Protesters have this morning scaled atop the roof of the Houses of Parliament in protest at the planned expansion of Heathrow Airport. Just days after a similar protest at the airport itself, the five activists, from airline campaign group Plane Stupid, gained access via a fire escape, having got into the building on visitor passes, and unfurled a series of banners, one of which read "No 3rd runway at Heathrow", another "BAA Headquarters". For......

Poor Alison Jackson. It was no problem finding an Elton or a QEII or a pair of Beckhams. There were lookylikeys a plenty lining up to pose in Jackson's compromising and hugely amusing photos and videos. Our new Prime Minister, however, is proving frustratingly difficult to imitate convincingly. The desperate artist took to London's streets yesterday in a spirited to attempt to pluck a dour Brownalike from the crowds, since hardly anyone had turned......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

I have been interested in recent newspaper reports suggesting I had lost, or was about to lose, one leg, two legs, an arm, a head - some people suggesting this went some time ago! - or even a fingernail. I am happy to tell you that, when I last looked, all of these items appeared solidly where they have been for many years. Michael Winner on rumours that he’d had a limb amputated. January 19......

Here’s what we’ve learned while you lot have been out, up and away with the fireworks: The Polish Prime Minister is to make a personal visit to Ealing to thank his, er, voters… The police have sneaked out a discreet Sunday press release about the obscene amounts of money they have spent on PR for PCSOs. Forget gang-on-gang violence... howzabout octogenarian on octogenarian murder? The University of Surrey is to build a hip and......

The National Archives show that back in 1967 there was a "grave security breach" when a diplomat, Mr Murray MacLehose, left the details of correspondence between Prime Minister Wilson and US President Johnson concerning the Vietnam war in a bank on Regent Street. It probably went a bit like this - Johnson - Are you sure you don't want to come and fight for the free world in Vietnam? Wilson: No, really, we're ok.......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 29th October 1986: The M25 ‘London orbital’ motorway is officially opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, at a ceremony at the last section to be completed (junctions 22 and 23 in Hertfordshire). Tuesday – 30th October 1883: A group known as the Fenian Dynamiters detonates a bomb on the Metropolitan Railway, injuring 62 people. Wednesday – 31st October 1971: An IRA bomb explodes on the 33rd floor......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 20th August 1989: The Marchioness pleasure boat collides with the dredger Bowbelle under Cannon Street Railway Bridge, causing the Marchioness to sink rapidly. 51 of the pleasure boat’s 132 passengers drown. Tuesday – 21st August 1920: A boy who would be named Christopher Robin Milne is born in Chelsea, West London. His father, the author A. A. Milne, would use him as inspiration for the Christopher Robin......

It's often easy to forget the Liberal Democrats these days, despite the opportunity to write alliterative headlines like that. In the last few days, it must be hard to try to top a new Labour Prime Minister swanning off for a ride in George Bush's motorised buggy, or his Conservative rival escaping the floods to Rwanda, only to return to be dogged by criticism and demands for peerages. But as Boris and Ken start......

10. Scareships Just previous to the First World War, as Germany prepared to release the Zeppelin air ships, a spate of phantom airship sightings took grip on the world. London was just one city in the UK to become besieged by the mysterious aircraft that had no definitive origin. Were they the first UFOs? How did such craft seem to vanish or escape pursuit? Here's a chronicle pertaining to the capital: 9th May 1909......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 7. Girl Power All in all, this has been a pretty major week. We’ve had the highs, lows and inevitable mud bath of the Glastonbury Festival. For an event that focused on the issue of climate change it is ironic that whilst its performers sang, the country was subjected to record downfalls amid unseasonable storms.......

This is a new weekend column brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 5. Testing, Testing So the Nice Movement is a political movement that aims to target and reduce anti-social behaviour. That term 'anti social behaviour' conjures up images of seriously mean looking children wearing hoodies as proudly as their ASBO status. But as the home office defines, anti-social behaviour is much more than that:......

So ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Milan, deducted eight league points for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal, provide Europe's club champions, sitting alongside the Italian nation's triumph at last summer's world cup. (Incidentally, anyone who still disbelieves Filippo Inzaghi that Milan practice free kicks such as the one they scored from should have a look at this.) Former Milan CEO Adriano Galliani, banned for five months for his part in Calciopoli, was prominent amongst......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 7th May 1663: The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane opens for the first time. There have actually been four theatres on this site since the 17th century, and the first one didn’t even last 9 years before burning down in 1672. The second was built in 1674, but demolished in 1791. The third lasted from 1794 until it burned down in 1809 (flammable things, these theatres). Finally, the......

In the UK, public inquiries are used as a way of scrutinising our systems and making sure they work as they ought to. The tragic death of Victoria Climbié rightly triggered an inquiry which concluded that had timely action been taken on any one of twelve opportunities for intervention which were identified, Victoria might still be alive. More widely, the inquiry looked into how well – or how badly – public bodies work with......

