Dangerous man missing: Police issue public warning

Police are appealing for help in tracing a man who has absconded from a secure mental health unit in central London. Timothy Saunders, [03.09.69 - 40 years] went missing on Thursday 29 July from the Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health unit attached to Charing Cross hospital in Fulham Palace Road, W6

It is believed he still could be in the capital and has contacts in the City of London.

Officers have advised members of the public not to approach him but to call 999 immediately.

He is a black male, around 5ft 9ins and of large build. He was wearing a blue and white Argentina jersey with blue jeans and white trainers.

On January 27 2010, Saunders was convicted at West London Magistrates'court of assaulting a police officer in June 2009.

He was made subject to a Hospital Order (under the Mental Health Act). Anyone who may have seen him or has information on his whereabouts should call Enfield Police on 0300 123 1212; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. For an immediate sighting, please call 999.

SUNDAY UPDATE: The BBC is reporting on this story here. Police have released the above photo. Local media in H&F still yet to report the story at all.

MONDAY UPDATE: The Fulham Chronicle has caught up at last here

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: He's back in custody, courtesy of a family member. A spokesperson for the Mental Health Trust says this:

"The patient was routinely prescribed leave twice weekly for up to two hours under supervision of a family member, and was also prescribed leave to take part in a walking group.
“The patient did not return to the ward after one of his leave sessions, at which a staff member phoned the family member he was on leave with. The family member advised us that the patient was no longer with them so staff reacted professionally, following the procedures put in place for an incident of this kind. Staff filed a missing persons report with the police to assist them in finding the patient.
“The patient was returned to the ward this morning by a family member."

Shepherd's Bush goes Global, baby

The BBC News Africa Correspondent has blogged on a man he met from Shepherd's Bush in Sierra Leone, West Africa and posted an audio recording of their interview. And just like the other Busher I shall be flying off this evening too, contributing to my enormous carbon footprint on my way to South East Asia again.

For I am off to the Philippines once more to work with journalists among others on peacebuilding. That country is now regarded by the International Federation of Journalists to be the most dangerous country in the world to work as a result of the number of killings that take place. For a long time it was second only to Iraq.

But there is a lot of hope for peace in both Sierra Leone and the Phillippines. So here's hoping.

In the meantime blogging will continue from afar via this new-fangled internet thingy. Adieu!

£5 charge for reading this blog

No, not really. But thousands of people read this blog every week - and if just a fraction of them contributed a few quid to my appeal for BLESMA - the British Limbless Ex ServiceMens Association - for whom I am running the Bristol Half Marathon on September 5th I would reach my very modest target of £150 very quickly indeed.

So go on, please chuck a few quid the way of people who have done an unimaginable amount for us and will pay for that sacrifice for the rest of their lives. And I guarantee you'll get to see a sweaty looking picture of me crossing the finishing line in return.

Can't say fairer than that guv - I should work down Shepherd's Bush Market, me. Here's a short vid of the sort of work your squids would pay for. Incredible. Please give here.

Lest we forget: Tories launch local attack on Labour

Councillor Harry Phibbs, Dolmio man lookalike, has launched a well researched and bitter attack on the Labour record in our Borough . hard to imagine sometimes but Labour used to run our council with quite a majority, and Andy Slaughter is really the only remaining vestige of Labour power in our backyard.

Amid the protests and widespread criticism of the cuts our Tory masters have been engaging in recently Cllr Phibbs, who is known as something of an attack dog, has clearly been given the brief to launch a fightback. And my word he's taking it seriously.

Delving back to the early 1990s he says this:

Hammersmith and Fulham Council is a Conservative flagship with a large majority of Conservative councillors. But from 1986 to 2006 it was a Labour Council.


What was it like?

A couple of speeches from Matthew Carrington, when he was Conservative MP for Fulham give a flavour. Here is one from 1990.

We often hear claims of gerrymandering, and are told that Wandsworth council was given extra grants to enable the Conservatives to retain control, when the Labour council of Hammersmith and Fulham received the same £361 amount. The difference was that the Labour council wanted to impose a community charge of £424 while Wandsworth has a community charge of £148.

