London Ambassadors go to Wembley Stadium

Nearly 3,000 London Ambassadors have gathered at Wembley Stadium today to watch the rugby match between Saracens vs Harlequins.

The Big Team of Ambassadors got together for the first time ahead of the Olympics and enjoyed the biggest game of the English rugby union season.

A Team LA (London Ambassadors) mobile pod was parked outside the stadium from 11.30am to give Co-Ambassadors the chance to know each other.

London Ambassadors are people from all walks of life who will be acting as the face of the capital during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing visitors with all the information and support they need.

The Ambassadors, who will be located in 43 different areas of the capital, are characterised by different cultures, ages and professions but there is one thing they all have in common: a love for London.

Mei Suen is a business administrator who moved to London very young. She is quite enthusiastic about this once in a lifetime experience and said:

“I love London, so, being a London Ambassador means I can share that love with everyone. I grew up in the capital and I know this city really well. I am so excited about this experience and I am very proud to have the great opportunity to be the face of London”.

Many Ambassadors will be coming from all over the UK and even further in order to volunteer.

Bridget Jones, who works in marketing, will be travelling from Berkshire to London.

“Being a London Ambassador is my way to be part of the Olympics. I do not want to be sat at my desk for two weeks and let this big event pass me by. I am very excited and also glad we received both the free theatre ticket and the rugby match one. Cannot wait for July to come,” she said.

There will also be countless students volunteering to be the face of London during the Games.

Kevin Lamaro is a computer science student and also a writer from Kingston, in South West London.

“I love London, as it is so vibrant and full of energy. So many visitors from all over the world will be coming during the Games and I had applied to be an Ambassador in order to directly  experience the Olympic energy and being part of the most fantastic event ever,” he said.

The 3,000 London Ambassadors who have attended the Saracens vs Harlequins match today were just part of a bigger crowd of 83,761, a world record for a club rugby match.

However, most Ambassadors were disappointed with the fact that Mr Boris Johnson could not take part in the event as scheduled.

A loan may be needed to pay for our commuting

British households spend 14 per cent of their income on transport.

According to the RAC Foundation, in fact, 21million households spend more than 10 per cent of their income on private and public transport for their commuting and have no option other than to go to work.

It has been calculated that while the lowest-earning households pay out 9 per cent, the highest-earning spend a total of 15.5 per cent.

Keeping a car on the road is highly expensive and the director of the RAC Foundation Prof Glaister urged chancellor George Osborne to help motorists by reviewing the rate of the fuel duty of the next UK budget tomorrow, March 21, 2012.

Meanwhile train commuters are worried for their future as transport secretary Justine Greening is planning to extend peak hours and introduce ‘super-peak’ rates at the busiest times.

The RTM Union called the plan ‘a recipe for exploitation’ that would ‘rob passengers blind’.

Without a doubt, transport is currently the single biggest expense for the average household in UK.

Find a job out of London

According to new figures unemployment in London has risen at twice the national average over the past 12 months to more than 10 per cent.

In fact the capital was hit hard with 11,000 more unemployed, taking its jobless figure to 433,000.

Worst hit are the IT and finance with new permanent vacancies down by nearly 50 per cent year-on-year and the impact of cuts on the public sector also deepened.

According to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) the sharp fall in City recruitment has fed an increase in those working as interim managers or on contract. There are also portfolios executives who meet short-term need for staff so that a permanent vacancy does not need to be filled.

Overall the UK unemployment stuck at 17-year high as 8.4 per cent of people are still out of job. Even the number of unemployed young people has not changed.

According to employment Minister Chris Grayling the figures showed that the labour market is stabilising.

However, there is still a big challenge ahead and most of the new jobs being created recently are part-time.

First-time home buyers must be aware of the new Government plan

First-time home buyers could afford to clamber on to the property ladder by owing a deposit as low as 5 per cent rather than the 20 per cent typically demanded by lenders since the credit crunch.

The New Buy Guarantee is the latest Government backed plan to tackle the worst housing crisis in a generation and boost demand for newly built homes.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced the scheme on Monday and declared that it will help up to 100,000 first-time buyers achieve their dream.

Security for the deal will be provided by the Government through a 5.5 per cent guarantee and by the developers. They will put 3.5 per cent of the purchase price into an indemnity fund for each property sold and those involved so far include Barratt, Bellway, Bovis, Linden Homes, Persimmon, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey.

With this kind of security in place lenders have declared to be ready to start offering 95 per cent deposit. In fact, even if property prices fall and the borrower falls into negative equity and defaults, they will still be able to get their money back. Barclays, Nationwide Building Society and Nat West Home have already signed up.

Council of Mortgage lenders director general Paul Smee said that New Buy Guarantee will contribute to both housing supply and to economic growth in the UK.

However critics warned that a combination of 95 per cent mortgages and a significant rise in interest rates could lead to homebuyers being unable to pay back their loans.

Ex-Murdoch newspaper chief bailed over phone hacking inquiry

The former chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks and her husband were arrested at their home in Oxfordshire this early morning as part of Operation Weeting.

Ms Brooks together with racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks and four other men were held on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Rebekah Brooks, who was forced to resign from News International in the wake of the phone hacking scandal and illegal payment to police officers in July 2011, was already due to answer bail later this month.

She was being quizzed in Oxfordshire while Mr Brooks was being interrogated at a Buckinghamshire police station.

They will also be questioned about two computers found dumped in a private car park under the Brooks’s apartment last summer.

Moreover, revelations that Scotland Yard lent Rebekah Brooks a police horse for two years raises questions over the Met’s links with the Murdoch media empire.

Today’s arrest could be embarrassing for Prime Minister David Cameron, who went to school with Mr Brooks and is a close friend of the couple.

Meanwhile officers from the Operation Weeting phone hacking enquiry are searching addresses connected to the people who have been arrested today.

The Weeting investigation was launched in January 2011 after new material was passed to police by News International and a total of 22 people have been arrested under the Operation so far.

This bus is running late

The arrival of the new 1 million Routemaster has been delayed for the second time.

A new version of the expensive three door bus, which was initially expected at the end of 2011, was rescheduled for yesterday but Transport for London declared the bus was not ready yet as a result of the certification process taking longer than anticipated.

In fact the new Routemaster is currently being tested on route 38 between Victoria station and Hackney, where the first of the buses will begin service on February 28.

Moreover the brand new vehicle will be on its own as the other seven prototypes won’t be on London roads until the summer.

Transport commissioner Peter Hendy declared that a week late after three and half years is pretty good as the original bus took twelve years from conception to service.

The new models have also attracted criticism as the absence of clippies could aid fare dodgers. 

However the Mayor of London pointed that the back doors will be open during the day and a conductor will be on board to invigilate passengers, to help and make sure people pay their fares. At night the rear doors will be kept closed and operated by the driver, preventing fare evaders to board without paying.

One ticket fits all

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson is planning to control all suburban railways and introduce a one-ticket system across Greater London.

He wants the Government to devolve to him the power to award rail franchises in order to integrate them with the London underground network and offer a more punctual, reliable and affordable service.

Mr Johnson said that the fractured organisation of London’s suburban railway is inefficient and needs a complete overhaul. His vision is for one integrated suburban service operating to the standards achieved on London Overground, which is one of the most reliable and popular  railways in the UK at the moment.

Mr Livingstone wanted to execute a similar plan when Mayor four years ago and has claimed he would attempt this proposal to Mr Johnson if elected.

Meanwhile, a report published by research company Just Economics found that Britain’s rail services are slower,  less comfortable and more expensive than those on the continent.