Quick! Where‘s your Oyster card? Haven’t got one? Not for long. London's mayor is to give away 100,000 free Oyster cards, which offer cheaper travel on public transport. Ken Livingstone said the cards had revolutionised travel in London, speeding up buses and Tubes and reducing queues. Since the financial merits of having an Oyster card aren’t really debatable anymore, the only thing left to ask is: are you for an increase in the widespread......

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like......

This Day In London’s History 1961: Rioting outside the Belgian embassy as demonstrators protest against the killing of Patrice Lumumba, ex Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the summer of 1960, Patrice Lumumba was elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, becoming the country’s first democratically elected leader after it gained independence from Belgian colonial rule. However his brief rule over the troubled country was hardly plain-sailing......

BBC: Prime Minister Tony Blair has been interviewed by police investigating allegations of cash for honours... BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was an extraordinary development but one that had been expected for some weeks. But he said the fact that Mr Blair was not interviewed under caution was significant as it implied that police did not intend to bring any charges against him. But he said it was an embarrassment for the......

What's most interesting about Pornography by Colin Gregory Palmer isn't that he got the girl to hold the sign, but that she actually seems to be eating it. And because we didn't have a Photo of the Day on Friday (which had nothing to do with us being drunk) here's a bonus pic from Herschell Hershey, The UK Prime Minister with the editor of The Guardian, Mr Harry Potter (12): So a big hello......

This Day In London’s History 1990: Pandemonium in Westminster as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fails to win outright victory over Michael Heseltine in the Conservative Party leadership contest. Following a lengthy period of discontent from her own party, including the resignation of Sir Geoffrey Howe from his position as Deputy Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher’s leadership was formally challenged for the second time in as many years, this time by Michael Heseltine. It was widely......

The problem with Emilio Estevez finally growing up and getting serious with Bobby is that we may never see a sequel to Londonist fave Maximum Overdrive (pictured above). Emilio can still make us smile though: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has the looks to be a film star should he ever wish to appear in a movie, Hollywood actor and director Emilio Estevez says. The Brat Pack idol - in London to promote his......

Note: 'Fingerfucked by the Prime Minister' is now our favourite song. Of course the Times London Film Festival is yet to start and there's a kabillion and one screenings ahead of us but Joachim Trier's Reprise is going to be hard to top for sheer freshness and warmth. Simply put it's a brilliant piece of film making. A group of friends whose lives revolve around literature and music unravel a charming punkrock story through......

Some Scottish M.P.s are finding a bitter taste in their mouths after pledging their support to England in the imminent World Cup. Widely believed to be the Prime Minister-in-waiting, Gordon Brown is undoubtedly a Scot through and through. Whilst Tony Blair hides his Scottishness well, Brown is proud of his heritage. He is a keen supporter of Raith Rovers FC in his constituency. But Brown, along with Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, have......

Who do you think will win then, Badger or Michelle? We'll find out who Sir Alan Sugar will be poking his digit at for the last time tonight at 9pm on BBC 2, as the second series of The Apprentice reaches it's conclusion. London's representative in the series (Ansell grew up sarf of the rivah, but has since decamped to 'London-on-sea') crashed out in episode 4, after a nasty experience with chickens, pizza and......

Dark Days For Blair After the trouncing Labour took last Thursday in the local elections, Prime Minister Tony Blair was forced to have a cabinet re-shuffle sooner than expected. Some moves were expected. Ruth Kelly moving to a new department. Charles Clarke returning to the backbenches. Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong being demoted. However, a lot of the new positions came as a surprise. Margaret Beckett promoted to Foreign Secretary, even after she presided over......

Prescott Plays Away Oh yes, the most unlikely news. Prescott, the multiple-Jaguar owning, language-mangling trouser-stretching (yes, in THAT way too, evidently) Deputy PM has had an affair with a woman 20 years his junior. His lover, Tracey Temple, was at the time Prescott's assistant private secretary, and took on the role of diary secretary to Two Jags. They began an illicit relationship at an office party in 2002, and started meeting secretly in a......

Prescott Gets Punchy Oh yes, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today brutally attacked Tory leader David Cameron - but, unusually for the big fella, with words! Two Jags had quite a bout with Tory deputy leader William Hagueat Prime Minister's Questions a couple of weeks ago, and left Hague looking like Harry Enfield's Tory Boy. Prezza is still in fine form, as he attacked Cmaeron today, calling him "all talk and no action." He......

Mafia bosses beware! The Serious and Organised Crimes Agency (SOCA) is coming for you! The Agency went live today, and is being touted by the Government as the British version of the FBI. So does that mean a bunch of dodgy blokes in suits and Raybans? No, it's a bunch of ex-coppers, immigration officers and customs officers working together under one agency to tackle drug and immigration crime. SOCA has replaced the National Crime......

A misleading title really, as there is very little happening at Westminster for the next couple of weeks. The reason being that it is the Easter recess - M.P.s have all gone back to their constituencies for two weeks, so there is nothing happening in the Commons. Nevertheless, if a week is a long time in politics, the ensuing two week recess will still be eventful: Blair Plays Down Rift With Brown Shock news!......