled in her the value of not letting things go to waste.

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London’s number of Covid cases diagnosed have risen by nearly a third...so what has happened, and how worried should we be, particularly when using public transport?

The Standard’s reports on Friday that data suggests one in 19 people have coronavirus symptoms, and this comes as the spring boosters are being rolled out.

Professor Tim Spector, the King’s College London scientist behind the Zoe Covid tracker app, warns “there has never been a riskier time to travel” in London.

City Hall statistics gathered from the NHS show there were 58,092 confirmed cases in London in the week to March 18 – up 28 per cent on the 45,211 in the previous week.

The Leader’s joined by the Standard’s Health and City Hall Editor, Ross Lydall, who has been investigating the latest developments.

Ross discusses the current infection and hospitalisation rates, and reveals how Transport for London bosses performed a u-turn over their Covid public health messaging on travel risk.

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From St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street, a service of commemoration and support for journalists working under fire.

This unique church has been offering pastoral care for centuries to news professionals.

It remembers not only those killed in the line of duty but helps journalists wounded and captured, and offers comfort to their family, colleagues and friends.

Thursday’s service, called ‘Under Fire: Journalists and Ukraine’, was supported by the London Press Club and the Journalists’ Charity.

We asked the Reverend Canon Dr Alison Joyce how the nature of risk faced by journalists reporting in conflict zones has evolved and the church’s role when the worst happens.

The service was packed with industry colleagues, from print to radio, television and web.

Readings were given by speakers including Patrick Kidd, diary editor at The Times and Caroline Wyatt, former BBC defence and war correspondent, and now a presenter on Radio 4’s PM programme.

After the service, we caught up with Caroline and asked about the role of news reporters in getting to the truth amid the bullets, bombs and social media propaganda.

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While chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled measures aimed to ease the cost-of-living crisis, for many Londoners it’s simply not enough.

Inflation and spiking bills are heaping misery on the capital’s most vulnerable people - with at-risk women often suffering most from the economic fallout.

Eleanor Greenhalgh, Women’s Development Unit manager for Solace Women’s Aid and the Connection at St Martin’s, examines the impact of today’s Spring Statement.

It comes after an increase in women sleeping rough on the streets of central London during the pandemic.

Last month, analysis by a cross-party group found there were almost twice as many women impacted by “hidden homelessness” in the capital than men.

Now, with funding from the Evening Standard’s homeless appeal, the Women’s Development Unit run through the Solace Women’s Aid and the Connection at St Martin’s charities is helping more female clients than ever.

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Amputee former servicemen and women are deploying their military experiences to help young people become more resilient to the challenges of modern life.

The Making Generation R project is a collaboration between veterans organisations Blesma and The Drive Project.

Hear how the squad’s experiences and coping strategies shared at innovative workshops are inspiring schoolchildren to better navigate the stresses of the 21st Century.

We speak with south Londoner Dan Richards, now a project manager and competitive cyclist, after recent session held at Sadler’s Wells theatre in Clerkenwell.

Dan was formerly a trumpeter with King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery who needed his right arm and shoulder amputated after a horrific motorbike crash.

He describes his mental health battle as he struggled to get a job after making over 300 applications following his medical discharge from the army.

The Leader also speaks with Jon Bryant, Blesma chief executive and former Army Air Corps colonel, who tells us about the battlefield injuries being suffered in Ukraine.

More than a dozen ex-servicemen and women are involved in the project.

You can donate to the Standard’s Ukraine Appeal here: gofundme.com/eveningstandardukraineappeal.

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Hackney-based artist Idris Khan is creating prints from a watercolour painting based on the Ukrainian flag washed over sheet music paper from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, to raise money for the Evening Standard’s Ukraine appeal.

It’s part of a collaboration with Migrate Art, an organisation working with artists to raise funds for refugees, with all profits going to the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Listen to Idris in conversation with the Standard’s deputy arts editor Jessie Thompson, describing how the horrifying images of war moved him to use his skills to raise money to help out by creating the vibrant piece, which is called ‘I Thought We Had More Time...’

Signed prints of I Thought We Had More Time... are £300 and available until 31st March via migrateart.com/products/idriskhan.

Donate to the Standard’s Ukraine Appeal at gofundme.com/eveningstandardukraineappeal.

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