He finishes with this:

Finally, by way of balance, here is a comment Shaun Woodward, a Labour MP and until the last election a cabinet minister. This was what he had to say about the Labour council back in 1999 when he was a Conservative MP.

In Hammersmith and Fulham, the council tax has increased by 50 per cent. since 1993. Five old people's homes have been closed and there is no provision to replace them; 70 home helps have been sacked; only 34 per cent. of council house repair appointments are kept; burial costs have gone up by 60 per cent. and cremation costs by 50 per cent.; and libraries have been closed.

By that stage Andrew Slaughter had been the Council leader for three years.

Ouch.

Scooter rider killed on A40

You may have noticed that Shepherd's Bush Green was a car park this morning. The cause was an early morning crash which took the life of a motorcyclist on a scooter. The A40 was closed which meant that the traffic trying to get onto it or around Holland Park roundabout was backed up all the way up the Uxbridge Road.

Here's the police statement which gives the bare bones:

Police were called just before 04:00 hrs to the A40 near Wood Lane to reports of a fatal accident involving a scooter on Wednesday 28 July.
At this early stage it is believed witnesses saw a male riding the scooter lose control. He died instantly. It is not thought any other vehicles were involved.
London Ambulance Service were also called to the scene.
The road is still closed and enquiries continue

2100 UPDATE: As some of you have pointed out the rider has been named as Chris Dagley, who was a renowned drummer.The Evening Standard broke this piece of the jigsaw this evening and had the following:

A star musician on the London jazz scene was killed early today as he rode home from a gig.
Chris Dagley, a drummer in the Ronnie Scott's house band who had played with Take That, Westlife and Lionel Richie, died after losing control of his scooter on the A40 in White City.
The 39-year-old was riding to Ruislip, where he lived with his partner and their three children.
Simon Cooke, managing director of Ronnie Scott's, said staff at the Soho venue were in shock, adding: "Chris was exceptionally talented."

Indeed he was. Here is Chris playing at last year's Ealing Jazz Festival with the Winston Morson's Off the Cuff band. Tragedy doesn't seem to be big enough a word.

272 Bus collision: man not dead!

Right, after the confusion of yesterday with journalists and bloggers getting lots of things wrong here is the Police statement of what actually happenned:

Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and a man, believed aged approx. 40, was taken to a west London hospital suffering head injuries. Scans showed these not to be serious and he was released following treatment to a cut.
Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing. Officers have arrested another man on suspicion of GBH and he has been bailed to return in early September.
The bus driver stopped at the scene, he was not arrested.

Man killed by 272 bus

A man has died as a result of a collision between him and the 272 bus. The man, who was believed to be on foot, was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital but later died. The incident happenned on the corner of Shepherd's Bush Road and Goldhawk Road.

At the time of writing it seems that someone has actually been arrested but the police are not releasing any more info. Basically it all looks a bit odd, and possibly more to it than meets the eye. The bus driver was interviewed and released.

So - first and foremost a tragedy. Whatever else transpires I shall pass on as and when I get it.

1800 UPDATE: Well, it goes to show how rumours do the rounds, it was being reported elsewhere in the early afternoon that the man hit by the 272 had died, but it now appears he is still alive but in a critical condition at Charing Cross Hospital. A lesson both for amateur bloggers but also professional journalists who really should have done better given that its their day job. It is also being reported that the reason another man was arrested was not, as originally rumoured, as a result of a stabbing but because the victim had been pushed in front of the bus.

I think the best thing that can be said at this stage is nobody really knows what on earth happenned. Including those who should.

"Cycling Revolution" flops in Hammersmith

Boris Johnson is fond of talking about a Cycling Revolution, it's one of his centre-piece policies that he hopes will see him re-elected in 2012. You may have noticed lots of blue paint being put down on certain roads around the city and being called "cycle super highways". The problem is nobody seems to have told the car drivers who merrily drive on them as well whenever I've been looking. Paint is cheap.

In Hammersmith & Fulham we seem to have a very awkward view of cyclists, who routinely get criticised at public meetings for riding in places they shouldn't. And now, it seems, we have failed to take up Boris' offer of becoming cycling revolutionaries. In fact completely failed. In fact, it's safe to say the good people of the Bush are not revolutionaries at all. We'd rather have a cup of tea.

You see, we have failed to take up TfL's offer of "guided cycle tours", which were on offer in June in order to train would-be cyclists to get to work and back along these marvellous new blue superhighways. So much so, in fact, that the guided cycle tours have been cancelled! Of the two guided cycle tours, of which one was on June 16th and the other on June 30th only one person turned up. That's right, one. On the 16th. And none on the 30th!

The LibDems on the London Assembly think this flop, which was mirrored across the city, is down to bad marketing. Here's what Caroline Pidgeon AM, their leader in London, asked of Boris with his reply:

Cycle Fridays (2)

Question No: 2273 / 2010

Caroline Pidgeon

Can you give an outline of how the publicity strategy differed to last year’s, in light of the low participation rate last year?

Answer from the Mayor

Between last year and this year the approach differs in the following ways:

Link to existing cycle programmes: Cycle Fridays was a standalone initiative, marketed via an advertising campaign. This year, rides are being offered as a support product to help individuals take advantage of existing cycling programmes including the London Cycle Challenge and Barclay’s Cycle Superhighways. The publicity for the rides is incorporated into existing programme channels; the only cost incurred is for the rides themselves.

Create a flexible programme, which responds to demand: Last year the number of rides publicised were fixed, but this year TfL is closely monitoring participation in the rides.
Roll out the rides in short bursts: Last year TfL publicised a block of rides for 10 weeks and participation dropped off over time. This year, each set of rides will last no longer than five weeks before a break. If a particular programme is not generating sufficient demand, the remaining rides can be scaled back or cancelled
Change the name: Awareness of Cycle Fridays was relatively high; however understanding of what was on offer was lower. To make this clear, TfL changed the name to ‘Guided Cycle Rides’.

Ah, you changed the name. That's what your problem was Mr Mayor! In the meantime here is some evidence of how ineffective the blue paint seems to be thus far:

Ken Livingstone, LBC Radio's candidate for Mayor?

Why does LBC Radio, supposedly impartial, give Ken Livingstone his own show on Saturdays? I ask because he is now, as you will know unless you've been living under a rock, a candidate for the Labour nomination for Mayor of London. Given the current deep unpopularity of the LibDems and the likely cuts-driven unpopularity of the Tories come the date of the election in 2012, that means the Labour candidate is at least a fair bet to become Mayor and to have an impact on all our lives.

Surely giving one candidate, and no other, hours of air time every week (he doesn't just appear on his own show but chips in on other shows too) is in breach of any semblance of impartiality?

If you've ever listened to Ken's shows, as I have driving the brood back from swimming on numerous occasions, you'll know that in between interviews listeners are treated to a cornucopia of recollections of what he did when Mayor and how great those achievements were. It's a bit like Teachings by Great Leader Kim Il Livingstone. My personal favourite, as I sat on the M4 in a traffic jam going nowhere, was Ken telling his listeners how he was proud to have introduced the bus lane on that motorway and didn't much care what the motorists thought.

But I want to know why LBC doesn't offer other candidates vying to be our Mayor anywhere near as much exposure. What about Oona King? And the LibDem candidate/s? I wonder if even Boris gets as much air time!

As he handed a petition in to City Hall about police numbers at night last week, which I am sure was entirely unconnected to his Mayoral campaign, Ken declared about himself "“I'm an ordinary Londoner, I'm just an unemployed pensioner who cares about my city.”

The thing is, Ken, that's wrong. You're a political candidate vying for public office. And wrong LBC, it's time to either admit you want Ken elected in which case you should start apeing Veronica Wadley's Evening Boris Standard and at least be honest about it OR perhaps start to cover these elections with a bit more balance. Which is it to be?

There, that's off me chest.

1700 UPDATE: A mole at LBC tells me that they have taken the decision to keep Ken's show even if he wins the Labour nomination! So you would have a political candidate with a London wide show that no other candidate has. How can LBC justify that? The plot thickens..